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Homemade Hamburger Helper
Easy recipe to make hamburger helper at home.
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
American
Prep Time
5
minutes
minutes
Cook Time
20
minutes
minutes
Total Time
25
minutes
minutes
Servings
10
servings
Calories
394
kcal
Author
Kate @ I Heart Eating
Ingredients
1 ½
pounds
lean ground beef
1
cup
finely diced yellow or white onion
16
ounces
dry elbow macaroni pasta
3
cups
beef or chicken broth
28
ounce
can crushed tomato
1/4
cup
tomato paste
1/4
cup
plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1
teaspoon
dried Italian seasoning
1
teaspoon
garlic powder
1/2
teaspoon
dried onion powder
1/2
teaspoon
chili powder
Salt and pepper
2
cups
shredded sharp cheddar cheese
plus extra for topping
Instructions
Heat a Dutch oven or large deep skillet over medium-high heat.
Add beef, and cook until browned.
Drain ground beef, and return to skillet.
Stir in onion, and, stirring regularly, cook until just softened, about 3 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT cheese, and stir to combine.
Bring to simmer, and reduce heat to medium-low. You want the mixture to simmer gently, not boil.
Cook for about 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed but mixture is still saucy. At this point, the pasta should be al dente.
Stir in cheese.
Sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired.
Remove from heat, and serve.
Notes
Ground beef:
I like to use either 85% or 90% lean ground beef in this recipe. You could also use ground turkey or even ground chicken if you prefer.
Pasta:
You can use a similar type of pasta, but you may find that you need to adjust the cooking time depending on the type of pasta that you use.
Broth:
I like to use reduced-sodium broth in this recipe.
Greek yogurt:
If you prefer, you can use 2% or full-fat plain Greek yogurt, regular sour cream, and lite sour cream in this recipe.
This recipe uses Greek yogurt (or sour cream) rather than milk. The yogurt adds just a bit of creaminess without thinning the sauce like milk would.
Cheese:
You can also use a similar cheese, such as mild cheddar or extra sharp cheddar.
Dutch oven:
If you don't have a Dutch oven, you can use a similar, large pot (at least 5 quart) instead.
Cooking:
In order to keep the pasta saucy, it's important to keep it at a simmer. If you boil the pasta, you may end up with dry pasta.
I sprinkled a little chopped fresh parsley over the pasta to brighten it up for the pictures. It isn't necessary for the finished dish.
Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
Serving:
1
serving
|
Calories:
394
kcal
|
Carbohydrates:
43
g
|
Protein:
28
g
|
Fat:
12
g
|
Saturated Fat:
6
g
|
Cholesterol:
66
mg
|
Sodium:
392
mg
|
Potassium:
651
mg
|
Fiber:
3
g
|
Sugar:
5
g
|
Vitamin A:
525
IU
|
Vitamin C:
9.9
mg
|
Calcium:
213
mg
|
Iron:
3.8
mg