This homemade cheeseburger macaroni recipe is made with whole, clean ingredients, tastes better than the boxed stuff and is ready in 20 minutes!
Sometimes it’s those simple comforts that hit the spot best.
I grew up in health-conscious home where things like Hamburger Helper were only served on very rare occasions. Ā And I’m grateful for a mom who took the time to cook healthy, wholesome meals for her family. Ā I now do the same. Ā But on those rare occasions we certainly enjoyed those quick, less-than-healthy meals. Ā Let’s face it, they taste pretty good. Ā I specifically recollect those moments of eating Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni and Tuna Casserole. Ā Probably because it was so infrequent.
So here is a version of it you can eat and enjoy without any worry about of the nasty ingredients that typically accompany pre-prepared foods.
Like this ingredient list below from Hamburger Helper’s Cheeseburger Macaroni – you don’t have to worry about any of those items I’ve emphasized in bold:
“Enriched Macaroni (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Corn Starch, Salt, Enriched Flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Sugar, Ricotta Cheese* (whey, milkfat, lactic acid, salt), Tomato*, Monosodium Glutamate, Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Modified Corn Starch, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Paprika, Spice, Color (yellow lakes 5 & 6, yellows 5 & 6), Mono and Diglycerides, Cheddar Cheese* (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Yeast Extract, Enzyme Modified Blue Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Cream, Whey, Enzyme Modified Cheddar Cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), Butter Oil, Nonfat Milk, Blue Cheese* (milk, salt, cheese cultures, enzymes), Sodium Caseinate, Silicon Dioxide (anticaking agent), Sodium Phosphate, Sodium Citrate, Calcium Caseinate, Enzymes.*Dried”
Now compare that with our ingredient list:
“Macaroni, beef, onions, tomatoes, avocado oil, spices, sugar, flour, milk, beef broth, cheddar cheese”
And that’s including the out-of-box ingredients of beef, milk and broth.
With a clean list of ingredients you can feel good about what you’re feeding your family. Ā Our kids love this cheeseburger macaroni and I don’t have to worry about what’s in it.
Ready for the table in 20 minutes, there simply is NO good reason to every buy the packaged stuff again!
Ready to get cooking?
Let’s get started!
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the ground beef until no pink remains.
Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and add the seasonings and flour.
Add the milk and beef broth and stir.
Stir in the macaroni.
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to medium-low.
Cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until the macaroni is done. Ā I prefer mine a little al dente and check after 9 minutes.
Add the cheese.
Stir until the cheese is melted.
For serving you can garnish it with a little chopped fresh parsley if you like.
Dinner is served.
Enjoy!
PIN ME!
For a fun and tasty variation for autumn, try our Pumpkin Mac and Cheese!
BEST Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni (Hamburger Helper Copycat)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 small onion ,finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour (Gluten Free: dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in the beef broth)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 3/4 cup natural non-MSG beef broth
- 2 cups dried whole wheat elbow macaroni pasta
- (Gluten Free: Use GF Macaroni)
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the ground beef until no pink remains. Add the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, seasonings and flour. Pour in the milk and broth and stir. Stir in the macaroni.
- Bring to a boil then reduce to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the macaroni is done. For al dente check after 9 minutes.
- Stir in the Cheddar cheese until melted.
- Serve immediately garnished with some chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Video
Nutrition
Linda says
Followed the recipe as well as I could since I only had 1 cup whole milk. I added 1 cup reconstituted powder milk and a tsp of butter for the 2nd cup of milk. I was also out of cheddar cheese and subbed cojack and it worked perfectly. And I had to use my Lawreyās garlic salt since I am also out of powder garlic. (I seriously have to quick stalling going to the grocery store!)
This came out so tasty and I know the guys will love it.
Thank you for such a great, quick recipe!!
Kimberly Killebrew says
Thanks so much for the feedback, Linda, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
Lauren says
Great recipe! This has been in our regular rotation for a couple years now. I make it exactly as written except I substitute almond milk for regular milk since my family is a tad lactose intolerant. Still delicious!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Lauren, I’m happy that it’s become a regular! :)
Dani says
This has been my go-to homemade hamburger helper recipe for years now. I stopped eating meat and am going to try this with Beyond Beef ground! Will let you know how it turns out.
Melissa says
This recipe is great! My fiancĆ© used to have Cheeseburger Mac made by his father and it was his favorite dinner. When we moved in together I offered to give it a try, (but I wanted it to be better) and thisā¦by like thousands was way better. There were 4 of us eating this, I used a whole box of shells (b/c thatās what we had) and it was gone! I also omitted the sugar (just personal preference) I added Worcestershire sauce, Cajun seasoning and I used velveeta slices for my cheese! I always take recipes as guidelines and this was delicious!!
Stephanie says
So, I never really follow recipes (I don’t measure) unless I’m baking. That said, this is a pretty solid guideline. I didn’t have any tomato paste so I used some leftover homemade spaghetti sauce I had in the freezer. I didn’t have onion powder so I added extra onion. I used fresh garlic instead of powdered and added a chopped poblano pepper. I had to cut back on the liquid because I used fresh homemade pasta. This recipe is likely just fine as is. The only thing I chose to change is using fresh garlic and adding the poblano which was both about to go bad. More or less it was just to cut down on waste. Although in the end I think the pepper was a nice touch.
