Homemade Hamburger Helper
After busy weeknights, we deserve a comforting, hearty, and cheesy dish on the table, and that's precisely what the Homemade Hamburger Helper achieves! Made with macaroni pasta, ground beef, and cheese, this one-pot dish is a cozy, classic favorite that's even better than the boxed version!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 and ½ cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Brown the ground beef and use a spatula or spoon to break the meat up into small pieces.
- Drain the fat from the meat, reserving 2 tablespoon of fat to sauté the onions. Transfer the cooked ground beef into a bowl and set aside.
- In the same skillet, sauté the onions for 4-5 minutes of until translucent.
- Add the flour to the onions and cook for 1-2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste from the flour. Stir in the heavy cream and mix well with the flour to form the roux for the sauce. It will be a little lumpy at first but will loosen up as you stir.
- Once the roux is ready add the ground beef back to the pan along with the broth, tomato sauce, macaroni, and spices. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and cover with a lid. Stir occasionally to make sure the noodles are covered with sauce and cook evenly and nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
- Stir in the cheese and once it has melted you can dish up and serve the pasta.