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Home One Pot

Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper)

By:Nagi
Published:4 Mar '19Updated:14 Aug '23
301 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Cheeseburger Casserole is a one pot, 30 minute recipe that’s outrageously good. Beefy, cheesy and saucy, it tastes like cheeseburgers in pasta form. It’s a homemade Hamburger Helper – a tastier and much healthier version of the popular boxed pasta!

I love a good one pot recipe, and this one sits alongside reader favourites including Greek Chicken & Lemon Rice, Sausage Bake with Vegetables and Gravy, Baked Chicken with Garlic Butter Rice and the one skillet Asian Beef Noodles!

Overhead close up photo of Cheeseburger Casserole - homemade Hamburger Helper - fresh out of the oven in a white cast iron skillet

“It’s beefy, cheesy and saucy – Hamburger Helper tastes like cheeseburgers in pasta form!”

Cheeseburger Casserole

The first time I published this recipe, I said that I burnt my mouth taste testing this straight out of the pot.

And almost 3 years later, I’m saying the same thing – yet again, I burnt my mouth.

I took a small taste to check for seasoning. Had a swoon moment, then scooped up a huge spoonful and shovelled it in my mouth.

And totally scorched the entire roof of my mouth. OUCH.

Here’s an up close and personal look at the offender. Look at it. Can you blame me for my lack of self control??

Cheeseburger Casserole / Homemade Hamburger Helper - Beefy, cheesy and saucy, this is a homemade version of the American favourite Hamburger Helper. One pot, 30 minutes! www.recipetineats.com

Close up of Cheeseburger Casserole - homemade Hamburger Helper - in a white cast iron skillet, fresh off the stove

Another ground beef recipe!

I’m a big fan of ground beef (mince) recipes because it’s economical, requires no chopping and it’s a terrific sponge for flavour.

So for those of you who put a packet of beef mince in your shopping basket this week, this Cheeseburger Casserole is for you! The key ingredients are fairly standard pantry items. And the items that are not can be substituted:

  • carrot, celery and corn are optional. Feel free to add other chopped veg

  • some subs available for the spices

The cheese is not optional. If you skip it, then this pretty much becomes a bolognese, hmm??

What goes in Cheeseburger Casserole - homemade Hamburger Helper recipe

One pot! 20 minutes!

The beauty of this recipe is the speed at which it has to be cooked. You cannot cook the pasta for longer than 12 minutes, otherwise your sauce will disappear and you’ll end up with overly soft pasta.

It’s a 19 minute job on the stove:

  • Onion, garlic, celery, carrot – 4 minutes

  • Brown beef – 3 minutes

  • Add the other stuff and stir – 2 minutes

  • Cook – 8 minutes (no peeking!)

  • Stir & Cheese – 1 minute

  • Melt -2 minutes

  • TOTAL 20 minutes

(PS I used to work in finance. This is the extent of the maths I do nowadays 🤓)

How to make Cheeseburger Casserole - homemade Hamburger Helper recipe

This Cheeseburger Casserole is a recipe from my good friend Jo from Jo Cooks. It’s one of many fabulous one pot recipes in her cookbook, 30 Minute One Pot Meals. 

I originally shared this recipe back in 2016 to celebrate the release of her cookbook. It was fabulous then, and it’s just as fabulous now. ❤️

Jo Cooks 30 Minute One Pot Meals cookbook - Cheeseburger Casserole / Homemade Hamburger Helper recipe

Sometimes, I reduce the amount of pasta (because I always have half packets 250g/8oz lying around!) and up the veg quota. Zucchini and red peppers /capsicum are ideal. Jo also suggests topping it with diced tomato which is a great topping.

If you do this, then you might not need a side salad. But if you do, try your garden salad or steamed vegetables with French Dressing, Balsamic Dressing or my favourite Italian Dressing. Or make a big batch of Broccoli Salad that will last you days and days! – Nagi x

PS And if you feel like a total carb blow out, add a side of Better-Than-Dominos Garlic Bread. *She swoons at the thought and her skinny jeans are cursing*


More One Pot Ground Beef / Mince recipes

  • Chili Mac – mash up of Mac and Cheese with Chilli Con Carne, so good!

  • One Pot Spaghetti Bolognese

  • Asian Beef and Ramen Noodles – one skillet, 15 minutes

  • Beef and Veggies with Rice

  • Bolognese Orzo (Risoni)

  • Taco Soup – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, it’s amazing!

