This Healthier Instant Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper is a delicious one-pot spin off on one of your favourite childhood meals. Make it in the pressure cooker or the stovetop, there are instructions listed for both methods!
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Oh hey there!
I've just classed up your favourite childhood dinner to make it healthier and more wholesome – I mean, why not end the week with a one pot meal and a little bit of wine, right????
I've just updated this delicious homemade hamburger helper recipe with new photos AND you can now make it in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop – just dump in all your ingredients, set it and forget it. How could dinner get any better than with this cheesy one pot pasta recipe?
As a kid, my mom never ever let us have Hamburger Helper. I feel like it's something that I always missed out on as a kid; all my friends would have it every once in a while and I'd see it everywhere but my mom was maybe just TOO good of a mom and always made us homemade meals. Screw her and her refusal to let us eat processed crap hahaha.
As I've gotten older I've realized that Hamburger Helper and all those other boxed meals are probably the type of thing you serve your kids when you've just given up for the day and are too tired to function, not necessarily a treat you should look forward to.
But I've got a real penchant for junk food.
Honestly, I used to look forward to eating TV dinners and ramen noodles as a kid.
My mom insisted on homemade and healthy for literally every single meal (except for the odd time she took us to McDonald's when my dad went away on a business trip, or the couple times she made us Kraft Dinner…) so I always felt like the odd one out among my friends. I had to wait for a visit to my grandma's in order to get my fill of crap food (mostly because my grandma couldn't cook LOL).
How to Make Homemade Hamburger Helper
This homemade Hamburger Helper recipe is SUPER easy since it comes together in one pot. You're basically going to brown the beef with some diced up carrots, celery, onions and garlic, then add in some canned diced tomatoes, beef broth and pasta, stirring in some red pepper, cheese and parsley at the end.
I love to add carrots and celery to this hamburger helper even if the traditional recipe doesn't call for them because they are mildly flavourful veggies that pack in that extra punch of nutrition.
Most of the ingredients in this recipe can already be found on hand at home too so no running to the store for last minute items!
You don't have to worry about all the preservatives that come along with boxed foods like this, and you can still spend a lot less time in the kitchen, making less of a mess at that, because this Healthier Homemade Hamburger Helper is a one-pot recipe. Also, like I love doing with just about everything, I highly recommend you add in ALL the veggies in your fridge. Seriously.
I think my vegetable addiction is actually handy in that it often combats my cravings for processed food. I end up spending way too much time in the produce section of the grocery store so it keeps me out of the aisles where all the delicious carb-heavy packages of pre-made foods are calling my name.
How to Make Hamburger Helper Healthier
Here are some great ideas for healthy add-ins to this deliciously mouth-watering cheeseburger casserole:
- Carrots
- Spinach/kale
- Mushrooms
- Bell peppers
- Broccoli
- Zucchini
- Red cabbage
Just dump your whole vegetable crisper up in here okay? Any excuse to make this healthier…
I made a slightly (okay, much) unhealthier version of this Healthier Homemade Hamburger Helper in the form of a Bacon Jalapeno Cheeseburger Casserole a few years ago if you're looking for a different twist on this one-pot meal. Obviously that one's another one of my faves but it's not exactly something I eat on a regular basis anymore. Darn millennials and their health goals, right?
Hamburger Helper Sub-Ins
Whether you try it on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot, this Healthier Homemade Hamburger Helper is loaded with extra veggies and you can even sub in some ground chicken or turkey for the ground beef if you're looking to make this cheeseburger casserole extra lean.
I decided to try the homemade cheeseburger hamburger helper but I do have a similar Hamburger Helper-style recipe in the form of beef stroganoff in case you like the other version better.
Will you be making this Healthier Homemade Hamburger Helper?
I absolutely love remaking my favourite childhood classics, even if I didn't end up trying actual Hamburger Helper until I was 20 years old. OMG. What was I missing out on?!
Go ahead, I give you permission to go ahead and make this giant pot of deliciousness. Just be prepared to share it or basically eat it the whole week as leftovers because it makes a TON of food.
If you try any of my recipes be sure to let me know on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or in the comments – I’d love to see what you come up with!?
Meal prep tools
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
is the version I use in this recipe. - This is the pasta I use for the Instant Pot version.
- Grab some Glass meal prep bowls for your leftovers.
