Homemade Healthy Hamburger Helper
This copycat hamburger helper tastes just like the real thing made healthier! It’s grain-free, paleo, and can even be made AIP!
What is Hamburger Helper?
Hamburger helper is a serious throwback for me! It’s comes in a box that includes pasta, and dry seasonings and sauce so all you have to do is add ground meat for a meal. Needless to say, it’s not necesiarly the freshest thing that there can be. However, it can easily be made healthier and homemade while still being super simple!
This healthier hamburger helper is gluten-free, dairy-free, and can even be made paleo and AIP-friendly!
The Ingredients for the Hamburger Helper
- Ground beef
- Canned coconut milk. I like to use the native forest simple variety.
- Tomato sauce. Or you can use nomato sauce to keep it AIP.
- Onion.
- Seasonings. Like parsley, oregano, and nutritional yeast.
- Elbow pasta. I like to use the Jovial cassava pasta to keep this recipe grain-free!
How to Make Paleo Hamburger Helper?
- Using a large bowl, stir the coconut milk, broth, arrowroot, and oregano. Set aside.
- Use a large, deep pot to brown the ground beef and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the onion and garlic and saute.
- Add the beef back to the pot and stir in the broth mixture, tomato sauce, and pasta. Stir well to combine.
- Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, bringing the pot to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce is reduced.
- Serve topped with parsley.
Can you make this recipe ahead of time?
For sure! It’s great for meal prep. I recommend slightly reheating on the stove.
Can you use a meat other than beef?
Beef is the classic for this recipe, but you could also use ground turkey.
What pasta should you use?
The jovial grain-free cassava pasta is a game-changer and it perfect for this recipe to keep it paleo! You can also use the jovial rice pasta if you can have grains, which is another favorite of mine and what I used in this recipe.
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PrintCopycat Hamburger Helper (Paleo & AIP)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This copycat hamburger helper tastes just like the real thing made healthier! It’s grain-free, paleo, and can even be made AIP!
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 lb ground beef
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (omit for AIP)
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/4 cup tomato sauce (sub nomato sauce)
- 2 cups gluten-free elbow pasta (Jovial rice pasta for gluten-free, or jovial cassava pasta for paleo/AIP)
- 1–2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Using a large bowl, stir the coconut milk, broth, arrowroot, oregano. Set aside.
- Use a large, deep pot to brown the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Set aside, leaving about 2 tbsp of fat in the pot.
- Add the onion and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes or until lightly translucent.
- Add the beef back to the pot and stir in the broth mixture, tomato sauce, and pasta. Stir well to combine.
- Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, bringing the pot to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 10-12 minutes, stirring often, until the pasta is cooked through and the sauce is reduced. See notes in the pasta needs more time to cook to your liking.
- Stir in nutritional yeast to taste and serve topped with parsley.
Notes
All nutritional information are estimations and will vary. Estimations do not include optional ingredients.
If the pasta needs more time to cook to your liking, add about 1/3 cup of broth and simmer for 2-3 more minutes until the pasta reaches your desired doneness.
- Category: One Pot
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 517
- Fat: 16.9g
- Carbohydrates: 55.2g
- Fiber: 3.7g
- Protein: 36.3g
AIP
Low Carb
Paleo
Whole30
Loved it! My husband and I had this recipe for dinner last night and it was delicious!
★★★★★
Yay! Thank you, Judith!
I made this tonight and it was delicious. My husband enjoyed it too. I will definitely be making this again in the near future.
★★★★★
Very tasty! Made this recipe for dinner tonight.
★★★★★
This was great! We added a block of plain goat cheese to make it creamier/higher protein. Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
Good for the whole family!
★★★★★
I highly recommend holding off on the oregano depending on what type of tomato sauce you’re using. Unfortunately mine is way too overpowering but I will definitely try again, maybe next time with just some fire roasted tomatoes instead of sauce.
★★★★
Definitely takes me back to my childhood when my mom would make hamburger helper. Tastes like comfort food! Delicious!
★★★★★
Yay! Thank you so much, Megan!
Loved this recipe! We are a lot of hamburger helper in college and this tastes so much better! Can’t wait to make it again!
★★★★★
Will this recipe work the same with lentil pasta?
I haven’t cooked with lentil pasta, so not sure!
Yum! One of my new favourite week-night meals. So easy and satisfying! I use chickpea pasta and it tastes great!
★★★★★
I have made this multiple times and actually have it cooking on the stove again as I type. I made it for non-paleo family and they loved it. I have made it without oregano before (because didn’t know I was out) and subbed half/half basil and parsley and liked it just as much. I’ve made it with crushed tomatoes (again, only thing on hand) and think the sauce works better. One thing about leftovers, though; I don’t think the noodles hold up well after the initial cooking. My family member who also ate the leftovers the next day was disappointed that the perfect al-dente noodles from the first serving turned mushy the next day. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
★★★★★
I made this tonight and it is SO good! Perfect for a cold snowy day in Wisconsin. I had a generous helping and I’m pretty sure I need some more! 🙂 I love the ease of the recipe and the nostalgic taste. This recipe will definitely be in our regular rotation!
★★★★★