  • Browse all One Pot recipes and Ground Beef / Mince recipes

Cheeseburger Casserole in a rustic pale blue bowl, ready to be eaten

Cheeseburger Casserole
Watch how to make it

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Close up of Cheeseburger Casserole - homemade Hamburger Helper - in a white cast iron skillet, fresh off the stove

Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper)

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 20 minutes mins
Total: 30 minutes mins
Mains, One Pot
American, Western
4.87 from 83 votes
Servings5
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 701
Recipe video above. It's beefy, cheesy and saucy. If you love Cheeseburgers and Mac and Cheese, then you will LOVE this Cheeseburger Casserole! A homemade version of Hamburger Helper, the boxed pasta. One pot, 30 minutes start to finish!

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves , minced
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 small carrot * , chopped (optional)
  • 1 celery stalk * , chopped (optional)
  • 500 g/ 1 lb ground beef (mince) , preferably lean
  • 12 oz / 340g dried macaroni , uncooked
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn * , optional
  • 2 cups chicken broth/stock, low sodium
  • 1 tbsp hot sauce or Sriracha sauce , adjust to taste
  • 1 tsp American chili powder (Note 1)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp garlic powder , or sub onion powder
  • 800 g / 28 oz crushed tomato
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1.5 - 2 cups (150 - 200g) cheddar or tasty cheese, shredded (Note 3)
  • 1 cup (100g) mozzarella cheese , for topping

Garnish (optional)

  • 1 green onion , sliced

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a dutch oven or large deep skillet over medium high heat.
  • Add onion and garlic, cook 1 minute. 
  • Add celery and carrot, cook 3 minutes until soft.
  • Increase heat to high and add beef. Cook, breaking it up as you go, until no longer pink - 3 minutes.
  • Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT cheese. Stir to combine, add macaroni, then turn down to medium or medium low so it's simmering gently.
  • Cover, cook 8 minutes. Pasta should be just about cooked, and still nice and saucy.
  • Add cheddar cheese, stir. Top with mozzarella cheese.
  • Cover with lid, cook for a further 2 minutes. 
  • Remove from stove. The pasta should now be cooked - tender but firm, not mushy, slick with sauce, not dried out.
  • Serve immediately, garnished with green onions, if using.

Recipe Notes:

* These are optional. Can also add more diced vegetables of choice - or even reduce pasta and add even more veg.
1. American chili powder is a combination of spices, not just chilli. I always bring some back with me! Sub as follows: 1/4 tsp each paprika, cumin, coriander plus pinch of cayenne.
2. Cheese - You can substitute with other cheeses that melt but be sure to use a flavoured cheese, not a mild flavoured cheese like mozzarella. The cheese is required for flavouring in this recipe.
3. Storage - As with all pastas, the sauce tends to get sucked up by the pasta so it's not as saucy. But this reheats very well - I just microwave. Haven't tried freezing but I see no reason why it wouldn't freeze well.
Make ahead idea - make the beef and add all the liquids. Then store until required and on the day of, reheat the beef/liquid, add pasta and cook per recipe.
4. Source: My good friend Jo from Jo Cooks, it's one of many fabulous one pot recipes in her cookbook, 30 Minute One Pot Meals. Ever so slightly amended.
5. Nutrition per serving

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 456gCalories: 693cal (35%)Carbohydrates: 63.3g (21%)Protein: 51.5g (103%)Fat: 25.4g (39%)Saturated Fat: 12.5g (78%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 12.9gCholesterol: 129mg (43%)Sodium: 748mg (33%)Fiber: 4.9g (20%)Sugar: 7.7g (9%)
Keywords: Cheeseburger casserole, Hamburger casserole recipe
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

Life of Dozer

This is the same Dozer photo I shared when I first published this recipe back in 2016 – Dozer looking at Jo’s cookbook instead of the food.

We all know I was holding a treat just out of frame to make him do that.

But she loves the photo so much anyway, I can’t change it!!

Dozer Jo Cooks cookbook

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301 Comments

  1. Julia Ogden says

    July 6, 2023 at 9:40 pm

    In your ingredients visual, there’s a bowl of macaroni captioned “Sugar”. Mistake?

    Reply
  2. Louise says

    July 6, 2023 at 11:30 am

    5 stars
    De-lic-ious! And huge servings. We made the 5-serve quantity and 4 of us only ate about half of it. The leftovers were great tho!!

