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Homemade Crockpot Hamburger Helper. Forget the boxed stuff—this is everyone’s childhood favorite dinner, made completely from scratch…and honestly, even easier too. Plus, so much tastier! Think of it as the creamier, cozier, better version of what some of you may remember as a kid. Made with ground beef, pasta, a handful of seasonings, and even some shredded zucchini for a little extra veggie boost. It’s the kind of effortless pasta that’s guaranteed to become a weeknight family staple.
Did you grow up on Hamburger Helper? It wasn’t something my dad ever made for us, but I do remember always seeing that red box sitting in the pantry. Funny enough, my oldest brother swears it was one of his favorite dinners. Maybe he made it for himself? I really should ask him! Either way, it’s not a dish I grew up with, but it somehow feels nostalgic all the same.
For years, my brother begged me to make a homemade version, and many years back, I finally caved. I came up with a stove-top recipe that quickly turned into a family favorite—and honestly, I loved making it. But today? I’ve got something even better. This crockpot version is simpler, creamier, and completely hands-off. Truly effortless comfort food that tastes like pure childhood nostalgia…just upgraded.
These are the details
Ingredients
- ground beef – I use Force Of Nature, 80/20 blend
- onions
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- paprika
- salted butter
- ketchup
- broth
- pasta zucchini
- milk
- cheddar cheese
- fresh parsley or tiny basil leaves
Special Tools
This recipe calls for a crockpot. If you don’t have a crockpot, make this recipe here! Other than that, nothing fancy here!
Steps
Step 1: Set it and go
Set your crockpot to high. Add the beef, onions, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, butter, and ketchup. Season generously with salt and black pepper.
Give the meat a quick stir—it will naturally break into pieces as it cooks. Pour in the broth, cover, and cook on low for 4–6 hours or on high for 1–2 hours.
My crockpot can actually cook the raw beef in about an hour on high. It works like magic, I swear!
Step 2: Stir and add the remaining ingredients
Once the beef is done—or when you’re ready to finish—stir in the pasta, zucchini, and whole milk about 20 minutes before serving. I like to add another pinch of salt here too.
Cook until the pasta is just tender. Stir in the cheese until melted and creamy. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.
Step 3: Serve
Spoon the pasta into bowls and top with fresh parsley or basil (straight from the garden if you have it!). Best served right after the pasta is cooked. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a very yummy lunch the next day.
One last tip
If you’d like to make this a freezer meal, cook and freeze just the beef base (without pasta). When ready to serve, thaw in a pot on the stove, add 2 cups of water, bring to a boil, then add the pasta, zucchini, and whole milk. Cook until the pasta is tender, stir in the cheese, and serve. Super easy!
A few commonly asked Questions:
What is a good substitute the beef?
You can use ground turkey or ground chicken if you prefer.
Can you make this gluten-free?
Yes, you can use gluten-free pasta.
Looking for other easy family dinners? Here are a few ideas:
Broccoli Cheddar Chicken and Rice Casserole
One Pan Autumn Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
Easy Southern Style Baked Mac and Cheese
Pumpkin Cheese Stuffed Pasta Bolognese Bake
One Skillet Cheesy Broccoli Cheddar Orzo Bake
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Hamburger Helper, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Hamburger Helper
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 675 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- sea salt and black pepper
- 2 cups broth
- 1 pound short cut pasta
- 1 zucchini, grated (about 1 cup grated)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
- 1. Set your crockpot to high. Drop in the raw meat, onion, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, butter, and ketchup. Season with salt and pepper. Stir, breaking up the meat. Pour over the broth. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours. 2. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, crank the heat to high. Stir in the pasta, zucchini, and milk. Let cook on high until the noodles are soft, about 15-20 minutes. Add the cheddar, stir until melted.3. Divide the pasta among bowls and top with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on August 18, 2025
Usually a fan of HBH recipes. This was one that was NOT it for me. Sadly it was a bland and boring dish to conclude our elopement night. ):
Followed the recipe to a T using my Ninja Foodi Pro. I found that 4 hours was not nearly long enough to cook the meat all the way through (even broke up into small pieces) and the liquid was not enough to cover the pasta. Thankfully I kept going back to stir so the noodles could get even cooking but I did add more liquid. I even added more seasonings as I did taste tests. The recipe looked good on Instagram but did not translate to the serving dishes. I think the original box recipe would’ve been a better idea tonight lol.
Hey Dakota, I am so sorry this recipe was lack luster for you! It’s so odd this happening, the seasoning blend should be very flavorful.
I am not familiar with the ninja. Is this the same as a crockpot? Are there differences? 4 hours should have been plenty of time for the meat to be cooked throughout!
I wish I had more of an answer here for you but maybe this just wasn’t for you. Apologies!
Hopefully everything else you make will be wonderfully yummy! xT
Yikes. Not good. I LOVE halfbaked harvest. My children lovingly call her “oh my gosh you guys girl”. I had to add more cheese, more garlic powder, more salt, also added 2 tsp italian seasoning. That made it less bland. My kids gobbled it up. I would probably not cook it in a crackpot next time either.
