One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna – ditch the boxed mix Hamburger Helper and make your own, lasagna style, much healthier and homemade. Comfort food at its finest.
HAMBURGER HELPER
OK, I hate to admit this but I actually secretly love the Hamburger Helper meals. When I was in college and I lived on my own, I made them quite a bit. But now that I’m a mature adult, ahem, I am more conscious of what I’m eating and would actually like to know what goes in my food, I make these dishes myself.
Last time I went grocery shopping and went down the aisle with all the boxes of Hamburger Helper I saw this lasagna version and I remembered that this was my favorite. Rather than pick up a box, being the food blogger that I am, I decided to make it myself.
I’m glad I did, because this could not get any easier. With just a few ingredients, you have comfort food at its finest. I mean, in case you haven’t figured this out before, I am a pasta lover, so anytime you give me pasta loaded with meat and cheese, I’ll be your best friend for life. No lie!
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN HAMBURGER HELPER LASAGNA
The main ingredients in hamburger helper are pasta, marinara sauce, ground beef and mozzarella cheese. My favorite ingredients ever! The only additions I’ve made are add ingredients that flavor the dish, like onion, garlic, must have garlic, lots of garlic, Italian seasoning, and chicken broth.
Here’s the kicker, you can do it all in one pot in 30 minutes or less, cause that’s my thing you know, 30 Minute One Pot Meals. OK, that was a shameless plug, but moving on.
I really think I should have been born Italian. And to think I married a man who does not like pasta, how can this be? How can anyone not like pasta? Anyway, I’m not going to contemplate that now because this is the time to talk about this luscious mafalda pasta smothered in marinara sauce with ground beef and laden with mozzarella cheese. This is what my dreams are made of. Yes, what a wonderful world!
HOW TO MAKE HAMBURGER HELPER LASAGNA
This is really easy to make. Start by cooking the ground beef in a large skillet until it’s no longer pink and starts to brown a bit. I used extra lean ground beef so I didn’t need to drain any excess fat. Add the chopped onion, garlic and seasonings. Cook for another 3 minutes until the onion softens and becomes translucent.
Add the marinara sauce, uncooked pasta, chicken broth and stir everything together. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the past is cooked through.
Stir in the cheese and cook for another 30 seconds until the cheese melts. Garnish with parsley if preferred and serve.
Seriously though, have you seen anything more beautiful than this. No, don’t answer that! It was a rhetorical question anyway. Back to the lasagna though, I’ve tried to make this as simple as can be and with very few ingredients. This is the perfect meal to make on a busy night after work and it’s pretty much guaranteed that all family members, especially children, will love this dish, unless of course you have one like my husband around, who doesn’t like pasta.
HOW TO STORE THIS HAMBURGER HELPER
If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, this would make a great lunch for the next day. Make sure the hamburger helper has come to room temperature completely before proceeding. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
CAN YOU FREEZE THIS HAMBURGER HELPER
Yes, hamburger helper freezes great. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for 3 to 4 months.
TRY THESE ONE POT 30 MINUTE MEALS:
- One Pot Greek Chicken Orzo
- Shrimp Scampi
- One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
- Easy Chicken Fajitas
- One Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice
One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef extra lean
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 8 oz mafalda pasta uncooked
- 3 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 tbsp parsley fresh, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet cook the ground beef over medium heat until it's no longer pink and starts to brown. Drain off any excess fat, if needed. If using extra lean ground beef there won't be any excess fat to drain.
- Ad the chopped onion and minced garlic to the skillet and stir. Season with salt and pepper, Italian seasoning and cook until the onion gets soft and translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add the marinara sauce, pasta, chicken broth and stir everything together. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through, most of the sauce should be absorbed as well.
- Stir in the cheese and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute until the cheese melts.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
- If you can't find mafalda pasta, you can use any other small type such as farfalle, penne, shells, elbow, etc.
- You can use ground chicken or turkey to reduce the fat content.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Thank you for this amazing recipe. It was simple to prepare and so much better than the packaged stuff.
Can I use veggie broth?
Yes!
This was wonderful, Jo. I made it for my card making group yesterday and followed the recipe exactly. The kitchen smelled great and all the ladies loved it. I had one serving left over and I will freeze that for a lunch in the future. One of my group asked for the recipe so I gave her the one I had printed out. I served it with a spinach salad. I’m going to try it again using Italian sausage as I have half a package of the pasta left. Thank you so much for sharing.
