Skillet Lasagna is a great alternative to Hamburger Helper. Are you ever looking for an inexpensive meal to prepare on a weeknight? I know I am, and I have a solution for you.
Recently some of my Youtube folks were looking for inexpensive meals to prepare, and I wanted to come up with a recipe that was inexpensive to make, but very hearty. I always enjoyed Hamburger Helper as a child, and I wanted to recreate this a favorite childhood recipe.
While I do use leftover boxed lasagna noodles for this recipe, you really could use any type of pasta that you like. To help keep the costs down on the recipe I used Italian sausage, which is often on sale at my local Kroger store. I buy it fairly often at half the price of ground beef. I have also tried this recipe with just a half a pound of Italian sausage.
For this recipe I use some fresh onions and some garlic. If you happen to have some bell peppers in your fridge, you could toss in one of those two if you like. This recipe if vary flexible. I use some ricotta cheese to add some flavor, if you like you could swap this out for cottage cheese, either one will work. I personally prefer the ricotta because I like the taste and texture more when the cheese is heated.
Inexpensive meals do not have to be flavorless they can be both filling and delicious. cabbage roll casserole is filling and made with fresh cabbage, ground meat, and rice. Love Hamburger Helper? Try this Hamburger Stroganoff recipe.
Skillet Lasagna - A Better Hamburger Helper
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage or ground beef
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 14.5 ounce chopped tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
- 8 ounces lasagna noodles or other type of pasta
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet brown meat, add chopped onion and chopped garlic to skillet. Cook over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Add tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, 1 cup of water, Italian seasonings, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.Break up pasta and toss into the skillet. Cook for approximately 15 to 20 minutes, or until the pasta cooks. If the liquid cooks out, you may need to add an additional 1/4 to 1//2 cup of water. Add ricotta cheese. Stir in cheese if desired. You can top with additional cheese.
Aleshia says
September 1, 2017 at 2:00 pmHamburger Helper Lasagna was my favorite one by them when I as a child.. I can’t wait to try this!!!
Stephanie says
September 2, 2017 at 1:12 pmOh, yeah, I remember that one. I also loved the stroganoff one.
Karen says
May 6, 2017 at 7:27 pmDo you plan to do any Cajun Dishes?
Can’t wait to try the Lasagna dish!
Dessert Meal says
September 8, 2016 at 8:12 amThis recipe looks good n easy to make.Hoping to make use of the available pasta to make this dish tonight
L. Todaro says
August 7, 2016 at 12:40 pmThe “skillet” dinners were by Hunt’s and not Hamburger Helper. They came in a box with noodles, sauce and for the lasagna, a packet that had ricotta solids. Thanks for making at attempt at replicating Hunt’s Skillet Lasagna.
Stephanie says
August 7, 2016 at 2:45 pmI didn’t know Hunts had a similar product. I always knew this as a ‘Hamburger Helper’ product. I appreciate the knowledge!
Low carb yogurt says
March 12, 2016 at 2:46 pmThis looks delicious! Did you use regular or oven ready lasagna noodles?
Rach's Recipes says
March 8, 2016 at 11:14 pmI love lasagna and I do believe in using pork sausages too as it helps create a richer sauce as compared to ground beef. I generously added mozzarella, ricotta, and chopped basil for this too. Thanks for sharing.
Janeane Davis says
March 7, 2016 at 6:56 pmThis seems like a good recipe that will be tasty and that the entire family will enjoy having. It is nice because there is lots of room for interpretation and creativity.
Stephanie says
March 7, 2016 at 6:58 pmI think those are the best recipes, where you can come up with your favorite additions to a recipe.
Keikilani says
March 7, 2016 at 6:46 pmThis looks so yummy! I have been looking for new hamburger recipes.
یو پی اس says
March 7, 2016 at 1:35 amThank you for this post. Good luck.
Stephanie @CopyKat.com says
March 6, 2016 at 7:45 amThank you very much. I think simple cooking is cooking at its best. You get to allow the natural flavors of the food to really shine. I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Michael k meske says
March 4, 2016 at 6:21 amI would like to say that you do a very great job of bringing us simple food That looks great and taste fantastic thanks