Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product manufactured by Eagle Foods. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Pasta was originally on ...

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

), with powdered

seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, and/or salts, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Salt may ...

s contained in a packet. The consumer is meant to combine the contents of the box with browned

ground beef Ground beef, hamburger, hamburger meat (North American English), minced beef or beef mince (Commonwealth English; often just generically referred to as ground meat, ''mince'' or ''mincemeat'') is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife or ...

("hamburger"), water, milk, and sometimes

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

to create a complete one-dish meal. There are also variations of the product designed for other meats, such as "Tuna Helper" and "Chicken Helper". Some of these feature other starches, such as potatoes.

History

The packaged pasta brand "Hamburger Helper" was introduced by

General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...

in 1971 in response to a meat shortage and rising meat prices. In 2005,

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

rated it third on its list of "Top Five Fad Foods of 1970". In 2013, the company shortened the brand's name to just "Helper". The Hamburger Helper

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

is "the Helping Hand" or "Lefty"—a four-fingered, left-hand white glove with a face on the palm and a red spherical nose. It often appears in the product's television commercials and on packages. In May 2022,

announced an agreement to sell the brand to Eagle Foods for approximately $610 million. On July 5, 2022 the sale was completed.

Hamburger varieties

The basic (and most popular) version of Hamburger Helper is a box of dried pasta with seasoning that is designed to be cooked with ground beef. Hamburger Helper offers a variety of flavors, including

lasagna Lasagna (, ; ), also known by the plural form lasagne (), is a type of pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an Leavening agent, unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or Eggs as food, eggs, and formed in ...

ranch A ranch (from /Mexican Spanish) is an area of landscape, land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of farm. These terms are most often ap ...

and

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

, stroganoff, chili macaroni, and others.

Other varieties

There are also different varieties of Hamburger Helper, such as Tuna Helper, for tuna, and Fruit Helper, a discontinued variety for canned fruit that would make desserts. *Tuna Helper became successful as the second variety to appear on the market, in 1972. *Fruit Helper was introduced in 1973. These were dessert products made with canned or fresh fruit. The Fruit Helper line has since been discontinued. *Chicken Helper was introduced in 1984 in response to the wide availability of inexpensive boneless and skinless chicken breasts. *Asian Helper is a selection of four main Asian-American-style dishes, three made with chicken and one with beef. With the acquisition of the brand by Eagle Foods, the line has been discontinued. *Whole Grain Helper was a selection of four dishes made with

whole grain A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. As part of a general healthy diet, consumption of whole grains is associated ...

pasta, two with chicken and two with beef. The line has also been discontinued. *Pork Helper was introduced in 2003. Varieties included pork fried rice and pork chops with stuffing. The product was discontinued shortly after its introduction. *Hamburger Helper Bold was introduced at some point. It was a spicier version of Hamburger Helper. *Helper Mac & Cheese was a microwavable mac and cheese dish, with flavors such as

pizza Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

and nacho. It was discontinued following the brand's acquisition by Eagle Foods. *Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles were introduced in 2006. This product requires water and brief cooking in the microwave to produce a single serving portion of some of the most popular flavors. Chicken Helper flavors were added in 2007 despite the brand being discontinued shortly thereafter. It returned in 2024, as Hamburger Helper Microwavable. The 2024 re-release is made with dehydrated beef and comes in 4 flavors: Beef Pasta, Cheeseburger Macaroni, Chili Macaroni and Tomato Basil Macaroni.

In popular culture

A 1977 book collecting material from the satirical TV show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' contained an unproduced sketch called "Placenta Helper," an ad for a product which "lets you stretch your placenta into a tasty casserole." The sketch was written by Tom Davis and future United States Senator

Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American politician, comedian, and actor who served from 2009 to 2018 as a United States senator from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he worked as an ...

. In 1979, Scott Spiegel wrote, produced and directed a short film entitled '' Attack of the Helping Hand'', which featured a "Hamburger Helper" oven mitt as a killer glove. The

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'' featured Lefty the mascot in one of their famous "cutaway gags" from the 2009 episode " Business Guy". The gag involved Lefty, who appears with his neurologically impaired brother, who takes the form of a right-handed glove, representing the non-existent brand "Cheeseburger Helper". On April 1, 2016,

commissioned an EP as an

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

prank, titled '' Watch the Stove''. According to a press release, the EP was produced for General Mills by a team at St. Paul, Minnesota's McNally Smith College of Music. The EP's title is a parody of the

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

collaborative album '' Watch the Throne''. It contains five songs, all of which are about Hamburger Helper. It instantly achieved a viral status, played over four million times on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

in less than three days, with many listeners finding value in the brand's promotion of younger artists. It is mentioned in ''

Young Sheldon ''Young Sheldon'' is an American sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro which aired on CBS from September 25, 2017, to May 16, 2024. The series is a Spin-off (media), spin-off prequel to ''The Big Bang Theory'' that ...

'' Season 6, episode 21, 'A Romantic Getaway and a Germanic meat-based Diet,' which aired on May 18, 2023. Georgie is cooking with his baby CeeCee in his arms and tells Mandy that she is his "little Hamburger Helper helper."

References

External links