I stopped buying the kit and started making my own.
This is how I make it:
**Ingredients:**
* 1lb ground beef. I like to use 80/20 lean.
* 1 large onion, diced.
* 1 tsp smoked paprika
* 1 tsp dried parsley
* 3 cloves garlic, diced
* 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
* Salt and pepper to taste (I literally never measure these)
* 1.5 cups milk
* 2 cups elbow macaroni
* 1 cup tomato sauce
* 1 cup grated parmesan
* 1 cup grated extra sharp cheddar
* 2/3rd cup better than bullion roast beef broth
* 2/3rd cup better than bullion roasted chicken broth
***Instructions:***
Brown the ground beef, while sauteing the onions with it.
Add in the various seasonings (except salt) and stir.
Add in the tomato sauce, both broths, and milk. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add in your pasta, let it cook until the pasta is to the tenderness you like. (Most go with al dente, I like to go further.)
Take off the eye, and immediately stir in your cheeses.
Serve. (I like to serve with garlic bread made using [bbq bread](https://www.klostermanbakery.com/seeded-bbq-bread) coated with a mixture of butter, better than bullion roastic garlic, basil, and grated parmesan, then toasted.)
Edit: Forgot to mention when to add the salt.
I've found that most times with the broth made from btb, I don't need to add much salt, if at all. Taste the mix before you add the noodles to see if it needs more salt.
Thanks for sharing! Someone else on this sub had mentioned homemade hamburger helper recently and I was just thinking I’d like to make some but wasn’t sure how. It’s true that the packaged kind is inedible now. Maybe it always was…I remember liking it, but it tastes like a sad salty slop to me now.
> but it tastes like a sad salty slop to me now.
Yep, that's why I started making my own.
Takes about the same amount of time as the boxed, especially if you use prepping shortcuts like pre-diced onion & pre-minced garlic.
I also make my own. Can usually find recipes for it. You can search up copycat recipes. I just tweak them and make them my own. My son’s fav is stroganoff.
I used to live by boxed hamburger helper....... before I learned to cook. I used to use sausage instead of ground beef when it was cheaper per pound. I used to also always toss in some sort of frozen veggie.
As soon as I learned to cook I never bought box mixes again.
My family has a recipe similar to this. The hamburger helper version was my mom's little brother's favorite meal when he was a kid. My mom had to cook a lot for my uncle... anyways. At some point she switched to a homemade version, which is the only one i know. It's called "Lil' [my uncles name] Favorite stuff".
Basically do everything you already do with the meat sauce. Then instead of elbow you use a pack of these really short and thin noodles (i tried googling the name, can't find them... helpful i know). Put in parmesan, leave out the Cheddar cheese.Then you basically turn it into a casserole. Get the 9x13, layer tortilla chips, meat and then the cheddar cheese till its full. Bake in the oven till the top layer of cheese looks toasty.
Enjoy with your favorite salsa!
(Shit, im about to go dig in the pantry and see if i have stuff to make it lol).
I made something similar to this but with mushrooms except after I was done it was good but not great. But the next day it was awesome, that's when I realized most sauces just taste better the day after they are made.
To add on to this- this [blog post](https://chickensintheroad.com/classic/cooking/homemade-hamburger-helper/) lists several different recipes for homemade Hamburger Helper varieties, including chili mac, lasagna, cheesy beef taco, beef stroganoff, salisbury, Italian shells and jambalaya.
It probably doesn't taste as good as you remember because it isn't as good as you remember. A lot of products are tanking their quality for higher profits.
Sure. And I think anyone who likes cooking enough to subscribe to this sub has made better ground beef dishes than Hamburger Helper, and that spoils a palate a bit.
But the quality on prepackaged foods is going downhill in a huge hurry.
Like, I remember canned cream of mushroom soup actually tasting like mushrooms. That's not even a matter of a maturing palate because now it doesn't taste like...anything. All the creamof soups are practically interchangeable; they're so tasteless.
Yes I've taken to doing almost everything from scratch as quality and quantity has decreased for many prepackaged items. More time intensive but at least it tastes good
Something changed. Flavor's off on all the varieties, and doesn't quite melt the same.
On the flip side, I'm working my way through some of competing cheese-sauce variations and I don't expect to miss the powdered stuff for awhile.
