Sometimes certain dishes fall off our radars. In many cases, it’s not that we stop liking them. We just forget about them. Such is the case with this gluten-free homemade Hamburger Helper-Roni.
Diane (The Whole Gang) had mentioned long ago that she’d made a homemade gluten-free, dairy-free version of Hamburger Helper that was less expensive, tastier, and far better for you than the boxed versions lining the grocery store shelves. She challenged her readers to come up with their own gluten-free versions.
Suddenly I remembered homemade rice-a-roni from The Tightwad Gazette newsletter years earlier. I had previously made the original gluten-free version of that recipe and while I enjoyed it then, and Mr. GFE—aka Carnivore Man—loved it, I thought it tasted too much of meat and not much else.
It needed “something more.” Most recently, fresh Roma tomatoes and zucchini easily supplied the major part of the “something more,” plus I added additional rice, spaghetti noodles, and seasonings to balance the extra ingredients.
Now I’m happy to say that this gluten-free homemade Hamburger Helper-Roni dish is back in our regular meal rotation! I think if you give it a try, you’ll see why.
If you’d like some other delicious Hamburger Helper style meals, be sure to check out Diane’s great recipe—along with a few others—here!
Other GFE Skillet Supper Recipes
- Combination Fried Rice
- Sloppy Joes That Don’t Come From a Can or a Package
- Saucy Cheesy Chicken Veggie Pasta Skillet Supper
- Polynesian Sweet and Sour Sausage Stew
Gluten-Free Homemade Hamburger Helper-Roni Recipe
Gluten-Free Homemade Hamburger Helper-Roni
Ingredients
- ¾ - 1 pound ground beef (optional, we use ground venison; see notes for vegan option)
- about 4 tbsp oil or butter
- 1 cup rice (see notes)
- 1 cup gluten-free spaghetti noodles, broken into smaller pieces
- about ¼ cup onion, chopped (or ½ tsp onion powder)
- 3 cups chicken or beef broth (or vegetable broth for vegan option; see notes)
- 1 tsp dried parsley flakes or other dried or fresh herbs of choice (optional, but they add a lot to the dish)
- about 2 tsp or so of minced garlic (or about 1 tsp garlic powder)
- about 1 tsp of salt (to taste, omit if using purchased broth)
- about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables of choice (chopped, I used fresh tomatoes and zucchini in the version shown)
Instructions
- Brown and drain ground beef; set aside.
- Wipe skillet and heat oil to medium-high in large, deep skillet.
- Add rice and pasta. Stir well to coat with oil and cook a minute or so.
- Add ground beef and seasonings; stir well.
- Add broth and onion. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Add any other vegetables (see notes). Stir and then reduce heat to about medium low, cover and simmer about 20 minutes until rice is tender. Add water in small amounts (1/4 to ½ cup) if needed during the cooking process.
Notes
Meat: I like browning ground beef or venison in larger batches, packaging into ¾ to 1 pound packages, so I always have about a pound ready to go for skillet supper meals like this one.
Brown Rice: I use long-grain white rice for this dish; brown rice will require some adjustment to cooking time and instructions. I would probably sauté the brown rice in oil by itself for a few minutes and then cook it alone in the broth for 10 to 15 minutes before I added any other ingredients. The total cooking time for this dish will be longer if brown rice is used, of course. Therefore, brown rice is a great candidate for cooking and freezing ahead of time so that one can get dinner on the table faster.
Quinoa: I suspect that quinoa would be wonderful in this Hamburger Helper-Roni, too.
Vegan: For a vegan option, replace ground beef with protein of choice or more vegetables or just use vegetable amounts as called for and reduce broth as needed. Vegetables that cook more quickly may be added about halfway through the simmering/cooking down process.
Cheese: If you wish, a sprinkle of cheese may be added at the end of the cooking time. Mr. GFE likes fresh Parmesan on his, so I added that once I’d plated his food. I enjoy mine with or without cheese.
Recipe inspired by The Tightwad Gazette's Rice-A-Roni recipe.
Originally published September 28, 2011; updated June 4, 2020.
