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!
3 Helpful66 reviews
Kids loved it! Adults liked it a lot too. Used asparagus instead of green beans because that's what we had - worked well. Did double the spices.
0 HelpfulSo delicious!! Will for sure make again. Used half a cup less milk and 2tbsp of tomato paste instead of sundried tomatoes like the other reviews said.
0 Helpfulthe vegetarian version was excellent, only had cream in the house so did 3/4c cream and 2 cups of broth. Immersion blended the sauce because my partner doesn't like lentil texture, but we both loved the flavor (a win!). Could have used 1.5x pasta, it made a lot of sauce.
0 HelpfulSubstituted vegan crumbles for the ground meat and threw in a little spinach and this was delicious! I will definitely be making this again. Might add a little more spice next time.
0 HelpfulI used the proportions from the recipe, but cooked the pasta in the sauce. I did it for the amount of time on the pasta bag, but it was juuuust a little too al dente for my taste. Next time I'll do it for 2 minutes longer than the bag says. Flavor was amazing, no problem with the sauce thickening.
0 Helpful