BEST Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni
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This homemade cheeseburger macaroni recipe is made with whole, clean ingredients, tastes better than the boxed stuff and is ready in 20 minutes! It’s both a family favorite and a favorite among our readers. We’re confident you’ll love it as much as we do!
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. And I’m grateful for a mom who took the time to cook healthy, wholesome meals for her family. I now do the same. But on those rare occasions we certainly enjoyed those quick, less-than-healthy meals. Let’s face it, they taste pretty good. I specifically recollect those moments of eating Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni and Tuna Casserole. 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. 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!
Cheeseburger Macaroni Recipe
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. 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.
Enjoy!
For a fun and tasty variation for autumn, try our Pumpkin Mac and Cheese!
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BEST Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni
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 quality 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
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet February 19, 2016
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
I have an easier way that I’ll be sticking too.
Was that comment really necessary? She is kind enough to show us her recipe, just thank her. Sheesh!
How about you elaborate
Made this for dinner tonight. I followed the recipe and didn’t substitute anything. It was really good, I’ll definitely make this again.
Thank you so much! :)
Just made this for lunch and followed recipe exactly… outstanding! We loved it! I’m sure we’ll use this recipe again and again.
Thank you so much, Beth, I’m happy you enjoyed it! :)
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 Lawrey’s 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!!
Thanks so much for the feedback, Linda, I’m happy you enjoyed it!
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!
Thanks so much, Lauren, I’m happy that it’s become a regular! :)
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.
This recipe is great! My fiancé 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 this…by like thousands was way better. There were 4 of us eating this, I used a whole box of shells (b/c that’s 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!!
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.