Quick and easy weeknight dinner recipe that's even better than the box!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Family favorite comfort food for generations
- Go from start to dinner table in about 20 minutes
- Tough to resist tender macaroni noodles in a flavorful, cheesy sauce
This Hamburger Helper cheeseburger macaroni is an easy weeknight dinner made with simple, real ingredients. After all, the homemade version is always better tasting than the boxed version... and usually a bit cheaper, and healthier, too. It's a winner on all accounts.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- In a large skillet, saute bacon, onions, and ground meat. Add butter.
- Sprinkle the mixture with flour.
- Add the cooked macaroni, milk, eggs, and mustard powder.
- Stir in cheddar cheese and melt over medium heat.
🥫 Storage
Homemade hamburger helper macaroni is such an easy dinner recipe because you can easily stretch it to last a few days.
Refrigerate leftovers (in an airtight container) for four to five days. When you're ready to eat, just microwave until warm.
You can also freeze cheeseburger macaroni leftovers for up to six months in freezer-safe storage containers or bags. Just microwave it to thaw. (You can also thaw larger portions in the fridge for about a day or so.)
Busy weeknights just got a whole lot easier.
📖 Variations
- We always have lean ground beef in the fridge, but cheeseburger Hamburger Helper tastes great with ground turkey, too.
- Switch things up with diced, cooked chicken breast and Pepper Jack.
- Or, try cooked, cubed ham and Swiss cheese. It's not one of the "traditional" hamburger helper recipes, but that's the fun of homemade!
- Swap the beef for Italian sausage and add sauteed peppers and mozzarella—it's a Mediterannean twist the whole family will enjoy!
- Next time, add diced chiles, Ranch-style beans with sauce, and a Mexican cheese blend. So easy, and no one will realize it was inspired by a cheeseburger macaroni hamburger helper!
- Sometimes we'll add a bit of tomato paste or leftover tomato sauce. It kind of reminds me of adding ketchup to a burger, if you're a fan of that.
- In a pinch, your favorite pickle relish works instead of chopped pickles.
- You can swap the chopped onions for onion powder or garlic powder to keep the flavor while pleasing picky eaters.
- Any small noodles will work—don't go to the grocery store, just use whatever you have! We like elbow macaroni, too.
- Have some cheese sauce to use up? Go ahead and dump it in! There are rumors that Velveeta is heavenly in cheeseburger macaroni.
- Serve it with a spoonful of sour cream or a few splashes of your favorite hot sauce. Some people like to garnish with some crumbled blue cheese or shredded lettuce.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: When cooking in a skillet, use a plastic or wooden spoon! Metal will scrape the skillet terribly and ruin its finish.
- Don't pour bacon grease down your drain—too many times doing so and you can get a clog! Instead, line a bowl with a bag or some foil and pour it in there. Let it cool, then wrap it up and store or toss!
- You can use a meat chopper to break down the ground beef in your pan more evenly. Or, just work at it with a spoon as Mom and Grandma did!
- Pasta Recipe Rule 101: Salt your water well before adding the noodles. They'll soak up the flavor and taste better!
- "Real" cheese tastes best, but if you have a favorite non-dairy alternative, you can feel free to use it. Usually, they don't melt as well, but if you try to limit your dairy intake, it'll do the job.
- Shred cheese from a block if you want it to be extra smooth and delicious. Pre-shredded cheese has a coating to prevent it from sticking together.
👩🍳 FAQs
It really is! Of course, any variations you make might change the flavor a bit, and even the Hamburger Helper box encourages you to add your own ingredients, too.
Besides the noodles (made with wheat flour) and the cheese sauce mix, there are some preservatives and other flavoring ingredients like sodium phosphate, silicon dioxide, ferrous sulfate, and citric acid, to name a few.
Not all are bad, of course. Hamburger Helper actually removed their "artificial flavors" a while back, which was a nice step. However, the best part about this easy meal (our homemade version, of course) is that you can control exactly what your family is eating.
Nope! Some people "upgrade" a box of hamburger helper with beef broth or chicken broth, but the homemade version doesn't need it.
📚 Related recipes
- Baked Ziti with Sausage combines the best comfort foods in one easy casserole: melty cheese, flavorful ground sausage, and perfect pasta!
- Ham and tender egg noodles mingle together in a creamy cheese sauce in this delicious Cheesy Ham & Noodles Casserole. It tastes better than from childhood!
- With two Southern staples, this Mac and Cheese Pulled Pork casserole is the best kind of comfort food! Use your favorite BBQ sauce and don't skimp on the cheese.
🍽️ Serve with...
📞 The last word
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet Dinner Recipe
Print Pin Recipe SaveIngredients
- 1 lb uncooked shell pasta
- ½ cup (one stick) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup milk, (more if needed for preferred consistency)
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 lb shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1 ½ pound ground beef
- ½ cup chopped onion, , optional
- 6 bacon strips, , diced
- ¼ cup pickles, , chopped - optional
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted, boiling water until tender but not mushy.
- While the pasta cooks, cook the bacon and onions together until the bacon is crisp and the onion is tender.
- Remove from pan and set aside.
- Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of grease from the pan.
- Add the hamburger, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook it thoroughly.
- Add the bacon and onions back to the pan, along with the butter.
- Stir until butter is melted and sprinkle with the flour.
- Cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
- Stir in the well-drained pasta.
- Whisk the eggs and mustard into the milk and pour over the meat mixture.
- Add the grated cheese.
- Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and well blended - about 3 minutes.
Notes
- Don't pour bacon grease down your drain—too many times doing so and you can get a clog! Instead, line a bowl with a bag or some foil and pour it in there. Let it cool, then wrap it up and store or toss!
- You can use a meat chopper to break down the ground beef in your pan more evenly. Or, just work at it with a spoon as Mom and Grandma did!
- Pasta Recipe Rule 101: Salt your water well before adding the noodles. They'll soak up the flavor and taste better!
- "Real" cheese tastes best, but if you have a favorite non-dairy alternative, you can feel free to use it. Usually, they don't melt as well, but if you try to limit your dairy intake, it'll do the job.
- Shred cheese from a block if you want it to be extra smooth and delicious. Pre-shredded cheese has a coating to prevent it from sticking together.
Nutrition Facts
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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- 10-inch skillet (or larger, preferably.) One of the most used items in my Restless Chipotle Kitchen is the Lodge Cast Iron Skillet! It’s perfect for this dish!
First published July 17, 2012. Last updated September 11, 2022 for better images and editorial improvements.
Kirsten
Marye,
You had me at bacon. Everyone always has me at bacon. Thanks for the cost breakdown--that's an excellent way to show that it's really not that good of a deal.
Oh, and I was stationed in Misawa Japan and hope your son enjoyed his time wherever he was.
Thanks!
Marye Audet
He did, thanks! He is now in Las Vegas as a dedicated crew chief for the Thunderbirds... 🙂 And I know. Bacon. So much yes there to love.
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel
This sounds like something my cousin has made before! I wonder why in the world kids are typically fairly finicky about eating. At least I know most will eventually grow out of it. 🙂
Missy Moran
This would have been even cheaper if pasta was purchased when it was on sale BOGO. I Buy extra when the good beef is on sale and buy cheese in bulk. Great post Marye! I think dry mustard needs to be in my pantry.