This one pot vegan hamburger helper is a healthier, meatless take on a classic weeknight dinner recipe! It's easy to make and comes together in just 30 minutes. Comforting, flavorful and a balanced meal for the whole family.
If you've never made it, traditional Hamburger Helper is essentially boxed pasta and spices, which are combined with liquid and browned ground beef for a one pot meal.
Our version is (obviously) meatless, using a mixture of cauliflower and quinoa to replicate that meaty texture. It's filling, cheesy, satisfying and so delicious!
Why we love this recipe
- Kid and adult friendly: This is the perfect family-friendly dinner that everyone will love. Plus, it's...
- One pan! Everything comes together in one large pot or pan, including the pasta. That means fewer dishes to wash and an easy-to-follow recipe!
- Suitable for all dietary restrictions: it's easy to make this recipe 100% gluten free. It's also naturally soy free (depending on the cheese you use) and of course, meatless and dairy free.
- Hidden veggies (surprisingly healthy!): it might not sound like the healthiest dinner, but this vegan hamburger helper is actually packed with nutritious ingredients, including cauliflower, quinoa and tomatoes.
Ingredients
Here are some of the key ingredients you'll need to make this vegan hamburger helper:
- Riced cauliflower
- Quinoa
- Macaroni pasta
- Vegetable broth
- Fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies
- Spices (cumin, paprika, chili powder, hot sauce)
- Vegan cheddar cheese
Ingredient Notes
- Pasta: To make this recipe gluten free, use any variety of gluten free pasta.
- Cauliflower: we've included instructions below on how to make cauliflower rice in two easy steps with a food processor. Alternatively, you can use store-bought riced cauliflower, which is typically found either in the frozen vegetable section or in a bag near fresh produce.
- Quinoa: any variety of quinoa works. We typically use tricolor or red quinoa for color in this recipe, but regular white quinoa is perfectly fine.
- Tomatoes: we call for diced fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies for an extra kick. If you can't find them (or don't want the extra spice), regular diced tomatoes are perfectly fine.
- Nondairy milk: we prefer full fat oat milk in this recipe – it's super creamy and has a very neutral taste.
How to make vegan hamburger helper
This one pot vegan hamburger helper comes together in a few simple steps:
Make cauliflower rice
If you'd prefer, you can use store bought riced cauliflower. In that case, skip this step!
However, if you're starting with a whole head of fresh cauliflower, you'll need to rice the cauliflower yourself.
To do so, break up the cauliflower into small florets. You can use your hands or a knife. Add to a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Pulse several times until the cauliflower looks like rice.
If you don't have a food processor, you can also use a grater to make cauliflower rice.
Sauté onion and garlic
Start by sautéing the onion and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften.
In a small bowl, whisk together the hot sauce, red wine vinegar and tomato paste.
Add cauliflower, quinoa and spices
Next, add in the riced cauliflower, uncooked (dry) quinoa, hot sauce mixture and all dry spices (paprika, cumin, chili powder and salt).
Stir well to make sure the spices are evenly incorporated. Let cook for about 5 minutes, until the cauliflower starts to soften.
Simmer
After 5 minutes, add in the vegetable broth, milk, tomatoes and dry pasta. Stir well and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until pasta is al dente and has absorbed most of the liquid. This step takes about 10-15 minutes depending on the type of pasta.
Be sure to stir occasionally so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Once the pasta is cooked, stir in parsley and vegan cheese. Remove from heat and serve hot.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- Make sure your pan is big enough! You'll need a pretty large skillet or pot to fit all of the broth, pasta and other ingredients. We used a 5 qt. shallow braiser. If you don't have a skillet large enough, use a dutch oven or another large pot.
- Storage: you can store this vegan hamburger helper in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheating: Reheat in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each interval, until fully warmed. Alternatively you can reheat in a pan, but you may need to add a bit more broth to loosen it up and prevent burning.
- Freezer storage: Let cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then microwave until warmed.
In this recipe, we use cauliflower rice and quinoa as a substitute for hamburger meat. If you'd prefer, you can use a vegan ground beef substitute instead of the cauliflower/quinoa mixture. Be sure to brown the meat in the pan before adding the pasta and other ingredients.
There are so many great vegan cheeses on the market, but a few favorites that we use often in our recipes include Field Roast Chao, Daiya, Miyoko's and VioLife.
Yes! If you don't have any milk, you can substitute with another cup of vegetable broth instead.
More vegan one pan dinner recipes
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Vegan Hamburger Helper
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This one pot vegan hamburger helper is a healthier, meatless take on a classic weeknight dinner recipe! It's easy to make and comes together in just 30 minutes. Comforting, flavorful and a balanced meal for the whole family.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced (1 ½ cups)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups riced or grated cauliflower* (about 1 small head of cauliflower)
- ⅓ cup quinoa
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- ½-1 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ¾ tsp cumin
- ¾ tsp paprika
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 15 oz can of diced fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies*
- 1 cup nondairy milk (we used oat)
- 3 cups macaroni (elbow) pasta
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 ½ cups vegan shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Make cauliflower rice (skip if using store-bought riced cauliflower): add cauliflower florets to a food processor. Pulse several times until it looks like small grains of rice.
- Heat oil in a large skillet (or pot) over medium heat. (Note: the pot/pan must be large enough to fit all ingredients!)
- Add onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, until softened.
- In a small bowl, whisk together tomato paste, red wine vinegar and hot sauce.
- Add to skillet along with riced cauliflower, uncooked quinoa, and chili powder, salt, cumin and paprika. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes, until the cauliflower starts to soften a bit.
- Add in broth, milk, tomatoes and pasta. Stir well, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the pasta is al dente and has absorbed most of the liquid (10-15 minutes). Stir occasionally to prevent pasta from sticking to bottom of pan.
- Just before serving, stir in parsley and vegan cheese. The residual heat will melt it. Serve topped with more fresh parsley and enjoy hot.
Notes
*You can make your own cauliflower rice or purchase it pre-riced, typically found in the freezer section or in a bag near the fresh produce. If using frozen, defrost before using.
*You can also use regular diced fire roasted tomatoes.
Make sure your pan is big enough! You'll need a pretty large skillet or pot to fit all of the broth, pasta and other ingredients. We used a 5 qt. shallow braiser. If you don't have a skillet large enough, use a dutch oven or another large pot.
Storage: you can store this vegan hamburger helper in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring well between each interval, until fully warmed. Alternatively you can reheat in a pan, but you may need to add a bit more broth to loosen it up and prevent burning.
Freezer storage: Let cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, defrost overnight in the refrigerator, then microwave until warmed.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: vegan hamburger helper
Jennie
This recipe is absolutely delicious!! All of my non-vegan family members had multiple helpings which rarely happens. I was worried the cauliflower would turn to mush but it held up nicely and really had the texture of beef. Flavor profiles were on point!
Lexi
Thank you so much, Jennie!! So glad you enjoyed!