Use What You Have
Presto Pesto Hamburger Mac Recipe
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Beef Macaroni
This comforting dish combines elbow macaroni, savory ground beef, and a creamy pesto sauce for a satisfying meal.
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
- 1 pound ground beef
- cup sun-dried tomato pesto
- cup sour cream
Directions
Step 1: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook the elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well.
Step 2: While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently, until browned and crumbled, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Drain and discard any excess grease from the skillet.
Step 3: Stir in the sun-dried tomato pesto and sour cream with the ground beef. Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture is heated through.
Step 4: Add the drained macaroni to the skillet and mix everything together until the pasta is well-coated with the pesto-beef sauce.
Step 5: Serve warm and enjoy this rich, creamy pasta dish!
Cook's Note
Feel free to use red pesto made with roasted tomatoes for a slightly different flavor. You can also adjust the amount of pesto and sour cream to suit your preferences.
Nutrition Facts
Servings per Recipe: 6
- Calories: 581
- Total Fat: 26g (34% Daily Value)
- Saturated Fat: 10g (50% Daily Value)
- Cholesterol: 62mg (21% Daily Value)
- Sodium: 217mg (9% Daily Value)
- Total Carbohydrate: 58g (21% Daily Value)
- Dietary Fiber: 3g (11% Daily Value)
- Total Sugars: 2g
- Protein: 27g (53% Daily Value)
- Vitamin C: 2mg (2% Daily Value)
- Calcium: 191mg (15% Daily Value)
- Iron: 5mg (25% Daily Value)
- Potassium: 411mg (9% Daily Value)
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may vary based on your individual needs.
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Comments
Judy Bero Storer
10/06/2025 01:52:54 PM
Upon reading the other reviews first, I increased both the pesto and sour cream to a cup and added Italian seasoning. It turned out great.
France Cevallos
11/12/2023 06:22:25 PM
As written, I would give this 3 stars, but 4 stars with the adjustments I made. Thankfully, after reading over the ingredients, the macaroni amount seemed off, so I made adjustments from the start. I used half the amount of pasta, but kept everything else the same. A full pound of macaroni would be way too much for the stated amount of ground beef, pesto and sour cream, hence some of the reviews saying this was dry and flavorless. I thought ahead and saved some of the pasta water in case I needed it. After mixing everything together, I tasted it and then ended up just adding the remaining bit of red pesto (the jar was 6 oz) and 1-2 TBSP more of sour cream. I also added in about ½ cup of pasta water. Made for a nice saucy dish. Sprinkled with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, this was a quick weekday meal that I’d make again. Make sure you season the meat with salt and pepper (and maybe even some garlic powder) when you’re browning it. So, 8oz pasta, 1lb ground beef and ¾ cup each of red pesto and sour cream + seasonings of choice.
Laura L
07/17/2018 10:53:29 PM
I upped the pesto and sour cream to 1 cup and that was definitely a good idea. Also added a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes - very good recipe. Thanks!
rckkr101
12/07/2017 08:00:45 PM
Very good! I added 1 cup of sour cream and one 8 oz. jar of pesto to add more flavor. Also added Italian seasoning, chopped onion and garlic. A quick, easy meal and very tasty.
Jessica Emmerson
09/24/2020 10:22:34 PM
For a quick meal and I had all the ingredients in the house, no complaints. I read the other reviews and used an 8oz jar of basil pesto and 1 cup of sour cream. Also added a can of rotel, Italian seasoning and about 2-3 cups of fresh spinach. Made a huge recipe with quick leftovers. Lots of flavor, I admit I was nervous about the pesto and sour cream combo.
lauraM
04/30/2020 06:31:29 PM
Very easy and pretty good -- great for a weeknight meal . I added about 1/3 can rotel tomatoes to the mix and served with a little parm. cheese on top-- heated up in the oven after mixing on skillet.
Amanda Proffitt
02/05/2018 11:12:23 AM
This was great. After reading reviews, I used a cup of pesto and about 12 ounces of French onion dip in a pinch (My sour cream had frozen in the fridge). I seasoned the meat to taste with garlic salt and sprinkled mozzarella cheese on top. Great recipe to adjust to your tastes and I'll be making this again.
UTMAMA
02/02/2021 10:49:16 PM
I made this with ground turkey and after reading the reviews I doubled the pesto and sour cream, seasoned the meat with some Italian spices and added a can of rotel. I used penne pasta with this and topped with some parmesan cheese. 4 out of 5 people in my house loved it!
Isabelle Thedogg
08/27/2019 02:08:09 AM
Best part of substitution was 1 lb. quality Italian ground sausage meat, rather than beef. Very flavorful. Topped to taste with Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese. I used Italian gnocchi (which I had at home).
Val McCallum Dobbin
10/26/2016 02:47:11 AM
I substituted boursin garlic & fine herbs for the sour cream and used basil pesto and it was delicious!! Just a little fresh ground pepper and dinner was ready in about ten minutes.
abbyz2000
04/12/2019 08:59:55 PM
We really liked this but was dry even though I halved the macaroni and almost doubled the sour cream and pesto. I used a full 8oz jar of tomato pesto. Next time I’ll add a little milk, maybe 1/4 cup.
DREGINEK
06/12/2025 02:42:41 AM
I am also rounding up on stars thanks to FranceC comments - which I took! As written, I think this might be dry and tasteless. But! Seasoned the hamburger liberally with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Reserved some pasta water, used half the pasta it called for. Sundried tomato pesto is expensive for a dish that is essentially an elevated hamburger helper. We DID like it - with FranceC’s help, but I’m not sure I would make this again. Thanks anyways Melody.
Kenneth Anderson
01/19/2025 04:23:56 PM
Totally worth the hype.
Daniel Nilssen
09/25/2024 11:29:46 PM
It's missing something, maybe tomato sauce
DaringSpice3930
03/16/2024 05:21:22 PM
Good food
HappyCarp7355
12/10/2023 12:22:07 AM
So easy and good!
Gail
12/06/2023 11:03:32 AM
Didn't like this one so well. It was hard to find the exact.pwato so made my own. It was okay every9ne ate it but I'm sure it would have been better with the actual tomato pesto that the recipe calls for.
ldhammer
12/05/2023 02:31:17 AM
Used some of the suggestions, added onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, a few red pepper flakes and a bit more sundried tomato paste and some parsley. It was a bit think so I added pasta water. Still just seems like it’s missing something.
Mark Granda
05/13/2023 12:23:13 AM
It was a pretty decent recipe, we added a cheesy garlic seasoning to ours.
Chris Schaefer
02/23/2022 08:38:21 PM
I had to add much more seasoning, Very bland. Needed garlic powder, Italian seasonings and something else??? I used roasted tomatoes pesto.
audio version
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