My beefaroni recipe is a family favorite dinner featuring a flavorful tomato and ground beef meat sauce tossed with tender macaroni noodles. It's a big bowl of comfort food that never disappoints. You can even freeze it to have an easy dinner at the ready whenever you need it.
Serve with a crisp green side salad or Caesar salad and oven garlic bread or Texas toast to sop up all the extra sauce!
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As a kid, beefaroni made a frequent appearance on my family's weeknight dinner menu. Canned beefaroni was incredibly popular then, but this homemade version blows it out of the water.
🥘 Ingredients
- Cooking Oil - 2 tablespoons of your preferred cooking oil with a neutral flavor.
- White Onion - 1 cup of finely diced white or yellow onion.
- Ground Beef - 1 pound of ground beef.
- Garlic - 1 tablespoon of minced garlic.
- Paprika ½ teaspoon of paprika or a paprika substitute.
- Onion Powder - ½ teaspoon of onion powder or an onion powder substitute.
- Garlic Powder - ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- White Pepper - ¼ teaspoon of white pepper.
- Cumin - ¼ teaspoon of ground cumin or a ground cumin substitute.
- Salt & Pepper - ¼ teaspoon each of salt & pepper (to taste).
- Parsley - 1 teaspoon of dried parsley or a parsley substitute.
- Tomato Paste - 3 tablespoons of tomato paste or a tomato paste substitute.
- Tomato Sauce - 30 ounces of canned tomato sauce or a tomato sauce substitute.
- Diced Tomatoes - 14.5 ounces of canned diced tomatoes (drained).
- Macaroni - 10 ounces of elbow macaroni (uncooked).
- Monterey Jack Cheese - ½ cup Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese - ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*
🔪 How To Make Beefaroni
If you can boil pasta and cook ground beef, you can make beefaroni. You're going to need your measuring utensils, a large skillet, a stockpot, and a colander to get started.
This recipe yields 6 servings.
Cook The Ground Beef
Step 1: Saute the onions. Heat a large skillet with 2 tablespoons (14.79 milliliters) of cooking oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 cup (160 grams) of diced white onion and saute until translucent and softened, about 5 minutes.
Step 2: Brown the beef. Add 1 pound (853.59 grams) of ground beef and 1 tablespoon (8 grams) of garlic to the onions. Brown the beef, breaking it up as it cooks, until there is no more pink (roughly another 5 minutes). Then, drain the excess grease from the beef if needed.
Season & Simmer
Step 3: Add seasonings. Add all of the seasonings and stir to combine. (½ teaspoon (1 gram) of paprika, ½ teaspoon (1 gram) of onion powder, ½ teaspoon (2.46 grams) of garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon (0.5 grams) of white pepper, ¼ teaspoon (0.5 grams) of ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon (1.23 grams) each of salt & pepper (to taste), and 1 teaspoon (0.1 grams) of dried parsley). Then, add 3 tablespoons (48 grams) of tomato paste and stir again.
Step 4: Add sauce and simmer. Pour in 30 ounces (850.49 milliliters) of tomato sauce and 14.5 ounces (411 grams) of diced tomatoes and stir until everything is combined. Bring it to a low boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes uncovered.
Cook The Pasta & Melt Cheese
Step 5: Prepare the pasta. As your sauce is simmering, cook 10 ounces (283.5 grams) of elbow macaroni as directed on the packaging (minus a minute or two for an al dente texture). Drain and set aside.
Step 6: Combine and top with cheese. Once the sauce has thickened to your liking, add the cooked noodles and toss to combine. Preheat your broiler to high heat and top the beefaroni with ½ cup (56.5 grams) of Monterey jack cheese and ½ cup (56.5 grams) of sharp cheddar cheese.
Step 7: Melt and serve. Slide the skillet under the broiler for 3-5 minutes to melt the cheese. Once melted, remove from oven and serve.
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Use an oven-safe skillet, Dutch oven, or cast iron skillet to save yourself an extra dish. That way, you can pop the whole thing under the broiler to melt the cheese!
- I typically use 80/20 or 85/15 ground chuck, so I prefer to drain the grease from the beef. If you are working with leaner meat, you may not need to drain it.
- Freshly shredded cheese from a block will melt much better than pre-shredded packaged cheese.
- The pasta and sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated. When ready, warm the sauce in a skillet, toss in the pasta, cook until hot, add the cheese, and broil to melt.
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🥡 Storing & Reheating
Let leftovers cool completely, then transfer it to a shallow, airtight container. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Beefaroni can also be frozen in an airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag (with excess air squeezed out) for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating
This recipe turns out perfectly tasty when reheated in the microwave. You can also reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.
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📖 Recipe Card
Beefaroni (Easy Skillet Recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil (your preferred cooking oil with a neutral flavor)
- 1 cup white onion (or yellow onion, finely diced)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon each, salt & pepper (to taste)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 30 oz tomato sauce
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes (drained)
- 10 oz elbow macaroni (uncooked)
- ½ cup Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
- ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet with 2 tablespoon cooking oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 cup white onion and saute until translucent and softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add 1 lb ground beef and 1 tablespoon garlic to the onions. Brown the beef, breaking it up as it cooks, until there is no more pink (roughly another 5 minutes). Then, drain the excess grease from the beef if needed.
- Add all of the seasonings and stir to combine. (½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon each, salt & pepper, and 1 teaspoon dried parsley). Then, add 3 tablespoon tomato paste and stir again.
- Pour in 30 oz tomato sauce and 14.5 oz diced tomatoes and stir until everything is combined. Bring it to a low boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes uncovered.
- As your sauce is simmering, cook 10 oz elbow macaroni as directed on the packaging (minus a minute or two for an al dente texture). Drain and set aside.
- Once the sauce has thickened to your liking, add the cooked noodles and toss to combine. Preheat your broiler to high heat and top the beefaroni with ½ cup Monterey jack cheese and ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese.
- Slide the skillet under the broiler for 3-5 minutes to melt the cheese. Once melted, remove from oven and serve.
Notes
- Use an oven-safe skillet, Dutch oven, or cast iron skillet to save yourself an extra dish. That way you can pop the whole thing under the broiler to melt the cheese!
- I typically use 80/20 or 85/15 ground chuck, so I prefer to drain the grease from the beef. If you are working with leaner meat, you may not need to drain it.
- Freshly shredded cheese from a block will melt much better than pre-shredded packaged cheese.
- The pasta and sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated. When ready, warm the sauce in a skillet, toss in the pasta, cook until hot, add the cheese, and broil to melt.
- Let your beefaroni cool completely, then transfer it to a shallow airtight container. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Beefaroni can also be frozen in an airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag (with excess air squeezed out) for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
- This recipe turns out perfectly tasty when reheated in the microwave. You can also reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.
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