The pasta cooks in the pan and you wash one thing
Brown a pound of beef with diced onion, add two cups of beef broth, a can of tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard, and eight ounces of dry elbows. Lid on, twelve minutes, done.
Stir the cheddar in at the end and top with diced dill pickles. It is rich, so a small bowl before a 6:30 practice and a bigger one after is a better call than one enormous serving at five.
Ingredients
The recipe serves 4 to 5. Plan on about 25 minutes.
- 1 lb lean ground beef (90/10)
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 8 oz elbow macaroni
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup diced dill pickles, plus more for topping
How to Make It
- Brown the beef and onion in a deep skillet over medium-high heat, 6 to 7 minutes, until no pink remains; drain excess fat.
- Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, and salt and bring to a simmer.
- Add the dry macaroni, stir, cover, and simmer 10 to 12 minutes until the pasta is tender, stirring twice.
- Stir in 1 cup of the cheddar until melted and the sauce is creamy.
- Top with the remaining cheese and the diced pickles, then serve.
Timing Before Practice
Start about 30 minutes out; the pasta cooks right in the sauce so there is only one pan.
- T-minus 30: brown the beef and onion
- T-minus 22: add liquids and the dry pasta
- T-minus 8: stir in cheese, top with pickles, serve
Make It Ahead or Save Leftovers
This skillet reheats into a creamy, comforting second dinner.
- Cook fully and chill in a shallow container
- Reheat with a splash of broth or milk to loosen the sauce
- Hold the pickles aside so they stay crisp on the reheat
- Serve with: a green salad, baby carrots
Parent Tip
Keep the lid on while the pasta cooks so it absorbs the broth evenly.
Make it fit tonight
Small changes that make this one fit your night
The lid kept on while the pasta cooks
Lift it every thirty seconds and the broth escapes, leaving you with crunchy macaroni and a dry pan.
Pickles held back until the plate
Stirred in early they go limp; scattered on top they give every bite the burger snap.
Ground turkey in place of beef
It browns a shade faster and lightens a skillet that is already fairly heavy.
Cooled fast in a shallow container
Spread it thin in the fridge so it chills quickly and reheats without a cold middle.
Broth or milk on the reheat
A couple of tablespoons loosens the sauce back up when a teenager eats it at nine.
Plan the next step
Find more one-pan dinners
Use the planner to fill your week with meals that leave one pan to clean.