This hamburger and macaroni recipe is comfort food at its best. If you are looking for something easy and flavorful to make with grass-fed beef, hamburger and macaroni is what’s for dinner! And it can easily be made gluten-free.
Hamburger and macaroni is something my aunt often made on our dinner and movie nights at her place. Aren’t aunts the best?
One day over a decade ago I asked her for the recipe and I still have the little card I wrote it on.
You know how it is with passed down recipes – I didn’t receive a recipe so much as an unmeasured list of ingredients you cook up together.
I’ve been making this hamburger and macaroni for years, and have since turned her dish into a recipe to share. Back then we used regular macaroni, and these days my hamburger and macaroni is gluten-free.
Here are three things I love about this flavorful hamburger and macaroni:
- Hamburger and macaroni is a crowd-pleaser.
- Hamburger and macaroni reheats well and makes yummy left overs.
- Hamburger and macaroni freezes well too.
Ingredients You Need
Ground Beef
I use 100% grass-fed ground beef, but this isn’t a requirement.
Which Lean to Fat Ratio is Best for Hamburger and Macaroni?
For recipes where I’ll be pan-frying ground beef with other ingredients, I prefer 90% to 93%.
This reduces the amount of fat I have to drain off, or that is left lingering in my dish. On the other hand, when grilling burgers I choose 80% or 85% so they’re nice and juicy.
I recommend 90% to 93% lean ground beef for this Hamburger and Macaroni recipe.
Tip for Buying Lean Ground Beef
I’ve cooked with 90/10 ground beef that was tough and hard to crumble, and 93/7 ground beef that was tender and easy to work with. Not all ground beef is the same, if you haven’t had luck working with 90%+ ground beef, try sourcing from a different farm.
Onion
One scant cup of onion, which is one small to medium onion.
Canned Tomatoes
Two 14oz cans of diced (regular diced, not “petite diced”) tomatoes and their juice. Today I used organic fire roasted diced tomatoes, regular diced tomatoes also work well.
Mushrooms
You can use baby bella (aka cremini mushrooms), or regular white button mushrooms.
Baby bella are just white button mushrooms that have been harvested when they are more mature, which results in a firmer texture and more developed flavor. Grab an 8oz pack.
Macaroni
Two cups of dry macaroni, boiled in a separate pot.
These days I’m loving Jovial brown rice elbows for my gluten-free hamburger and macaroni. I’ve also used gluten-free pasta brands made with corn and rice flour. If you prefer regular wheat flour macaroni, that works as well!
Salt and Pepper
A quarter teaspoon of freshly ground pepper and four twists of your salt mill. Plus more to taste.
How to Make Hamburger and Macaroni in 3 Steps
1. Prepare the ingredients
It helps to have your ingredients ready to go so you can just toss them in when it’s time.
Start by cooking your macaroni in a separate pot according to the directions on its package.
Finely dice the onion. I use a a little electric chopper (similar to this one) to do this quickly and avoid some of the eye burning.
Slice the mushrooms, and cut the large ones in half so all the pieces will be bite-size once they cook down.
2. Cook the onion and beef
Heat one teaspoon of oil in a large, high-sided pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion once the oil begins to shimmer. Sauté for about three minutes until the onion starts to soften.
Add your ground beef to the onion and fry, stirring often, until it’s cooked through. Be sure to use your spoon or spatula to break the beef up into small pieces while it cooks.
When the beef is brown I strain what fat I can from the pan.
3. Simmer the beef and onion with the mushrooms and tomatoes
Add the canned tomatoes (with their juice), sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper to the beef and onion mixture and stir well.
You can optionally loosely cover your pan with a lid at this stage to reduce spattering. Gently simmer all ingredients until the mushrooms are done to your liking.
Serving Suggestions for Hamburger and Macaroni
If you’re serving immediately, you can stir the cooked macaroni into the hamburger and tomato mixture to serve.
Or, you can spoon the hamburger and tomato mixture over the macaroni into individual bowls if you plan to have left overs. Pasta usually becomes extra bloated when it sits in liquid for a long period of time and this can ruin the flavor and texture.
Enjoy!
Hamburger and Macaroni
Ingredients
- 2 cups dry elbow pasta gluten-free or regular
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 scant cup onion finely diced
- 1 lb ground beef grass-fed
- 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 8 oz white or baby bella mushrooms sliced
- 4 dashes salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
Instructions
- In a separate pot, cook the macaroni according to the directions on its package.
- While the macaroni cooks, heat 1 tsp of oil in a large pan with high sides. When the oil is hot, add the diced onion and cook until it begins to soften – about 3 minutes.
- Add the ground beef to the onion and fry until it's cooked through. Use your spatula or spoon to break the beef into small pieces while it cooks.
- Strain off any fat from the pan, then add the canned tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper to the pan with the beef and onion.
- Simmer gently until the mushrooms are cooked to your liking.
- Stir the macaroni into the beef and tomato mixture and serve.
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