Ground soy curls, cheese sauce and macaroni make this the best vegan hamburger helper you’ll ever try! It’s a one pot (or pan) dish that’s hearty, comforting and filled with fabulous flavour! Your entire family will thank you for this one!
If you’ve got picky eaters to feed, this is a kid friendly dish that the entire will LOVE!
It’s got all the good stuff!
- Pasta (who doesn’t love pasta?)
- Cheesy sauce, yes please!
- Meaty ground soy curls and you might have a hard time believing it’s vegan!
If you’ve a fan of cheesy pasta dishes, you’ll definitely want to check out this vegan mac and cheese, too.
You’ll love this dish because…
- It’s a classic dish made vegan, to satisfy that nostalgic feeling.
- Oil free, making it WFPB friendly, and low fat.
- It’s simple to prepare, and all you need is one pot, or one pan.
- And of course, the best reason, it’s SO SO delicious!
How to make it
(This is a summary with step by step photos, full recipe measurements and instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Gather your ingredients. For the pasta, I like Cavatappi, but macaroni, shells, or any other short variety work well here.
Combine 2.5 cups of veggie broth and the additional seasoning in a bowl, and place your soy curls inside. Make sure the curls are covered by the liquid, and add a little water if needed to cover them. Let that soak for 15 minutes. (photo 1)
Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce by adding all the “cheese” ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Set aside. (photos 2-3)
Drain the curls in a colander and squeeze out the excess moisture over your kitchen sink. Then transfer them to a hot nonstick pan and sauté until brown. (photos 4-5)
Then transfer the browned curls to the bowl of your food processor and pulse until uniformly ground and set aside. (photos 6-7)
Wipe out the pan with a dish cloth or paper towel and add 3.5 cups of broth and bring to a low boil. Then add the pasta and simmer until ‘al dente’, approx. 10 minutes. (photos 8-10)
NOTE: Check the pasta package directions for ‘al dente’ pasta.
Add the ground curls back to the pan and mix well. (photos 11-12)
Then pour the cheese sauce on top and mix to evenly coat. (photos 13-14)
Serve garnished with fresh parsley, if you’d like, and enjoy!
Common Questions
I like cavatappi pasta because it’s fun, twisty and delicious, but macaroni, penne, shells or any other short variety will work well.
Yes, just swap the pasta for your favourite gluten free variety. The sauce and ‘ground beef’ soy curls are already gluten free.
Yes! They’re made from non-GMO whole soybeans and they’re a great source of protein, fiber and iron. As an added bonus, they are minimally processed, making them a great choice for a WFPB (whole food plant based) diet.
You can purchase them in a health food store, health section of your grocery store, or find them on Amazon.
This dish is best enjoyed when freshly made, as the pasta will continue to absorb the sauce as it cools. However, leftovers can be kept refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Add some broth, or a little plant milk to your vegan hamburger helper and reheat on stove top to loosen and add moisture back to the dish.
Expert Tips
- Since the soy curls are being ground up, feel free to use the bottom half of your bag that tends to be broken up.
- Make sure the soy curls are completely covered by liquid in order to rehydrate them. If needed, add some extra water to the bowl to cover them.
- Emphasis on low sodium broth for this one, to prevent the dish from being too salty. If you do not have low salt broth, use a 50/50 mix of broth and water.
- Make sure not to overcook your pasta. In fact, a little undercooked (or al dente) is best since it will continue to soften as it absorbs the excess broth.
- If your vegan hamburger helper is a little liquidy once everything is mixed in, don’t worry. Any excess liquid will quickly absorb as it starts to cool.
More delicious vegan pasta dishes
- Vegan Pasta e Fagioli w/ Instant Pot Option
- The BEST Vegan Lasagna
- Pasta Aglio e Olio
- Avocado Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Baked Pasta
If you tried this recipe, please let me know about it in the comments below. I always love hearing from you! Don't forget to Subscribe to This Healthy Kitchen to be among the first to get my new recipes! You can also FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to see more delicious food and get all the latest updates.