    Reply
  3. Jemma says

    June 15, 2023 at 4:08 pm

    5 stars
    Not gonna lie – I only clicked on this due to morbid curiosity because I thought the title sounded gross. I expected beef with pickles and Mayo. Boy was I surprised! This will be in regular rotation, easy, economical and SO TASTY. Miss 9 put it in her top 10 dinners, Mr 6 gave it a 10/8 (we’re still working on fractions 😂)

    Reply
  4. Alison says

    June 14, 2023 at 1:48 pm

    5 stars
    So easy, and so tasty!

    Reply
  5. Kelly says

    March 31, 2023 at 12:10 pm

    5 stars
    Holy cow, I loved this! I was just looking for something quick for ingredients I had on hand; I didn’t expect to like it sooo much.

    Reply
  6. Debbie Foltz says

    March 16, 2023 at 7:04 am

    5 stars
    Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper) Let me say..Hamburger Helper only wishes to taste this good! This was so easy to fix and was even better the second day! Excellent!

    Reply
  7. Debbie Foltz says

    March 16, 2023 at 7:03 am

    5 stars
    Cheeseburger Casserole (Homemade Hamburger Helper) Let me say..Hamburger Helper only wishes to take this good! This was so easy to fix and was even better the second day! Excellent!

    Reply
  8. Tracy says

    January 26, 2023 at 7:15 am

    5 stars
    Followed recipe mostly as written. The subs I made were minor and only because of not having certain ingredients on hand. Seems to be a pretty flexible recipe. Delicious, and will make again! Thank you!

    Reply
  9. Theodora says

    January 10, 2023 at 10:32 pm

    5 stars
    Super quick and easy! Brilliant! Very tasty 😋
    My fussy 2yo loved it 🙂

    Reply
  10. Claire says

    January 6, 2023 at 2:07 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for sharing this recipe it’s so easy and tasty although I used shells instead of macaroni (what I had in the pantry). Is now a staple

    Reply
  11. Tina says

    November 13, 2022 at 6:29 am

    5 stars
    Made this last night.. Delicious and super easy. Also leftovers for dinner tonight. just as good reheated.

    Reply
  12. kaity says

    September 17, 2022 at 9:07 am

    5 stars
    I made this last night. Hit with the family 🙂

    Reply
  13. Lucy says

    August 30, 2022 at 3:06 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, what American chilli powder do you use. I have a friend in the US who can send me some.
    Cheers, thankyou.

    Reply
  14. Ren says

    August 7, 2022 at 12:34 pm

    5 stars
    I made this last night. So easy and SO tasty!!
    Thanks for this gem, Nagi.

    Reply
  15. Anne says

    April 29, 2022 at 11:31 pm

    5 stars
    I just cooked this and my 14 year old son loves it. He said it is Mac and cheese on crack.

    Reply
    • Zeinab says

      March 5, 2023 at 9:41 pm

      LOL. this is the best review. Really had me laughing.

      Reply
  16. imsen says

    February 3, 2022 at 4:16 am

    5 stars
    Very good. I made it tonight and the family liked it. It is easy to make.

    Reply
  17. Lina I says

    January 21, 2022 at 1:17 pm

    5 stars
    Kids and I loved this! Super easy. Please more one pot meals Nagi!!!! We love your food blog:)

    Reply
  18. Hailey says

    January 10, 2022 at 1:36 pm

    Can this be made without the tomatoes?

    Reply
    • Jodie says

      July 16, 2022 at 10:25 pm

      Hi Hailey i don’t like whole tomatoes, so would use Pasata / tomato puree..

      Reply
  19. B says

    October 19, 2021 at 10:18 pm

    5 stars
    So yummy! I used penne instead of macaroni because that’s the only pasta i had..I added around 2-3 mins. It was still a little bit soupy though. But it dried up more on the table. Still delicious and a very easy dish to make.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 20, 2021 at 8:49 am

      Thank you! N x

      Reply
  20. Marbleless says

    September 10, 2021 at 12:15 am

    5 stars
    Gah! Do not make this when you are trying to eat reasonable portions! I had seconds, then a few scoops for bedtime snack, then again this morning for breakfast. I didn’t top with cheese, and had to tweak the liquids a bit because my box of pasta was 14 ounces. I’ll do this again!

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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