Gluten Free Hamburger Helper

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Now that we are several weeks into the school year, I start to settle into making the easier, family friendly meals. Earlier in the year, I tend to experiment with a lot of different tastes and textures, but honestly once we get into a routine I like to have a set of easy weeknight meals that I can turn to. My homemade gluten free hamburger helper is one of them. My kids and husband absolutely love this dish. After making it from scratch, I can't imagine going back to the boxed kind ever again (not to mention that my oldest can't have wheat).

I do have a lot of fond memories of hamburger helper being on the dinner table growing up. A lot of families turn to it because it is very easy to cook up the ground beef, cook the pasta, and mix together. People often avoid cooking food from scratch because it seems more time consuming and more of a hassle when you are constantly on the go and tired. However, this is one of those from-scratch recipes that is honestly not the much different from the boxed meal in terms of effort (plus it's much healthier!).

What I love about these cheesier meals is the little zip of hot sauce or tangy yogurt. Cheese, especially mild cheese, can be very plain to the taste buds, but a little bit of tang really does the trick!

Working With Gluten Free Pasta

When it comes to taste, gluten free brown rice pasta is honestly very similar to wheat pasta when cooked right. Some of the other types of gluten free pastas I've used can either fall apart or be a little chewy (I'm looking at you chickpea pasta!). Gluten free pasta is a little more temperamental when it comes to cooking.

The main thing to know with gluten free pasta is that you need to cook the pasta less than you think you need to. Keep it strictly al dente. Once it is just barely cooked, rinse the pasta off with cold water to prevent it from cooking any further.

What You Will Need

1 lb ground beef cooked

12 oz gluten free elbow pasta cooked to al dente, drained

2-3 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded

2-3 cups plain Greek or whole milk yogurt (it needs to be slightly sour tasting)

2 tbsp buffalo sauce (you can substitute this for Frank's RedHot hot sauce)

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

½ tbsp garlic powder

1 pinch cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Gluten Free Hamburger Helper

Making homemade hamburger helper is almost as simple as the boxed meal! Add all of your ingredients except the pasta and ground beef to a dutch oven or medium sized pot and stir to combine.

Then, warm the pot on medium/medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese has completely melted.

Next, add in the cooked ground beef and pasta. Stir.

Remove from heat and your hamburger helper is ready to serve!

If you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a star rating and a comment below. Share what you made and tag me on Instagram @keepingitholistic! For more scratch-made recipes and natural living tips, subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on YouTube and Instagram!

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