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Enjoy the flavors of one of your childhood favorites, but lighter and better for you, with this Healthy Hamburger Helper. It’s packed with veggies and protein from chickpea pasta!
This healthier Hamburger Helper tastes even better than the dish you remember while still being good for you. It has 7 grams of fiber and almost 36 grams of protein because it uses protein-packed chickpea pasta. Enjoy this delicious one-pan meal when you’re craving a comfort meal that’s nourishing and simple to make.
If you like easy noodle dinner recipes, you will love Low-Calorie Beef Stroganoff and Healthy Cheeseburger Pasta!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthier Than the Box Version: A box of Hamburger Helper is full of sodium, highly processed, and lacks vegetables. This healthy homemade Hamburger Helper is made with vegetables, lean meat, and chickpea pasta, so it’s lighter and better for you.
- High Protein and Fiber: Chickpea pasta is an excellent substitute for wheat pasta when you want to add more protein to your meals. The combination of chickpea pasta and lean ground turkey brings the protein in this recipe up to 36 grams per serving! It’s also packed with veggies like carrots, celery, and spinach, which are full of fiber to help your digestion and keep you feeling full for longer.
- One Pan Meal: There’s nothing worse than having to clean a stack of dishes after dinner! This hearty meal comes together in one skillet, so it keeps cleanup minimal and easy.
- Ready in 20 Minutes: When you’re craving a home-cooked meal, but don’t feel like you have time to make one, this recipe is perfect! Aside from chopping vegetables, it comes together in less than 20 minutes.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Ground Turkey: Lean meat, like ground turkey, helps add protein to dishes without packing them full of calories.
- Onion, Carrots, Celery: These fragrant veggies create the flavor base for this dish. You can chop vegetables or use a frozen blend, often called mirepoix, to save time.
- Chickpea Pasta: Pasta made from chickpeas is excellent for sneaking extra protein and fiber into your dishes. You could also use other plant-based pastas made with lentils, edamame, or black beans, which are also great options.
- Tomato Paste: Deepen the flavor of this cheesy dinner using a bit of tomato paste. It’s a thick, concentrated paste that’s packed with rich flavor.
- Chicken Broth: A low-sodium chicken broth is used in this dish to cook the pasta. Most of the liquid will be absorbed by the pasta, so the sauce is thick and creamy.
- Greek Yogurt: A low or no-fat Greek yogurt ups the protein in the dish and makes it thick and creamy.
- Cheddar Cheese: Low-fat cheddar cheese gives this dish that nostalgic flavor everyone loves.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Make It Dairy-Free: If you need this healthy Hamburger Helper to be dairy-free, you can use a dairy-free Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese.
- Use a Different Meat: This dish tastes great with ground chicken instead of ground turkey. You can also use ground red meat, like pork or beef, but be sure it is lean so it doesn’t add too much extra fat and calories.
- Try It Vegetarian: This dish is easy to make vegetarian! You can swap the turkey for tofu or use a can of beans or lentils for the protein and meaty flavor instead.
- Use Regular Pasta: I used chickpea pasta for this meal, but you can use any pasta you enjoy. Many regular pastas do have protein added to them now. I recommend looking for a protein+ pasta to keep the protein higher.
How to Make Healthy Hamburger Helper
This one-pot Hamburger Helper recipe is one of the dinner recipes from my Low Calorie Cookbook. It’s a goodie, and I know you’ll love this lighter version made with healthier ingredients. Everyone will love the cheesy, classic flavor and how quickly it comes together in a single skillet.
- Step 1: Brown the Meat and Soften the Veggies. Heat your large skillet over medium heat with a bit of olive oil. Then add the ground turkey, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to the warmed skillet. Use a spatula to break up the meat and cook it until it’s browned, and the veggies are softened. This takes about 5 minutes.
- Step 2: Add Tomato Paste and Seasonings. Once the meat is browned and the veggies are slightly translucent, stir in the paprika, oregano, and tomato paste. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Step 3: Stir in the Broth and Pasta. Next, add the Worcestershire sauce, spinach, and pasta to the skillet and slowly stir in the broth. Bring the broth to a simmer and cover it.
- Step 4: Cook the Pasta. Let the pasta cook until it is slightly tender; this takes about 8-10 minutes. You’ll need to stir the dish every few minutes to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Step 5: Add the Yogurt and Cheese. Reduce the heat to low and remove the lid. Then stir in the yogurt and cheese.
- Step 6: Adjust for Taste and Serve. Before serving, give the dish a taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. Then garnish the dish with fresh parsley and serve it with a simple side dish like roasted broccoli.
Expert Tips
- Stir Frequently to Prevent Sticking: Be sure to remove the cover on the skillet and stir the pasta frequently, or else it will stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Shred Fresh Cheese: You’ve got to shred your own cheddar cheese. I know it’s less convenient, but the flavor and texture are so much better with freshly shredded cheese.