- And of course I get all my grass-fed beef from Butcher Box!
is the version I use in this recipe.Meal prep challenge
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Healthier Hamburger Helper
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb extra-lean ground beef or ground chicken
- 2 small yellow onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 2 cups beef or chicken broth
- 1 796mL can Diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 lb (about 4.5 cups) dry rotini pasta
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Stovetop directions: In a large pot, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add ground beef or chicken, onions and garlic, and cook until browned, about 4-5 min. Add in carrots, celery and red pepper, sauteeing for another 2-3 min. Add broth and tomatoes, along with basil, oregano and salt. Add dry pasta and cover with a lid, cooking on medium heat and stirring occasionally for 12-15 minutes until pasta is completely cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in cheese and remove from heat. Top with parsley (optional) and serve!
- Instant Pot: Add olive oil and ground beef to bottom of Instant Pot and break up meat with a slotted spoon. Add in remaining ingredients in order that they are listed above except for red pepper, cheese and parsley, adding in pasta last. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes (Instant Pot will take about 15 minutes to preheat then cook the 3 minutes). Do a quick release of the pressure, then stir in red pepper, cheese and parsley. Let sit for 3-5 minutes for red pepper to steam, then serve and enjoy!
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Nutrition
Heidi F. says
So far, I’m disappointed. The pasta was still hard as a rock. Now I have to reseal and cook all over again.
Kelly says
I found this recipe wonderful and had no problems with it.. I added a extra cup of cheese to make it a little thicker, but over all, it is a fantastic addition to my weekly meals. Thank you!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed Kelly 🙂
Jess says
I made this when I had a bunch of friends coming over for a game night and it was a HUGE hit! I used ground turkey instead of beef/chicken and elbows instead of rotini; I also found my pasta hard after the 3 minute timer, so I cooked it for an extra 3 minutes. I’m sure after sitting the pasta would reach a perfect al dente, but the super soft pasta actually worked perfectly. Thank you so much for this recipe! Will definitely make again.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed Jess, and I’m glad it was such a hit!! 🙂
Susan says
Hi any chance I could get a guess at the measurement of a serving? Cups wise? Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Susan – I don’t provide servings by weight/cup unfortunately! You will need to take the number of servings listed and divide into portions. If I had to absolutely guess, I’d say a serving is about 1 to 1.5 cups. If you’re looking for accuracy I would suggest dividing it up though!
Dana says
This gave me the burn error on my instant pot repeatedly. I ended up throwing the whole thing in a pot with a lot more water and cooking it that way.
Taylor Stinson says
Sorry you had trouble Dana – wondering if you added anything out of order or stirred before you cooked? Usually that’s the culprit for the burn message.
Natalie says
Love this recipe and family approves as well! (Including my 4 year old!) Have made it many times but always have to figure out the canned tomato amount, why do you list it as mL instead of oz? Always takes me awhile to figure out how much I actually need.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Natalie – so happy you like this recipe! Here in Canada where I purchase ingredients, that’s how most cans are labelled. A quick Google search can often help translate the values over. For instance, most 796mL cans are 26oz.
Carol K says
I made this recipe for the first time a couple of days ago. I used ground chicken instead of ground beef. I followed the recipe as it was written and the pasta was all on the top. I got a food burn error after cooking for about a minute. I opened my Instantpot and stirred it up and tried to get the burned bits off the bottom, closed it up again and restarted it. The burn error came up again. I opened it up, added the cheese & peppers. It tasted great but the carrots were a little firm. I’m new to the Instantpot community but was wondering if I put the pasta, meat & liquid in the bottom & added the rest of the stuff on top it may work better.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Carol – anytime you stir you risk getting the burn message. Ground chicken may have impacted this too as it’s a leaner meat and releases less fat. I’m sorry you had trouble!
Angelina says
Very Tasty. Since I’m half Italian & half Greek, I didn’t grow up eating Hamburger Helper. I first experienced it at a friend’s sleepover as a teenager, but your recipe is a whole lot tastier. I made this in my Dutch oven on the stovetop, but I never add pasta (or rice) into one pot meals, because I don’t want the extra starch, and the pasta gets gummy & nasty if there are leftovers to store. I do however, cut down on the liquid ingredients in any recipe when cooking the starch separately. We all enjoyed this dish, but I have yet to serve it to my Greek mother! 🙂