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Make this quick & creamy 15-minute Ground Beef and Noodles for the ultimate comfort food! Easy, cheesy, and better than boxed meals. Perfect for busy nights!
Table of Contents
- Homemade Comfort in Just 15 Minutes
- Ingredients for Ground Beef and Noodles
- Ways to Customize Your Beef and Noodles
- Pro Tips for the Best Beef and Noodles Skillet
- What to Serve with Ground Beef and Noodles
- How to Store Leftovers
- More Easy Beef and Noodle Recipes
- How to Make Ground Beef and Noodles
- Creamy Beef and Noodles Skillet Recipe
Homemade Comfort in Just 15 Minutes
If you need a quick, comforting, and totally delicious dinner, this 15-minute Ground Beef and Noodles is the answer. It’s packed with flavor, super creamy, and way better than anything that comes out of a box. Trust me, once you try this, you’ll never go back to Hamburger Helper again.
Honestly, Hamburger Helper takes me right back to the early days of my marriage when a box of that stuff and a can of green beans counted as dinner. But once I rediscovered this homemade version—one that my grandma used to make—I never looked back. It’s rich, cheesy, and full of nostalgia, but without the processed taste.
Ingredients for Ground Beef and Noodles
- Macaroni noodles (or any pasta you have on hand!)
- Ground beef
- Onion, diced
- Condensed tomato soup
- Cream of mushroom soup
- Cheddar cheese, shredded
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Ways to Customize Your Beef and Noodles
Want to switch things up? Here are some tasty additions and substitutions to add a flavor twist to this easy recipe:
- Try different pasta shapes – Rotini, penne, bowtie, shells, or egg noodles all work great.
- Add garlic – A few minced cloves sautéed with the onion add extra flavor.
- Use ground chicken or turkey – A leaner option with just as much flavor.
- Make it fancy with beef tips – Swap the ground beef for sautéed beef tips.
- Boost the creaminess – Stir in 4-8 oz of cream cheese when adding the shredded cheese.
- Thin the sauce if needed – Add a splash of beef broth or milk.
- Sneak in veggies – Stir in peas, corn, green beans, zucchini, diced tomatoes, or even shredded carrots and zucchini (the kids won’t even notice!).
Pro Tips for the Best Beef and Noodles Skillet
- If you’re not a fan of canned condensed soup, try our delicious (and easy!) homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe!
- Whole wheat or gluten-free pasta works just as well if you want a healthier twist.
- Cook your pasta until just al dente—no one likes mushy noodles!
- If you’re feeding picky eaters, shredded veggies blend right into the sauce without anyone knowing.
- Sometimes, if I’m looking to add more to this Ground Beef and Noodles recipe, I will stir in corn, peas, a can of diced tomatoes (drained), extra sautéed mushrooms, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, or spinach.
What to Serve with Ground Beef and Noodles
This dish is hearty enough to stand on its own, but if you want a side, try:
- A simple green salad
- Roasted or steamed veggies like green beans, peas, or corn (my kids love mixing them right in!)
- Garlic bread for soaking up that creamy sauce
How to Store Leftovers
Here’s how to keep your leftovers fresh:
- Allow the dish to cool to room temperature. Then, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a splash of beef broth or milk if needed.
- To freeze, transfer to a freezer-safe container and store for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
More Easy Beef and Noodle Recipes
Love this recipe? Try these other comforting classics:
Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
Instant Pot Goulash
Easy Meatball Stroganoff
Steak Stir Fry
Authentic Italian Spaghetti
Enchilada Casserole
This 15-minute Ground Beef and Noodles recipe is one of those recipes you’ll want to keep on repeat. It’s quick, easy, and full of cozy, homemade goodness. Give it a try tonight, and let me know what you think!
How to Make Ground Beef and Noodles
Creamy Beef and Noodles Skillet
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound macaroni noodles or similar, like Cavatappi or Cellentani
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 10.5 ounces tomato soup condensed , not prepared
- 10.5 ounces cream of mushroom soup condensed, not prepared (see note above for substitutes)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Prepare noodles according to package directions.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef and onion together until beef is browned and onions are clear.
