This protein packed, homemade hamburger helper is ready in 20 minutes and perfect for an easy weeknight meal! Serve it with a salad or some raw veggies for a very easy meal the whole family will enjoy!
Kids in sports, parents working, weeknights just are so busy these days! I am pretty hell bent on family dinners as much as possible around here, so that often means I need meals that are fast. Props if they have good protein, use very few dishes and have no one complaining about them. Enter this homemade hamburger helper! It sneakily adds extra protein, uses only 2 pans and is a perfect comfort food you don’t need to feel guilty about. It comes together in about 20 minutes and had my whole family going back for more.
Homemade Hamburger Helper
2lbs lean ground beef (or turkey to make it leaner)
1 white onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp minced garlic
4 Tbsp flour
1 32oz container beef broth
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1 16 oz box pasta of your choice
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 cup cottage cheese
2 Tbsp water
3 cups shredded cheddar
Place beef in a sauce pan and brown until cooked through. In a large pot or dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and sauteé for 4 minutes. Add garlic and sauteé for an additional 30 seconds. Sprinkle flour over the onion mixture and stir until mixed. Slowly add beef broth and bring to a boil. Add seasonings, pasta and tomato sauce and stir to mix. Cover and allow to simmer on low for 12 minutes. While pasta is mixing, blend cottage cheese and water in a blender (a single serve one works great!) until smooth. Shred cheese if you have the block form. When the pasta is done cooking, stir in cottage cheese mixture and shredded cheese. Serve immediately!
This recipe makes a large amount that served my family, plus leftovers. I calculated it to be 8 servings that have about 38 grams of protein each/
If I want to be brought back to simple days of childhood food, this meal would be it. It was such a good and flavorful comfort food meal! Let me know if you try this and if your family loves it as much as mine did!
Recipe adapted from The Novice Chef Blog