WW Recipe of the Day: One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta Skillet
Today I'm sharing a recipe for skinny cheeseburger pasta, aka homemade hamburger helper, a one pot skillet meal that's sure to please the entire family. It did mine.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Pasta Skillet?
According to my calculations each generous 1-cup serving has 350 calories and:
7 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
7 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
9 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
To see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!
Recipe Notes
As soon as I discovered the recipe for an easy cheesy homemade hamburger helper in a Slimming World magazine I knew I wanted to try it.
The only change I made was to substitute granulated roasted garlic for fresh, since I didn't have any on hand.
I also adjusted the serving size from 4 to 6 to lower the calories and Weight Watchers Freestyle SmartPoints. With a side salad alongside, this cheeseburger pasta made for a satisfying dinner.
Recipe Additions and Variations
No ground beef?
Substitute ground turkey or chicken or chicken/turkey sausage
Vegetarian?
Substitute ground beef with vegetarian crumbles, cooked lentils or beans and vegetable broth (affiliate link) for the chicken broth.
No smoked paprika?
Substitute regular sweet paprika or mild chile powder or skip it altogether.
Spicier?
Replace the can of diced tomatoes with a can of zesty fire-roasted ones with diced chiles.
More veg?
Add chopped zucchini, cauliflower or corn in step 2 of the recipe instructions. Or add chopped onions and/or bell peppers to the ground beef in step 1.
No elbow pasta?
Use whatever small cut of pasta you prefer and have on hand, such as shells, fusilli or penne.
How to Make Skinny Cheeseburger Pasta Skillet Recipe – Step-by-Step
Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients and Utensils
Ingredients:
- Cooking spray
- 1 pound 95% lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 8 ounces dry elbow macaroni
- 6 ounces shredded low-fat cheddar cheese (1-½cups)
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
Utensils:
- chef's knife (affiliate link)
- cutting board (affiliate link)
- large skillet (affiliate link)
- wooden spoon (affiliate link)
Step 2: Brown Ground Beef and Add Spices
Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet (affiliate link) with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat until hot. Add the beef and cook, breaking into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.
Stir in the garlic powder and smoked paprika and cook for 30 seconds or so.
Step 3: Add the Broth, Tomatoes and Macaroni
Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, macaroni, and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the macaroni is tender and the sauce has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 4: Stir in the Cheese
Remove skillet from the heat and stir in the cheese until well blended and melted.
Step 5: Serve warm from the skillet
Divide mixture evenly among six plates or bowls. Sprinkle with scallions. Enjoy alone or with a green salad!
Are You Ready To Firmly Plant Yourself
On The Path To Lasting Weight Loss Success?
If you enjoy this cheeseburger pasta skillet, be sure to check out my other Weight Watchers friendly recipes including: Mom's Hamburger Macaroni Goulash, Skinny Southwestern Goulash, Crock Pot Healthy Hamburger Stew, 3-Ingredient Sloppy Joes, Easy Taco Cauliflower Rice Skillet, Crock Pot Tomato Beef Macaroni Soup and Lightened-Up Skillet Lasagna
If you've made this protein-packed One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta Skillet, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Skinny One Pot Cheeseburger Pasta Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound 95% lean ground beef
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni
- 6 ounces (1-½ cups) shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet (affiliate link) with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat until hot.
- Add the beef and cook, breaking into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon (affiliate link), until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic powder and smoked paprika and cook for 30 seconds or so.
- Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, macaroni, and ½ teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, until the macaroni is tender and the sauce has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove skillet from the heat and stir in the cheese until well blended and melted.
- Divide mixture evenly among six plates or bowls. Sprinkle with scallions.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
Substitute regular sweet paprika or mild chile powder or skip it altogether. Spicier? Replace the can of diced tomatoes with a can of zesty fire-roasted ones with diced chiles. More veg? Add chopped zucchini, cauliflower or corn in step 2 of the recipe instructions. Or add chopped onions and/or bell peppers to the ground beef in step 1. No elbow pasta? Use whatever small cut of pasta you prefer and have on hand, such as shells, fusilli or penne. Serving size: 1 cup Click here to see your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site. 7 *SmartPoints (Green plan) 7 *SmartPoints (Blue plan) 7 *SmartPoints (Purple plan) 9 *PointsPlus (Old plan)
Serving Suggestion: Large side salad tossed with low-fat Italian dressing
Source: adapted from Slimming World Magazine (affiliate link)
*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan's ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.
