An easy and quick weeknight dinner, this homemade hamburger helper is a fun spin on the classic store bought kind!
You guys all know by now that I love pasta. Love it. Like beyond love. It’s probably my favourite weeknight meal- filling, yummy and so easy to make. I mean we pretty much live off these peanut noodles and this creamy mushroom pasta that’s just perfect all year round.
So it shouldn’t surprise you that today’s meal idea is a pasta dish.
But there’s a funny story behind this one. A few months back, Ara and I were at the grocery store and I saw a package of Hamburger Helper. I felt all nostalgic for my youth and decided we were going to get one. Here’s the thing though. I had never eaten one before. My mom would never let us buy it.
Feeling rather smug because hey I’m an adult now- I decided that we were going to eat it for dinner.
Fast forward a few hours and I realized why my mom never let us buy it. Let’s just say it needed a few spices and herbs to pull it all together. But I couldn’t let it go- because it still felt so nostalgic to me.
So I made one from scratch! Voila, my homemade hamburger helper that is way tastier than the original. Sure it takes more than 5 minutes to make. But I promise that it doesn’t take more than 30! And with minimal ingredients too! A homemade hamburger helper that will easily become fast favourite! I use Mafalda Pasta because I’m obsessed with how it looks but you can use just plain ol’ elbow macaroni. It will taste just as good!
Read on for the recipe!
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups whole milk you could also use 2 %
- 8 ounces pasta I used Mafalda Pasta but any type of small pasta will work as well
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- parsley to garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat up oil. Cook onions 2-3 minutes. Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking up the meat, about 4-5 minutes. Drain excess oil. Add minced garlic, paprika, italian seasoning and onion powder to skillet. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add in tomato paste and stir an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Add in tomato sauce, broth, milk and noodles.Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
- Let cook 10-15 minutes. Check on noodles. Add an additional 1/2 cup of broth and milk if needed. Cook for another 5 minutes if needed or until cooked through. *If you are using a small elbow type noodle your cook time will be drastically less and you won't need that additonal 5-10 minutes of cooking or the additional liquid. You do want the sauce to thicken nicely though so even if your noodles cook quickly, let them simmer for a bit!
- Add in cheese. Stir until melted and then remove from heat. Top with parsley and serve!
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