Homemade hamburger helper is easy to make in minutes and you likely already have the ingredients in your kitchen!
I grew up eating Hamburger Helper, throwing lawn darts at my siblings, and seeing how many stylish new scars I could get from crashing my bike. Fast forward twenty-five years and lawn darts are illegal, kids can’t hop on a bike without first being bubble-wrapped, and my natural health-obsessed mother would probably only confess to feeding us processed food from a box upon being waterboarded with toxin-ridden city tap water.
Times have certainly changed, but let’s be honest, Hamburger Helper is still a guilty pleasure for many of us. However, if my mom has taught me anything, we don’t have to reach for the box full of mystery ingredients. You can make your own homemade Hamburger Helper with REAL ingredients from your pantry, and best of all, the meal is still quick and dead simple! I think my mom would approve.
What is Hamburger Helper
If you have been living under a rock for your whole life, or have just been released from a North Korean prison camp, you may not have heard about Hamburger Helper. Hamburger Helper is a popular one-pot meal in a box consisting of pasta, seasonings and a sauce. The home cook simply needs to brown hamburger in a skillet and add the boxed ingredients for a hassle-free family dinner.
There are many flavors of Hamburger Helper, but my recipe is inspired by the Beef Pasta Hamburger Helper. I did not attempt to replicate the flavor exactly, but rather create a better tasting meal that is just as easy.
How to Make Hamburger Helper
Hamburger Helper is made by browning meat in a skillet (I find a saute pan works best) -affiliate link-, then adding a seasoning packet, noodles, and liquid to the pan and simmering until the sauce has thickened and the noodles are tender.
Homemade Hamburger Helper
My Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe takes the same approach, although the ingredients used are of much higher quality. I use fresh onions and garlic rather than dehydrated, and beef broth instead of water for a much richer flavor. A seasoning mixture of paprika, black pepper, mustard, garlic, and onion powder adds a lot of flavor to the sauce while cornstarch is used as a thickening agent.
Feel free to customize the ingredients further to fit your tastes. Mushrooms and peppers are great additions, you can even swap out the meat for leaner proteins like turkey or chicken.
What to Make with Hamburger Meat for Dinner
This homemade hamburger helper is not the only easy dinner recipe you can whip up for your family. Try making homemade sloppy joes or these easy meatball subs as well. Otherwise, making the world’s best meatloaf recipe or simply classic homemade hamburgers will always be crowd pleasers as well!
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean Ground Beef
- 1/2 medium Onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups uncooked Egg Noodles
- 1 tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon ground Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground Mustard Powder
Instructions
- Place ground beef and chopped onion in a saute pan on medium heat and cook until beef is browned and onion is tender. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute, until garlic is fragrant.
- Add all remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 10 minutes, or until sauce has thickened and noodles are tender.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
If you enjoyed my Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe then you should probably like me on Facebook and follow me on Pinterest too. That’s what I would do at least, because if you don’t get to know me but you still use my recipe it is kind of like taking candy from a stranger, and your mom taught you not to do that. Don’t disobey your mom, subscribe to Fox Valley Foodie today.
Sue says
Love your blog on Homemade Hamburger Helper! We were a family of 7 growing up, so anything “boxed” was a rarity. Our moms thought alike! Thank you!
Carrie I says
Love this recipe, so much better than a box!
Smaggy says
Where is the cheese?
Kimberly says
The beef noodle doesn’t have cheese in it. It’s essentially pasta, hamburger, and brown gravy. This is a really good recipe that should come out even better than the boxed stuff. There are recipes for cheeseburger macaroni. You can use the same base spices and cornstarch,macaroni, then use 1/2 water and half milk, plus some shredded cheddar. The beef broth would make it too rich.
Teresa Doyle says
This sounds absolutely delicious!My husband and I both hunt and this time of year I begin to look for recipes that I can make and either freeze or make quickly. (As I have told HIM, when we get home, I am cold, tired and hungry too!) So I like to have healthy meals prepped in advance that I can cook while I am warming up and we can discuss our day with a beer. LOL (True story! HAHA)
Thanks for sharing your great recipes!
Renee Vaughn says
This is so absolutely delicious. Made this last night, big hit with the family. Definitely will be making this one again. Not to mention, it’s super easy to make, and economical. No more processed hamburger helper.