Cheeseburger Pasta adds hamburger flavor over macaroni noodles with ground beef, onion, tomato, mustard, ketchup, and cheese sauce.
This family-friendly Pasta Recipe is somewhat similar to our Homemade Hamburger Helper. Just like a classic hamburger helper, this weeknight dinner recipe is made with delicious hamburger meat over pasta. However, this recipe is made with your favorite cheeseburger fillings and a simple American cheese topping.
CHEESEBURGER PASTA
This comforting pasta dish will quickly become one of your family favorites for a home cooked meal on busy nights. The cooking process is super quick, and once it’s done you’ll have a hearty, flavorful recipe with plenty of cheese that the entire family is sure to love.
When it comes to quick dinners, it’s hard to beat a simple pasta dish. Whether it is Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs, or a Tuna Noodle Casserole, they are a simple way to make a filling, and kid-friendly dinner.
For this cheesy pasta dish we decided to change things up a little bit by using flavors from a classic Hamburger Recipe. Ground beef, tomato, onion, mustard, ketchup, and melty cheesy sauce all come together easily over the macaroni noodles. You get all the ease of a pasta dinner but with the taste of an amazing burger.
DELICIOUS PASTA DISHES
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Baked Chicken Spaghetti
Taco Mac Recipe
Ham and Cheese Pasta Salad
COOKING CHEESEBURGER PASTA
- Cook pasta: Bring a pot of water to a boil, then add in the uncooked pasta. You can lower the heat slightly to make sure the pot doesn’t overflow as the pasta cooks, but you want to keep the water at a boil. Continue cooking until you have tender pasta, stopping 1 minute shy of the box instructions.
- Hamburger mixture: Add the sliced yellow onion and ground beef to a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the ground meat for 6-8 minutes, breaking it apart and stirring with a wooden spoon so that it cooks on all sides. Season the browned meat with salt and pepper. For the next step add diced tomatoes, relish, mustard, and ketchup. Don’t drain the tomatoes because you want them to add some liquid to the sauce ingredients. Stir the ingredients together and let the sauce simmer for 5-6 minutes over medium heat until it’s nice and creamy.
- Combine: Add the cooked pasta to the pot and mix until well coated in sauce. Layer American cheese slices on top for a simple melty cheese, or use Velveeta for a more velvety cheese sauce.
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VARIATIONS
- Add-ins: For some extra flavor in the recipe, you can try adding green onion, minced garlic cloves, and cooked sliced bacon. You can also top the dish off with fresh shredded lettuce before serving.
- Seasoning: Another way to experiment with the taste of Cheeseburger Pasta is by adding in your favorite seasonings like red pepper flakes, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, or an Italian seasoning blend.
- Cheese: If you want to make the recipe extra cheesy, mix in shredded cheese with the sauce. Sharp cheddar cheese, Jack cheese, muenster, or provolone would all taste great. You could also choose a combo of cheeses and use a couple in the dish.
- Pasta noodles: Use any kind of short cut pasta you have instead of elbow macaroni pasta. Shell, bow tie, rotini, or penne pasta would all work well.
- Ground meat: For a more healthy pasta recipe, use different kinds of meat like ground chicken or ground turkey. You could also keep the beef but swap regular for lean ground beef.
CHEESEBURGER INSPIRED DISHES
Cheeseburger Soup
Cheeseburger Casserole
Bacon Cheeseburger Cups
Bacon Cheeseburger Dip
HOW TO STORE
- Serve: Don’t leave this Cheesy Pasta Dish at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
- Store: After the recipe cools, you can transfer pasta to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: You can even freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. If you think you’re going to end up freezing the dinner, make sure you only cook the pasta to al dente, otherwise, the noodles will turn out mushy when you thaw and reheat them.
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni , cooked
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 yellow onion , chopped
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons dill pickle relish
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 8 slices American cheese , or Velveeta
Instructions
- Cook pasta 1 minute shy of the directions on the box and drain, do not rinse.
- Add ground beef and onion to a large pot and cook on medium-high heat, breaking it apart as you cook for 6-8 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add diced tomatoes (do not drain), relish, mustard, and ketchup, stirring well.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes until sauce is creamy.
- Add in American cheese slices and stir right before serving.
Nutrition
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Is a 1lb of pasta correct? When I cooked this recipe it was so much pasta it couldn’t fit in the pan. Also the recipe under the ingredients doesn’t state when to add the pasta to the sauce.
Such an easy, yummy recipe. Only took me about 20 minutes. After the first bite, we looked at each other and said “it tastes just like a cheeseburger!” Haha. Lots of leftovers to enjoy as well, which is a plus.
When should the pasta be added to the sauce? Right before serving?
Yep!