This super easy homemade cheeseburger macaroni is a perfect Hamburger Helper Copycat Recipe! This made from scratch cheesy pasta recipe is made from ingredients you likely have in your pantry/refrigerator right now! You will most definitely ditch the box when you see how easy this copycat cheeseburger macaroni recipe is!
I’m just going to admit something here. I LOVE Hamburger Helper.
Yes the super bad for you, preservative filled box of powdered seasoning and noodles. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. This one is my favorite, but I also love me some Cheeseburger Macaroni! Yum.
I recently found a recipe for Cheeseburger Macaroni from scratch though and you know what? It’s not that much more difficult! In fact, it’s honestly about the same amount of work.
And yes…it is BETTER than the box mix.
From now on, we will be making this homemade version. I’ve made it 3 times so far and 3 out of 4 family members LOVE it and go back for seconds (the 4th one likes dinosaur chicken nuggets and PBJ’s.).
If this becomes a “go to” meal for your family, you could theoretically even make baggies of the spices & cornstarch and keep it in your pantry to make this dish even faster and more simple!
Feel free to use ground turkey or ground chicken!
You will definitely want to use a very deep saute pan with this recipe because you will be adding quite a bit of liquid. This pan is HIGHLY rated and is dishwasher safe and oven safe! Definitely worth it (and it’s on sale right now!):
Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni Recipe
From Food.com
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef, turkey or chicken
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups macaroni
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
Directions:
- Go ahead and brown your ground beef in a fairly deep pan or pot (you’ll be adding a lot of liquid).
- Drain the fat off the meat and put it back in the pan/pot. Add spices, cornstarch, water, pasta and milk and bring to a boil.
- Bring your heat down to a simmer and let simmer until the pasta is finished.
- Add your cheddar cheese and turn off the heat. Stir until the cheese is melted.
- Let sit for a few minutes and serve!
This is SO tasty! I love to add some ketchup to mine so it’s more “burger” like. I’ve heard some people love THIS SUPER POPULAR STUFF on it as well 😉
Serve with a salad or another good green veggie (these brussels sprouts are awesome!)
There have been some comments about this being bland…you need to season this to taste.
If your family is VERY used to the boxed Hamburger Helper, this probably will be very bland as written. So adjust seasoning to your family’s liking. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep tasting. This is how you make a recipe work for YOUR family.
There are some helpful tips from other readers who have made slight substitutions with success, be sure to look at those and decide if those will work for you. This is a great base recipe that my family LOVES, but your family might need to tweak it…and that’s perfectly alright!
- 1 lb ground beef, turkey or chicken
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups macaroni
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
-
- Go ahead and brown your ground beef in a fairly deep pan or pot (you’ll be adding a lot of liquid).
- Drain the fat off the meat and put it back in the pan/pot.
- Add spices, water, pasta and milk and bring to a boil.
- Bring your heat down to a simmer and let simmer until the pasta is finished.
- Add your cheddar cheese and turn off the heat.
- Stir until the cheese is melted.
- Let sit for a few minutes and serve!
If I normally have to make two boxes of HH for my family would I just double this recipe? Or does it make more than a box would??
Thanks!
Mel
It makes about 2 boxes worth I’d say, but the pasta to meat ratio is a bit different. You might double up on the meat to stretch it further though. You end up with more pasta with this recipe.
Awesome! Thanks so much!
I agree, this is out of this world! As close to the box as you can get. I’ll omit the sugar next time, didn’t need it .
I’m pregnant and working on make ahead freezer meals, have you ever frozen this?
Can you pre cook the pasta? 3 cups of liquid seems like a lot, does it turn out too liquidy?
Karina, it does seem like a lot, but it’s really not! If you pre-cook the pasta, you’d have to adjust probably the entire recipe liquid wise….
All of the liquid gets absorbed for the most part. What’s left ends up being the sauce.
Thanks for sharing! Perfect timing! I have a pound of ground beef and was needing a way to cook it up 🙂
Hope you enjoy it Gabby!