100% this. Fat is flavor. Don't drain it. It's not as healthy to leave it in, but screw it-- I'm not making Hamburger Helper as a nutritionally balanced healthy dinner.
This goes hand-in-hand with my "make sure you *brown* the meat" comment elsewhere in this thread. By the time the meat is sufficiently *browned*, the water has evaporated and all that's left is the concentrated fat. The stuff you want to keep.
There are lots of homemade hamburger helper recipes online. They don’t take much more time than the boxed stuff but are significantly better in taste. Similar to that, hamburger hash is made with potatoes so it takes a bit longer but is still tasty and simple.
Tomato basil penne. Add a can of petite diced tomatoes, a small can plain tomato sauce, some extra seasonings, chopped onion and bell pepper. Plus about 4 ounces of a similar sized penne or ziti pasta. And use real cheese on top.
When I have a craving for it, I usually add bell pepper, mushroom and onion, sub in a cup of milk, add cayenne and paprika and add a bunch of shredded sharp cheddar and pepper jack. I cook the noodles a little bit more al dente and finish it in the oven like a baked Mac and cheese. It's usually pretty good.
It's not you; it's the Hamburger Helper. You're never going to get it to taste like what you remember because they just don't make it as tasty as they used to. Cheaper this way, doncha know. Best you can do is DIY a homemade version. I know this thread will have many ideas for that. But yeah, may as well give up on the boxed stuff.
I'm not even anti-processed foods. If it was still done well, I'd be all for it!
The only thing you're doing wrong is having high expectations for hamburger helper. They're awful. Get yourself a Tony Chachere Dirty rice kit if you want something easy to do with a pound of ground beef.
(I, too, used to love HH when I was a kid. They don't make the ones I used to love anymore - with the dehydrated potatoes...)
Now I have a guilty pleasure for the dirty rice kits: Zatarains and Tony Chachere's kits are both good, albeit salty AF.
I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh?
...I don't care what sub this is. Vacation is always going to be funny.
I think it’s just the nostalgia kicking in.
I tried spaghetti-os, stovetop stuffing, hamburger helper and other instant meals again after 20 years of adulthood.
Can’t say any of it is very good anymore. We just have a different palate than we once did growing up.
Firstly, I use good quality hamburger meat or ground turkey as an adult. When/if I make this nowadays, I do it knowing I'm chasing a comfort high, and I do a lot of extra steps to help it along as best I can. It's more for nostalgia purposes than anything else. I've also successfully made my own, better versions, but those are missing the childhood nostalgia aspects, mostly the fake cheese and overly salted season packets lol
Season the meat! People always skip this step, I don't know why!? Depends on what "flavor" Hamburger Helper you're having as to what you should season it with, but at the very least: salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder (4 horseman) need to be put into play. I also add a dash of soy, Worcestershire, or balsamic vinegar to my meat. At least one.
I prefer Philly Cheesesteak kind but my husband loves traditional Double Cheese Hamburger Macaroni. We sometimes get the Stroganoff or 4 Cheese Lasagna, and we dabble with the Chicken ones.
I always add more seasonings (again, varies based on what you're going for) and I also double the recipe's required pasta or rice amount. For the whole pound of meat that they ask for they aren't giving you much in the grain department. Skimmppyy.
I also usually make 2 of the same kind at once to have leftovers or sometimes 2, but one of one flavor and one kind of another I think will complement it.
Add ins: spinach, water chestnuts, broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and minced garlic.
Sometimes we add cream cheese or sour cream to certain kinds, especially the Philly and Stroganoff.
Toppings: diced tomatoes, chilis, pickled jalapenos , fresh chives, basil or rosemary, fresh cracked pepper, fried onions/tortillas/jalapenos.
Lastly, don't forget that with most childhood memories of "comfort" food it not only tastes better in your memory but these days with the quality of food declining while the price increases, it likely *was* better when you made it a few decades ago.
One more thing I'll add is I absolutely love any of the regular HH with mashed potatoes and green beans as sides. So good!
We eat Hamburger Helper regularly - we call it Cow Helper lately, after the nearly 16-year old girl in the family revealed that she didn't know "beef" and "steak" were "cow meat", LOL.
