One-Pot Cheeseburger Pasta for the Night You Want Comfort and Only One Pot

It is 6:40 on a Tuesday, the day has been a lot, and the only thing you want is a cheeseburger that will not make you stand in line. This one-pot cheeseburger pasta is about 26 minutes in a single pot, and it is the comfort food you reach for when you want to be taken care of without making a fuss. Think of it as the dinner that texts back right away.

Everything cooks together, and the cheese goes in last.

Browned ground beef and onion go into the pot first. Then the elbow pasta, the tomato sauce and a couple of cups of water join them, and the pasta cooks right in the sauce, releasing starch that thickens everything. Stir in a generous pile of shredded cheddar at the end and you have a creamy, tomatoey dinner that tastes like a cheeseburger with no bun to wrestle, no bag to carry and no line.

How to make it

1. Dice the 1 whole yellow onion, which takes about 3 minutes.
2. Heat a large pot over medium heat and cook the 1 lb ground beef with the diced onion for 8 minutes, breaking up the beef, until browned.
3. Drain excess fat if needed, then add the 8 oz elbow pasta, 15 oz tomato sauce, 2 cups water, salt to taste, and black pepper to taste.
4. Stir everything together and bring to a simmer.
5. Cover and cook for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the 1.5 cups shredded cheddar until fully melted and creamy.
7. Let the pasta sit uncovered for 3 minutes before serving.

Notes

The ingredient list is short: ground beef, elbow pasta, shredded cheddar, tomato sauce, one yellow onion, salt and pepper. That is part of the appeal. The beef and onion carry the savory flavor, the tomato sauce brings sweetness and acid, and the cheddar brings the cheeseburger.

Dice the onion first, which takes about three minutes, then brown it with the beef over medium heat for about eight minutes, breaking the meat into small crumbles as it cooks. Browning is where a lot of the flavor comes from, so let the beef sit for a minute between stirs so it gets some color. USDA lists 160°F as the safe minimum for ground beef, so cook it until no pink remains.

Drain the excess fat if the pot looks greasy, then add the pasta, the tomato sauce, two cups of water, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir, bring it to a simmer, cover, and cook for 12 minutes, stirring now and then so the pasta does not stick to the bottom.

Take the pot off the heat before the cheese goes in. Stir in the cheddar until it is fully melted, then let the pasta sit uncovered for three minutes before serving. That rest lets the sauce tighten up and the cheese settle into a creamy coating.

Cooked leftovers keep three to four days refrigerated, per USDA FSIS. The pasta keeps absorbing sauce as it sits, so it will be thicker the next day. Loosen it with a splash of water when you reheat it, over low heat or in short bursts in the microwave, stirring in between.

If you are choosing between a burger night and a pasta night, you can stop swiping. This one-pot cheeseburger pasta is both, and it will not make you pick.

Swaps that actually work

The point of this one-pot cheeseburger pasta is the beef, the cheddar and the single pot, so leave those alone. The beef gives the burger flavor and the cheddar gives the cheeseburger, and one pot is the reason this is a Tuesday dinner.

Everything else can move. Treat the pantry like your swipe history: the beef, the cheddar and the pot are your type, and the rest is open to a little experimentation. Ground turkey or chicken will work in place of beef, but cook it to 165°F and expect a milder flavor. Elbow macaroni is the shape this was written around, but small shells or rotini will do, though the cooking time may shift by a minute or two, so taste a piece before you take the lid off for good.

For the cheese, a sharp cheddar gives more flavor and a mild one gives a smoother melt. Pre-shredded cheese works, though some brands melt less smoothly than cheese you shred yourself from the block. Stir it in a handful at a time if you want to be careful.

If you want more burger flavor, a spoonful of yellow mustard or a splash of Worcestershire stirred in with the tomato sauce is an easy add, and chopped pickles on top are a nice finish. A pinch of garlic powder or paprika also fits.

The swap that costs you the dish is changing the amount of water. Two cups is what the pasta needs to cook in this pot. Too little and the pasta stays hard, too much and you get soup.

If you want some green in the pot, stir in a handful of spinach with the cheese and let it wilt.

If it goes wrong

The pasta is still hard. The liquid cooked off before the pasta was done, which is the pot's way of saying it wanted more attention than you gave it. Add a splash of water, put the lid back on, and cook a few more minutes over low heat, stirring.

It is soupy. Too much liquid, or the lid stayed on too long. Take the lid off, simmer for a minute or two while stirring, and let it sit for the three minute rest before you judge it. It thickens as it cools.

The cheese went grainy or oily. It was stirred in over high heat, or the sauce was boiling. Take the pot off the heat before the cheddar goes in, stir gently, and let it melt in the residual heat. If it has already split, a splash of water and a steady stir will help bring it back together.

It tastes flat. There are only salt and pepper in the pot, so season it properly, and tasting at the end matters. Add salt a pinch at a time, and a spoonful of mustard or a splash of Worcestershire will wake it up.

What to serve with it

The default is a bowl and a fork. It is a full dinner by itself.

The better version of the default is something fresh on the side, like a crisp salad or sliced tomatoes and lettuce, which gives you the other half of a cheeseburger without any extra cooking. A cold pickle spear on the plate does the same job.

The thing in the fridge that lifts it is anything sharp and crunchy. Chopped dill pickles, a few slices of red onion, or a squeeze of mustard on top all give the creamy pasta something to push against.

It reheats well for lunch the next day, and a splash of water brings back the creaminess.

Why this one earns its place

This one-pot cheeseburger pasta asks very little and gives back plenty. One pot, a short ingredient list and a payoff that tastes like something you would order, which is a good deal on a night when your patience is thin.

It is also a good dish to swipe on when you are choosing between "I want comfort" and "I do not want dishes". Put it in your week and the agent can shop the beef, pasta, cheddar and tomato sauce for you.

For more cheesy pasta, try cheesy bacon macaroni bake or baked ziti, and read about the swipe meal planner to see how choosing dinner can feel less like homework.

More like this: all American recipes in Crave Corner.