Hamburger Helper Cacciatore

Hamburger Helper Cacciatore
Hamburger Helper Cacciatore

Ah, Hamburger Helper.  This was a staple of my childhood.  Those week nights with Mom looking for a quick, cheap meal that can be cooked up and severed up in between girl scouts and baseball practice.  I bought some recently, and dressed it up to create Hamburger Helper Cacciatore. 

Ok, so it’s not really cacciatore, but it was my cacciatore recipe that was the inspiration for this elevated Hamburger Helper.

Hamburger Helper Cacciatore
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Hamburger Helper Cacciatore

Hamburger Helper sometimes needs help. Dress it up with this recipe, inspired in part by the classic Italian dish Cacciatore!
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword WW Friendly
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 289kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 box Hamburger Helper Beef Pasta
  • 1 lbs ground beef
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1.5 cup broth
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 eggplant, small cut into small pieces
  • 1 zucchini cut into small pieces
  • 1 yellow squash cit into small pieces
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasoning

Instructions

  • Heat large pan over medium high heat. Brown beef and onions.
  • When beef is about half done, drain if necessary and add zucchini, squash, and eggplant. Continue cooking until meat is browned.  Drain again if necessary.
  • Stir sauce mix from Hamburger Helper and broth into pan. When sauce mix is dissolved, add milk, pasta, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning.
  • Heat until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until pasta is soft.
  • Serve hot.

Notes

6 Green, Blue, and Purple WW Points.  
Points are calculated using 90% lean ground beef, and fat free milk.
Jump to nutritional information
Everything you need for Hamburger Helper, plus broth, vegetables, and seasoning!

I love clearance racks.  They are a great place to get awesome deals, and sometimes make new discoveries for cheap.  I was in a store a few weeks ago and there were carts full of discounted Hamburger Helper!  A favorite when I was a kid, I hadn’t had it for years, so I bought a few boxes. 

For lunch last week I made up a batch, as instructed by the box, and found it to be really bland.  I was expecting if nothing else maybe a bit salty from the preservatives (after all, it’s a boxed dinner), but instead this dish needed some flavor.  So, I went to work on the recipe.  The new creation is full of flavor, full of vegetables, and the best part is, it doesn’t take any longer to cook!

Heat large pan over medium high heat.  While pan is warming, chop the onion.  When pan is hot, cook onions and brown the beef.

Diced Eggplant and Zucchini

While beef is cooking, chop zucchini, squash, and eggplant.  When beef is about half done, drain if necessary.  Add zucchini, squash and eggplant.  Cook until the meat is browned.  Drain if necessary.

There are two things in the Hamburger Helper box: pasta and sauce mix.  Start by stirring the sauce mix and the beef broth into the pan.  Stir until the sauce mix has dissolved.  Add milk, pasta, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning to the pan.

Pasta and liquids have been added to the Hamburger Helper Cacciatore

Stir until well combined and heat until boiling.  Once boiling, reduce heat and cover.  Allow pan to simmer until pasta is cooked, about 10 minutes. Once the pasta is soft, serve while still hot!

Hamburger Helper Cacciatore

So easy, so simple, so fast! Who knew such a tasty meal could come from a box! Want to know what other boxes and good ideas on the back, or how to make those box dinners really sing? Check out our Back of the Box series!

Need more dinner ideas? Don’t forget to check out our meal plans! Clean Eating and Healthy Balance meal plans with grocery lists to take the time and stress out of planning dinner!

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Nutritional Information

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5 Comments

  1. Sandhya Ramakrishnan
    Sandhya Ramakrishnan


    That is so perfect as a one pot meal and love it! Filling and delicious and liked by kids and adults.

  2. Love this recipe! Such a great idea to spice up hamburger helper, thanks for sharing!

  3. Kristin @ DizzyBusyandHungry and BlessThisEmptyNest
    Kristin


    Great idea to doctor up the Hamburger Helper. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks!


  4. Now this is my kind of comfort food, but with lots of vegetables too. YUM

  5. Sally “Good Dinner Mom” Humeniuk
    Sally Humeniuk


    What a great way to freshen up a Hamburger Helper meal and make it fresh while getting those vegetables as well. Thanks for this fabulous idea Amanda Marie!

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