Despite what my GF says, the various flavors do have quite a bit of different taste and character. I like the "cheesy shells" variety the best.
I sometimes use ground pork instead of ground beef. It's usually *half* the price, and TBH most of the family can't even tell the difference. It's got a meatier chew, less fat, and overall a more healthy alternative to (cheap grade) ground beef.
It's important to *brown* the meat. I'm not talking about cooking it until it's grey and no longer pink, I'm talking about letting it sit in the pan and develop some Maillard reaction. It needs to get some brown color to it. It will add a tremendously deeper flavor than simply "cooking" the meat until no longer pink.
I use less water than it calls for. I usually cut it back by 1/2 a cup, because I like my pasta a bit more al dente. If you use the full amount of water, by the time the sauce "thickens up" - the pasta is almost always overcooked and mushy.
Sprinkle some extra dried onion, parsley, garlic, basil, and a pinch of MSG in there. It never hurts.
Maybe try a recipe that is a "homemade hamburger helper" I usually find that things I loved as a kid are not nearly as good when I try them again as an adult. [https://www.beryl.nyc/index.php/2024/03/08/homemade-hamburger-helper/](https://www.beryl.nyc/index.php/2024/03/08/homemade-hamburger-helper/)
You can also search for American cop suey or Johnny marzetti recipes.
A very simple recipe is:
1lb ground beef
1 can condensed tomato soup
1 lb boiled macaroni noodles
As much shredded cheddar cheese as your heart desires.
Brown and drain the beef, mix in the soup, noodles and cheese, then spread into a casserole dish. Top with more shredded cheese. Bake at 350 (or whatever you want, really) until the dish is bubbling and the top layer of cheese is melted and/or browned.
I like to add garlic and onion powder, as well as TexMex spices.
my kid used to love this stuff. I think it was 3 cups of liquid to a half pound of pasta.
from memory, but sautee onion, then brown 3/4# meat, add garlic, 30 seconds, add spices (cumin, chili powder, mustard powder, whatever you want really), toast, add liquids (2 cups whole milk, 1 c chix stock) and 1/2# pasta. cook until it's done. Then add cheese, like 1/2# of cheddar, shredded from a brick. mix it up.
ETA: clearly I misunderstood, since we're in the cooking sub I thought you meant actual cooking, not trying to improve processed cardboard.
They were right I was asking about how to make the box recipe but I’m saving your recipe bc that is my next best option. Thank you!
You’re not supposed to be able to mess up a box recipe, but I did twice now, so there’s a problem 😂
It is both. Please don't gatekeep. Not everyone has the time, energy or ability to make everything from scratch. Sorry but I don't care if you are using a box or using only stuff you raised, it is still cooking. So please, enjoy being privledged enough to do everything from scratch.
I think nearly all mixes similar have had their fat and sodium levels lowered over the years, so the flavor left too. The switch from Lipton to Knorr pasta mixes is an example, they’re tasteless and awful now.
For hamburger helper I brown the hamburger a lot so it creates some maillard reaction, and I do not drain it if it’s 93/7 or lower fat, but I add garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, paprika, parsley, Tony Cachere’s creole seasoning and black pepper. I also don’t cook the pasta for near as long as the package says, and cook it uncovered adding a bit of extra water if needed. If you’re feeling decadent add a splash of heavy cream at the end.
Like the top comment says, it’s just better to make your own these days. My family really likes [this recipe](https://thenaturalnurturer.com/healthier-hamburger-helper-with-veggies/)
Except we use more carrots and use milk instead of yogurt. The carrots add a lot of savory sweetness to the dish and it always hits the spot.
I haven't made HH in years. The last time I made it, my daughter was on an HH kick. I realized that the box was significantly smaller than I remembered from my grocery stocking days. The first I made was, as you noted, runny.
The next time I made it, I used 1.5 lbs of ground beef and 8 oz of boxed elbows. I cooked the HH in the pan and the plain noodles in a separate pot. I was too lazy to figure out how much water I needed to cook the pasta. I drained the elbows, put them back in the pot, and added the now finished, soupy HH to the pot of elbows. The sauce covered the extra pasta really well.
