Real Food Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Pasta

Everyone loves this Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Pasta, made with real food ingredients! If you love traditional cheeseburger pasta, you’ll flip for this healthier pasta recipe. 

Is homemade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Pasta healthy?

Yep, I went there. I made a dry mix to replace the chemical-filled box of processed powdered cheese and pasta.  This homemade Hamburger helper cheeseburger pasta recipe is healthier than anything you will make from a boxed mix.

Now, most folks will use ground beef to make this recipe, and that’s totally fine if that’s your preference. However, I can’t stand the taste of beef, so I use ground turkey and it is very, very good. There were exactly zero complaints from Mini Chef at the dinner table.

As for the cheese sauce, this recipe may not be “healthy” enough for some of you out there. I say this because of the extra fat content in real cheese and whole milk. But, the proper way to make this a clean eating recipe requires those ingredients. Even so, it is a far cry healthier than the boxed stuff. I encourage the use of good quality, grass-fed beef if you are going to use it.

ABOUT THE CHEESE

There was a time when I would also encourage avoiding orange cheddar and opting for white instead. But after some research, I found that cheddar is colored with Annatto seed, not food coloring in the traditional, chemical sense. So I went ahead and used the orange stuff here. I leave it up to you to make that decision for yourself, but as far as I understand it, the coloring is natural. That being said, I do encourage you to try to avoid the pre-shredded packages of cheese because they add anti-caking agents to shredded, packaged cheese. Just a block of cheddar you can grate at home should do the trick quite nicely.

I have to say, despite my avoidance of dairy, I did give this a try and it is downright delicious. Complete and total comfort food that is easy to make and will make the kids happy. Can’t argue with that!

HOMEMADE CHEESEBURGER PASTA RECIPE NOTES

To make this healthier pasta recipe, you will need the ingredients listed in the recipe card below, as well as the ingredients for the clean eating hamburger helper mix.

Use 1 tablespoon of the dry mix for mildly flavored pasta or 2 tablespoons for a more full-bodied flavor, like the real Hamburger Helper dry mix.

If you want to try it both ways, you can start with 1 tablespoon and add in more after all the cooking is done, or simply adjust to taste.

ADD-INS

If you want to make this recipe even healthier, stir in some cooked or frozen vegetables towards the end of the cooking time. Any of these choices will add nutritional value and delicious taste, too!

• Broccoli
• Mushrooms
• Spinach
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Brussels sprouts

Ingredient Checklist

1 tbsp. olive oil – You can use any oil you like, olive oil is just what I happened to have on hand.

1 lb. ground beef or turkey – I used ground turkey.

1 tbsp. homemade hamburger helper mix – Get the recipe here.

2 cups milk – You can use any type you like. I used whole milk. Non-dairy milk is fine too as long as it’s unsweetened.

1 cup water

2 cups dry whole-grain macaroni – You can use any shape pasta you prefer. Rotini works great.

2 cups cheddar cheese – You can mix this up a bit if you like. Things like using a ½ cup of parmesan or another favorite cheese.

How To Make Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Pasta

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet (one with a lid) and brown the beef or turkey.

Stir in the milk, water, pasta, and seasoning mix.

Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.

Stir in your cheese and keep stirring until it has melted and you have a cheesy sauce.

Now you can adjust your seasonings with salt, pepper, or even more seasoning mix if you prefer a stronger flavor.

Cool slightly and serve.

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OTHER HEALTHY PASTA RECIPES

If you love this healthier homemade Hamburger Helper recipe, here are some other healthier pasta recipes to try.

• Vegetable Pasta Scramble
• Mexican Pumpkin Rotini
• Friendship Pasta

Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Pasta