- Don’t Overcook the Pasta: Remove the lid from the skillet and reduce the heat as soon as the pasta reaches al dente. Plant-based pasta will fall apart and turn mushy if you overcook it for even a few minutes. You can use regular pasta too. Many even have protein added to them.
- Storing: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze this dish for up to 3 months, but the pasta may get soft and fall apart.
- Make Ahead: Make dinner prep even easier and chop your onion, carrots, and celery a day or two before you plan on making this meal. Then you can just dump them in when it’s time to make dinner!
Serving Suggestions
This healthy Hamburger Helper recipe is the perfect meal for when you need a quick dinner with an even faster cleanup. It comes together in less than 20 minutes, only uses one skillet, and is so filling. It’s a great meal for families, but anyone who grew up on Hamburger Helper will love it.
- This homemade healthy Hamburger Helper is rich and filling, so a light salad makes for the perfect side dish. If you really want to channel that childhood nostalgia, serve your salad with this homemade low-calorie Ranch Dressing.
- You can never have too many fruits and vegetables. I love adding something like roasted winter vegetables or a Waldorf salad to this meal.
- My family always had bread with this type of meal, so I love to make these zucchini biscuits to go with it. They taste amazing dipped in the leftover sauce!
Recipe FAQs
Your sauce may be a little runny if the pasta doesn’t absorb all of the broth. If this happens, remove the lid and let some of the liquid cook off before stirring in the yogurt and cheese to thicken the sauce.
This could be for two reasons: either you used pre-shredded cheese, or you didn’t reduce the heat before adding the yogurt and cheese. Preshredded cheese is coated in preservatives to make it last longer, but it doesn’t melt well and can be gritty. Also, dairy that is heated too quickly can curdle and turn gritty, so be sure to reduce the heat before stirring in the yogurt and cheese.
For individual servings, I find reheating leftovers in the microwave for 60-second intervals until they are heated through is the easiest. You can also reheat your leftovers over medium heat on the stove. If your leftovers are dry, add a splash of broth for more moisture. Be sure to thaw frozen leftovers in the refrigerator for 24 hours before reheating them.
More Healthy Old-Fashioned Recipes
If you tried this Healthy Hamburger Helper recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Hamburger Helper
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- ½ cup White Onion, diced
- ½ cup Carrots, diced
- ½ cup Celery, diced
- 1 lb 95% Lean Ground Turkey
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons Garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce, gluten free if needed
- 8 oz Chickpea Rotini, or pasta of choice
- 3 cups Baby Spinach, roughly chopped or 1 cup defrosted frozen spinach
- 3 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- ¾ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- ⅔ cup Low Fat Cheddar Cheese
- Parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the oil, turkey, onion, carrots, celery, garlic and salt and pepper.
- Cook for 5 minutes, or until the meat has browned, using a wood spoon or spatula to break up the meat while it cooks. Then add the paprika, oregano and tomato paste. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- To the skillet, add the Worcestershire sauce, spinach, pasta, then stir in the broth. Cover and bring up to a simmer.
- Cook until the pasta is tender, about 8-10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes to make sure nothing sticks to the pan.
- Reduce the heat to low, remove the lid and stir in the yogurt and cheese. Add more salt and pepper as needed. Serve warm garnished with fresh parsley.
Notes
- You’ll need to stir this dish every few minutes as the pasta cooks to keep the meat, veggies, and noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Reduce the heat before adding the dairy elements so it melts smoothly and doesn’t turn gritty.
- Reduce the heat and uncover the skillet as soon as the pasta turns tender to keep from overcooking into a mushy mess.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is one of my favorite recipes. It’s so good and my husband eats it too!
How much grams or ounces per serving??
1/4th of the recipe equals 1 serving. If you want to know the specific grams or ounces per serving, you will place the entire cooked recipe on a food scale and divide by 4.
This recipe is superb. Very easy! Perfect for a busy week night. So far, I’ve tried 3 of your recipes and have very good results each time! Thank you so much for writing amazing healthy nutrition recipes 🙂
Thank you, I appreciate that!
This looks delicious! I love pasta but hate feeling guilty when I eat it.
Do you feel guilty when you eat pasta or do you feel guilty when you steal something? Mindset is everything!
In the middle of making it I realize that the canned tomatoes are not listed in ingredient list so I am assuming a 15 oz. can?
Update: I didn’t have any canned tomatoes so I threw in some chopped up grape tomatoes. The flavor profile on this dish is fantastic!! Will totally make this again and again.
So glad to hear you liked the recipe!!! I updated the tomatoes too – thank you for the catch!
In the middle of making it I realize that the canned tomatoes are not listed in ingredient list so I am assuming a 15 oz. can?