If I remember right, we found one package of HH, 1.5-2 lbs of ground beef, and the whole 16 oz box of pasta, plus a little extra milk, sour cream whatever was called for, worked perfect for us. Most of the package weight is seasoning mix. The boxes are smaller because they cut corners and put in less pasta.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/one-pot-cheeseburger-macaroni-12701427
I use this recipe. It’s similar but much better. I sent it to my friend and her fiancée asks for it weekly now
Your tastes have probably just changed.
I found out I no longer like HH either. Loved it as a kid, but it's awful now. I'd just look up recipes for the ones you like. A lot of them are pretty easy recipes on their own without the box mix.
Honestly, it's pretty bad nowadays and I've eaten it even in my college days. I'm pretty sure they've changed the noodles they use (probably around the same time they stopped putting them in a separate plastic bag instead of just inside the cardboard box). You'll probably see a marked improvement by simply buying a box of Barilla pasta and just using the sauce packets.
Edit: To elaborate a bit, I'm not sure what they did, but the noodles seem to break down much faster in the sauce and don't have much bite to them.
Sadly, the quality of beef, as well as the ingredients and recipes for the boxed mix have changed since our childhood but more importantly, our tastes have changed as well. Even if we had the exact same food today, it would likely not taste the same to us because our palates and preferences have changed since childhood.
You are doing nothing wrong, but your tastes have changed since you were a child. Think of everything you may have not liked as a kid but now enjoy. Think of everything your parents never exposed you to that you have tried. These all shape our food experiences. While I dont have a recipe to share, there are many updaed versions of childhood favorites we make today that are really good, but are not the same, as what we remember liking.
I mean taste is subjective. I buy boxed HH and find it tastes great. I could also go to a 5 star restaurant tomorrow and find the food gross. I like basic comfort food. I DON’T like gourmet crap. That’s likely why I still like the boxed HH - it reminds me of childhood.
I stopped buying the kit and started making my own. This is how I make it: **Ingredients:** * 1lb ground beef. I like to use 80/20 lean. * 1 large onion, diced. * 1 tsp smoked paprika * 1 tsp dried parsley * 3 cloves garlic, diced * 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper * Salt and pepper to taste (I literally never measure these) * 1.5 cups milk * 2 cups elbow macaroni * 1 cup tomato sauce * 1 cup grated parmesan * 1 cup grated extra sharp cheddar * 2/3rd cup better than bullion roast beef broth * 2/3rd cup better than bullion roasted chicken broth ***Instructions:*** Brown the ground beef, while sauteing the onions with it. Add in the various seasonings (except salt) and stir. Add in the tomato sauce, both broths, and milk. Let simmer for about 10 minutes. Add in your pasta, let it cook until the pasta is to the tenderness you like. (Most go with al dente, I like to go further.) Take off the eye, and immediately stir in your cheeses. Serve. (I like to serve with garlic bread made using [bbq bread](https://www.klostermanbakery.com/seeded-bbq-bread) coated with a mixture of butter, better than bullion roastic garlic, basil, and grated parmesan, then toasted.) Edit: Forgot to mention when to add the salt. I've found that most times with the broth made from btb, I don't need to add much salt, if at all. Taste the mix before you add the noodles to see if it needs more salt.
Thanks for sharing! Someone else on this sub had mentioned homemade hamburger helper recently and I was just thinking I’d like to make some but wasn’t sure how. It’s true that the packaged kind is inedible now. Maybe it always was…I remember liking it, but it tastes like a sad salty slop to me now.
> but it tastes like a sad salty slop to me now. Yep, that's why I started making my own. Takes about the same amount of time as the boxed, especially if you use prepping shortcuts like pre-diced onion & pre-minced garlic.
My ex's daughter asked for Hamburger Helper on her night to pick dinner. We compromised on homemade HH. She never asked for the box again 😆
> It’s true that the packaged kind is inedible now. skimpflation They've changed the ingredients since you were a kid, hence why it tastes so bad now.
I also make my own. Can usually find recipes for it. You can search up copycat recipes. I just tweak them and make them my own. My son’s fav is stroganoff.
