Hamburger Helper is more than just a short cut for cheeseburger mac or beef stroganoff these days. I mean, that’s still a lot of what they offer. I had no idea how many variations of cheeseburger mac there were until I just checked out their product page. But beyond that, they now make products like fried rice and teriyaki noodles and, the topic of today’s review, breakfast. Yep, Hamburger Helper wants to enter your a.m. routine.
Instead of ground beef, the new line-up of Hamburger Helper hashbrowns calls for ground sausage—a whole pound. That’s a lot of sausage. These skillet hashbrown kits make a lot of food to start the day. But are they any good? I cooked up four of the new Hamburger Helper skillet hashbrown flavors and two instant hashbrown cups to find out.
Pros: Sadly, I don’t have much to say about these hashbrowns that would qualify as positive. I guess I didn’t hate them as much as everyone else. Oh, here’s something: If you are desperately low on sodium, a bite of these hashbrowns will fill you right up.
Cons: These are so salty. Like, suck the moisture from your mouth salty. Like, so salty it hurts. It tastes like you dumped multiple packets of taco seasoning onto hashbrowns and then added more salt. I took two bites and was done. Others could only manage one.
Pros: These gooey, cheesy hashbrowns are totally fine. They pretty much taste like you dumped some Velveeta onto frozen hashbrowns.
Cons: The potatoes are a bit tough. And while it’s fine, it’s not worth the effort of cooking sausage, adding potatoes and water, cooking them down, crisping them up, and then mixing milk and cheese powder together to make a “cheese sauce.” It’d be easier (and better) to cook frozen hashbrowns and sausage and add Velveeta.
Pros: I think these Hamburger Helper hashbrowns taste like a pretty decent airplane breakfast. It tastes like hashbrowns mixed with an herb-forward soup mix that goes heavy on the powdered bell peppers.
Cons: I can’t imagine anyone tasted this in the Hamburger Helper factory and said, “Yum, this is good! Everyone will love it!” No one tasted it. Because if they had they wouldn’t have approved its release. It’s so gloopy and the fake cheese and reconstituted sausage are overwhelming. And the aftertaste is so unpleasant. I don’t care how long I’m in a bunker, I’m not eating this again.
Pros: It’s better than the Cheesy Hashbrowns! There is a vaguely sagey flavor that I appreciate. It shows that someone tried at least.
Cons: It’s very salty, super soupy, and it has the same unpleasant, almost sour aftertaste as the Cheesy Hashbrowns. If you’re craving sausage gravy and don’t have much time, just make some with a packet of instant sausage gravy mix (we included a great one in our store bought gravy ranking) and gulp it down. It’ll be more satisfying.
Hi! I’m the editor-in-chief of Sporked. I will never turn down a fresh-shucked oyster but I’ll also leap at whatever new product Reese’s releases and I love a Tostitos Hint of Lime, even if there is no actual lime in the ingredients.
Why you should trust me: I have been writing about food and beverages for well over a decade and am an avid at-home cook and snacker. I began my career writing about fine dining and recipes, moved into cocktails and spirits, and now I talk about groceries. If you can eat it or drink it, I’ve probably written about it.
What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s dried okra. Appleton Farms prosciutto from Aldi. Some sort of Trader Joe’s cheese (I’m into the aged gouda at the moment). Frozen waffles (usually the Eggo Cinnamon Toast Minis). Spindrift water (loving the Cosmopolitan right now).
Favorite ranking: Smoked salmon. Imagine me as Scrooge McDuck but instead of coins I’m diving into a vault of slippery smoked salmon slices. Pure joy. I also found some real steals in that taste test!
Least favorite ranking: Canned oysters. I had such high hopes for this but it quickly became a chore. The kitchen smelled like an uncleaned aquarium.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!
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Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!