How many of you grew up eating Hamburger Helper as a kid? You can firmly place me in that category of YES! I love recreating my childhood favorites but classing them up ever so slightly. For this recipe, instead of using a boxed Hamburger Helper kit, I am using dried elbow noodles, vegetarian plant-based meat substitute, a homemade cheese sauce, and some red peppers for color and crunch, which in retrospect I should of left out, because my kids were like “how dare you to add small red bits to our dinner”? I added a healthy dose of grated Parmesan cheese at the end, and it was one of the most comforting and satisfying dishes, perfect for those cold winter days. It was also stinking easy to make, so bonus!

DETAILS

• There are some pretty great plant-based ground meat substitutes on the market these days. Some of my favorites are MorningStar Farms® Grillers® Crumbles™, Yves Garden Veggie Crumbles, and Quorn Meatless Grounds.

• For this recipe, I used grated cheddar cheese for the cheese sauce, but any melting cheese would work well. Some suggestions are Gruyere, Asiago, Gouda, Cabot, Emmenthal, Monterey Jac, or Fontina.

• If you are looking to add more veggies into your meals, you can add a variety to this dish - kale, broccoli, and cauliflower to name a few.

SUGGESTED TOOLS

• Sharp Knife

• Cutting Board

• Large Pasta Pot

• Large 6 Qt Dutch Oven

• Spatula

• Medium Saucepan

• Whisk

• Cheese Grater

• Liquid Measuring Cup

• Measuring Spoons

MORE DELICIOUS CHEESY PASTA RECIPES

• Cheesy Vegetable Pasta Bake

• Brown Butter Mac and Cheese with Tomatoes

• Creamy Lemon Fettucine

Vegetarian Hamburger Helper

serves 6 people

• prep time - 15 minutes

• cooking time - 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups of dry elbow noodles

• 1 tbsp of oil

• 1 tbsp of butter

• 1/2 onion, diced

• 1 pound of plant-based ground

• 2 tbsp of taco seasoning

• 1/2 of red pepper, diced

• 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour

• 2 cups of milk

• 1 tsp of kosher salt

• 1 tsp of paprika

• 6 oz of grated cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, add the elbow noodles and cook until Al dente.

2. While you are bringing the water to boil, heat the oil and butter on medium heat in a large dutch oven or skillet. Add the diced onions and fry until caramelized.

3. Add the plant-based ground, taco seasoning, and diced red pepper, and fry until the ground has browned.

4. Once the noodles are cooked, add them to the plant-based ground meat.

5. In a medium saucepan, add the flour and 1/4 of milk on medium heat. Whisk until combined into a slurry. Add the rest of the milk and whisk vigorously. Bring to a boil, occasioning whisking. Once the milk has started to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the milk has thickened, approximately 2 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the salt, paprika, and cheese.

6. Add the cheese sauce to the dutch oven and combine with pasta and plant-based meat. Combine.

7. Serve warm.