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Our Cheeseburger Pasta has juicy little hamburgers and pasta in a luscious creamy cheese sauce.
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Easy Cheeseburger Pasta
This delicious Cheeseburger Pasta is a delicious change of pace from the usual pasta with meat sauce or macaroni and cheese. It combines flavorful and juicy mini hamburgers and pasta in a simple yet creamy cheese sauce with a hint of tomato paste added for extra flavor.
Cheeseburger Pasta is very kid-friendly, but grownups love it just as much! It’s a great menu option for a kid’s party, game day parties, or anytime you want a deliciously satisfying meal.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Ground beef – We suggest using ground beef with a lower meat to fat ratio – such as 90/10 – to ensure that the finished dish isn’t overly greasy.
- Mini Burger Ingredients – Ground beef (90/10), kosher salt, black pepper, and egg.
- Sauce Ingredients – Extra virgin olive oil, yellow onion, fresh garlic, tomato paste, beef broth, heavy cream, yellow sharp cheddar, and American cheese. Chose a quality, real American cheese and not “cheese food”.
- Pasta – Choose a sturdy, thick-walled pasta shape such as ziti. (We love the Garafolo brand.)
Cooking Tips & Tricks
Here are a few tips and tricks for this recipe:
- Cook the pasta to just slightly less than done and still a little chewy. It will finish cooking to al dente in the cheese sauce.
- Save some of the pasta water to thin the sauce as needed. Also use it to add to any leftovers before reheating to loosen the sauce.
- The amount of ground beef used in this recipe can vary since it will be made into small individual patties. If you have more or less than what the recipe calls for, that’s fine. Whatever you use will simply make more or fewer patties.
- Some versions of this recipe simply cook the ground beef rather than making it into small patties. You can do that if you prefer, but we think the mini burgers make this dish a little more fun.
Cheeseburger Pasta
Our Cheeseburger Pasta has juicy little hamburgers and pasta in a luscious creamy cheese sauce.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American-Italian
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (90/10 if possible) *
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to salt the pasta water
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
- 1 whole egg
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 cups yellow onion, diced (about one large onion)
- 2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup of beef broth or stock
- 2 cups heavy cream (one pint)
- 8 ounces real American cheese (not cheese food)
- 8 ounces yellow sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 12 ounces pasta (we used ziti)
- Saved pasta water to be used as needed
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil with a teaspoon of kosher salt, then reduce the heat to keep the water hot. Do not add the pasta yet.
- In a medium bowl, add beef, salt, pepper and the whole egg. Mix to combine.
- Scoop out one-ounce balls then flatten into mini burgers.
- In a medium to large skillet with high sides, add half the oil then cook the burgers over medium heat to medium rare and remove and set aside. These will cook further in the sauce.
- Bring the pasta water back to boiling and add the pasta.
- Add the remaining oil to the skillet, and over medium heat, add the onions and cook for five minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook one more minute.
- Add the tomato paste and cook another minute.
- Add the beef broth and cook the onions until tender, 3-4 more minutes.
- Add the heavy cream and once hot, add both the American and cheddar cheeses.
- Cook until all the cheese has melted and you have a loose cheese sauce.
- Add the cooked burgers back in and simmer on medium low for five minutes.
- Continue to cook the pasta until it is slightly less than fully cooked (a little chewy). Do not discard the pasta water.
- Using a spider and add the pasta to the pan with the burgers and sauce and cook over medium low until the pasta is fully cooked, adding pasta water as needed to get the sauce to the correct consistency. (Save extra pasta water to use to reheat any leftovers.)
- Serve in bowls.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Cheeseburger Pasta ahead of time? You can prepare the cheese sauce in advance and even cook the mini burgers and make the sauce in advance. But we suggest waiting to cook the pasta until close to serving for the best results.
- How do I store leftovers? Store covered and refrigerated for up to three days.
- How do I reheat leftovers? You can reheat individual portions in the microwave or multiple portions in a saucepan on the stove. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce as it reheats, stirring occasionally but being careful not to break apart the mini burgers.
- Can I freeze? No, we don’t recommend freezing this dish.
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Last updated: October 21, 2026
