Adult Hamburger Helper
with balsamic roasted broccoli
We're excited to bring back this classic, retro-inspired meal. It's surprisingly simple to make a homemade version of this creamy pasta dish with seasoned ground beef that is even better than what you might remember eating as a kid. This recipe was originally featured in 2015.
Ingredients
- Pasta, fusilli, shells, or elbow - 8 oz
- Garlic - 3 cloves, chopped
- Sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped - 6
- All-purpose flour - 2 Tbsp
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Paprika - 1 tsp
- Garlic powder - 1 tsp
- Oregano, dried - 1/2 tsp
- Parsley, dried - 1/2 tsp
- Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
- Red pepper flakes - 1/4 tsp
- Cheese, cheddar - 1 cup, shredded
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Beef, ground and lean - 1 lb
- Milk - 2 cups
- Stock, any type - 1 cup
- Broccoli - 1 1/2 lbs, florets
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Vinegar, balsamic - 2 tsp
- Red pepper flakes - 1/4 tsp
- Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Boil pasta - (If prepping right before cooking, get oven heating while pasta boils.) Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain. If prepping ahead, toss with some oil to minimize sticking. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Garlic / Sundried tomatoes / Broccoli - Prep as directed. Combine garlic and sundried tomatoes. Store broccoli in a separate container. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make spice mix - Combine flour, salt, paprika, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried parsley, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Cheese - If not pre-shredded, shred cheese.
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Make
- Heat oven to 425F / 218C.
- Toss broccoli with oil (portion for broccoli), vinegar, red pepper flakes, and some salt and pepper. Spread it out on a sheet pan and roast until golden and tender, 20 to 25 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through cooking.
- While broccoli roasts, heat a Dutch oven or large saute pan with oil (portion for hamburger helper) over medium heat. Add garlic and sundried tomatoes and cook until fragrant, ~1 minute. Stir in beef and brown for 7 to 8 minutes.
- Stir spice mix into beef and saute until no dry spots remain, ~2 minutes.
- Pour milk and stock over beef and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens, 8 to 10 minutes more. (If the sauce still seems thin, continue to let it simmer until it is thick and creamy.)
- Remove pan from heat and stir in cheese and pasta until everything is evenly combined. Taste and season with some salt and pepper.
- Finish roasted broccoli with lemon juice.
- Serve hamburger helper with broccoli on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
With the controversy surrounding this meal... I only wanted to wash one pan. So I cooked the pasta in the sauce. Also, I 1.75lb package of ground turkey, so made 6 servings (recipe would have had 1.5lb). Doubled all the spices as per my usual. We are team extra carbs, less sauce, so I used the whole 16oz bag of pasta. I started with liquid according to the instructions, but added more as it cooked and the pasta absorbed the liquid like cooking stove top risotto. Ended up adding 3 extra cups of broth/water, probably could have used a little more liquid. Measured garlic and cheese with my heart. Was very easy and little prep and everyone ate. Win!
1 Helpful59 reviews
This sure beats the boxed stuff! I added a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste because the sun dried tomatoes weren't enough for me. Yum Yum Yum
0 HelpfulWe loved this dish! It was a nice change-up from our typical spaghetti with marinara sauce. Based on other review, I used 1.5 cups of milk instead of 2 cups, and it made a nice, thick sauce.
0 HelpfulI subbed 2 T tomato paste for the sun-dried tomatoes bc I had some to use up and thought it would help with the sauce thickening issues that I read about. My sauce was perfect and my 3 teenage boys woofed this down! Great meal, great flavor!
0 HelpfulThis was very yummy; rich, but delicious. I used julienned sun-dried tomatoes in oil & herbs & used this oil as the cooking oil to sauté. For the spice mix, I have spice-sensitive family members, so replaced cayenne with 1 t. cumin. We also had leftover au jus/liquid/dipping sauce from the recent pot roast and used that as the stock. Taking one star off because like others, our sauce was soupy and did not thicken (though it was delicious!). Like another user, I stirred in some spinach that needed using into the hamburger helper, which was a nice way to boost the veggie content. Forgot to squeeze lemon on the broccoli, but it was tasty without it. Broccoli and hamburger helper were a hit with our 3 year old, which is always a win!
0 HelpfulDelicious. I made the original recipe and made it vegetarian by substituting Impossible Burger ground.
0 HelpfulThis was a huge hit with kids and adults a like. I had 1.3 lbs of ground beef, so I made closer to 6 servings. I used 16 oz of pasta. I had no problem with the sauce thickening-- I added the liquid a little bit of a time, expecting to not use it all, but I did. It was very warm and comforting-- perfect for the winter storms in Texas.
0 Helpful