Just tried this tonight with ground venison and it was a huge hit. I doubled the meat in the recipe and had to keep adding a little more liquid so it wouldnt stick and the macaroni would get done. Also added a little more of each of seasonings since venison has a more “wild/gamey” taste. Delicious! I don’t buy ground beef a lot since we have a freezer full of ground venison and i am always looking for new creative ways to use up the venison. I can see this being added to the meal rotation for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! I have never actually had venison, but I bet that tasted awesome!
Perfect! Just was looking for something to do with my ground venison! Thanks for the tip on x2 the spices.
This is so delicious & a million times better than the boxed hamburger helper! When are you supposed to add the cornstarch, though?
I came here from pinterest and I would like to try this, but I’m not seeing when to add the cornstarch either?
I just made this tonight, and I assumed the cornstarch went with adding the “spices”. I did that and it turned out fine. I would add a bit more of each spice next time and add a little less cheese for a less “cheddar-y” flavor.
Hello colleagues, how is the whole thing, and what you want to say about this article, in my view
its in fact amazing for me.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was very good. I wont be buying the boxed stuff anymore. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I am eating this as we speak! Very yummy. I buy my pasta in bulk from Sam’s Club, so my package was 16oz, didn’t measure it at all, but I did find myself having to add more water and milk. I just went between the two, add some milk, let it cook, add some water, let it cook, and so on and so forth until my pasta was done! This is a really good recipe! And you know what is in it! Thanks for sharing!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m making two versions of this tonight. One for myself which is using Morningstar “beef crumbles” for my vegetarian self and another pan with regular beef for my family. Can’t wait to try it! Seemed so easy to make 🙂
I hope it worked out well!
Made this for dinner tonight. It was very bland. My husband and I added everything from hot sauce to parmesan to try to flavor it up.
I’m sorry! We did not find it bland at all. I do love to eat mine with ketchup, but that’s a weird quirk I picked up growing up. The rest of my family eats it as specified above.
I agree. This recipe is far from bland. I do add more seasonings and cheese, but that is the beauty of cooking. If you find it bland add more spices and try substituting beef broth for the water. Great recipe. I make this for my husband when I work late or have class.
I used smoked paprika then doubled the onion and garlic powder. The smoked paprika gives it a wonderful flavor. If you know your family likes more flavor I’d double it up and then maybe add some fresh parsley. Everyone has different tastes 🙂
I just made this, but doubled the recipe. Too much liquid! What’d i do wrong?! I doubled Everything so it shouldn’t be a ratio issue. Should I add more cornstarch?
How long did you give it to thicken? It will seem like too much liquid until the pasta soaks it up. You could try more cornstarch to thicken it though. I have never doubled this recipe though 🙁
I don’t know what I did wrong but mine came out very bland. I was so disappointed. I even added extra seasonings and still..nothing..
I’m sorry to say , I had the same experience…
I also added extra spices throughout as well as pepper and salt to taste, still nothing seemed to work. That’s just me and my families opinion(including the man who eats everything).
Mine was bland as well. I tasted the finished product and it was all milk and paprika to my palate. Admittedly, the MSG in the box mix is extremely salty. I think my palate missed the salt, but salt did not help. So, I doubled all of the spices except paprika and added chili powder and cumin. That worked. I won’t try it again, but it sated my craving for Cheeseburger Mac.
I’m sorry 🙁 Maybe I should add in the details that I like to eat mine with ketchup. 😉
Don’t apologize! Nostalgia tastes different to all of us :). You can see that you had many very positive reviews and a couple of blands– a small minority of us just like that MSG taste (which…ugh, gross). Thank you for helping me get my cheese mac without the box and all those preservatives.
Aww you are sweet. Thank you for your kind comment! 🙂
Interesting to note that MSG actually has no flavour, but excites (and then kills) neurons in the brain when ingested which is why we enjoy it so much! It’s essentially a drug…
Added few splashes Worcestershire , 1/4 cup ketchup , 1tsp spicy mustard and more spices and used shredded Colby heaping cup . Tastes great !!!!
Great adds! I might try that spicy mustard next time!
