I’m a 70’s baby and was raised on Kool-aid, margarine, and Hamburger Helper. AND…I’m the oldest of 10. Let’s all agree that the food of the 80’s and 90’s, although terribly unhealthy, was quite budget-friendly. A packet of Kool-aid beats a 6-pack of craft flavored water in the budget department. So, it’s no wonder that I grew up on every. single. variety of Hamburger Helper. Seriously! And Cheeseburger Macaroni was the hands-down variety of my siblings and I. This recipe is a close recreation of the processed version but using all real ingredients. Still keeping it all in one pot and under 30 minutes. Seriously…best. thing. ever!
Although, I’ll admit I sometimes whip up a package of ramen, show my kids what a pitcher of Kool-aid is (they can’t believe people drank that all the time ;)), and make Velvetta dip in the crock pot for football games. I grew up on the stuff, guys. But thank goodness I revamped my favorite Cheeseburger Macaroni into a “real food” dish.
By the way, I’d love hearing about a favorite 80’s processed food that you revamped into “real food”…shoot me a link in the comments and
I’d love to feature it on social media!
I love my Lodge dutch oven for one-pot dishes. It’s large enough that I don’t have to worry about it spilling over when I stir. But, this is the smaller one of their dutch ovens and I love that it fits so much better into the dishwasher.
Note: go ahead and sub out ground turkey and chicken to keep the fat content down. But, be sure to add a bit of olive oil to the pan to replace the missing fat you’ll need for cooking the onions and the remainder of the dish.
You’ll want to add the garlic cloves right when the ground beef has finished cooking, just for a couple minutes.
Note: if you don’t have fresh garlic you can use 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder as a sub. Or, 3/4 teaspoon of garlic salt and reduce the salt by half.
Of course, you don’t have to use whole milk if you don’t want to. But, the heavier the milk the creamier the pasta will be. And, frankly, a whole lot closer to the original 80’s version from your childhood. And elbow pasta is traditional here. You can go all freaky and un-traditional if you like. But then why are you making cheeseburger macaroni, may I ask? Yup…elbow, it is.
The above amount of salt is incorrect. It should say 2 TEASPOONS!
That paprika is a strange addition, isn’t it. But trust me, it’s what keeps this pasta as close to the original as possible. Truly.
Like most pasta dishes, don’t just cover it and leave. Be sure to stop by and give it a stir once or twice to make sure it isn’t sticking to the bottom. If you find that it is sticking a bit, add a couple tablespoons more milk.
Speaking of 80’s food, does anyone remember Velvetta? Oh yes. Please tell me you don’t use that stuff anymore. Let’s move on to real cheese that is made from real milk, can we? Like the sharp cheddar cheese we put into our cheeseburger macaroni. No little pouches of powder will go into this recipe. No sirree!!
Why don’t you gather your family around the table, share them memories of days gone by, and treat them to a plate of Cheeseburger Macaroni.
Cheeseburger Macaroni
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni uncooked
- 2 teaspoons flour
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Brown ground beef and diced onion together on medium heat.
- When ground beef is brown and onion is transparent, add garlic. Cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- In a small bowl, mix the spices together. Add to the beef, onion, and garlic. Stir.
- Add the noodles and milk. Stir.
- Bring to a boil on high heat, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook on low for 12 minutes or until pasta is tender. Stir occasionally.
- Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar cheese.
- Serve warm with fresh parsley (optional)
Holy Cow! This recipe has too much salt! I was making it and thought 2 TBS sounded like a lot, but I noticed in two places it said that. So I followed what it said, and it was so salty we couldn’t eat much of it. I am guessing it is supposed to say 2 tsp. And not TBS???? Otherwise, I love the idea of favorite hamburger helper made with natural ingredients instead of the box kit. They always manage to hide sugars in processed food.
Oh NO!!! I’m so very very sorry about that mistake. Terribly how a simple typo can make such a huge impact on a recipe. We will get that changed immediately. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and let us know. So appreciated!!
Ummm! I’m a little red in the face here but I am going to admit I do use Velveeta occasionally. It makes the MOST fantastic cheese dip for my homemade pretzels. the consistency comes out perfectly every time. Now, inquiring minds ( nosey) wants to know — are you still eating Tater-Tots?????When my kids would visit my mom and dad they always had Tater-Tots and they loved them. I didn’t buy them nor did I buy the chunky multi-sweet cereal boxes. You know the ones — they had Cap’n Crunch, Froot loops, Etc. and perhaps two or three that were all sugar. Guess which ones went first. My three couldn’t wait to get there pick. Anyway, I love one pot recipes. They are perfect for a busy family meal. Stay warm!! And thanks for the coffee recipes.
It DOES make the best dip. I’ll admit to using it for that very same reason, myself. We don’t eat Tater-Tot’s often. Usually when someone new to the family or area comes over for dinner I’ll make a TaterTot casserole along with something else. It seems good and right to introduce them to some local culture. :). And, Levi occasionally grabs a bag for after school. But gosh…that sweet cereal? I could eat boxes of the stuff. We didn’t have it growing up because, I’m sure, the cost of feeding 10 kids that stuff was too much. Plain ol’ oatmeal for us. So now…I’ll eat that stuff for dinner ;). Gladly.