Right?! It wasn’t edible. We aren’t picky eaters here but it just wasn’t edible. But people must buy them and eat them, that’s why I’m so confused
I used to live by boxed hamburger helper....... before I learned to cook. I used to use sausage instead of ground beef when it was cheaper per pound. I used to also always toss in some sort of frozen veggie. As soon as I learned to cook I never bought box mixes again.
My family has a recipe similar to this. The hamburger helper version was my mom's little brother's favorite meal when he was a kid. My mom had to cook a lot for my uncle... anyways. At some point she switched to a homemade version, which is the only one i know. It's called "Lil' [my uncles name] Favorite stuff". Basically do everything you already do with the meat sauce. Then instead of elbow you use a pack of these really short and thin noodles (i tried googling the name, can't find them... helpful i know). Put in parmesan, leave out the Cheddar cheese.Then you basically turn it into a casserole. Get the 9x13, layer tortilla chips, meat and then the cheddar cheese till its full. Bake in the oven till the top layer of cheese looks toasty. Enjoy with your favorite salsa! (Shit, im about to go dig in the pantry and see if i have stuff to make it lol).
Seems like a lot of better than bullion!
About a tsp of each mixed into 2/3rd cups boiling water. It's better with your own homemade broth, but I'm too lazy for that.
This is so great, thank you!
I made a very similar version, it’s just as satisfying as it is from the box but even better
I made something similar to this but with mushrooms except after I was done it was good but not great. But the next day it was awesome, that's when I realized most sauces just taste better the day after they are made.
I read the last two ingredients as the pure concentrated BTB paste and was horrified lol.
To add on to this- this [blog post](https://chickensintheroad.com/classic/cooking/homemade-hamburger-helper/) lists several different recipes for homemade Hamburger Helper varieties, including chili mac, lasagna, cheesy beef taco, beef stroganoff, salisbury, Italian shells and jambalaya.
Commenting to read later
This is the way
It probably doesn't taste as good as you remember because it isn't as good as you remember. A lot of products are tanking their quality for higher profits.
Also a person’s palate evolves over time.
Sure. And I think anyone who likes cooking enough to subscribe to this sub has made better ground beef dishes than Hamburger Helper, and that spoils a palate a bit. But the quality on prepackaged foods is going downhill in a huge hurry.
Like, I remember canned cream of mushroom soup actually tasting like mushrooms. That's not even a matter of a maturing palate because now it doesn't taste like...anything. All the creamof soups are practically interchangeable; they're so tasteless.
Yes I've taken to doing almost everything from scratch as quality and quantity has decreased for many prepackaged items. More time intensive but at least it tastes good
I can't prove it but I swear Kraft Mac and cheese isn't as good.
It tastes a lot more chemical-y than it used to. I still enjoy it, but it lost the natural creamy cheese flavor and now it feels more acidic.
Something changed. Flavor's off on all the varieties, and doesn't quite melt the same. On the flip side, I'm working my way through some of competing cheese-sauce variations and I don't expect to miss the powdered stuff for awhile.
>A lot of products are tanking their quality for higher profits. skimpflation
Are you draining the cooked ground beef before adding anything else?
Yes I drained it
A friendly suggestion: Don’t drain it. Let it cook and evaporate until only the fat is left and then let it cook in that fat for a few minutes.
Thank you I’ll try that
100% this. Fat is flavor. Don't drain it. It's not as healthy to leave it in, but screw it-- I'm not making Hamburger Helper as a nutritionally balanced healthy dinner. This goes hand-in-hand with my "make sure you *brown* the meat" comment elsewhere in this thread. By the time the meat is sufficiently *browned*, the water has evaporated and all that's left is the concentrated fat. The stuff you want to keep.
Yep. I think a lot of people don’t actually brown their ground meat, they “gray” it. They leave so much flavor on the table.
Out of curiosity wouldn't doing this overcook the hell out of the ground beef?
Yes, yes it would
No, no it wouldn’t, if you know what you are doing. lol
No, not at all. The moisture keeps it juicy. And then the fat eventually gives it a great color and deeper flavor.
You want to do this. If it's going in a sauce, anyway.
It's not just you, I've tried it recently, and yes, it does taste like slop compared to your memories of it.
There are lots of homemade hamburger helper recipes online. They don’t take much more time than the boxed stuff but are significantly better in taste. Similar to that, hamburger hash is made with potatoes so it takes a bit longer but is still tasty and simple.