Good stuff! Surprised at how much it taste like hamburger helper (minus all the salty flavor) ! This is def a fav by the BF
Woohoo! I’m glad!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit!! So much so that it went into the recipie book so I can make it again 🙂 So happy to have a healthy alternative to HH. Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful! I’m so glad!
I thought this recipe was great! The only thing I did different was brown the meat a little longer and on higher heat to get that slightly dark brown crusty-ness. Adds so much flavor and when you add the milk and water, you scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the yummy bits. I also added a half tsp more of onion powder and garlic powder. And instead of using salt, I used a tsp of garlic salt. I like things on the saltier side but without using actual salt. This will definitely be a staple in our home now 🙂 Thank you for the recipe!
You are very welcome!!!
You do realize that garlic salt contains “actual salt,” don’t you?
Oh!! And I used SHARP cheddar 🙂
Hello, I made this dish tonight and found it very bland. I added extra cheese and seasoning still bland. I ended up throwing it away.
How foolish to throw away! Just add more of the same seasoning ♀️
I think those who think it’s bland is because they eat a lot of processed food, which will mess up your taste buds due to the sodium, etc.
So unkind to post what she did, so I’ll apologize for her… This was absolutely delicious!
I found it a bit bland for my taste too but we added a chicken bullion and a 1/4 extra milk. So yummy!
Way too much liquid. What did I do wrong.
It could be many things. Did you use enough pasta? Did you drain your meat? Did you let it simmer long enough, etc. Without having cooked it myself I have no way of knowing. Sorry!
Do you cover it when is simmer?
Do you think instead of ground meat, you could use ground sausage?
I definitely think you should. It would be a different taste (not so “cheeseburger”y) but should still be tasty!
I used venison, sauteed onions while I browned the meat, added lawrys salt, a tablespoon of worcester sauce and 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard. I also used sharp cheddar cheese. Yummy!
Thanks for this recipe! My kid was starving and I had everything! I love recipes like that!
Made this twice. Once the way the recipe is written, delicious!! The next time I added some chili beans!! Really good also!! Its a nice spin on the recipe. Yum!
Delicious! Just made this last night. Used half light cream and half evaporated milk and added a tiny bit of taco seasoning. Extremely delicious. I always taste as I go so near the end I felt I needed to throw in a little more seasoning to fit my taste preferences. Oh and I hate to admit it but I also threw in some gooey velvetta cheese with some cheddar. Couldn’t help it. Thanks so much for this recipie.
This recipe was great! I added more noodles and cheese since Im not a huge meat eater and it turned out fine. Reheats well the next day, and I definitely feel better about eating this over the sodium/chemical laden hamburger helper version. Thank you!!
When do I use the cornstarch?
Do I have to use sugar? Can it be optional?
This recipe is awesome! I did a few things different.. Once at my husband’s urging I tried just the hamburger with Velveeta Shells & Cheese, but it was not quite right.. I doubled everything except the pasta, I used shells instead of elbow macaroni.. I did not have enough milk so I used half & half.. And I used Velveeta cheese, because I read the recipe was bland.. I know this isn’t a “health conscience” approach to Cheeseburger Macaroni, I will make adjustments to my diet in another way!
Making this right now and it smell amazing! My husband is so excited to try it, glad to move away from the boxed products!
This looks delicious! But do I have to use cornstarch? I dont have any. And how many does this serve? Thanks!
Just like another person said, my son was so hungry and I had everything on hand. He loved it! I added a squirt of ketchup, 1 beef bouillon and a few dashes of Worcestershire while it was cooking. He ate his with a little Tabasco 🙂
Thank you for the recipe.
I did not need the cornstarch at all.
I made this tonight. It was very good. I doubled the recipe and added about a half teaspoon of Dijon mustard. My husband added ketchup to his. I think next time I will add in onions when I brown the ground beef. Thanks for the recipe. It was a hit with my family.
I have to say, from the other posts about it being bland, I was worried so I amp’d it up a bit. I used beef stock instead of water, I added 2 tsp approx of Kitchen Bouquet at the end and I cooked my hamburger with a tiny bit of bacon grease for a pop of flavor. I gotta say, it was really good and my hubby happily gobbled it up. He ended up sprinkling his with some ancho chile powder in the end b/c he can’t live without some heat in his food. Definitely will be adding this to our rotation. So much better than the box!