Hey Cindy! I am so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you! I appreciate your support all these years, and I apologize this recipe wasn’t a favorite for you! xT
Disaster for me. I always have wonderful success with half-baked recipes but not this time. I followed the recipe EXACTLY but the meat was overcooked, the ‘sauce’ too watery and bland and, worst of all, the pasta (I used Orcheitti) was gummy. The whole dish was inedible so into the bin it went. Too many things went worn so I won’t attempt it again.
Hey Kristina! Oh no! I am SO sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you, I really appreciate the time you took to give your input! So sorry again! xT
30 dollars down the drain. I cooked the ground beef together with the broth for 2+ hours. The meat was still pink. I added the noodles and things after thinking the beef would be browned by then. But no it was not. I had to toss the entire meal because my noodles got too soggy. I think this shouldn’t have even been a crockpot meal. Ground beef cooks in 10 mins on the stove. This was a huge fail. Maybe there should have been a step to brown the meat before. Maybe the meat was cooked but it was just pink because that’s how it is in the crockpot but that’s really unappetizing to look at.
Hi Anne! I’m so sorry this didn’t work out for you, that’s so frustrating after all the time and cost. Slow cookers can vary a lot, which might be why the beef didn’t fully brown. I’ll keep your feedback in mind for updating the recipe, and I really appreciate you sharing your experience! Have a great day! xT
What did I do wrong? Followed the recipe to a T. Bland, too watery, looked nothing like the color of yours. I”m so confused, I love your recipes.
Hey Katie! I am so sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thank you for letting me know! Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help! xT
There is not enough liquid left to cook the pasta, also in 20 minutes on high the pasta was still crunchy. I had to add an additional 2 cups of broth to cover the pasta to cook and it took 45min on high for the pasta to get done.
Hi Joyce! Thanks so much for the feedback! Cooking times can vary a bit depending on the slow cooker and type of pasta used, so I really appreciate you sharing what worked for you. Adding extra broth and giving it more time is a great adjustment, so helpful for others making the recipe too! xT
This did not work well in the crockpot on the flavors ended up being so bland!
Hi Wren! I am so sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thank you for letting me know! xT
This was terrible, we ended up ordering takeout.
Hi Barb! Oh no! I’m so sorry this didn’t turn out for you! Would you be able to tell me a little bit more about what you feel the recipe needs? Thank you! xT
This recipe was a hit for the whole family quick and easy all in the crockpot. Large servings with leftovers.
Cooked as instructed other than stirred pasta a few times to make sure all of it was able to be cooked.
Will plan to make again
Hi Brooke! Wow, thank you so so much! Love to hear you enjoyed this yummy crockpot recipe! Have a great week! xT
Usually love all the recipes on here, but I feel this recipe just isn’t suited for the slow cooker format. I followed the instructions exactly and felt it would’ve been easier and better to just do the stovetop version. It still tastes okay, just definitely won’t be repeating it.
Hey Cece! So sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe! Thank you for letting me know, I really appreciate it! xT
Same. Could have been done in 30 minutes.
I had such high hopes for this recipe! I normally love all of your stuff. My crock pot took 4.5-5 hours to cook the meat on high. Once that was cooked, I had to add more broth because there wasn’t enough left to cook the pasta. I probably should have added more spices to it as well, it was very bland. I added extra cheese but it didn’t make it much better.
Hi Brittany! I am so sorry this recipe didn’t meet your expectations! Thank you so much for letting me know, I really appreciate it! xT
My whole family loved this recipe, and went back for seconds. I added a little extra cheese, too. It was really easy to put together and will definitely be added to our rotation through the fall + winter.
Hi there! Thank you so much for trying out this crockpot recipe! SO happy to hear that the whole fam loved it! Have a great weekend! 🙂 xT
The 1-2 hours on high in the crockpot was not near enough time to brown the meat. It was still pink so I had to put it in the oven.
Hi Kyndra! I am so sorry about that! Did the recipe end up turning out well for you? Thank you for the input! xT
I wanted to like this, but this recipe was a total fail.
Hi Leslie! Oh no I’m so sorry to hear that! Is there anything specific I can do to help out? Let me know! xT
We loved this! Great flavours. Used 1% milk and added more cheese as it wasn’t cheesy enough for us. I’d definitely make this again! I find you make everything with such love 😘 Thanks Tiegan xo
Hi Cynthia! Thank you for trying out the recipe! Always a good idea to add more cheese haha I love it! Thanks again for for the kind comment! 🙂 xT
This was a hit with the fam! Super easy to throw together and the picky toddler ate a huge plate of it. I agree that it needed a bit more pizazz, but I added a good dash of Worcestershire sauce and some more salt, and that did the trick.
Hi Clara! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Have an amazing weekend! 🙂 xT