A healthier gluten-free Hamburger Helper made in one-skillet and takes less than 20 minutes to whip up! A delicious and easy dinner recipe for the whole family and it is so crave-able and a family fave.
When I told Jordan I was making us a “healthy hamburger helper”, he had zero idea what I was referring to.
We both technically have never had the original hamburger helper recipe so call us amateurs, but I have a feeling I would have loved it after having the healthier one.
This is hands down one of the most requested recipes on the blog ever. I looked up the original hamburger helper sold in grocery stores and from the looks of it, felt it was a super easy recipe to mimic.
I also only dirtied one skillet, which is a dream when it comes to cleaning up the kitchen after a meal. This whole recipe will take you less than 20 minutes to make and you will feed your entire family or have dinner for yourself for a few nights. It is a dream recipe scenario!
This recipe is also really light because I don’t use much cheese in it. Just a cup of shredded cheese for that creaminess and no milk or anything. You can of course add more cheese if you are craving. Jord did when he warmed his up!
Ingredients needed to cook this Hamburger Helper:
I am flipping obsessed with how simple the ingredients are for this pasta dish. I had all of these things on hand too, which made it even easier to make. This recipe is also dairy free-friendly, if you want to sub a dairy-free cheese too.
- Grass-fed/grass-finished beef – you can also use ground turkey or chicken if you prefer
- Almond flour – this isn’t a must but I think it helps absorb the broth better while pasta cooks
- Garlic powder, paprika and onion powder
- Bone broth – I used beef bone broth but any broth works
- Dry pasta – I used these brown rice shells
- Tomato sauce – use your favorite pasta sauce
- Shredded cheese – or use dairy-free cheese too
How to make healthy Hamburger Helper:
- Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat and add the grass-fed beef to skillet and breakdown down into smaller pieces uses a wooden spoon or fork
- Cook on medium heat until the beef is brown and no longer pink
- Drain any excess fat from the skillet then add in the flour, spices, broth, pasta and sauce and mix well
- Bring to a boil then cover and cook on low heat for about 12 minutes (or until pasta is ready and almost all liquid is absorbed)
- Remove skillet from heat and mix in cheese and serve while warm!
A few of my other favorite easy dinner recipes:
Healthier Gluten-free Vegetarian Lo Mein
The Easiest No-Boil Baked Pasta Recipe (gluten-free)
Healthy Vegetarian Enchilada Pasta (gluten-free)
5-ingredient Creamy Squash Pasta (vegan + gluten-free)
One-Skillet Gluten-free Hamburger Helper
A healthier gluten-free Hamburger Helper made in one-skillet and takes less than 20 minutes to whip up! A delicious and easy dinner recipe for the whole family and it is so crave-able and a family fave.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 17 mins
- Yield: Serves 4 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb grass-fed/grass-finished beef
- 1 tablespoon almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder, paprika and onion powder
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 cups bone broth (or any broth!)
- 12 ounces dry pasta (I used these brown rice shells)
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheese (or use dairy-free cheese)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat and add the grass-fed beef to skillet and breakdown down into smaller pieces uses a wooden spoon or fork
- Cook on medium heat until the beef is brown and no longer pink
- Drain any excess fat from the skillet then add in the flour, spices, broth, pasta and sauce and mix well
- Bring to a boil then cover and cook on low heat for about 12 minutes (or until pasta is ready and almost all liquid is absorbed)
- Remove skillet from heat and mix in cheese and serve while warm!
Notes
*Store leftovers in fridge for 5 days
27 Responses
Just made this and honestly I’m shocked by how delicious this is. I subbed ground turkey and veggie stock and I also added in a whole shredded zucchini. Delicious! My kids love it and so do my husband and I. Will definitely be making this again.
wwwoooohhhooo!!!
Rachel, this was AMAZING!!!!! SO easy to make and tastes delicious.
★★★★★
aaawww thank you!!!
Looks delicious. This might be a dumb question but I’m confused on the amount of dry pasta. In one spot it says 2c in another it says 12oz, but assuming 2c is 16oz, how much pasta is recommended? Thank you.
12 ounces 😀
This was so easy and tastes amazing!!!! This will definitely be in our meal rotation 🤗 We also had your pizza bagels for lunch today.
★★★★★
yyaaayyyyy!!!!!
I loved this! My mom is a super picky eater so it was a great meal to make with her. I used orecchiette and it was a great noodle for the cheesiness!
★★★★★
wwooohhooo love that idea!!
Hi. Have you made this with a meatless ground beef? If so, what brand did you use and/or can you recommend one.
And did you use chedder or mozzarella cheese? Thank you
This looks delicious
i usually use cheddar!! i haven’t don’t a meatless beef. but a lot readers have and loved it!!
Any recommendations for sauce substitute that does not contain tomatoes?
Hmm not that I know of!
I’m willing to bet that if you roast bell peppers squeeze out the excess liquid and run it through food processor you’ll get a great bell pepper sauce that you could use for this recipe
★★★★★
Yummy!!!!! Loved it. My new go-to when I’m not sure what to make!
★★★★★
So delicious!! Easy and quick to make. The kids and husband loved it! We’ll be bookmarking this recipe for sure!
★★★★★
aaawww yay thank you!!!!
This is AMAZING! I have not had hamburger helper in almost 5 years because I needed it to be gluten free. I did add 2tbsps of milk just to make it a but creamy.
Thank you!!!
★★★★★
YAAYY thank you!
Had a craving for hamburger helper, something I haven’t eaten in 20+ years. Wife found this recipe, substituted the shells for an alternative gluten-free option and used non-dairy cheese. HITS THE SPOT! Very good, thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
aaawww yayyyyy
Winner winner perfect dinner! I made this when Rachel first posted it then kinda forgot about it. Well… it will be on the winter food rotation for sure! Easy and super delicious! I’m GF and DF so I used the banza pasta and put cheese on my husband’s and son’s when I played theirs. Honestly, I’m already excited for leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
★★★★★
thank you so much!!!!!!
Best healthy version of box hamburger helper ever!! It was effortless to whip up. And as a momma of a new born and a 2.5 year old, time is precious! This literally took less than 10 minutes to get it all cooking, and then it was done. Also, with sleep deprivation from new born phase, I accidentally used an entire can of organic tomato sauce. BUT, it was okay because calculating the measurements, it was 1.75 cups, so I just then used 2 cups of bone broth. Haha. Thank you for the recipe!!!
★★★★★
awww thanks cynthia!!
I’m so excited to make this this week. I never grew up with hamburger helper either but I love anything with ground beef. And we actually have all these ingredients on a regular basis!