When it comes to nostalgic comfort food, Beefaroni is at the top of my list. It’s made with simple ingredients like savory ground beef, tender macaroni noodles, and lots of ooey-gooey sharp cheddar cheese.
It was one of my favorite childhood favorites and is still on our menu rotation.
And there was none of the canned stuff or Hamburger Helper growing up. Made with simple ingredients, our easy homemade beefaroni takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, making it a perfect weeknight meal.
Can you say Beefaroni Night? Our easy homemade beefaroni recipe is a dish your entire family will love!
Although it’s similar to American goulash, don’t confuse the two. Beefaroni is creamier, has a milder flavor, and takes less time to prepare.
If you love easy-to-prepare meals for busy weeknights, make sure to try our Million Dollar Chicken Casserole and Sloppy Joes recipes.
Ingredients for Homemade Beefaroni
Let’s start by gathering the necessary ingredients to prepare our Easy Beefaroni recipe. Culinary professionals refer to this as mise en Place, which means “everything in its Place.”
Setting up your ingredients not only helps speed up the cooking process but also ensures you have all the necessary ingredients on hand to make the recipe.
Can I change up the recipe?
Absolutely. Adapting a recipe to your taste preference is what cooking at home is all about.
If you’d like to add more vegetables to the mixture, bell peppers, corn, peas, mushrooms, and carrots are all good choices. To make adding vegetables to the recipe easy, add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables.
We used tomato sauce to make the recipe, but if you prefer a chunkier tomato consistency, use crushed tomatoes or Rotel diced tomatoes instead.
We used sharp cheddar cheese for our recipe, but you can use mozzarella cheese, Monterey Jack, Velveeta, or a combination of your favorite cheese to make our homemade version.
You can also adjust the seasonings to your taste preference. Instead of using dried basil and dried oregano, opt for an Italian seasoning blend. For a touch of heat, add red pepper flakes, chili powder, or your favorite hot sauce.
Adding brown sugar and apple cider vinegar will give it a barbecue flavor. For a Mexican flavor, add cumin and cilantro to the dish.
We prefer sweet onions, but you can use red onions, yellow onion, or onion powder to make this simple recipe.
How to Make Homemade Beefaroni
Follow along with my simple step-by-step instructions to learn how to make beefaroni in your home kitchen.
- Cook the macaroni al dente per the instructions on the box.
- Add the beef broth, plain tomato sauce (not spaghetti sauce), heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, ketchup, and seasonings to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the pound of ground beef. Stir the beef as it cooks, breaking the meat into small pieces; season with salt and black pepper.
- Add the chopped onions and fresh garlic to the pan.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
*Cook until the beef is thoroughly cooked, 3-4 minutes. Drain the excess grease and set the meat aside in a bowl until needed. - Add the butter to the same pan over medium heat. When it’s melted, add the all-purpose flour and tomato paste.
- Stir until well combined. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
*We recommend using lean ground beef to make our recipe. There won’t be as much grease to discard.
- Slowly add the sauce to the roux, whisking to combine.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Then, gradually add the shredded cheddar cheese into the sauce, stirring continuously.
- Add the ground beef back into the sauce and stir to combine. Then, add the cooked macaroni.
- Stir until well combined.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese and chopped fresh parsley.
- Place a lid on top of the pan to let the cheese melt and serve.
If you have extra sauce, save it for serving time or for reheating. As it sits the pasta will suck up the sauce.
Wouldn’t you love to sit down to a bowlful of this delicious homemade beefaroni? This easy meal is guaranteed to become a family favorite!
Store leftover beefaroni refrigerated in an airtight container or well-sealed with plastic wrap. It can be stored frozen for up to two months.
To reheat, place in a pan over medium heat with a little water or leftover sauce, stirring as needed. Ensure that you reheat the leftovers to at least 165°F. You can also use the microwave to reheat.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. Although the recipe is traditionally made with macaroni, you can use any small pasta shape that suits your preference.
Penne, gemelli, shells, cavatappi, and fusilli are all good choices.
Yes, you can. Ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork, or any combination of ground meat can be used to make this recipe.
To round out the meal, serve a salad, garlic bread, coleslaw, or any of your favorite green vegetables.
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Homemade Beefaroni
Ingredients
Beefaroni
- 1 lb ground beef lean 90/10
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup sweet onion -diced
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cloves garlic -finely minced
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups cheddar cheese – shredded (save some for the topping)
- ½ pound elbow macaroni -cooked about two cups
- 1 teaspoon Italian parsley -finely chopped
Sauce
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- 8 ounces tomato sauce not spaghetti sauce
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon ketchup
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- Cook the pasta al dente per the instructions on the box.
Sauce
- Add the beef broth, tomato sauce, heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, ketchup and seasonings to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
Beefaroni
- Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef. Stir the beef as it cooks breaking the meat apart. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Add the onions and garlic to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cook until the beef is thoroughly cooked, 3-4 minutes. Drain the grease and set the meat aside in a bowl until needed.
- Add the butter to the same pan over medium heat. When it’s melted, add the all-purpose flour and tomato paste. Stir until well combined. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Slowly add the sauce to the roux, whisking to combine.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Gradually add the shredded cheddar cheese into the sauce, stirring continuously.
- Add the ground beef back into the sauce and stir to combine.
- Add the cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
- Garnish with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese and chopped parsley.
- Place a lid over the pot long enough to let the cheese melt and serve.
Notes
Penne, gemelli, shells, cavatappi, and fusilli are all good choices. Can I make this recipe with ground turkey? Yes, you can. Ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork, or any combination of ground meat can be used to make this recipe. Can I change up the recipe? Absolutely. Adapting a recipe to your taste preference is what cooking at home is all about. If you’d like to add more vegetables to the mixture, bell peppers, corn, peas, mushrooms, and carrots are all good choices. To make adding vegetables to the recipe easy, add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. We used tomato sauce to make the recipe, but if you prefer a chunkier tomato consistency, use crushed tomatoes or Rotel diced tomatoes instead. We used sharp cheddar cheese for our recipe, but you can use mozzarella cheese, Monterey Jack, Velveeta, or a combination of your favorite cheese to make our homemade version. You can also adjust the seasonings to your taste preference. Instead of using dried basil and dried oregano, opt for an Italian seasoning blend. For a touch of heat, add red pepper flakes, chili powder, or your favorite hot sauce. Adding brown sugar and apple cider vinegar will give it a barbecue flavor. For a Mexican flavor, add cumin and cilantro to the dish. We prefer sweet onions, but you can use red onions, yellow onion, or onion powder to make this simple recipe.
Kim says
Just like my grandma used to make! Thank you for not calling this goulash!!