This cheesy Italian shells Hamburger Helper recipe is a quick, one-pot dinner that tastes even better than the boxed version—and it’s ready in about 30 minutes. Made with ground beef, pasta, and a rich cheesy sauce, it’s an easy weeknight meal the whole family will love.
This homemade version is made in just one pan and uses simple pantry ingredients for a more flavorful, from-scratch alternative. You can also watch the full step-by-step video in the recipe card below.
What is cheesy Italian shells Hamburger Helper?
Cheesy Italian shells Hamburger Helper is a one-pot pasta dish made with ground beef, small pasta shells, tomato sauce, and cheese. This homemade version is easy to make, more flavorful, and doesn’t require a boxed mix.
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My daughter just loves this stuff! I like it because it’s a healthier homemade version that’s quick to make on busy weeknights. Lee loves it because it’s a one-pot meal—and he usually does the dishes.
What We Love About This Recipe
- It tastes just like cheesy Italian shells Hamburger Helper—but better than the boxed version
- Made in one pan for easy cleanup
- Ready in about 30 minutes, perfect for busy weeknights
- Simple enough for beginners and teenagers
- Budget-friendly and made with pantry staples
Ingredients
See recipe card for exact measurements.
Ingredient Notes
- Ground Beef – we use lean ground beef but any ground beef will work because you drain it.
- Shell Pasta – any short cut pasta that has a similar cook time will work, medium or small pasta shells or elbow macaroni work best.
- Canned Tomatoes – we use the kind with Italian-style herbs and spices.
- Milk – we use whole milk because that is what we always have on hand, you can use 2% milk if that is what you have.
- Grated Cheese – I use whatever I have on hand, this time I used a Colby cheddar blend. You can use cheese you like.
How to Make Cheesy Italian Shells Hamburger Helper
- In a large skillet brown a pound of ground beef over medium-high heat.
- While the ground beef is cooking, combine the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and corn starch in a small bowl; set aside.
- Drain ground beef and return to the skillet. Over medium-high heat add water, tomato sauce, milk and spice mixture, mix until combined. Stir in the canned tomatoes and pasta, bring to a boil then reduce to low to medium low heat, cover and simmer for 13-15 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in shredded cheese and cook a couple of minutes stirring constantly until cheese is melted. Take off the burner and let stand to thicken, about 5 minutes.
Substitutions & Additions
Macaroni noodles or any bite-sized pasta could be used for this dish. I usually use the small shells that take 7-9 minutes to cook. You might need to adjust the cooking time to fit your particular pasta if it has a longer cook time.
Any ground meat will work – ground Italian sausage, ground chicken, or ground turkey are great options. You could swap out completely or use a combination of meats.
Add a little bit of Parmesan cheese or mozzarella cheese to the top of each dish when serving for added cheesy goodness.
Add some diced onion in when you add the ground beef.
Tips for the Best Hamburger Helper
I cook the pasta for a few of minutes longer than the directions on the package and then it cooks for an additional couple of minutes while the cheese melts. The pasta is cooked perfectly, not too al dente and not too mushy.
If using any other meat than ground beef you will need to coat the skillet with cooking spray or a little bit of olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil.
Even if I use the leanest ground beef possible I still like to drain off the little bit of fat and any extra moisture that the beef renders while browning.
I use a 12-inch skillet because I like to have plenty of room to stir. You can use a 10-inch skillet if that is what you have.
I cover this with the lid that came with my skillet, if you don’t have a lid you can still make this, it will just take a little longer to cook. When I was a young wife and mother we didn’t have a skillet with a lid and I still made these types of recipes.
We hope you like our cheesy Italian shells Hamburger Helper copycat recipe as much as we do.
What to Serve with Cheesy Italian Shells
This cheesy Italian shells Hamburger Helper recipe pairs well with simple sides that balance the rich, cheesy flavors. Try serving it with:
- Garlic bread or Texas toast garlic bread
- Italian salad or Caesar salad
- Roasted broccoli or green beans
These easy sides turn this one-pot meal into a complete and satisfying dinner.
If you love ground beef recipes, this dish is featured in my collection of 15 Easy Ground Beef Recipes for Dinner that save the day on busy weeknights.
Love this recipe?
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Cheesy Italian Shells Hamburger Helper Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 cups shell or similar shaped pasta
- 1 can Italian-style tomatoes 14.5 ounces
- 1 ¾ cups milk
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup shredded cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet brown ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain browned ground beef and return to the skillet.1 pound ground beef
- While the ground beef is cooking, combine the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and corn starch in a small bowl. Set aside1 tablespoon corn starch, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder, 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- Over medium-high heat add water, tomato sauce, milk and spice mixture, mix until combined. Stir in the canned tomatoes and pasta, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover; cook for 13-15 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.2 cups shell or similar shaped pasta, 1 ¾ cups milk, ½ cup tomato sauce, ½ cup water, 1 can Italian-style tomatoes
- Stir in cheese and cook a couple of minutes stirring constantly until cheese is melted. Take off the burner and let stand to thicken, about 5 minutes.1 cup shredded cheese
Absolutely delicious! Made this last night and it is a keeper recipe. Super easy. Used a mozzarella/parm mix with crushed red pepper flakes as the cheese. Really embodies the flavor of the old box mix, but so much better!
Thank you, I’m so glad you like it! It’s one of our favorites.
Cheesy shells was my favorite hamburger helper! We used to eat it a little too often. Now my family is following a somewhat low carb diet I used your recipe with some low carb shells and it was fantastic! Thank you!
That is awesome, thanks!
What kind of cheese? Shredded rather than grated????
I suppose technically it is shredded, even though I shredded it on grater.
Is there a suitable replacement for the Can of tomatoes. My husband cannot stand tomato chunks in anything.
Maybe just another little can of tomato sauce, or even just water? I’ve not tried it but I think it would work.
We either purée the tomatoes before adding, or use a can of tomato soup
Those are great ideas, thanks for sharing!
I stumbled upon this recipe a while back and I love making it. This is one of our favorites. Thank you
It is one of our favorites too. Thank you!
This was delicious and I will never make the boxed again either and I realized for some reason I’m not following you anymore tell your husband hey
Right?! it is way better than the boxed kind. I will tell Lee hello! Thanks
What type of cheese do you use? Cheddar is the obvious choice, however the ingredients on BC brand Hamburger Helper contain both Ricotta and Cheddar and Ricotta is listed first so there’s probably more of that in the box version. I’m gonna try half and half and see how that goes…
I just use cheddar, I don’t use Ricotta because I never keep it around. I only buy it if I am using it in a specific recipe and then I use the whole container (usually). So because this only calls for 1 cup, I just use the cheddar so I don’t have part of a container of Ricotta leftover. I think using half and half is a great idea!
I’m a college student and this was just as easy to make as the box. Great for dinner and leftovers for the week. I made mine with Darigold 2% lactose free milk and Daiya dairy free cheddar cheese. Tasted great! Thanks for the recipe!
That is awesome. Thanks!
I was craving the hamburger helper Italian shells on this cold and snowy evening and was disappointed when I realized we didn’t have a box in the pantry, but a bit of internet browsing led me to your recipe. Wow! I’ll never make the boxed version again! This was so much more flavorful, loved the hints of tomato flavor, and my husband and two kids gobbled it up too. I like to mix a can of peas in mine as well. Thanks for saving our dinner and satisfying my craving!
That is awesome! I am going to have to try the peas next time I make it. I am always looking for ways to “slip” veggies in to our dinners.
Looks delicious Mindy! So creamy and cheesy, I might have to try this.
My 15 year old loves this stuff. Thanks for stopping by!