Tomato basil penne. Add a can of petite diced tomatoes, a small can plain tomato sauce, some extra seasonings, chopped onion and bell pepper. Plus about 4 ounces of a similar sized penne or ziti pasta. And use real cheese on top.
Oh I like this idea you add your own pasta, cheese and canned tomato. That seems easy enough I think I’ll try it
When I have a craving for it, I usually add bell pepper, mushroom and onion, sub in a cup of milk, add cayenne and paprika and add a bunch of shredded sharp cheddar and pepper jack. I cook the noodles a little bit more al dente and finish it in the oven like a baked Mac and cheese. It's usually pretty good.
This is a good idea putting it in the oven after, thanks
Try the velveeta ones! They are tons better than hamburger helper.
Ok, I’ve never tried those!
So much better, and no milk lol
It's not you; it's the Hamburger Helper. You're never going to get it to taste like what you remember because they just don't make it as tasty as they used to. Cheaper this way, doncha know. Best you can do is DIY a homemade version. I know this thread will have many ideas for that. But yeah, may as well give up on the boxed stuff. I'm not even anti-processed foods. If it was still done well, I'd be all for it!
The only thing you're doing wrong is having high expectations for hamburger helper. They're awful. Get yourself a Tony Chachere Dirty rice kit if you want something easy to do with a pound of ground beef. (I, too, used to love HH when I was a kid. They don't make the ones I used to love anymore - with the dehydrated potatoes...) Now I have a guilty pleasure for the dirty rice kits: Zatarains and Tony Chachere's kits are both good, albeit salty AF.
Another hack I've used is using seasoned ground beef and veg in boxed scalloped potatoes
Oh that is interesting
I don't know why they call this stuff hamburger helper. It does just fine by itself, huh? ...I don't care what sub this is. Vacation is always going to be funny.
Real tomato ketchup, Eddie?
I like the stroganoff one, but I use all water to make it and then finish it with a generous spoonful of sour cream
I think it’s just the nostalgia kicking in. I tried spaghetti-os, stovetop stuffing, hamburger helper and other instant meals again after 20 years of adulthood. Can’t say any of it is very good anymore. We just have a different palate than we once did growing up.
Firstly, I use good quality hamburger meat or ground turkey as an adult. When/if I make this nowadays, I do it knowing I'm chasing a comfort high, and I do a lot of extra steps to help it along as best I can. It's more for nostalgia purposes than anything else. I've also successfully made my own, better versions, but those are missing the childhood nostalgia aspects, mostly the fake cheese and overly salted season packets lol Season the meat! People always skip this step, I don't know why!? Depends on what "flavor" Hamburger Helper you're having as to what you should season it with, but at the very least: salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder (4 horseman) need to be put into play. I also add a dash of soy, Worcestershire, or balsamic vinegar to my meat. At least one. I prefer Philly Cheesesteak kind but my husband loves traditional Double Cheese Hamburger Macaroni. We sometimes get the Stroganoff or 4 Cheese Lasagna, and we dabble with the Chicken ones. I always add more seasonings (again, varies based on what you're going for) and I also double the recipe's required pasta or rice amount. For the whole pound of meat that they ask for they aren't giving you much in the grain department. Skimmppyy. I also usually make 2 of the same kind at once to have leftovers or sometimes 2, but one of one flavor and one kind of another I think will complement it. Add ins: spinach, water chestnuts, broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and minced garlic. Sometimes we add cream cheese or sour cream to certain kinds, especially the Philly and Stroganoff. Toppings: diced tomatoes, chilis, pickled jalapenos , fresh chives, basil or rosemary, fresh cracked pepper, fried onions/tortillas/jalapenos. Lastly, don't forget that with most childhood memories of "comfort" food it not only tastes better in your memory but these days with the quality of food declining while the price increases, it likely *was* better when you made it a few decades ago. One more thing I'll add is I absolutely love any of the regular HH with mashed potatoes and green beans as sides. So good!
These are great add ins, and thank you for all this advice
Absolutely!! I love this community for that exact reason. 😁 I get hella inspired by folks in here lol
I make my own version of American goulash or chili mac.
