Alternative Hamburger Helper Recipe for Vegetarian Cheeseburger Macaroni
Pasta cooked in a broth with Rotel, ground protein or soy veggie grounds, and Mexican spices-what’s not to love? This optional vegetarian cheeseburger macaroni dish is combined with a delicious made from scratch cheese sauce. This is my old school recipe for a made from scratch hamburger helper recipe.
Cheeseburger Macaroni
This optional vegetarian cheeseburger macaroni pasta is a comforting and delicious meal for those days when you want to consume something filling. I love to add crushed pepper flakes to make it extra spicy! Give this 30 minute meal a try and let me know what you think.
Ingredients
- ground protein such as soy veggie grounds, turkey, beef, etc
- Rotel
- Taco Seasoning
- Salt
- Water or Broth
- Butter
- All Purpose Flour
- Milk/Cream
- Shredded Cheese
- Oil
- Red Chili Flakes (crushed pepper)
Instructions
brown the protein in a pan with seasoning 
Add Rotel 
Mix it together and cook for a few minutes Add water or broth Mix in uncooked pasta and cook until soft Once the pasta is cooked, mix in the cheese sauce
How to make the cheese sauce
Melt the butter and then add all purpose flour Whisk in the milk and let it come to a boil Turn off the heat and mix in the shredded cheese until smooth Add the cheese sauce to the cooked pasta Mix and heat through. Serve!
Love pasta? Check out these recipes!
FAQ
For this recipe, I do not recommend it. Cooking the protein with the pasta and water helps break it up which gives this recipe a great texture.
I tried to make this recipe with Daiya cheese years ago. Once you have had the real deal, it won’t taste the same unfortunately.
There are plenty of variations to choose from when it comes to taco seasoning. You can use any brand or combination you have on hand.
I love Jovial brand brown rice pasta or Trader Joe’s brown rice pasta. In fact, that is mostly what I use and highly recommend it.
Recipe
Mexican Cheeseburger Macaroni
Ingredients
PASTA INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb ground protein (turkey, beef, soy, etc)
- 10 oz diced tomato and peppers (i.e. Rotel)
- 1 package McCormick taco seasoning
- 1 cup elbow macaroni
- 2 cups water or broth
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 cloves garlic
- red chili powder (optional)
- oil
CHEESE SAUCE INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
PASTA METHOD
- Heat a pan and add a pinch of oil. Mash your ground protein and then add it to the pan. (SIDE NOTE: I like to mix mine so the lines of the ground meat don't cook in the same form/shape.)
- Stir in the taco seasoning, garlic, red chili powder, Rotel, and salt.
- Mix and add 2 cups of water and the pasta.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat to medium low and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, you can make the cheese sauce.
- After the water has evaporated, stir in the cheese sauce.
- Mix the two together and simmer for about 3 minutes.
- Serve!
CHEESE SAUCE METHOD
- Heat a saucepan and add butter to it. Once heated, add the flour and whisk until cooked through (about 1-2minutes on low heat).
- Whisk in the milk and bring the mixture to a boil. Once the mixture boils and thickens, remove it from the heat.
- Add in the cup of shredded cheese and continue to whisk until it is all mixed and a thick sauce. Set it aside until ready to mix with the pasta.
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