By Gwen Brown 43 Comments
You asked for my best hamburger recipe, and this is it! It’s lightening fast, can be on the table in minutes, and pleases even the pickiest palettes. Think of it as a homemade Hamburger Helper recipe, except it’s even yummier. I hope you love it! My family sure does.
It goes on the table in less than 30 minutes, start to finish. I double the recipe, since we’re a family of 6 with teens and big appetites, and it makes a HUGE pan and leaves me some lunch leftovers.
Full Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Disclosure Page
I like to serve it with a side salad, or raw veggies with ranch dipfor a well rounded meal.
Trim Healthy Mama Tips
Another reason this is the best hamburger recipe, is that itcan easily be made low carb, so it works on plan with the Trim Healthy Mama plan as an S recipe if you useDreamfields pasta. Or you can make it with gluten free pasta if necessary- most gluten free pastas are not Trim Healthy Mama friendly, but you can use (Amazon affiliate links)black bean pasta or quinoa pastas to keep it on plan as a crossover.
This is also really easy to crossover for kids or people who don’t need to lose weight. Simply add some fruit or some garlic toast for those who need to gain or maintain.
Best Hamburger Recipe- EVEN Faster!
Some of you have asked for SUPER fast, easy recipes. For those busy nights where you’re running to soccer practice, or coming home late from work. Here are my best tips for making this recipe even faster.
- Pre-mix 4-5 extra batches of spices into little snack sized baggies when you make this the first time. Label thebags, and stash them in the pantry for the future.
- Pre-brown and drain ground beef, and spread out on a cookie sheet and freeze. Crumble frozen ground beef and freeze in a bag- this can be used in any type of recipe calling for ground beef: tacos, chili, hamburger beef soup, cheeseburger quesadillas, and even this delicious Cheeseburger Helperrecipe. You can brown up several pounds of ground beef on a slower day, and freeze several pounds at once to use for later.
- Menu plan (like this!) So you know exactly what to take out to thaw ahead for every meal.
Following these quick steps can get this on the table in less than 15 minutes!
The Best Hamburger Recipe: Skillet Cheeseburger Helper Printable & Pin
5.0 from 3 reviews
Best Hamburger Recipe- Skillet Cheeseburger Helper
This is my favorite "get it to the table fast" best hamburger recipe. My whole family loves it! To make it even quicker, premix extra batches of the spices, and keep them on hand for the future.
Author: Gwen
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- spice packet (see below)
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 cup plain, unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup half & half (or sub with additional almond milk- but this is creamier)
- 4 oz. or 1½ cups pasta- Dreamfields keeps you low carb or THM compiant, but any pasta may be used in this recipe
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, plus more cheese for topping (topping is optional)
Hamburger Helper Spice Packet
- 2½ teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, optional
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon glucomannan thickener or xanthan gum
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in a skillet or dutch oven that has a lid.
- While beef is browning, mix together your spices. (This is a great time to go ahead and measure out a few extra snack sized baggies for the future!)
- When the beef is starting to get a deep brown and smell amazing, add in the spices, hot water, almond milk, and half & half.
- Stir, and bring to a simmer.
- Add pasta to the pot and stir. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 7-8 minutes.
- Remove lid & add cheese. Check pasta for doneness. If it's done, simply allow the cheese to melt into the sauce. If your pasta has a few more minutes, return the lid and simmer until the pasta is tender.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes, and serve.
Notes
Trim Healthy Mama Notes:
Use Dreamfields Pasta to keep this in an S setting, and avoid reheating, as this breaks down the pasta and makes it higher carb.
If you're gluten free, you can use the black bean or quinoa pastas if you're comfortable with those, and consider it a crossover recipe. 
Follow me on Pinterest andnever miss a recipe!
Follow Gwen’s Nest
Follow Gwen’s Nest’s board Gwen’s Nest Healthy Recipes on Pinterest.
