Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheesy Italian Shells is just as easy as making a box of Hamburger Helper. This is an easy dinner the whole family will love and it is an especially big hit with little kids and teenagers alike.
In fact, my daughter just loves this stuff! I like it because it is a healthier homemade version of this dish. I also like it because it is a quick meal perfect for busy weeknights when my goal is to get dinner on the table as quickly as possible. Lee loves it because it is a one-pot meal and he usually does the dishes.
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 This Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe
- 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 & Tricks
I cook the pasta for a few of minutes longer than the directions on the package and then it cooked for an additional couple of minutes while the cheese melted. 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.
What We Love About This Easy Homemade Hamburger Helper
Making this healthier, Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheesy Italian Shells takes about the same amount of time as the boxed version.
It is made in one pan for easier clean up.
This is a great recipe for teenagers to make because it is so easy.
While it may seem like this has a lot of ingredients it is still relatively inexpensive to make because all of the spices can usually be found at a variety of retailers for $0.99 and you can make this dish many many times.
We hope you like our Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheesy Italian Shells copycat recipe as much as we do. It is just as easy as the boxed dinner and a bit better for you.
More One Pot Meals You Might Like:
Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Orzo
Alfredo Chicken Pasta & Broccoli
Plus many more in the One Pot Meals section.
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Homemade Hamburger Helper Cheesy Italian Shells
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 cups shell or similar shaped pasta
- 1 can tomatoes with Italian seasoning 14.5 ounces
- 1 3/4 cups milk
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup cheese grated
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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 1/2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 1/2 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 3/4 cups milk, 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, 1 can tomatoes with Italian seasoning
- 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 cheese
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.
ty!
Looks delicious Mindy! So creamy and cheesy, I might have to try this.
My 15 year old loves this stuff. Thanks for stopping by!