WHEN DO U ADD CORNSTARCH….ITS BEEN ASK 10 TIMES…..WHY NO ANSWER… literally in middle of making it…..arggg
This made me laugh so hard…I am skimming through all these comments trying to find that answer. It just keeps getting ignored. I’m just going to leave it out…obviously it’s not important. Ha. Hope it worked out!
It’s right in the recipe instructions!
So, it’s 2 1/2 months after you were making it, so not going to help either of you ladies, but the directions say to add the corn starch when you add the other spices. Maybe it was added in after you were making the recipe, but it is up there. It does look like the printable version doesn’t have it listed, but if you read the actual post with the list of directions, it is there in step 2.
I added it when putting in the milk/water, mixed it with about 1/4 C of the liquid first to get rid of any clumps,
I’ve made this several times, my family loves it. You add the cornstarch with all the spices, pasta, milk and water. The ingredients are listed in the order that you add them. I also add about 3 tbsp or 1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix. We love the cheeseburger ranch hamburger helper, and adding the ranch powder makes this taste amazing! I’m sure you could add regular ranch dressing from the bottle and it would work as well.
I’ve been making my own “hamburger helper” for almost 40 years …I think this might even pre-date the product! LOL What I do is very similar to your recipe, except I always add one can of tomato sauce at the end and mix well. It completely changes the flavor, but in a great way. This has been my go to fast, easy, filling and good meal in a house of guys for decades now. To this day it is the most requested dish when my sons come home for a visit now that they are grown. Try the tomato sauce in the recipe, even if you aren’t a ketchup on everything person…..he difference it makes in the flavor is astonishing.
AWESOME!! I read the comments so I tweaked it a bit. Didn’t have paprika so I added dry mustard, chili powder and Worcestershire sauce. Also used fresh garlic and onion instead of the powders. Added a generous squirt of ranch dressing after the cheese was melted!! My very picky kids asked for seconds! YAY!!!
Guys you add the cornstarch with all of the other dry spices/ingredients. Since everything cooks in one pan I don’t understand the big confusion. It’s just a thickening agent like flour nothing to be afraid of …..
Just made this tonight and it is DELICIOUS!! I never post on recipes but this was so good I had to. I even made 1/2 this recipe and it still turned out perfect. On a side note; I added the cornstarch when I added the spices. I dont know if this is right or wrong but it worked.Great Recipe!
So glad you liked it!
I’ve been playing around with this recipe a lot. We love it with a can of tomato soup & about 1/4 cup of ketchup added in right before i put the cheese in 🙂
This was a huge hit with my family of five. Everyone cleaned their plate tonight. To give it a little more taste I sauteed fresh chopped onion, pressed garlic and mushrooms in butter before adding and cooking the meat. This is like comfort food!
Absolutely DELICIOUS!
I added a can of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chile’s for an extra kick it’s so good! Thanks for a great recipe, my family loves it.
I just made this for tonight’s dinner. Something quick and easy on a Friday night. Man this is good 🙂 I’m pregnant so I’m trying to eat healthy and not eat too much sodium or processed crap that isn’t good for me or the baby. I added a bit more garlic and onion powder and instead of regular salt I replaced it with seasoned salt. Got my approval (which is hard these days) and my boyfriends aswell. He says “babe this is better than actual hamburger helper”. Not bland at all. Will be making again for sure 🙂
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!
i found this recipe on Pinterest last year and have been making it almost weekly ever since. It’s actually cooking right now! I hate the weird after taste in boxes HH. But this recipe is great. I usually about double the onion and garlic and add some extra salt on my serving, my kids gobble it up. I like to use whole wheat elbows and all organic and grass fed ingredients, just my thing, this recipe can be very healthy. Thanks for sharing this recipe, total staple in my home now 🙂
I’m so so glad that you love it and that you have made it your own! Thanks for commenting!
