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Rachael Ray has nothing on my mother. As far as this family is concerned, my mom invented healthful, delicious comfort food that one can cook in 30 minutes or less.
This hamburger and macaroni dish is one of my mother’s recipes that has been served in our house at least once a month for the last 45 years. We even have a special name for it—HMO (Hamburger Macaroni Onions). I’ve also heard it called “goulash” or “American chop suey” or “Hamburger Noodle Casserole.”
My father gets a song in his voice when he announces that we’re having HMO for dinner. You make brown the meat and make the sauce while the water is coming to a boil and the macaroni is cooking. So it takes less than half an hour to make. So easy!
Hamburger and Macaroni Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni (use rice pasta or gluten-free pasta for gluten-free version)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 yellow onion, chopped (or mixed chopped green onion greens and yellow onion)
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- Pinch chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 large can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
1 Start cooking the pasta: Get a large pot of salted hot water (1 tablespoon of salt for 2 quarts of water) heating and begin cooking the macaroni as per the directions on the macaroni package.
2 Brown the beef and onions: While the water is heating and macaroni cooking, prepare the sauce. In a skillet, brown the ground beef in a tablespoon of olive oil on high heat. Stir only infrequently so that the ground beef has an opportunity to brown.
When the beef has mostly browned, add the onions to the pan and toss to combine. Cook until the onions are soft, about 4-6 minutes.
3 Add seasonings, tomatoes: Add the celery seed, a dash of crushed red pepper and seasoned salt. Pour in canned tomatoes, add the Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4 Add cooked pasta: Reserve a half cup of the pasta cooking water. Mix in the drained and cooked macaroni and the parsley. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add in some of the pasta water if the dish is too dry.
Add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.
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Links:
Rhode Island 'Chop Suey,' from The Perfect Pantry
Creamy Taco Mac, from Annie's Eats
Cheeseburger Mac, from Ezra Poundcake
Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
Hamburger and Macaroni
I’ve been making this recipe for years! It’s definitely a repeat recipe I’ve been feeding my son for years since he was a toddler. Perfect comfort meal.
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Hi! We love his recipe at my house…but just found out my youngest is allergic to tomatoes. Any thoughts for a substitute or just leave them out? Thanks!
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Hi Melissa, glad you all like this, now let’s see if there’s a way to have it still be tasty with no tomatoes. You could omit them, but you’d need to replace all that liquid with something so your dish does not turn out bland. Maybe some red wine or pumpkin puree thinned with beef stock. You may need a few extra dashes Worcestershire either way. Or add a tablespoon of miso, which will make the pasta saltier, so watch your seasoning. Or you can try this naturally tomato-less recipe, Cheesy Hamburger and Pasta Skillet.
Hi Melissa, this is a tough one as the recipe calls for a substantial amount of tomato. I did a search online and found a product called Nomato, which you might want to investigate. I haven’t tried it myself. Some people use roasted red bell peppers instead of tomatoes when they need to substitute. That said, often people who have allergies to tomatoes have problems with other nightshades as well, like bell peppers and eggplant.
Hi again, this recipe for Osso Bucco on the site, just caught my eye because it has a wonderful sauce that doesn’t use tomatoes. You might want to check it out for inspiration!
My Grandma made this in the 40’s. I made a big change. Instead of using just plain old tomatoes, I always use tomatoes and chiles! Yum!
Just made your recipe. A great dish and it takes me back to my youth on the farm. Family loved it and it is easy to cook.
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I have been making your recipe for years and never took the time to comment. It has obviously been a hit, and when I was a new wife and mother it was a common meal as it was one I could easily memorize. Now, I actually go months without making it because my recipe box has expanded so much. But today my husband specifically requested it and I happily obliged! Thank you for the hearty dish that was my go-to for so long, and is now a coveted comfort food in our house.
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Hi Kelli, you are so welcome! This is my mother’s recipe and she (85) was just telling me this week how happy and proud she is that recipes that she made to feed our family are now inspiring so many people. So thank you for your feedback!