Lightened-Up Homemade Hamburger Helper – Ditch the boxed mix Hamburger Helper and make this easy, one-pot, healthier homemade version!
Homemade, real-ingredients-type One Pot Hamburger Helper, you say? Yes, WE CAN! I am definitely down with dat.
Hi Hi! Happy Happy Sunday! How are you?! How are things going?
Lemme tell you about things around here… you won’t even believe this right now: IT’S SNOWING. I’m sitting on the couch and looking out the window where it was sunny 2 minutes ago, it rained 4 minutes before that, and now it’s snowing. ❄ ☔ P.S.? It’s April.
Just let me tell you one more thing real quick. Photographing yellow food is freakin’ brutal! Or maybe it isn’t, but the photographer was too lazy to figure out a better way?!
Nahhhh. It’s the yellow food.
Okay, so I have some major things to tell you. First of all, today we are giving a big huge virtual hug to our, yours and mine, favorite high school boxed meal!
I don’t know about you, but my parents worked and came home waaaay after my sister and I came home from school, so reaching for the boxed-mixes was our thing at least once a week.
Over the years, as we’ve tried to cut back on fake-ish food, I have found it really, really therapeutic recreating packaged food products, and making them completely homemade. Hamburger Helper is one of ’em.
Working off of my One Pot Spinach & Feta Macaroni and Cheese is actually how I made it to this recipe right here. Made with whole wheat pasta, ground turkey, vegan cheddar, and almond milk, we’ve got a lot of delicious but simple and healthier yummies factoring in here. It’s very easy to prepare and cooking all in one pot makes it a snap for clean up.
You must make this, good people of the world. It makes the perfect weeknight dinner, and it’s the greatest excuse to transport back to your high school days.
ENJOY!
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TOOLS USED IN THIS RECIPE
Lightened-Up Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 pound 99% Fat-Free Extra Lean Ground Turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- salt and fresh ground pepper , to taste
- 1-1/2 cups whole wheat/whole grain elbow macaroni (I use DeLallo)
- 1 cup cubed vegan cheddar cheese (I use "Daiya")
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups almond milk (you can also use soy milk or regular milk)
- 1/2 cup low sodium fat free chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet or a dutch oven.
- Add onions and cook for 3 minutes.
- Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add ground turkey and season with, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned; remove from heat and drain out the liquid.
- Add pasta, cheese, flour, milk, chicken broth and worcestershire sauce to the prepared meat; stir to combine.
- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently; lower to a simmer and cover with a lid.
- Continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until pasta is thoroughly cooked.
- Remove from heat and taste for seasonings; adjust accordingly.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
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I made this for dinner tonight, and my super picky kids gobbled it up. It’s yummy and macro friendly! Glad I found a healthified version of the hamburger helper!
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I was craving something just like this, healthy comfort food, and this recipe absolutely hit the nail on the head. I’m allergic to dairy so when I read you use real turkey meat and Daiya cheese, I did a little dance in the kitchen, haha. I made my boyfriend whip up his own real cheese sauce but this was just perfect. We added all the spices and the Worcester sauce into the meat and just layered on the goodness into a bowl. A+.
Question Daiya Cheese Substitute? What is in it? Exactly! Is it healthy? Sometimes to make things Vegan, some very unnutritious things get added. People are Vegan for a great many reasons, many of which have nothing to do with being healthy. As long as it’s not an animal related product they will gobble it down! Myself I have no choice! Healthy is more important between allergies & intolerances I’m super careful. I can skip the Daiya, & I’m allergic to turkey. Plus would this work with Homemade Veggie Burger? The veggies of the world could use a healthy option! Found some nice recipes Here I can adapt plus a couple of healthy snacks for Hubs.
Substituted. Soy crumblers for meat and veg broth. Doubled paprika and chili powder. Mmmm!
very soupy. has a great taste though. probably wouldnt make again 🙁
Kate, you made this hamburger helper knock-off look absolutely incredible! I want a spoonful, pronto!
I am going to give this a try this week!
I just love recipes like this, and I’ve been good at, as you say, “cutting out the fake-ish foods!” This is a fabulous recipe and can’t wait to try it myself!
Where were you when I was in college eating this out of the box like three days a week?! I really could have used this lightened up version! Thanks for sharing! At least I’ll have it for MY children!
I wish I’d had this recipe back in the day when I was raising kids. It would have been a much healthier alternative to the Hamburger Helper we ate for convenience.
The perfect comfort food! Scratching my head over the chicken broth comment above. What’s wrong with chicken broth??
OH I am saving this!!! I have to try it!!
Katerina I love how all of the ingredients marry each other to produce a fabulous dish xoxo
Sounds very tasty.
Hamburger Helper made me think I was a good cook when I was 19. 🙂 Your recipe looks so much better/healthier but still easy. Thanks! P.S. your yellow food photography is very inviting.
My sister and I thought we were gourmet chefs!! haha 😀 Thank you, Ginny!! xo
I love this recipe! It looks and sounds amazing. We used to have hamburger helper too sometimes when we were little. I love this homemade version! One pot too, sold!
Chicken broth? Really!! Nope
What’s wrong with chicken broth?
Chicken broth works perfectly for this dish!