Best Beef Pasta Hamburger Helper {without Milk}
Servings: servings
This meaty, creamy pasta dish is the perfect satisfying dinner your entire family will crave! Ditch the box and learn how to make hamburger helper without milk completely from scratch for a healthy dinner any night of the week.
Ingredients
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 2 3/4 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni pasta (I use whole wheat or fiber-enriched)
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and onions to the pot. Cook until the beef has browned (about 7-10 minutes), breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Drain off any excess fat.
- Stir in the tomato paste, smoked paprika, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard.
- Add the beef broth and increase the heat to high to allow it to come to a boil. Once it starts boiling, add in the uncooked macaroni noodles.
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the pasta uncovered until it's tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (about 13-15 minutes), stirring every minute or so.
- While it's cooking, grate the cheese.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese until evenly distributed. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if desired. Allow it to sit for a couple of minutes before serving to soak up the additional liquid and flavor.
Video
Notes
- Be sure to stir the mixture frequently after adding the noodles to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. I typically like to keep an eye on it and stir it every 1-2 minutes as it simmers.
- For a more saucy dish, use 3 cups of broth. If the mixture still seems a little soupy at the end, continue cooking for a bit longer to allow some of the liquid to cook off.
- The hamburger helper tends to get less creamy as it sits since the noodles start to absorb some of the sauce. Add a bit of extra broth and stir before serving to make it creamy again.
- You can make hamburger helper with veggies too! Add in some finely grated or chopped carrot, zucchini, or diced spinach, peppers or mushrooms.
- If making this recipe for babies, you may wish to use a no salt added beef broth and avoid adding salt to limit sodium consumption.
- If serving this meal to older children or adults, you may wish to drizzle on a bit of hot sauce for an extra kick.
Nutrition
Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 452mg | Potassium: 651mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 228IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 153mg | Iron: 3mg
