Homemade Cheeseburger macaroni is just about as easy as the boxed mix with lots of cheesy homemade flavor. Best of all, it’s on the table in less than 30 minutes!
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights For Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Flavor: On the table in less than 30 minutes, the homemade version of Hamburger Helper has an easy seasoned cheese sauce.
- Recipe tip: Once the pasta is cooked, remove it from the heat before adding the cheese. This keeps the cheese from separating.
- Recommended tools: I love this meat chopper for cooking ground meat.
- Budget tip: Add extra pasta and sauce to stretch it even further. This recipe can also be made with less meat.
- Time-Saving Tip: Pre-shredded cheese can be used in this recipe, the sauce will not be quite as smooth, but still delicious.
Ingredients for Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Ground Beef – Choose lean ground beef and drain off any fat after cooking. Substitute with ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Sauce – The pasta is simmered with seasonings in chicken broth and milk until tender. Beef broth can be substituted, but we find chicken broth to give the best flavor.
- Cheese – Once the pasta is tender, stir in the cheese. A bold cheese like sharp cheddar cheese adds the most flavor. Try any cheese, but be sure at least one has a sharp, bold flavor.
Variations
- Swap the milk for light cream for extra creaminess or stir in a little sour cream or Greek yogurt before serving for a little tang.
- Change up the seasonings with a tablespoon of tomato paste or 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard.
- Add fresh vegetables like onion, celery, or tomatoes.
Serving Suggestions and Storage
There are a variety of flavors of Hamburger Helper; this version is a copycat cheeseburger macaroni recipe. I like to serve it with a simple and colorful side dish to complement the cheesy, meaty richness. Try steamed broccoli or peas and carrots.
- Cheeseburger macaroni will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Add a little bit of milk when reheating if needed.
- Store for up to 4 months in the freezer. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop until heated through.
Easy One Pot Ground Beef Dinners
Did your family enjoy this Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ cup finely diced onion or 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 cups milk
- 1 ¼ cup chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups elbow macaroni
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 ¾ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, garlic powder, sugar, salt, paprika, and pepper. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the ground beef and onion, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no pink remains. Drain any excess fat.
- Add milk, broth, and uncooked elbow macaroni to the beef. Stir the cornstarch and spice mixture. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to a gentle boil, cover and cook for 9-12 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through, stirring occasionally. If needed, add more broth or water.
- Remove from heat and stir in cheese until melted. Serve hot.
Video
Notes
- Depending on the brand of pasta and the size of the pan, you may need a little bit more or less liquid. Add extra broth or water as needed.
- Mild cheddar doesn’t have enough flavor for this dish.
- Remove the skillet from the heat before adding the cheese.
- For a little extra kick, add a dash of hot sauce, or some red pepper flakes.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Casserole, Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
This is awesome! I had a hankering for some kind of homemade cheeseburger macaroni tonight and didn’t know whether that was a thing. I was going to make it up with a cheese sauce from a roux, but that would have been weird and higher in calories. The way you did it with milk and chicken broth/water is ingenious! And true to the box recipe. Brilliant!
I love the comments about adding Dijon or broccoli. Both changes sound yummy. I made it as written. It’s perfect for me as written. I can’t respect people that make a recipe and call it bland. If you don’t know how to cook, that’s on you! A recipe is a guide. If you think your finished dish is bland, add more of the spices in the recipe. The fact that no one called out that theirs was runny, their noodles were over/undercooked, or anything else proves that this is a well written recipe. And in fact, I made the spices as indicated in the recipe, and they were perfect. If any of your complainers have ever tried writing a recipe, it is super difficult to do and sometimes requires making the dish multiple times to get everything in the recipe accurate, and Holly, you did an awesome job of both inventing this dish, and correctly documenting the process. I need to dive into my dinner now. Thank you!!!!!
I’m so glad you love the cheeseburger macaroni! Enjoy your dinner!
Hi, Holly, I did enjoy it, and bought more hamburger, cheese and noodles to make it again. Thanks again!
I only had mild cheddar instead of sharp cheddar and I read that some people thought it was bland even WITH the sharp cheddar, so I added some burger seasonings to the raw meat first and it turned out great!
1 tsp onion salt (because I also didn’t have any fresh onion)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 T Worcestershire sauce (or 1 T of soy sauce might also work here)
Thank you for sharing Erin. So glad you loved it!
This was really bland. I added Season All, which helped, but my son took one taste and spit it out. Not good at all. I’m going to try the Velveeta version next time.
I’m sorry to hear that your family didn’t love this macaroni as much as mine does. Maybe you’d prefer to try the Cheesy Taco Skillet or Cheesy Fiesta Skillet, both made with Velveeta.