This recipe is great! Thanks so much for sharing. To those who thought it was bland, I added extra cheese to taste and it was more to my liking 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it!
Every time I make this it’s a hit! If you want to make it more flavorful use chicken stock instead of water. I use low or no sodium so I I can put as much salt as I want. It’s even better.
So glad y’all love it!
I just made this and it is delicious! It was perfect.I Just followed the directions exactly.
Thank you!
So much better and tastier than HH. I brown the meat and then add back in the last few minutes, plus sub half of the milk for heavy cream. This is my “easy night” dinner 🙂
After reading comment I knew I need to amp it up while cooking, I added some garlic, and curry powder, amd crushed red pepper flakes to the meat. Also, had crumbled bacon at the end, yum, family of 5 finished their plates here with it, good recipe!
I literally just made this for dinner there isn’t a bite left! Your a genius:) thank you:)
Overall pretty good, but I did find it a bit bland for my taste. Totally amped it up with smoked paprika, Worcester sauce, Dijon mustard and the other spices as per the recipe (doubled those). Salt and pepper to taste and added a dash of dried basil. I did add a bit of extra milk as the macaroni cooked. De-lish!! My boys loved it!
I made this tonight for my family and I have to say I grew up eating hamburger helper that was my Dad’s speciality! And this stuff is great! Lots of flavour and a winner in our house! I type to 5 stars but my phone wasn’t cooperating lol
I made this for dinner tonight – I doubled the onion and garlic powders as well as the paprika. Our family LOVED this. My husband went back for seconds and he never does this. He said it is definitely a keeper – My four year old even finished his plate!
Thank you!
Do you cover the pan when it’s simmering?
I didn’t! I felt like the water wouldn’t cook off if I covered it. It came out perfectly uncovered, although I did add a bit more water as it was cooking. Easier to add more than to try to remove it!
I love this! Tasty dinner in no time! I thought your recipe and directions were perfect. Thanks for sharing! I used sharp cheddar and some jalapeño havarti and it was delicious!
This was SO good! After reading through some of the comments before getting started, I did make some adjustments. I had some bacon to use up, so I chopped/sauteed 6 strips bacon in a dutch oven, removed it and tossed the burger right in to the bacon grease still in the pan. After the burger was browned, I drained it then added it with bacon back to the pot. I had some leftover buttermilk from a couple weeks ago, so I used that in place of the regular milk. I then tripled the garlic/onion powder and used 1 tblsp hungarian smoked paprika, 1 tsp ground sage, 1/2 tsp ground chipotle chile powder, 1/4 tsp seasoned salt, 1 tsp black pepper, 1.5 tblsp ketchup, 2 tsp mustard, 2 tsp worcestershire, and 2 tsp better than boullion chicken paste. Our end resulted tasted just like hamburger helper. My husband had 3 huge servings and between the two of us, there was hardly any left! Thanks for a great recipe that will definitely be thrown into my regular rotation, as these are ALL ingredients that I always have in hand. 🙂
Amazing recipe! I added some grilled onions to my batch and it was a home run with my boys. Thank you!
I supposed with enough ketchup or sriracha anything is good…. but it was very bland without it.
So I haven’t read every comment, but would you maybe consider adding “UNCOOKED pasta” on the ingredient list? I’m sure most people figured it out, but I was in a rush trying to make dinner for my kiddos, and I just assumed the pasta needed to be cooked beforehand, because that’s what most recipes I’ve used call for. I COMPLETELY recognize that it’s my mistake, but maybe adding that one work will help some other poor, frazzled, baby-brained mom like me. 🙂
Made this last night for my family of 6. I sauteed half an onion with 1 1/2 lbs. of beef, upped the noodles and liquid by half a cup each and doubled the spices, it came out very good. Overall the whole meal probably cost me $7 or $8 and we could have eaten off of it twice with a vegetable side dish. I will definitely make again, tasty and economical ! Thanks for posting 🙂
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed it!
This was delicious!! And made enough for lunch tomorrow 🙂
Yum!