More Easy, Healthy WW Friendly Recipe
- Cheeseburger Casserole (SkinnyTaste)
- Slow Cooker Italian Sloppy Joes (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Turkey Sloppy Joe Pasta (EmilyBites)
- Sloppy Jane Stir Fry (HungryGirl)
Weight Watchers 2019 Freestyle Updates
Martha is the founder and main content writer for Simple-Nourished-Living.
A longtime lifetime WW at goal, she is committed to balancing her love of food and desire to stay slim while savoring life and helping others do the same.
She is the author of the Smart Start 28-Day Weight Loss Challenge.
A huge fan of the slow cooker and confessed cookbook addict, when she's not experimenting in the kitchen, you're likely to find Martha on her yoga mat.
This post contains affiliate links to products I like. When you buy something through one of my Amazon links or other (affiliate links), I receive a small commission that helps support this site. Thank you for your purchase!
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AMY M
This is easy to make and tastes great. It's even better the next day.
Nancy Ellis
This is a wonderful recipe for a comfort-food meal! It's not gooey or too cheesy, just nice and light but totally satisfying. My husband liked it so much he had seconds!
Martha McKinnon
Thanks, Nancy!! ~Martha
Jennifer A Spinner
Really tasty, an easy five stars!
Debbie
On purple plan, if you substituted with ground turkey and whole wheat pasta... Would you only count the points of the cheese? Thanks so much for all of your wonderful recipes! Also, I loved a post you did this year about taking time to breathe. ?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Debbie, On Purple you would need to use ground turkey breast (much of the "ground turkey" packages contain a mixture of white and dark meat and therefore have points) and whole wheat pasta, then yes, you would only need to count the cheese. Hope this helps! ~Martha
Grace Pace
This is my kind of dish. Made with one pot has pasta, and very tasty. Love it. It will be on my table often.
Joanne
Made this tonight it was so good. Added zucchini and more cheese. The whole family loved it.
Carrie
Do you drain the tomatoes?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Carrie, I didn't drain the tomatoes. ~Martha
Melissa
Absolutely loved this recipe! Scrumdiddlyumpcious!
Sarah
Family favorite! Been in the weekly rotation for months!
Carol DeLong
I found it very bland so increased spices - added in minced garlic, onion powder, chili flakes, lots of salt and pepper and increased the paprika. Then it was really good. Husband liked it.
Susan
Very good
Ann
Not happy with this recipe. Way to much liquid! Pasta will never absorb it all. Drain tomatoes and decrease chicken broth?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Ann, not sure why you ended up with way too much liquid. As you can see from my photos, the pasta absorbs the liquid when I make it. ~Martha
Melissa
Any advice for the water amount for chickpea noodles? My hubby and I have added this to our regular dinner rotation but trying to lighten it up
Martha McKinnon
Hi Melissa, I don't have any experience with chickpea noodles. ~Martha
Suzanne
I make this all the time. The only change I make is using crushed tomatoes. No one in my family likes bits of tomatoes. (Except for me). It is my go to recipe.
Ann
Hi can this be frozen? Thanks
Martha McKinnon
Hi Ann, I haven't frozen it but believe it will work fine. ~Marthq
Kate
I read a similar recipe that said to freeze it all except the pasta because the pasta can become mushy, however, I have not tried it.
Teri
This was terrific! I just want to note that when I used zucchini there was alot more moisture so I simmered this dish longer than 15 minutes. But it's definitely a keeper...very filling.
Lynn
Martha,
OMG this was absolutely fantastic. I added some Velveeta and less shredded and then added some peas to it to get some veggies into my kids and it was a huge hit. I will definitely be adding this to our regular rotation. So, so good brought back memories of hamburger helper from my childhood. Thanks you so much for all your great recipes.
Alata
It was okay. A little disappointed that I couldnt taste the cheese. Instead of scallions I added red onion.. and chopped up a dill pickle.
JoAnne
Haven't made this yet, but sounds like a familiar recipe I have made. Love any dish with mac n cheese. A comfort food of course. Will make this soon.
Kate
This recipe has become a family favorite! I am making cookbooks for my adult children and they have each requested this recipe. It's so good that I have even warmed a bowl of leftovers to eat on a cold morning.