Hi!!! Just thought you should know that I enjoyed this recipe. I did follow the direction but, I taste test my food and I thought it needed salt so I added a 1/2 teaspoon to it. I also, added broccoli to it to give it some veggies and color. My son who has Autism actually ate it! Like Holy Tomatoes! To get him to eat anything is a struggle but, he actually liked it. Will use this again and I may try red bell pepper with it instead of broccoli. <3
LOL! So glad your son loved this recipe… I love the addition of broccoli, thank you for sharing!
I’m not finding the measurements for the sugar, peprika, and garlic powder in the recipe. Can you let me know ?
Thanks
1 teaspoon each garlic powder sugar and paprika. Hope that helps!
Unfortunately, I found this bland. I used sharp cheddar and chicken broth. Added extra garlic powder and paprika at the end to try to perk it up and then seasoned salt, but it was just blah. I thought it didn’t look all that appetizing in the pan either. I didn’t sprinkle parsley because of potential child revolt at the discovery of green things. I really wanted an easy hamburger pasta recipe that didn’t have ketchup or tomato sauce but this wasn’t it.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, we LOVE this easy recipe!
Definitely add Dijon mustard, soo delicious!
This was super easy & so good!! Bonus that I already had all the ingredients at home.
So glad you loved it!!
Thank you. I cannot say thanks enough. I have an almost 10mo baby boy (my 3rd and final child some 18 years after the last!) who is now eating dinners with us. I’ve been struggling to find easy and quick meals that are not processed and also not just plain meat and vegetables. My older kids and husband all love hamburger helper but I just can’t cook that stuff (containing unknown ingredients and sodium galore!) anymore now that the baby is eating with us. Anyway, I used mini shells for ease of gum mashing for baby and it turned out perfect! Everyone LIVED it. Sorry to rant on and on. I don’t usually leave reviews or comments and just keep to myself but I just HAD to personally thank you.
Thank you for letting me know how much your family enjoyed the Cheeseburger Macaroni Deborah! An easy dish for a busy mom, with hungry kiddos!
I wanted to love this but it was just ok… I’m happy that it was quick and easy and I appreciate that the recipe didn’t have a million ingredients but I’m also a little annoyed that I used expensive organic meat and cheese and the dish isn’t anything special flavor-wise. Maybe I should’ve paid more attention to the reviews stating that. :( I don’t think my toddler will be impressed, either…
This is definitely one of my favorites, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy it!! Did you use the seasonings included in the recipe (garlic powder etc)? Was your cheddar a sharp cheese?
Did you make this with chicken broth or water? The broth adds a lot of great flavor too.
I made the recipe as stated but used beef broth and added Worcester sauce. At the end it was fairly bland as others have said so I added more of the seasonings and some salt. I also stirred in some peas at the end. My kids were very happy with the end result. It tasted like hamburger helper and was nice and creamy. I really think you should add salt to the recipe even if it is just the old salt and pepper to taste kind of thing. Most of the negative reviews would undoubtedly be positive with the addition of salt.
I used to make this all of the time, but also added a can of stewed tomatoes! So good.
Yum!
I have pretty much the same recipe. Never have made it but mine never calls for any cheese weird because it is CHEESEBURGER skillet macaroni. Right? Now in the directions it says stir in cream cheese and cheddar cheese until melted and creamy sauce has formed. Not sure how much to use of each?
I made this tonight with Beef Broth and Rice milk. I added mushrooms when cooking the meat and 1/5 packet of beef onion soup mix. Came out kinda like a stroganoff.
Made this tonight and made it pretty much as written! I used ground chicken ( kids do not like ground beef) and noticed people were commenting it needed salt so I added 1/2 tsp seasoning salt. I also used half cheddar cheese , half Valveeta and because I am strange and need veggies in everything I added a whole head of broccoli :) kids asked for thirds! Even my extra picky two year old licked the bowl!!
Haha, great to hear! :D Thank you!
Don’t have anything to compare it to but It was good. It was not enough to feed 2 adults and 2 teenagers so double it if you have a family of 4 or serve it with a side.
Great recipe! One of my husband’s favorites!
Mine too Meredith!! It’s so good!!
Can I freeze this?
I haven’t tried freezing this recipe.
What did you garnish it with?
A little sprinkle of parsley.
I’ve made this recipe twice in the last week the first time with chicken broth and today with water. Wayyyyy better with chicken broth. Both times it was delicious and the left overs are even better!
Great suggestion, Sarah! Thanks for sharing.
Omg, I pinned this recipe a while ago & finally made it tonight – one word, AMAZING!!!!!! So easy & perfect for the fam (just needed a touch of salt at the end). Thank you so much, will be looking for more of your recipes to make in the future :)
– Heather
ps – I love wine & cheese too!
So glad you and your fam loved it!! :) And cheers.. wine & cheese is the best!