Kim says
I wanted something different, so I went with this recipe. I always like to try a recipe as is before tweaking and it is delicious. Admittedly, I added a few extra seasonings for my personal taste; but it was just fine with the flour. Thanks.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kim, thank you!
Vickie says
1 and 1/2 lbs Hamburger, 2 cups dry mac noodles. I boiled noodles in separate pot, drained noodles; added chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder to hamburger then lightly browned it. Added chopped onions when meat was almost done, I did not drain the hamburger as you loose so much flavor if you do…. Added a large can of crushed red tomatoes. Came out PERFECT, and of course the longer you simmer it the thicker it gets (adding the grated cheese thickens it somewhat as well….)I usually set a bowl of grated cheese to the side instead of adding it to the pot because some of my friends and Family prefer cheese in it and some prefer it without cheese. …. It’s Even better the next day! Am I missing something? I am not knocking anyone’s recipe, and I am obviously not a Schooled Chef (just a bit of a Southern Gal!), and I absolutely mean no disrespect, but I’m lost on some of the steps in your recipe… I don’t add water and cook the noodles with the browned hamburger because the water usually makes the hamburger a bit blander tasting and chewy before it evaporates. I also don’t understand why cooking oil is used for browning the hamburger…isn’t there enough fat in the hamburger to cook it without oil? And mine turned out the perfect amount of thickness so I can’t figure out what the flour is for…. Any pointers would be great!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Vickie, if you haven’t tried this recipe as written I recommend it – that way you can make a concrete comparison versus a theoretical one.
Cynthia A Robinson says
I would boil the macaroni separately as well… and I think the meat would get chewy and diminish flavor as well…
I copied your changes… giving this to a friend who LOVES convenience foods, but teaching her to make HEALTHY choices and it has been a struggle. Hoping this helps.
I have a recipe for a Goulash, that I can make the meat sauce and freeze that… cooking the macaroni and defrosting a container of the sauce when ready to eat. THIS is what I need to train my friend to do.
THANKS AGAIN! >3
Cynthia A Robinson says
I also think the flour is added because of the water used to cook the noodles together with the meat… flour cooking it your way… is not necessary… just my opinion.
Juanita says
Before you give a review of a recipe you should try the recipe. While I am sure the recipe you gave is a fine one, it can not be considered a review. BTW, I see no water in the recipe.
Michelle says
It’s really ridiculous to rate a recipe you have never tried. It’s quite smug. Here is what you are missing:
There is no mention of adding water to the beef…not sure where you got that… By boiling the noodles with the beef, spices, etc, they get a chance to absorb all those flavors. And, this is a DIY Hamburger Helper dupe. Hamburger Helper cooked the pasta with the spices and broth in one skillet, much like this recipe. There is a reason the best Italian restaurants undercook their pasta, then finish the cooking in the sauce. FLAVOR. The added flour works with the fat and broth to make a thicker sauce that coats the pasta very well. Maybe you could leave the oil out of your version because you add an extra half pound of beef, which means another tablespoon or two of fat. Just something logical to consider. This recipe is perfect as written.
Kellie Bott says
Hubby wanted Cheeseburger Mac tonight,and I saw this Recipe. I omitted the Sugar and added a bit more of the Spices,Tabasco and Worcestershire Sauce. Hubby is Happy.
Thank you.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
So glad your hubby enjoyed this, Kellie, thank you! :)
Teri says
Love this recipe! But both times Iāve made it, it turns out grainy/curdled. Is there something I did wrong?
Lee Ann King says
Turn the heat off and wait a bit before adding the cheese. That usually helps me when I make things like this. Have a great day.
Sherilyn says
Try skipping the flour instead of broth use 1 cup of water put on a low to med heat with a lid on your pan steam will help cook and keep from clumping …. Another thing you can do is try sprinkling the flour out just adding it than stirring into something hot can make clumps
Josh says
Packaged grated cheese contains cellulose to prevent caking and can cause problems when melting cheese. Try using block cheese.
Jennifer Wood says
Try using block cheese you grate yourself. The preservatives they put on the cheese doesn’t melt very well at all
Tammy Swinney says
This was very good! I did alter it some. I upped some of the spices, added oregano, used chicken instead of beef broth and 3 cups of it. I used 12 oz of macaroni and 2 cups cheese. I also changed up the order a bit based on how I generally cook, I cooked the onions down first then added the tomato paste and spices and cooked that a minute or two. Then I added the need and cooked that. The flour then went in, cooked for 2 min, then the liquids and macaroni.
Dan says
This was great! I had to comment after reading a few posts. Iād think Cheeseburger Macaroni (copycat hamburger helper) all by itself would steer you in a different direction if you were looking for a heart healthy dinner. I ate the boxed stuff when I was a kid and this is light years better so I guess is not really a copycat. Thank you for sharing this, it is definitely going to be in the rotation.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Dan, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Anonymous says
I have been using this recipe to make a quick, easy, delicious meal for my family for quite a while. I use gluten free pasta and it turns out great!
Thea K. says
So good! I didn’t change anything except I didn’t have macaroni noodles so I used shells. The recipe is delicious as is. Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Thea, thanks so much!
Anonymous says
Have made this a few times and there’s never any leftovers. Just a little less sugar and a little more spice makes it perfect for my family. Thank you!