SUCH DELICIOUS COMFORT FOOD! I added half an onion when cooking the beef, about 2x the garlic powder to taste, a dash of chili powder, threw in some american cheese in addition to cheddar, and a couple dashes of worcestire and Sriracha to deepen the flavor. It is by no means a fancy dish, but is such a fun way to mix it up and serve something fun for dinner. I HIGHLY SUGGEST ADDING A BIT OF HEAT…whether it be chili powder, hot sauce, sriracha….it really helps bring out the flavor.
Adding hot sauce seems to be a common addition among commenters!
I have tried several of the homemade hamburger helpers. They have all turned out very good. So I am looking forward to trying this one. Since I have tried others I am giving this one five stars because I know it will be just as good.
My husband and I are anti box anything due to unknown preservatives. I do sometimes miss the ease of box meals. This was just as easy and quite yummy. Pretty sure this will become my go to easy meal. Thank you for sharing!
This is a good base recipe…for extra flavor I added some ketchup and mustard as well as I seasoned the meat with hamburger seasoning.
I made this tonight and it was delicious we are having a snow day- 20 inches of snow today. It made our snow day perfect. Think I may add a little bit of sour cream next time so many options for this receipe but it does taste just like hamburger helper lol
I have this cooking right now! It smells and looks amazing! I did add some ketchup and worchestershire to it. I am totally going to make up bags of premeasure season and pasta for a “box” kinda meal!
I just made this tonight and it was perfect. I added about 1/4 cup more milk while cooking. Yes it would have been bland if I had not added spices to my tasting, but everyone is different. add the spices you like and make it your own. I added a chicken bullion cube, about 2 tablespoon garlic and onion powder, 1 tablespoon paprika and salt and pepper to taste. I also seasoned the meat while it was cooking. The cornstarch thickened everything right up and I added a tiny bit of Velveeta to make it a little more creamy too. This was fast and easy and delicious and better than the box hamburger helper. I will be making this again for sure! Thank you for the recipe!
This was so easy! I love that you just throw everything in the pan after browning the meat. I did double it without any problems. I did not leave the lid on while cooking it. I hit it with just a sprinkle of cayenne and added almost 2 cups of raw broccoli the last 4 minutes of cooking to make a complete meal in one pan. Excellent, simple and easy. A keeper!
I’ve tried a million recipes trying to find my grandmothers. I found yours, it was similar, and I gave it a shot. So glad I did, bc I added a tsp ground mustard, and a knorrs bullion cube and it was official. This is being added to our monthly menu! Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful! I love recreating nostalgic meals <3
I added a tomato paste cube and chili powder and it tasted so delicious. My hubby said it was better than hamburger helper.
I also grew up on Hamburger Helper & when my husband & I were in the beginning stages of our life together we also ate it. My husband still loves hamburger Helper however, I stopped buying it years ago. Thanks to your recipe & the Banza pasta we can all enjoy the flavor w/o all the processed crap or heavy startch filled noddles!!! Thanks so much for your recipe!!
You are very welcome!
I threw in a few slices of cooked chopped bacon and it was awesome!!
I mean, bacon does make everything better!
I loved it. I added a green pepper and a chopped red onion in stead of the onion powder. It’s better than the box I usually make. I’ll be making it again.
I used beef broth instead of water, doubled the seasonings and liquid since I used more pasta and left out the sugar. Also sauted an onion and garlic with the hamburger. Turned out pretty good.
THIS WAS AMAZING!!!! I put a bit less macaroni and adjusted the seasonings and it came out better than Hamburger Helper! ❤
This was a great recipe! I cooked my pasta separately bc I used egg noodles and it was fabulous. I also used a little bouillon.
Ooh, I bet it would taste good with egg noodles.
Use beef stock in place of the water or a couple beef bouillon cubes!!
I added some hot pepper and about 1 1/2 cups of cheese an it turned out very good
Thanks for the recipe
I doubled the garlic, onion, and paprika, and added some red pepper, a TON of cheese plus some Worcestershire sauce and serving it up now. It’s going to be a hit.
Yum!
Seriously, one of my favorite recipes! We used to eat it regularly and then it slipped off the menu and out of mind. Was so excited to “rediscover” it tonight, thanks for a great meal!
