Homemade Hamburger Helper
🍝 Homemade Hamburger Helper: childhood dinner reinvented in one pot Looking for homemade Hamburger Helper that tastes a million times better than the box? You found your recipe. One pot, medium-lean ground beef, pasta that cooks right in the sauce, a good sharp cheddar that melts into everything. Dinner on the table in 30 minutes flat. Skip the seasoning packet with its unpronounceable ingredients: with fresh ingredients, no powder, no preservatives, you won’t believe how much better it is. 🧀 What makes this version addictive The secret is three things: medium-lean ground beef (a bit more fat = way more flavor), a good quality sharp cheddar (Black Diamond Extra Sharp or store brand, or even go wild with Perron cheese. You’ll find it hallucinating), and a rich sauce built with a good beef broth and Hunt’s tomato sauce (my trusted brand). The pasta cooks right in it, soaking up all the flavor, and the cheese added at the very end coats every bite. Creamy, flavorful, comforting. Pure joy in a pot. 💡 Weeknight dinner, office lunch, quiet home meal This recipe is the savior of rushed evenings with hungry kids. Thirty minutes start to finish, everyone loves it, leftovers reheat beautifully for lunch the next day (a splash of milk or cream to bring back the creaminess and you’re golden). Serve with a garlic bread and an arugula salad to cut through the richness. You’re in business. This is the recipe you pull out when you just want good comforting food, no fuss, no pressure.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut in mini cubes (1 cup (250 ml))
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 big garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, cut in mini cubes (1 cup (250 ml))
- 1 lb medium-lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) paprika
- 1 1/2 cup (375 ml) milk
- 1 1/2 cup (375 ml) low-sodium beef broth
- One can (398ml) Hunts tomato sauce
- 450 g uncooked rotini
- 2 cups (500 ml) sharp cheddar grated
- Salt and ground pepper
Instructions
- 1
--- Préparation ---
- 2
In a big sauce pan at medium heat, add olive oil along with carrots, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, stir then cook for 5 minutes while stirring often.
- 3
Add the zucchini and continue cooking for 3 minutes.
- 4
Add the beef and cook for 3-4 minutes or until slightly pink. Drain off fat.
- 5
Except for the cheese, add the rest on the ingredients then season with salt and pepper. Stir well, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until pasta are cooked al dente. ***If all liquid is evaporated but pastas are not cooked entirely, add about 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk, stir then continue cooking for a few minutes.
- 6
Remove from heat and add the cheese. Stir to melt and serve immediately! You want it even creamier? Pour some more milk then stir again!
Cook it from the original
This recipe comes from lecoupdegrace.ca. Their page has the author’s own photos, notes and tips — the best place to cook it from.
Open the recipe on lecoupdegrace.ca