It will be so good with Italian sausage! Thanks for the great review, we’re so glad you love the recipe.
One pot hamburger helps was perfect.
Where did you find Mafalda pasta? My hubby likes to make lasagna with these noodles but I can’t see to find them anywhere.
If you can’t find it at your local grocery stores or Italian center, you can buy it on Amazon.
I use campanelle pasta, which has curly edges and very similar to mini lasagna! Every grocery store usually carries campanelle as well. I love this recipe and make it often.
Was excited to see this recipe, however, when I look for this pasta it’s nowhere to be found in my area of Las Vegas. My daughters live in Chicago and it’s not sold there either. When you try to break regular lasagne noodles it never works. Way too expensive to buy this pasta online.
I mentioned in the recipe and post that you can use other pasta, such as shells, penne, elbow, etc.
You always crack me up! I love hamburger helper and any pasta dish. Thank you for posting this. I can now make it fresh instead of from a box. My husband does not like pasta either, it must be a man thing, lol. Thank you
The life they must live!!
I’m on a low carb diet this year (and, surprisingly, have stayed on it since Jan 2)! My fave HH box was the Chili Tomato – hard to find these days. I don’t think I even tried the lasagne
box – don’t know why, but when – notice I said when? We’re going on holidays on Monday, so the ground is fast coming closer (bread and wine in France, beer in Germany and fries in the UK, lol) – I fall off the low carb wagon, I’ll give your recipe a try 🙂
Ha!! By the way, I know there are lower carb pastas you can buy, I’ve bought some and surprisingly are not bad!
I live near a diabetic store on 17th Ave. I bought a pack of spaghetti (but it cost $15)! It was good.
We’ll have to go check that store out! Pasta is my weakness.
I’ve tried some spaghetti from a diabetic store ($15 for the regular-sized box!!) and it WAS good, and I have some nuPasta from Walmart that I haven’t tried yet. There’s also some low carb bread I’ve found (5 carbs per slice).
Can this be frozen?? Looking for post 3rd baby meals.
Yes for sure, store it in air tight containers, for up to 3 or 4 months.
I love this recipe! We’ve had it several times and it’s always a hit!
This was absolutely delicious! Used Rao’s Marinara sauce and also added some cottage cheese (prefer to ricotta). Kids raved about it. Will definitely be in our regular rotation
We love this recipe so much! And by “we” I mean my hubby and I. We have loved the HH brand for years before we realized how many chemicals among other non-healthy ingredients were in that brand. Now we can enjoy this tasty dish anytime, which is about three times a month. I’ve sampled various types of marinara sauces, and yet it comes out delicious every time. Thank you so much for introducing us to a healthier skillet lasagna!
My pleasure! Definitely beats the box kind. 🙂
This looks amazing – will have to try this soon. Cheers***
If I double the meat would I have to increase the liquids to cook the pasta properly? If I wanted to turn this into a soup (and add a veggie) how much more liquid would you use? Thank you
Keep the liquids the same, and you can add a bit more if you think it’s necessary. Check out this Lasagna Soup, you can add in any veggies you like!
Any recipe for the pineapple cucumber pomegranate salsa you put on the blackened shrimp taco?
We are planning on doing a post for that recipe in the near future 🙂
We made last eve and will make again for sure. My pasta stash was low so I had to use wild garlic egg noodles (spaetzle). Now that was a surprise how wonderful that little addition made it taste. Things you learn out of necessity in the kitchen……….
I found these noodles at Big Lots! (Riesa brand pasta) Who knew?
Oh I love spaetzle! I’ve been wanting to make my own!
Do you have a favorite recipe you are going to try for spaetzle?
I’m still looking into it. 🙂
Well lookie here. I have a request for this recipe from a family member for next week. It’s his birthday! He dropped his request for lamb chops! Almost unheard of around here. Now I need to find the wild garlic pasta again. ha ha
Delicious! So much better than anything boxed.
Agreed!
Absolutely delicious!
Delicious!! This will definitely become a staple in our home! Thanknyou!!!😊
We so enjoyed dinner tonight, thank you! I swapped in ground turkey and farfalle pasta since that’s what I had on hand and added some of our favorite garlic bread seasoning. Turned out great. I’m so happy to have another easy one skillet dinner recipe. Thank you!
That sounds fantastic! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed it so much.