One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna
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This One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna is the perfect quick weeknight dinner! Ditch the boxed mix Hamburger Helper and make your own, lasagna style, much healthier and homemade. Comfort food at its finest.
Homemade Hamburger Helper Lasagna
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!
Hamburger Helper Lasagna Highlights
- Homemade. The main reason you should be making this! It’s homemade, made from scratch, so you know what goes in your food. No preservatives or chemicals, just good stuff!
- 30 Minute One Pot Meal. Since I wrote the book on 30 Minute One Pot Meals I consider myself an expert and this dish takes the cake! You really only need 30 minutes to make this one pot meal!
- Utterly Delicious. Let’s be serious here. Is there anything better than cheesy, saucy, meaty pasta? I think not! It truly is comfort food at its finest.
- Ground Beef – You’ll need a pound of ground beef. I used extra lean but if you just have regular ground beef, you might have to drain any excess fat after cooking it.
- Onion And Garlic – Must haves for some delicious flavor in our hamburger helper.
- Italian Seasoning – I love to use my homemade version but store bought works just as well.
- Marinara Sauce – You can make your own using my recipe here, or use store bought marinara sauce.
- Pasta – I love to use mafalda pasta which are little tiny lasagna sheets. I find these on amazon (link in recipe card) but any small shaped pasta will work just as well. You can even use regular lasagna sheets, and just break them into small pieces.
- Chicken Broth – I love using a low sodium or no sodium broth, this way I can control how much salt goes in my dish.
- Mozzarella Cheese – Lots of freshly shredded mozzarella cheese. You could use other cheeses if you wish such as provolone, emmental or even some havarti.
- Cook the beef. 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.
- Incorporate onion, garlic and seasoning. Add 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 liquids and pasta. Add the marinara sauce, pasta, chicken broth and stir everything together. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to low. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through, most of the sauce should be absorbed as well.
- Finish the dish. Stir in the cheese and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute until the cheese melts.
- Garnish and serve. Garnish with parsley and serve.
What Else Can I Add?
Feel free to play around with seasonings, herbs, etc. This is also a great recipe to sneak a few veggies into! The best part about making your own hamburger helper is you can make it however you want! Try some veggies like broccoli, mushrooms, or green peppers to name a few.
Do I Have To Use Mafalda Pasta?
Nope! You can use any small shaped pasta you prefer or have on hand. You can even use regular lasagna sheets and just break them into small pieces.
Can I Make This In Advance?
Absolutely! This is a great recipe to make in advance. Even though it only takes 30 minutes, sometimes we don’t have time for that. This hamburger helper lasagna can be made in advance and frozen for future meals! Scroll down to “freezing” section for full instructions.
Expert Tips
- You can use ground chicken or turkey to reduce the fat content.
- Just because the boxed version has multiple variations, doesn’t mean I don’t! Check out my Three Cheese Hamburger Helper, Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper, or Instant Pot Hamburger Helper for some more inspiration.
- Make sure when you’re adding the liquids to the skillet to scrape the brown bits in the bottom of the skillet, they add delicious flavor!
- Play around with cheeses, spices etc to make this dish your own. There are a ton of variations you can make with this base recipe.
Serve This With
Caesar Salad Recipe
Easy Garlic Bread
Classic Dinner Rolls
Skillet Green Beans
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.
Freezing Hamburger Helper
If you want to freeze your leftovers, let them cool completely then freeze in an airtight container. Your hamburger helper lasagna will stay fresh for up to 3 months if stored properly.
More Delicious Lasagna Recipes To Try
- Taco Lasagna
- Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)
- Zucchini Lasagna
- The Best Lasagna
- Lasagna Dip
- Skillet White Chicken Lasagna
- Easy Beef Lasagna
- Lasagna Soup
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (extra lean)
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 8 ounce mafalda pasta (uncooked)
- 3 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- 2 tablespoons parsley (fresh, chopped for garnish)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Cook the beef. 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.
- Incorporate onion, garlic and seasoning. Add 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 liquids and pasta. Add the marinara sauce, pasta, chicken broth and stir everything together. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to low. Cook for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through, most of the sauce should be absorbed as well.
- Finish the dish. Stir in the cheese and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute until the cheese melts.
- Garnish and serve. 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.
- Make sure when you’re adding the liquids to the skillet to scrape the brown bits in the bottom of the skillet, they add delicious flavor!