I made this with Yves Mexican veggie ground and it was awesome!! Kids loved it
I’ve made this a few times now. My husband absolutely loves it! It is a little bland so tonight I tried 1 tsp of smoked paprika. Turned out fantastic! Again the husband loved it. It just gave it that little something it was missing. Thanks for the great recipe!
I just made this for dinner tonight and I think it tastes great! I followed the recipe but did add a little extra paprika, noodles, and milk. I had a half a can of evaporated milk from something else I was cooking so I threw a splash in. I then decided to add maybe 1/4 cup sharp white cheddar. I think the sharpness of the cheddar really made a difference. I think regular sharp cheddar would be great, I just had white from a previous recipe.
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
If i dont have corn starch could i use flour??
I used 1 T flour instead of the cornstarch, and it turned out great! I did let it cook a bit with the meat and spices before adding in the liquid to prevent raw flour flavor.
I made a huge pan of the macaroni/cheese/burger. Used 2lbs meat, 1 1/2 c pasta. Prepared the pasta separately. When it was 1/2 cooked I dumped out most of the water and added the 2c of milk and brought heat back up to boil. I then added it to the burger with 3x the spices. It was fantastic!
This is so good!!! Eating it right now. I added an extra teaspoon of onion powder and a little Worcestershire sauce. Yum! Will definitely make this again!
I added about 3 tablespoons of butter and a little extra garlic powder. It was delicious!
I want to say thank you for the nostalgic recipe. To me, it tasted just like I remember it when my mom used to make it for me when I was little! Thank you so much Heather! =)
Omg, this recipe is excellent! I doubled the paprika, and 1.5x the onion and garlic powder. I used beef broth instead of water and mini farfalle noodles. I also added a little mozzarella for the gooiness. You also definitely need to salt and pepper to taste. Kids loved it!
This was very good; thank you for the recipe. I only used a half pound of beef because we are trying to cut back on meat and it was delicious. I grew up on cheeseburger macaroni and this was so much better. And you do need to add salt and pepper-to taste, and then it is not bland at all.
Did this recipe strictly except used almond unsweetened milk And it was very bland. Fixed it again last night but added a green pepper, used beef broth instead of water, used 1 1/2 c heavy cream and 1/2 almond milk and uses the Weber brand steak and chop seasoning which omitted all the powdered seasoning except paprika. Turned out amazing and my family of four was getting seconds (even my picky four year old).
Did this recipe strictly except used almond unsweetened milk And it was very bland. Fixed it again last night but added a green pepper, used beef broth instead of water, used 1 1/2 c heavy cream and 1/2 almond milk and uses the Weber brand steak and chop seasoning which omitted all the powdered seasoning except paprika. Tod course a lot more cheese and no sugar. Turned out amazing and my family of four was getting seconds (even my picky four year old).
How does this compare “taste wise” to how HH used to taste in the 80’s before BC changed the recipe, if you grew up in the 90’s don’t answer, you have no idea how great HH used to taste
My husband loves HH…and I HATE it! He begs me to make it. Sorry but it makes me gag! ♀️It must be all the preservatives in it because this recipe is delicious!! I told him this is going to be what he gets from now on and the packages in the pantry are going in the trash!!
I just made this and it came out great though I did tweak it by adding more spices, a can of drained diced tomatoes as well as boiled the noodles separately and made a cheese sauce with butter, flour, milk, half and half and less water before mixing the cheese sauce with the hamburger mixture before adding it both to the cooked pasta and to some thawed frozen cauliflower for a low carb option for my diabetic dad.
My family loved it! Particularly my older brother who is usually ‘meh’ about things like hamburger helper but he is requesting it again! I love that it’s both cheap and nostalgic at the same time.
Instead of water I used beef broth and it added great flavour to it without having to add all the extra seasonings, definitely a recipe I will be using again and again.
Made it!! Everyone ate seconda, which is saying something. My son is super picky!! I added a small block of velveeta. Super cheesy!!! Thanks for the recipe!!! Great stuff!!