Is it Cheaper to Make your own Hamburger Helper?
Hamburger Helper hit the grocery store shelves in the early 1970s and has been a pantry staple for tons of American families ever since. It’s interesting to note that Hamburger Helper was introduced at a time of super high meat prices and shortages, which is similar to more recent food issues.
The prepackaged Hamburger Helper is convenient but it has some down sides like price and super high sodium. Many families have been making their own version for years, but is the homemade version cheaper than buying a box of Hamburger Helper? Let’s find out!
How much does it cost to make homemade Hamburger Helper?
The most popular flavor of Hamburger Helper sold in grocery stores is the classic Cheeseburger Macaroni. For our cost breakdown, we are going to be using a recipe from TheSaltyMarshmallow.
| Homemade Hamburger Helper Ingredients | Cost |
| 1lb ground beef | $3.96 |
| 1 tbsp ketchup | $0.03 |
| 1 tsp dijon mustard | $0.04 |
| 1 tsp garlic powder | $0.02 |
| 1 tsp onion powder | $0.02 |
| 1/2 tsp seasoned salt | $0.03 |
| 1/2 tsp salt | $0.01 |
| 1/2 tsp pepper | $0.04 |
| 1 1/2 cups macaroni noodles | $0.98 |
| 3 1/2 cups water | $0.00 |
| 1/2 cup sour cream | $0.49 |
| 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese | $2.22 |
| Total Cost: | $7.84 |
We priced the ingredients needed for homemade Hamburger Helper at my local Walmart, so your costs may vary depending on your local grocery store.
The total cost to make your own homemade Hamburger Helper was about $7.84.
How much does Hamburger Helper cost at the grocery store?
Now to be able to keep this a fair comparison, we will first cost out the cost of just the box of Hamburger Helper at multiple grocery stores.
| Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper | Store & Price |
| Great Value 12.8oz box | Walmart, $2.78 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | Walmart, $1.66 |
| Reggano 12.8oz box | Aldi, $2.35 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | Aldi, $1.89 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | Publix, $2.75 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | Target, $2.09 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | Winn-Dixie, $2.99 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | Family Dollar, $3.19 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | Dillon’s, $2.19 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | Price Chopper, $2.59 |
| Hy-Vee 5.8oz box | Hy-Vee, $2.09 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | SaveALot, $1.65 |
| Hamburger Helper 6.6oz box | Albertsons, $4.09 |
| Average Cost for a box of Hamburger Helper: | $2.48 |
We priced at Hamburger Helper at a bunch of different grocery stores and included some store brand versions as well. The costs ranges as low as $1.66 at Walmart to as high as $4.09 at Albertsons.
It is worth noting that the store brand or generic version was not always the cheapest option. (See the difference at Walmart and Aldi in prices)
The average cost for a box of Hamburger Helper at the grocery store was about $2.48 per box.
Now we will find out how much the total cost to make hamburger helper runs and if it is cheaper than our homemade version.
| Ingredients Needed to Make Hamburger Helper per Directions | Cost |
| 1 box of Hamburger Helper (average price) | $2.48 |
| 1 lb of ground beef | $3.96 |
| 1 1/2 cups of water | $0.00 |
| 2 cups of milk | $0.45 |
| Total Cost to Make Hamburger Helper: | $6.89 |
If we use the average cost of a box of Hamburger Helper, then the cost to make a batch of Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni would total $6.89.
If we used the lowest cost box of Hamburger Helper from SaveALot ($1.65) plus the ground beef, water, and milk the total cost to make it would be $6.06.
Is it worth making your own Hamburger Helper?
From a cost savings perspective, it is not cheaper to make your own Hamburger Helper from scratch. The difference in cost of homemade ($7.84) versus the cost to buy and make it ($6.89) is only a difference of $0.95.
The time to make the homemade version and the box version are about the same, so there is not really a benefit when it comes to saving time.
The one big difference would be taste and less processed ingredients. If you are looking to cut down your sodium and use less processed ingredients than making it yourself is definitely the way to go!
We usually stock up on Hamburger Helper when it is super cheap, and we can occasionally find it as low as $1.00 a box. In these cases, it is definitely cheaper to buy it than make it from scratch.
If you want to jazz up your box of Hamburger Helper, check out “Bored with Basic Hamburger Helper? Try These 32 Ideas!“
If you find an old box of Hamburger Helper in your pantry and not sure if it is safe to eat, check out “Can you eat old Hamburger Helper?“