Hallie @ Daily Bites says
This looks like a dish my dad would love. He always talks about his mom’s “goulash” that she used to make when he was a kid…rice or pasta with beef, tomatoes, and cheese usually. Good old comfort food. 🙂
Shirley says
Hi Hallie–Yes, I could see this dish being referred to as a goulash. 🙂 “Good old comfort food”… yes, thank you!
Shirley
Diane-thewholegang says
This sounds great. I am really loving the one pan meals. Will give this one a try for sure. Thank you for sharing mine too.
Shirley says
Hi Diane–They’re such a treat, aren’t they? No timing of multiple things and only one dish to clean up. 😉
Hope you enjoy!
Shirley
Ina Gawne says
Shirley – you are reminding me of recipes I have not had in years! This sounds ultra yummy, major comfort food! I love rice a roni – used to make it from Bette Hagmans recipe years ago. I must make it again, thanks for sharing!
Shirley says
Ina–I love that I’m giving folks some new/old recipes to re-try! We enjoy this one quite much … there’s something about the combo of rice and spaghetti noodles that works really well. 🙂 I had no idea that Bette Hagman had made rice-a-roni! I have several of her books for my support group’s library. I’ll have to see if I can find her version!
Enjoy, dear!
Shirley
Kalyn says
My mom never made anything like Hamburger Helper, but this sounds like it would be good.
Shirley says
Kalyn–We didn’t have Hamburger Helper growing up, but I admit I used it some in the early days of my marriage. I was a good cook then, but hadn’t yet mastered all non-recipe type skillet dishes. Thank goodness I moved on to make my own such creations and be able to control the ingredients! I think you’d like this one. It’s not very South Beach, of course, but as an occasional indulgence, it might be “just the thing” (especially with some of your amazing garden veggies!). 😉
Shirley
Connie says
Sounds like something fun to try out! I haven’t really had hamburger helper since I was in high school (maybe 15 years?).
Just an FYI – your link to the fried rice dish links to the sloppy joe dish.
Shirley says
Hi Connie–Welcome to gfe! 🙂 Many, many thanks for finding my little boo boo! My gfe readers are my best quality assurance folks. It’s when I’m adding multiple links all at once, that these annoying errors seem to occur. 🙁
The “true” Hamburger Helper is something that most of us do not eat any more, thank goodness! But the concept is a good one when used with real food. 😉 Hope you give this recipe a try!
Thanks for taking the time to comment and for helping me out!
Shirley
InTolerantChef says
This sounds like something we had over here called Rice-a-Riso, that was a mix of rice and risoni pasta with powdered stuff in a box that you would then cook the same way as this. I’m sure yours is much tastier and much healthier!
Shirley says
Hi InTolerant Chef–See … I told you that you are always sharing new terms with me–thanks! I have to say that I kind of like that name, too; it’s memorable. 😉 This does taste better than any other similar dishes I’ve ever had.
Shirley
Heather @Gluten-Free Cat says
I grew UP on Hamburger Helper, and I can guarantee that yours tastes sooooo much better! Love the idea of keeping ground beef in frozen pouches for quick skillet dinners. We can always count on you for quick, easy solutions!
Shirley says
Heather–Finally … someone who has lots of experieince with the boxed stuff. I’d say that you really need to do a review of my recipe, but I suppose you’d be pretty certain even without trying … if you know what I mean. 😉
Yes, whenever I have the ready-to-go ground meat, I pat myself on the back. Dinner comes together so quickly. Tacos are probably our favorite way to use a package of frozen ground beef/venison/turkey. 🙂
Thanks for the kind words, dear!
Shirley
Carol, Simply...Gluten-free says
One pan meals were a Godsend on a weeknight when I was raising my boys – this looks delish!
xo,
c
Shirley says
Hi Carol–Thanks for sharing your experience as a mom! 🙂 I think everyone can appreciate the beauty of one pan meals. You know … the frozen food manufacturers sure do market that concept well. I love sharing how we can create such meals at home and feed our families quickly, easily, frugally, and gluten free, too. 😉
Thanks, dear! xo,
Shirley