- Play around with cheeses, spices etc to make this dish your own. There are a ton of variations you can make with this base recipe.
- 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.
- If you want to freeze your leftovers, let them cool completely then freeze in an airtight container. Your hamburger helper lasagna will stay fresh for up to 3 months if stored properly.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Recipe Originally Shared June 2016. Updated with video and pictures.
This is one of our favorite recipes! I make it weekly, and the entire family loves it!
I made this for my family and it was a hit! Better than any box dinner. Can’t wait to try it again!
Oh, I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that your family loved it! You’re totally right, who needs a boxed dinner when you can whip up something this good from scratch? 🍝 Thanks for sharing the love, and can’t wait for you to try it again!
Great! Here’s what I did with my 8 qt instant pot: decrease broth to 4c, increase marinara to 2-24 oz jars, 16oz farfalle pasta, 2lbs ground beef and 1 pound Italian sausage. In IP for 7m. Perfection. Thanks for the recipe!
This is such a yummy recipe for the whole family and quick and easy!
Looks really good! Glad you enjoyed it!
I made this recipe and my husband absolutely loved it!!!! Thought it was way better than box hamburger helper. I made a couple tweaks; sub’d sausage for beef and added 1 Tblsp tomato paste for extra flavor. It was soooo good! Thanks for this recipe!
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for letting me know. 🙂
I’ve made this many times. It’s a family favorite. Better than anything in a box.
That’s wonderful to hear! There’s something special about a home-cooked meal that a box just can’t replicate, isn’t there? I’m thrilled that this recipe has earned a spot as a family favorite at your table. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, and keep enjoying those delicious meals together!
I have made this at least 50 times. My whole family loves it. I don’t change a thing. For me it is a perfect dupe without all the added chemicals,
If you don’t have marinara sauce can you substitute with vodka sauce?
Absolutely! Vodka sauce would work as a great substitute in this recipe. It will impart a richer, creamier flavor to your hamburger helper lasagna. The overall taste will be slightly different, but delicious nonetheless!
This was a big hit. I doubled the recipe using 1lb ground beef and 1lb ground pork and used Mafaldotte No. 159 noodles (mini lasagna). I also added 2 to 3 cups of fresh spinach chopped fine and added with the onions and garlic. This recipe will be on our meal plan rotation. Thank you.
This recipe is sooooo good and my go-to hamburger helper recipe. I have used different pasta and it comes out good every time. Thanks for a wonderful recipe! 😊👍
I’m so thrilled to hear you’re loving this hamburger helper lasagna recipe! It’s always exciting to know when one of my dishes becomes a go-to for someone. The beauty of this recipe is indeed its flexibility, and I’m glad you’ve had success swapping out different types of pasta! Thanks for sharing your experience and your kind words. It truly means a lot! Keep on cooking and enjoying! 😊🙌🍝
This was delicious! My whole family love it. I used beef broth instead of chicken and used farfalle pasta. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you!
My pleasure, so glad you enjoyed it!
This was fantastic! I scaled down to make half and used what I had on hand, which was 2/3 of a jar of Prego pizza sauce. I also used chicken boullion powder to make a broth, and also added water to the jar to get every last bit of pizza sauce out. I don’t like the texture of onion, so I let this simmer a long time with just the seasoning and broth to break down the onion some before adding the sauce. I simply broke up some regular lasagna noodles instead of marfalda pasta. I used half mozzarella and half parmesan and this turned out soo tasty. This was easy to customize to what I had on hand.
I made this a few weeks ago as an easy weeknight dinner. It was amazing! Even my pickiest kid ate it up. We have added this to our meal rotation. One pot was easy clean up. The left overs were just as good, if not better.
I had never heard of this dish. We often make mince with pasta, but it’s no where near as delicious as this! Making the sauce separately and cooking the pasta in the actual mince/sauce definitely makes this dish more tasty than I thought it would!
This was a favourite in our house! Made it twice now and been wee bit more adventurous with spices and cheeses and pasta used. I also used the onions from the sauce in the mince second time, as I really didn’t want to waste the onions. So used the onions and added one extra. LOVE THIS DISH!
I was pleasantly surprised how good this tasted! We grew up eating the boxed hamburger helper which is why I decided to try this recipe and it was so much better! Added to the monthly rotation here. Thank you!
My pleasure, glad you liked it!