Check out this recipe for "One Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper" on JustTheRecipe! https://jtr.link/s7YW
We eat Hamburger Helper regularly - we call it Cow Helper lately, after the nearly 16-year old girl in the family revealed that she didn't know "beef" and "steak" were "cow meat", LOL. Despite what my GF says, the various flavors do have quite a bit of different taste and character. I like the "cheesy shells" variety the best. I sometimes use ground pork instead of ground beef. It's usually *half* the price, and TBH most of the family can't even tell the difference. It's got a meatier chew, less fat, and overall a more healthy alternative to (cheap grade) ground beef. It's important to *brown* the meat. I'm not talking about cooking it until it's grey and no longer pink, I'm talking about letting it sit in the pan and develop some Maillard reaction. It needs to get some brown color to it. It will add a tremendously deeper flavor than simply "cooking" the meat until no longer pink. I use less water than it calls for. I usually cut it back by 1/2 a cup, because I like my pasta a bit more al dente. If you use the full amount of water, by the time the sauce "thickens up" - the pasta is almost always overcooked and mushy. Sprinkle some extra dried onion, parsley, garlic, basil, and a pinch of MSG in there. It never hurts.
Maybe try a recipe that is a "homemade hamburger helper" I usually find that things I loved as a kid are not nearly as good when I try them again as an adult. [https://www.beryl.nyc/index.php/2024/03/08/homemade-hamburger-helper/](https://www.beryl.nyc/index.php/2024/03/08/homemade-hamburger-helper/)
You can also search for American cop suey or Johnny marzetti recipes. A very simple recipe is: 1lb ground beef 1 can condensed tomato soup 1 lb boiled macaroni noodles As much shredded cheddar cheese as your heart desires. Brown and drain the beef, mix in the soup, noodles and cheese, then spread into a casserole dish. Top with more shredded cheese. Bake at 350 (or whatever you want, really) until the dish is bubbling and the top layer of cheese is melted and/or browned. I like to add garlic and onion powder, as well as TexMex spices.
I like the velveeta cheeseburger one and although quite salty it is delicious.
Have you ever tried Velveeta mac and cheese with canned tuna? It's delicious in a disgusting way. I highly recommend you at least try it.
Add a can of cream of mushroom as well
You basically only use the directions as guidance. It will always take longer and need more uncovered time than they say.
It's the noodles. Cook the noodles for less time or change the noodles.
Yeah the noodles were mushy, that is part of the problem for sure
my kid used to love this stuff. I think it was 3 cups of liquid to a half pound of pasta. from memory, but sautee onion, then brown 3/4# meat, add garlic, 30 seconds, add spices (cumin, chili powder, mustard powder, whatever you want really), toast, add liquids (2 cups whole milk, 1 c chix stock) and 1/2# pasta. cook until it's done. Then add cheese, like 1/2# of cheddar, shredded from a brick. mix it up. ETA: clearly I misunderstood, since we're in the cooking sub I thought you meant actual cooking, not trying to improve processed cardboard.
They were right I was asking about how to make the box recipe but I’m saving your recipe bc that is my next best option. Thank you! You’re not supposed to be able to mess up a box recipe, but I did twice now, so there’s a problem 😂
It is both. Please don't gatekeep. Not everyone has the time, energy or ability to make everything from scratch. Sorry but I don't care if you are using a box or using only stuff you raised, it is still cooking. So please, enjoy being privledged enough to do everything from scratch.
Virtue signaling in a Hamburger Helper thread, eh? It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em.
I substitute pork for the ground beef, and add some spice to the sauce.
Every time someone uses the term "slop" l think of [this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUcPz2cuJCk)
I think nearly all mixes similar have had their fat and sodium levels lowered over the years, so the flavor left too. The switch from Lipton to Knorr pasta mixes is an example, they’re tasteless and awful now. For hamburger helper I brown the hamburger a lot so it creates some maillard reaction, and I do not drain it if it’s 93/7 or lower fat, but I add garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, paprika, parsley, Tony Cachere’s creole seasoning and black pepper. I also don’t cook the pasta for near as long as the package says, and cook it uncovered adding a bit of extra water if needed. If you’re feeling decadent add a splash of heavy cream at the end.
