Can you eat old Hamburger Helper?

Boxes of Hamburger Helpers are a back of the pantry staple for our house. This is something we use for nights that I have lost inspiration and just want to throw something together in one pot.

While I love the ease of Hamburger Helper, I am not always a fan of the flavor so sometimes they sit in the far back corner of my pantry for a while. I typically only buy them when they are super cheaper, so at any time we may have 4-5 boxes back there.

Last week, I came across a box of Hamburger Helper than expired a little over a year ago. I decided to give it a try, so I could figure out if you can still eat expired Hamburger Helper.

Does Hamburger Helper Expire?

A typical box of Hamburger Helper has 2-3 ingredients: pasta or rice, a flavor packet, and sometimes a topping like corn chips. Every box, I have ever opened, has each item in its own sealed plastic, paper, or foil like packet.

Thankfully, pasta and rice that is sealed away from moisture can last indefinitely. A flavor packet that has not gotten wet or been damaged can also last indefinitely. (Flavor packets are typically just a mix of spices and binders, so they don’t really go bad, they just may lose a little flavor.)

The last piece of the Hamburger Helper puzzle is the topping. I have mostly seen toppings such as corn chips or an extra cream sauce. The cream sauce is still in powdered form, so it will definitely last a while. The corn chips on the other hand can be subject to getting stale or rancid.

How long is hamburger helper good for after expiration date?

The Hamburger Helper that I made is called “Crunchy Taco” and came with rice, seasoning packet, and a pack of corn chips.

I had totally forgotten to defrost any ground meat like beef or pork, so I made mine with plain frozen meatballs. I let these steam in a little water for about 10 minutes in the pan, until fully defrosted. I then used a wooden spatula to break the meatballs up into smaller pieces.

As I mentioned before, I am not a huge fan of the flavor of Hamburger Helper by itself, so I added a can of petite diced tomatoes and a can of drained and rinsed cannelloni beans. Due to the extra moisture in my tomatoes, I did have to cook the dish a little longer with the lid off to make it thicken up.

All was going well, until I opened the packet of corn chips. They immediately smelled pungent and off putting like rancid oil. Thankfully, we already had some tortilla chips on hand, so I used those and tossed the corn chips. We also added a sprinkle of cheese and some sour cream for a very tasty easy meal! (My husband and I added some jalapeno slices for some extra heat.)

When it came time to eat, I honestly could not tell any difference in flavor or texture of the Hamburger Helper. This particular box had expired back in June 2021, so it was 1 year and 4 months past expiration date or “Best if Used By” date.

The only part of the mix that was definitely not edible was the corn chips. Most Hamburger Helpers don’t have an extra topping, so I would say that Hamburger Helper can definitely be consumed past expiration date.

I estimate that Hamburger Helper can be safely eaten up to 2 years after the expiration date and possibly even longer. I would double check the corn chips included in them though!

Is it safe to eat expired hamburger helper?

My whole family ate the expired cooked Hamburger Helper and there were no odd flavors or bad reactions. I honestly did not expect any.

When we look at the ingredients in Hamburger helper like the pasta or rice and a flavoring packet, these items are shelf stable and will last indefinitely as long as they are stored correctly.

The biggest enemy of Hamburger Helper is moisture. The pasta and rice were completed contained in the little sealed plastic bags, so as long as those are still sealed there is nothing to worry about with those.

The flavor packet is the weakest point of the whole meal. Most of the seasoning packs are just a standard paper or foil pack that has been crimped closed. As long as the packet doesn’t show any signs of moisture like oil residue on the outside, or hard caked powder, this too is completely fine.

Our only issue was the corn chips, and over time any chips will go stale. Since corn chips are fried in oil to make them crunchy, it makes sense that ours smelled like rancid oil. The chips didn’t technically go bad but the residue of oil on them did go bad.

It is worth noting, that physically the corn chips were still crunchy and visually looked fine. It was only the smell that made me toss them.

Oil can last for a long time by itself, but when it is mixed with something else, it can start to go rancid. Thankfully the smell of the chips was pretty obvious that they were bad, so no one ate those.

As a good rule of thumb, always take a sniff of any fried or baked components like fried onion toppings, breadcrumbs, and chips to rule out that they have gone bad. For more information, check out “Can I use expired French Fried Onions? and “Can I use expired Shake and Bake?“