- Add condensed soups and salt and pepper.
- When noodles are done, drain well and add to skillet.
- Gently stir in cheese and serve!
Notes
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- If you are wary of using canned condensed cream of mushroom soup, try our delicious (and easy!) homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe!
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- You can use macaroni, rotini, bowtie, penne, or any kind of pasta for this recipe. You can use whole wheat pasta to make it healthier, or even Gluten Free pasta.
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- Sometimes, if we are looking to add more to this Beef and Noodles Skillet, we will stir in corn, peas, a can of diced tomatoes (drained), extra sautéed mushrooms, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, or spinach.
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- Many times when we make this, we try to hide in extra veggies, so we add shredded zucchini and carrots to the ground beef mixture. Really, our kids NEVER know there are any added vegetables. We use a LOT too. We have used 1-2 of EACH vegetable added in and they don’t ever catch on.
- Monterey Jack or Mozzarella cheese can be used in place of, or in combination with, the cheddar cheese.
2 cups of cheese shredded vs 2 cups shredded cheese? There is a major volume difference between the two. Can you tell me how much shredded cheese in weight by ounces?
It is 2 cups of shredded cheese. Hope this helps!
Hello, I was just searching for a recipe and came across this one of yours, creamy beef and pasta,looks so yummy, I wanted to ask you what can I use to substitute the mushroom soup, thank you
You can use cream of chicken soup or if the canned condensed soup is the issue you can use our homemade condensed cream of mushroom soup or homemade condensed cream of chicken soup recipe. 🙂 Hope this helps!
My daughter loves this (and she is a reformed picky eater – lol)! Instead of the tomato soup, I use pasta sauce (Rao’s, Prego, etc.). Delicious! This has been added to the rotation a few months ago, but wanted to share because we love this dish. Thanks!
It’s ok. It reminds me of canned pasta. The tomato soup makes it a tad sweet, and you can’t really taste the mushroom soup. I used granulated garlic and onion, paprika, salt, pepper, 2 cups sharp white cheddar and 2 cups medium orange cheddar. My picky autistic son liked it though, so I’ll probably make it again for him. He gives it a 7.5 out of 10.
where are the directions for this recipe
In the recipe card at the bottom of the page!
Si need to try this and use it in my cooking class.
My boyfriend and I really enjoyed this recipe! I added some fresh shredded yellow squash (which I had on hand and wanted to use up) to the ground beef mixture. Plus I added red pepper flakes, oregano, and a bit of garlic powder to add some flavor and it turned out great! Thank you for this recipe!
This was delicious!! My husband is quite a picky eater so I hade to switch up the cream of mushroom with cream of potato. It did seem a bit dry for our taste so I threw in a can of diced tomatoes.
I made this last night. My husband and I loved it. My 8-yr. old. granddaughter didn’t finish it because it had the “brown stuff” in it. She doesn’t like ground hamburger. She did like the rest of the dish, however. She actually picked around the “brown stuff” and ate the other. Kids… I did omit the tomato soup because I didn’t have any AND granddaughter will not eat red sauce. Again…kids… It still turned out well. I will serve it up again! I do want to try it with all the ingredients though. I added mushrooms because we simply love mushrooms.
Very tasty
All I have is cream of celery. I don’t have cream of mushroom. Will that work?
It will definitely change the flavor profile, but it should work consistency-wise.
Could I cook it without the tomato sauce and just use cream of mushroom??
I haven’t tried it that way before so I can’t say, but let us know how it turns out if you do try it!
Quick, easy and delicious!
SO GUD!
Thank you so much for this easy yet oh so yummy recipe! My whole family enjoyed it. The only thing I did was added minced garlic and seasoned the ground beef!. This recipe is a win.
Hi Jacki! So glad you like this dish! Thanks so much for the 5 stars!
Can I use cream of chicken or cream of celery? I’m out of cream of mushroom:(
You can probably use cream of chicken and it will be fine. Hope this helps!
Kids loved it! Super fast to make. I added minced garlic to the ground beef. Thank you for sharing!
Made this last night and it tasted really good! My husband liked it a lot too. I used Monterey Jack cheese.