This homemade beefaroni recipe is comfort food made with minimal ingredients and takes only 30-minutes to prepare! A bowl of this pasta will make you feel like a kid again!
One of my favorites things growing up was beefaroni. Now we aren’t exactly talking about homemade beefaroni here, but the canned stuff you buy at the store. I loved it and I know many who did and still do. It’s a childhood staple.
As we are all trying to eat better and wanting to know what goes into our food, I was on a mission to recreate my childhood staple, and boy it was oh, so delicious!
Why homemade beefaroni is better than canned beefaroni?
Now we all know that canned, store-bought ready meals aren’t going to be great for us. So here’s just a little peek into how bad it really is.
Looks like an entire can of beefaroni is 250 calories per serving, which is 1 cup. A regular can is two servings and we all know we don’t consume half the can. So we are looking at 500 calories for the entire can. Only 9 grams of protein per serving.
With my homemade beefaroni recipe, we are looking at 283 per serving and 16 grams of protein. And the best part, you know all of the ingredients and can pronounce them!
What is beefaroni?
It is pasta in a tomato meat sauce. It’s typically made with elbow noodles.
Ingredients need to make this beefaroni recipe:
- Ground beef
- Dried herbs (basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary)
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Tomato paste
- Tomato sauce
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Parmesan cheese
- Elbow noodles
What is the difference between beefaroni and goulash?
It’s pretty much the same thing. Goulash, well American goulash, is a descendent of Hungarian goulash, but the only real connection to the name seems to be tomato and paprika. Now my beefaroni recipe doesn’t use paprika. I’ve always have known it to be beefaroni, maybe a difference between being in the midwest and on the east coast.
Can you freeze beefaroni?
Absolutely! This recipe feeds an army, so I always freeze half. One thing about freezing pasta for long periods of time it can go to mush. I recommend using it within 2 weeks. I like to use my food saver.
To make it into a freezer meal you would add all of the ingredients besides the elbow noodles and freeze it uncooked in a gallon-sized bag. To cook, just thaw and cook according to the recipe directions. Or place the frozen contents, without the bag, into a slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours, then add in the cooked elbow noodles.
Family-Friendly Pasta Recipes:
- Chicken Broccoli Casserole
- One-Pot Sausage & Mushroom Pasta
- Easy Alfredo Sauce
- Easy Chicken Parmesan Casserole
This homemade beefaroni recipe is comfort food made with minimal ingredients and takes only 30-minutes to prepare! A bowl of this pasta will make you feel like a kid again!
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Cook the macaroni noodles according to the instructions on the package.
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In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and add in the all of the spices. Make sure the ground beef is fully cooked.
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Stir in the tomato paste and tomato sauce. Simmer on low for about 10-12 minutes or until the noodles have finished cooking.
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Stir in the noodles.
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Serve with Parmesan cheese (optional)
Recipe originally published May 4th, 2014. Recipe updated on January 6th, 2021.
Yum! Your photos alone make me drool! Pinning for sure!
Aww - thank you so much, Kathe! Also, thanks for pinning hun! 🙂
That looks so delicious and comforting! There's nothing like a warm bowl of homemade pasta. 🙂
I am 69 yrs old and will be retiring in December so I will be getting $1200 a month less for income. I will need cheaper meals for two and this looks like one I can use.. I will be trying it out today. I will serve with garlic bread.
Sounds delicious with garlic bread on the side, Darleen!
So I know you posted this recipe ages ago, but I wanted to say I made this tonight and my six year old, picky eater, doesn't seem to like anything absolutely inhaled this. He even told me he loved it after this first helping. (he had three!!!)
Thanks for reminding me that I need to make this again, Sabrina! So glad your little one LOVED it. 🙂
As a loving mum & partner, I love making & serving good hearty, healthy meals to my little family that are also quick to prepare & make. Of course, the less washing up, the better too. I have eaten as a child & served as an adult, this 'Beefaroni' many times in my short lifetime & until now, it never truly dawned on me just how 'common' our kitchens are around the globe. Thank for reminding me of the simplicities in life & for sharing this simple recipe, that I now want to make for dinner 🙂
Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of…beefaroni!
Chelsea do you clear out a spot in your pan to cook the tomato paste for a bit if how long and are you just using elbow macaroni because what's in the can is a lot thicker and not as elbowy thanks Ed
Eddie, I mix the tomato paste into the contents of the pan and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until the pasta has finished cooking. Enjoy!