Quick weeknight meals have been a must with me due to busy nights of dance, soccer practice, and homework. I was constantly making hamburger helper – or asking my husband to make it as I ran around picking up kids. Finally, I figured out how to make it from scratch when I was out of my trusty red box one night when I needed an easy weeknight dinner. This cheeseburger macaroni recipe is one of the staple weeknight meals I make on busy nights. Homemade hamburger helper cheeseburger macaroni is made with ground beef, macaroni, Velveeta, and a sauce made with ketchup and mustard. It is so simple to make and literally tastes like a cheeseburger casserole even though it is made right on the stovetop.

Homemade hamburger helper cheeseburger macaroni is made with ground beef, macaroni, Velveeta, and a sauce made with ketchup and mustard.

Skillet meals are my favorite meals because it just has one pan to clean up at the end of the night. I love the 20-minute pizza skillet and my skillet taco mac and cheese.

Table of Contents

Ingredients for Homemade Hamburger Helper

Making a skillet meal like hamburger helper doesn’t have to be made with a box mix, but with ingredients you have in your pantry. Here are the ingredients you need to make homemade cheeseburger hamburger helper.

Groundd Beef
Macaroni
Burger seasoning
Ketchup
Mustard
Velveeta Cheese
Milk

How to Make Homemade Hamburger Helper – Cheeseburger Macaroni and Cheese

For any of you hamburger helper lovers, this is a homemade version or great knock-off without the box. Start by browning up a pound of hamburger. Season with the burger seasoning of your choice or salt and pepper. If you want to add garlic powder or onion powder to the salt and pepper, that would work as well.

Browning hamburger with burger seasoning for cheeseburger macaroni.

Add ketchup, and mustard to the cooked ground beef.

cooked ground beef with ketchup and mustard.

Pour in the water. Stir to combine with ground beef, ketchup, and mustard. Bring to a boil and add 2 cups of uncooked macaroni.

Skillet with ground beef, water, ketchup, mustard, and macaroni for homemade hamburger helper.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes until macaroni is tender. Once the macaroni is tender, add Velveeta, cubed to the mixture. Stir until the cheese is melted. To make creamier, add a half cup of milk as well.

Once the macaroni is tender, add Velveeta, cubed to the mixture. Stir until the cheese is melted. To make creamier, add a half cup of milk as well.

Remove the skillet cheeseburger macaroni and cheese from the heat and let set for 5 minutes before serving.

I love pickles on my cheeseburgers, so I added a pickle to the top of this dish. You can also top the cheeseburger macaroni with shredded cheese, tomatoes and onions too.

Don’t worry, the plain cheeseburger mac is delicious too, just like plain cheeseburgers hit the spot too.

Substitutions for Hamburger Helper

Don’t have the exact ingredients for this recipe, here are substitution ideas:

Pasta – This recipe can be made with any shape of pasta, so feel free to use bow tie, penne, or ziti pasta shapes too. In addition, rice can also be used instead of pasta.
Cheese – Don’t worry if you don’t have Velveeta, any cheese you like on a cheeseburger can be used. Try this recipe with cheddar cheese, Colby-Jack cheese, or even Swiss cheese.
Meat – While I use ground beef in the hamburger helper recipe, ground chicken, ground turkey, and ground pork can also be used.
Gluten-free – The use of gluten free pasta is also definitely fine to use in this recipe if you are following a gluten free recipe.

Variations

Busy weeknights have found their dinner friend with this skillet hamburger macaroni and cheese recipe. But, change it up easily and make some of these variations to the hamburger helper.

Taco Mac and Cheese – Season the meat with taco seasoning and then pour a can off enchilada sauce into the water and macaroni for a taco mac and cheese skillet.
Lasagna Hamburger Helper – Use Italian seasoning on the hamburger and then add tomato sauce to the water and pasta. Stir in ricotta or cottage cheese into the cooked pasta and beef. Top it off with an Italian cheese blend. Lasagna skillet is already for you to try.
Mexican Rice, ground beef, and cheese – Try making a rice skillet with the help of Mexican rice, ground beef, and queso. We love this arroz con molida recipe.

ONE PAN MEAL EQUIPMENT

When it comes to making skillet meals, a braiser is your best friend. With any ground beef recipe, a mix and chop to get the ground beef broken into the right-sized crumbles. Here are my favorite items. Don’t forget to add some of these ingredients to your subscribe and save list too.

Storing Leftovers

Got leftovers? Pour the leftover hamburger helper into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat it in single servings in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring before heating again. The leftover cheeseburger macaroni actually tastes BETTER the next day—sort of like chili.

Easy Weeknight Dinner Ideas

Cheeseburger Macaroni

This cheeseburger macaroni recipe is a quick and easy to make homemade hamburger helper with just ground beef, macaroni, Velveeta, ketchup and mustard.

5 from 1 vote

Print Rate

Course: Entree, Pasta

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Hamburger Helper, Quick, velveeta

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 15

Servings: servings

Calories: 737kcal

Author: Leah Beyer

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
2 teaspoons burger seasoning Salt and pepper works too
2 cups water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mustard
2 cup elbow macaroni uncooked
12 ounces Velveeta
½ cup milk

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

Brown beef in a large skillet. Season with burger seasonig or salt and pepper.
Drain any grease and then add water, ketchup, and mustard.
Bring to a boil and then stir in uncooked macaroni. Reduce heat to medium-low heat, cover and cook 8-10 minutes till macaroni is tender.
Add cheese in cubes. Stir until melted. Add milk for extra creaminess.

Nutrition

What do you have cooking this week? Be sure to check out these inspirational dishes.

The cookbook was supplied by Gooseberry Patch. Affiliate links were used.

Author
Recent Posts

Follow Me

Leah

A working mom of two very active teenagers. My husband and I gave up running the 80-cow dairy farm that also included a couple of hundred acres of corn and soybeans to both work to support the agricultural industry. We still have about 20 head of dairy heifers and cows to help my kids appreciate the effort it takes to raise livestock. I consider myself a foodie as I love cooking and experimenting with recipes. My family just wishes I would make the same thing twice. Find my other blog, FarmWifeDrinks.com for all things cocktails.