One Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper is just like the classic favorite Cheeseburger Macaroni that we all know and love! This homemade version is made in one pot, rich and cheesy and tastes so much better than the boxed version!
Even as an adult I get cravings for those childhood favorites like hamburger helper. My favorite hamburger helper growing up was cheeseburger macaroni. It’s such a classic flavor combination! Now that I’m grown up I may have the craving, but, the boxed version just doesn’t suit my taste anymore.
I love a good one pot recipe too. One pot meals like my Homemade Hamburger Helper and this One Pot Creamy Parmesan Chicken and Rice are just as easy to make (if not easier) than any boxed meal. They are super budget friendly and made with ingredients we usually have in our pantry. Plus, they have a really great flavor without packaged powdered products so we know what we are getting!
How to Make Homemade Hamburger Helper:
To make this cheeseburger macaroni hamburger helper there is no reason to dirty more than one dish! Start with a large skillet and brown your ground beef until it’s no longer pink. Then, drain ALL of the grease from the skillet. I also like to wipe my skillet out with a paper towel for this recipe, although that is completely optional.
Next, you will turn your stove heat down to low and stir all of your seasonings into your meat. This recipe has been tested and tried many times and the seasoning combo provides just the right amount of flavor without the dish being too salty. Don’t worry about the hot sauce, it doesn’t make the dish spicy, it just adds a nice kick of flavor!
The next step is to add your macaroni and beef broth. I recommend using low-sodium broth if possible. You can also use chicken broth, vegetable broth, or simply water for this recipe if necessary.
Give everything a really good stir to make sure the ketchup, mustard, and seasonings are all well mixed in. Use the back of your wooden spoon if you need to make sure the macaroni is submerged under the broth.
Then, you will simply cover your dish with a tight-fitting lid and let it simmer for 12-15 minutes until your macaroni is soft. I recommend lifting the lid and stirring once or twice during the process.
You will notice that there is absolutely no milk in this recipe. During recipe testing, I found the flavor much better leaving the milk out. The addition of sour cream at the end gives a great creaminess and zing of flavor!
Once your macaroni is completely cooked you will remove your pan from the heat. Then, stir in the sour cream until it is well incorporated. Then, you can place your pan back on the warm burner and add in the shredded cheese mixing until well combined.
I recommend using freshly shredded cheddar right off the block if possible. It melts so much better than the bagged pre-shredded stuff!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
One Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Ground Beef
- 1 Tablespoon Ketchup
- 1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- 1 Teaspoon Hot Sauce Optional
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Seasoned Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1 1/2 Cups Macaroni
- 3 1/2 Cups Broth or Water
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
- 2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat until no longer pink. Drain grease and return meat to the pan.
- Reduce heat to low and add the ketchup, mustard, hot sauce, seasonings, macaroni and broth to the pan and stir well to combine.
- Cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes until macaroni is cooked through.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in the sour cream.
- Return the pan to the warm burner and stir in the shredded cheese until well combined.
Video
Notes
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Just wanted to compliment the chef on this recipe! I’ve been craving Hamburger Helper lately so I did a quick Google search and found this page. I used this recipe as a guideline, but made a couple adjustments based on the ingredients I have in my house like Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream. It was delicious! I’ll definitely be making this again!
I like to use bowtie middles, and extra sour cream.
This was delicious. Thanks for the quick, easy recipe.
This is excellent! It has become a favorite of my boys. Only real change I make is to sub ground chicken for the beef because of my husband’s dietary preferences. Love it! Thanks for the tasty, easy, recipe!
My family loves this recipe! Thanks for posting 🙂
Made this for dinner last night. Subbed fresh chopped onion and fresh garlic for the powdered stuff. Excellent flavor will make this again and again and again! Lol. Thank you for posting such flavorful recipes on your blog. Amazing. Keep up the hard challenging work. It’s well worth it!
This was quick, easy, and delish! Used a small minced onion and minced 2 cloves of garlic instead of powdered and no hitsauce. Kid and parent approved!!!
Thanks for a seriously hearty dinner ready in minutes made with all staple pantry items!!!!
We love this recipe in my house! I add an onion while the beef is cooking and seem to always have to double the whole thing hahaha. Great recipe seems to be a Sunday favourite as it keeps well also.
Made this today – it was easy and delicious. Thank you! I added a little more ketchup (additional tbsp), replaced the salt with Vietnamese fish sauce for umami, and used Cholula – your hot sauce of choice. Also used whole wheat pasta to get more fiber in. My 10 yo really enjoyed it too.
Enoyed the recipe. I used egg noddles instead. Used more noddles só added more broth just enough to cover the noddness. I didn’t add Sourcream. It was easy and Best part: didn’t have a lot of salt and no hidden ingredients like boxed hamburger helper.
Did it turn out awesome at the same cooking time with egg noodles?! That’s all I have and wanted to make it tonight!
Seriously love Hamburger Helper but hate all the sketchy ingredients. This is Amazing!! Tastes better than the box and just as easy! Yum yum yum! There wasn’t any left with three of us because we liked it so much. Before my 10yr old was finished with his 2nd bowl he asked if there were left overs. When I said no he told me that means I need to make it again soon because he wants more! Big Win!
Getting ready to make this for supper. I have chicken broth and beef broth. What gives the best flavor? It seems like it would produce 2 very different flavors.
It’s so delicious! So I tried to double it last time and I messed it up. It ended up being too runny. I doubled everything, and cooked for about the same amount of time. Do I need to cook longer or not double everything?
don’t double the cooking liquid (broth/water). try just enough liquid to cover the pasta so it’s all submerged.
if you’re finding toward the end it’s not enough water, add more a little bit at a time and stir (like risotto!). the less liquid & the more starch from the pasta, the better the thickening and binding power!
or just cheat at the end: a teaspoon or two of corn starch under gentle heat (200°F) until thickened (not too much heat/for too long, corn starch breaks!)
Everyone loves this dish every time I make it;))
Did this recipe omg sooo good. Added kd powder cheese to it mmm with white cheddar.
My son loved it. I tweaked a couple of things, though. Instead of onion powder and garlic powder, I added fresh onion and garlic. Because I didn’t have any broth, I added a package of onion soup mix. And when I added the water to the pan, I also added a cup of real bacon bacon bits. (That was for a double batch).
What’s your favorite hot sauce to use?
I like Cholula 🙂
Excellent. Tasted better than boxed. Easy ingredients, easy to make..easy to eat.. lol
Pickiest eaters wanted 3rds.. Truly.. thanks for a great recipe that will be used all the time.
Will beef broth work?
Yes 🙂
THIS RECIPE!! I tried another homemade Hamburger Helper recipe from Pinterest and it was ‘ok’ – my cheese sauce with that recipe just didn’t ‘gel and I tried it TWICE!
This recipe though is the most AMAZING!!! I sub’d Fage 2% greek yogurt instead of sour cream and it still turned out wonderful! Its lightly flavorful and I used homemade chicken stock so I could taste hints of that too. Soooo lovely, creamy and the pasta isn’t overdone either. You should totally try it! Its a better option than the box just because you can pronounce all the ingredients and I bet it has no where near the sodium amount.
I made this tonight and it was a hit – a rarity with picky young kids! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. I added finely chopped broccoli and this dish is definitely going into the rotation!
Hi! What type of hot sauce did you use in yours? And when you do yours do you use just low sodium chicken broth? I have chicken stock already so I’m assuming that will work. Thanks!
Hi! I use Cholula almost exclusively lol! It’s my favorite 🙂 . Yes, Chicken stock is just fine!