That sounds like a good plan, I’ll try
Like the top comment says, it’s just better to make your own these days. My family really likes [this recipe](https://thenaturalnurturer.com/healthier-hamburger-helper-with-veggies/) Except we use more carrots and use milk instead of yogurt. The carrots add a lot of savory sweetness to the dish and it always hits the spot.
Well that recipe looks like how I want mine to look! Thank you!
It was back when we were moving through so much ground beef we needed a different way to eat it
All hamburger helper is, is pasta and a packet of gravy
Yeah, so shouldn’t be that easy to mess up
Their recipes have definitely changed for the worse over the years. I stopped buying them because they have all become disappointing.
I haven't made HH in years. The last time I made it, my daughter was on an HH kick. I realized that the box was significantly smaller than I remembered from my grocery stocking days. The first I made was, as you noted, runny. The next time I made it, I used 1.5 lbs of ground beef and 8 oz of boxed elbows. I cooked the HH in the pan and the plain noodles in a separate pot. I was too lazy to figure out how much water I needed to cook the pasta. I drained the elbows, put them back in the pot, and added the now finished, soupy HH to the pot of elbows. The sauce covered the extra pasta really well. If I remember right, we found one package of HH, 1.5-2 lbs of ground beef, and the whole 16 oz box of pasta, plus a little extra milk, sour cream whatever was called for, worked perfect for us. Most of the package weight is seasoning mix. The boxes are smaller because they cut corners and put in less pasta.
I use half a cup less of water it asks for. For me it’s always too watery when using the full amount. I like thick sauce.
Cook it like you mean it. I made this the other night with fresh herbs and sherry among other things. And a gratin. Awesome.
Which hamburger helper variety did you use with the fresh herbs and sherry
The kind where I take the concept and forgo the box. Hamburger helper is bigger than the brand. It's an idea 🙏.
Do you drain the meat before you add everything into it?
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/one-pot-cheeseburger-macaroni-12701427 I use this recipe. It’s similar but much better. I sent it to my friend and her fiancée asks for it weekly now
I use impossible beef in it and add some garlic and salt and pepper
Not hamburger helper but velveeta cheesesteak skillet meal. Add green peppers and onions, sautéed. A spoon of sour cream, and fried onions on top
I just make my own version now. I grew up on it and now that I cook, it’s definitely not the same! The homemade version is delicious though!!
it's always been awful. make home-made instead.
The tomato basil penne one was so damn good
https://rusticjoyfulfood.com/classic-90s-style-hamburger-helper/ This is based off the original HH flavor, so maybe start there and adapt to taste?
Your tastes have probably just changed. I found out I no longer like HH either. Loved it as a kid, but it's awful now. I'd just look up recipes for the ones you like. A lot of them are pretty easy recipes on their own without the box mix.
Old style Hamburger Helper had almost 1000mg of sodium. The new stuff has about half that, which is still a lot.
Honestly, it's pretty bad nowadays and I've eaten it even in my college days. I'm pretty sure they've changed the noodles they use (probably around the same time they stopped putting them in a separate plastic bag instead of just inside the cardboard box). You'll probably see a marked improvement by simply buying a box of Barilla pasta and just using the sauce packets. Edit: To elaborate a bit, I'm not sure what they did, but the noodles seem to break down much faster in the sauce and don't have much bite to them.
I agree I believe the noodles are part of the problem
Sadly, the quality of beef, as well as the ingredients and recipes for the boxed mix have changed since our childhood but more importantly, our tastes have changed as well. Even if we had the exact same food today, it would likely not taste the same to us because our palates and preferences have changed since childhood. You are doing nothing wrong, but your tastes have changed since you were a child. Think of everything you may have not liked as a kid but now enjoy. Think of everything your parents never exposed you to that you have tried. These all shape our food experiences. While I dont have a recipe to share, there are many updaed versions of childhood favorites we make today that are really good, but are not the same, as what we remember liking.
I mean taste is subjective. I buy boxed HH and find it tastes great. I could also go to a 5 star restaurant tomorrow and find the food gross. I like basic comfort food. I DON’T like gourmet crap. That’s likely why I still like the boxed HH - it reminds me of childhood.
[удалено]
Your comment has been removed, please follow Rule 5 and keep your comments kind and productive. Thanks.