Hamburger Helper is a brand of boxed meal product produced by General Mills and sold under its Betty Crocker brand. It consists of a starch (most often pasta, but also rice or potatoes) and specially measured dried sauce packets separated in a single box. The remaining ingredients must be provided by the consumer. The consumer browns the hamburger meat in a skillet and then adds water, noodles, milk and the seasoning packet(s) to create a complete meal.
   General Mills also has a Hamburger Helper frozen food line, which features some of the brand's classic varieties in a complete meal kit form, and includes frozen ground beef and frozen sauce packaged separately from the noodles in the same bag.
   There is as well an "instant" version of Hamburger Helper which contains dehydrated meat, noodles and seasonings in a small pouch — instead of adding meat, milk and water, the consumer only needs to add a small amount of water to a bowl containing the helper pouch contents.
   In 2005 the American-based Food Network listed Hamburger Helper as number three in its list of the top five fad foods of the 1970s .
   In 2007, General Mills removed the microwave cooking direction from Hamburger and Tuna Helper for unknown reasons. These directions are still listed at the Hamburger Helper FAQ at BettyCrocker.com

Varieties

• Homestyle Favorites
  • Beef Pasta (formerly called "Beef Noodle")
  • Beef Stroganoff
  • Potato Stroganoff (includes dehydrated potato slices)
  • Salisbury