Buon appetito
Rosa
📖 Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the "Meat"
- 4 ounces soy curls about half a Butler's bag of curls or 2.5 cups
- 2.5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
For the Pasta
- 3.5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 1.5 cups cavatappi pasta or macaroni
For the "Cheese"
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ⅔ cup water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce optional, but recommended
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Combine all the "meat" ingredients in a bowl and mix well. If the soy curls are not completely covered, add a little water to cover them. Let that soak for 15 minutes, and then drain in a colander.
- Meanwhile, add all the cheese sauce ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Set aside.
- Heat a deep nonstick pan over medium heat and once hot, squeeze the excess moisture from your soy curls over your kitchen sink and place them in the pan. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until browned, adding a splash of water or oil if needed to prevent sticking. Then transfer the soy curls to your food processor to pulse into a uniform ground and set aside.
- Wipe out the same pan and add 3.5 cups of broth and bring to a low boil. Then add the pasta and simmer until al dente, stirring often. Approx. 10 minutes.
- If you have a little extra broth once your pasta is cooked, no need to drain. Add the ground soy curls to the pan and give it a mix to absorb some of the excess broth. Then pour the cheese sauce on top, mix well and serve.
Kim says
My husband and I both love this recipe! Thank you 🙂
Rosa says
My pleasure, Kim. Thanks so much for the review. 🙂
Sam says
Made it exactly as written! SO delicious! 😋
Rosa says
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
CHARLOTTE says
I made this recipe and really wanted to love it. It needs more flavor and wondering if anyone added onions or green peppers? I did add black pepper but it still is missing something.
Rosa says
I tried to keep this one similar to the original without added veggies, but you could certainly add some if you prefer. 🙂
in2insight says
This is such a delicious meal.
Comes together with ease, quick to make and oh so good.
Ended up tossing in a cup of dished frozen veggies to the pasta at the end (reduced broth by 1/2 cup).
Thank you for sharing.
Rosa says
You’re welcome, so glad you enjoyed it.
Heather says
Absolutely delicious!!! I doubled the recipe for just my husband and myself and am so glad I did. Between the two of us we ate it all for dinner. I didn’t want to waste the broth and seasonings that were used to soak the soy curls, so I saved it and topped it with more broth to cook the pasta. 😋😋😋😋😋😋
Rosa says
So glad you both enjoyed Heather! Thanks for the review.
Trudy says
Just wondering if I could use an oat cheese sauce in this and about how much do you think I should add?
Rosa says
Do you mean to replace the cheese sauce used here? While I can’t guarantee the same results, you’re always welcome to experiment. Let us know how it goes!
Bob in Tennessee says
I’m eating bowl #2 of this right now! The flavor of the cheese sauce is superb. I read that the excess liquid will absorb as it cools….of course, I will likely eat it all before it has time to cool! Definitely doubling or tripling this recipe next time. I’m also wondering how it might taste with TVP rather than soy curls…..or perhaps both. Hmmm.. Thanks for this!
Rosa says
Thrilled you’re enjoying it Bob! Thanks very much for the review. I didn’t try this with TVP, but I think it’d be great. 🙂
Suzie says
I’m confused about the vegetable broth 2.5 cup for soy curls. I don’t see when it is used?
Rosa says
Hi Suzie, step #1, combine in a bowl with the soy curls and seasoning. Enjoy! 🙂
Maureen says
Very simple to make, scrumptious!
Rosa says
So glad you enjoyed Maureen. 🙂
Sunny says
Looks delicious! For some reason I remember this childhood favorite having a tomato element to it as well. (No way to try it again now though since it’s not an item in the South Pacific.)
I’d like to make this today but don’t know the cups to oz ratio for soy curls. (We buy ours from a bulk shop to avoid supporting unnecessary single use plastic bags.)
Also, can we use the broth from the soy curls to boil the pasta to mimimize waste?
Rosa says
Hi Sunny, you’ll need about 2.5 cups of soy curls. The soaking broth will mostly be absorbed by the soy curls, but you may reuse whatever is left and squeezed out if preferred and top it off. Hope you enjoy! Please report back once you try it.
Mary says
Hi, this looks delicious. I was just wondering if you could use TVP instead of soy curls. tks
Rosa says
Hi Mary, I haven’t tried that, but I don’t see why not. Enjoy! 🙂