A classic boxed meal, made healthier and heartier. And guess what? It’s not that much harder to make! Your whole family will love this healthy homemade hamburger helper.
1cupshredded sharp cheddar cheese (we recommend shredding your own)
fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
In a large covered skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, onion, and carrot and cook until beef is browned and onions are translucent, 8 to 10 minutes, breaking up beef as it cooks.
Add tomato paste, flour, chili powder, paprika, parsley, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Keep stirring until tomato paste coats all the meat. Make sure to keep stirring so the tomato paste doesn't burn.
Add tomatoes, broth, and milk and bring to nearly a boil.
Add pasta, stir, reduce heat to medium, and cook, covered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente, stirring occasionally to make sure pasta gets cooked evenly and isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Reduce heat to low; add cream cheese and cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.
Turn off heat, cover, and let set for 5 minutes (this helps the sauce thicken up).
Serve topped with fresh parsley, if desired.
Video
Notes
I recommend using whole milk because milk with lower fat percentage tends to curdle at a higher heat, which you need to cook the pasta. If you don’t have whole milk, use 3 cups (total) broth and increase the cream cheese to 4 ounces to add creaminess at the end.
If you wish, substitute ground turkey, ground chicken, Italian sausage, or ground pork for the ground beef.
If you want to use a can of beef broth (14.5 oz.) instead of 2 cups, just make up the difference with water or more milk (1.5 oz.).
Leftover Hamburger Helper can be refrigerated for up to four days or frozen for up to three months.