The secret to the perfect hamburger helper lies in milk. You can use either powdered milk or real milk when making hamburger helper.
But if you, unfortunately, have no milk left to make it what would the milk substitute for hamburger helper be?
That’s the question we are going to answer today in this helpful hamburger-making article!
7 Ingredients Used As Milk Substitute For Hamburger Helper
What can I substitute for milk in hamburger helper? Here is the list of answers you have been waiting for?
1. Sour Cream
One of the most frequently used dairy products in making sauce or hamburger helpers is sour cream. You have probably heard of sour cream before – it is a fermenting cream that contains certain types of healthy lactic acid bacteria.
Sour cream is used mostly in cooking and baking because its special flavor and texture can support different kinds of food, including hamburgers.
Adding sour cream as an ingredient into a hamburger helper instead of milk will make the helper denser and creamier with a slightly sour taste.
Since sour cream can be denser than your intent-to-use milk due to its acidity, you should keep an eye on how much cream you are using to substitute milk.
Otherwise, the helper can be thickening way too much. A thick, overloaded helper won’t be good for a hamburger.
Other than that, sour cream is a great substitute for milk in hamburger helpers.
2. Mayo
Like sour cream, mayo or mayonnaise is a dairy product made from oil, egg yolk, vinegar, or lemon juice.
You can see mayonnaise represented popularly as salad dressing or vegetable’s dipping sauce because of its sour yet creamy flavor and texture.
If sour cream is something you can buy at local stores, then mayonnaise can be found at any supermarket so that you can purchase mayonnaise right away and easily.
Mayonnaise’s texture is very thick compared to milk. Three tablespoons of milk are equal to 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise.
If you want to substitute milk with mayonnaise in a hamburger helper, consider the amount of milk to decide the correct amount of mayo to use.
Otherwise, your helper would be too thick and too sour. Once the helper’s texture has had problems, it isn’t easy to fix it. Other than that, you can use mayo to substitute milk when you are short of milk.
3. Water
You may be surprised when we add water as an option to substitute milk in a hamburger helper. But in fact, water is a great substitution you can consider.
By being non-flavored and lightweight, water can be added into hamburger helper to dilute a texture that is too thick but has enough flavor already.
Also, the combination between water and butter is ideal when you want to thicken the helper’s texture.
Most creamy dairy products call for butter, but butter alone is too thick. That’s when water can come in and make the perfect partner to butter.
When substituting milk for hamburger helper, the portion of 1 cup of water and one tablespoon of butter will replace milk effectively.
The more butter you put into water, the denser this sauce will be and the denser your helper is going to be.
4. Whipping Cream
Whipping cream functions as a cream base to support the texture in baking cakes, and due to this purpose, it is not frequently used in cooking, especially in substituting milk for hamburger helpers.
However, you can twist using whipping cream to substitute milk by adding whipping cream and water together.
Since milk can substitute whipping cream, the other way around is possible as long as you control the effect whipping cream can bring to your dishes.
Whipping cream and water will not taste the same as milk, but it will give your hamburger helper the helper effect.
5. Cream Cheese
Delicious, tasty cream cheese is a component that we all love! Cream cheese is an optimal solution for those who suffer from lactose sensitivity.
Although we all know cheese is one of the members of the lactose family, the effect from ingesting cream cheese from hamburger helper will be lighter than ingesting milk alone.
About the texture, cream cheese is also denser than milk, so if your recipe of helper calls for 4 cups of milk, then you only need 2 cups of cream cheese and a quarter cup of water to dilute the substance when it gets too thick.
Not only will cream cheese serve you the best hamburger helper’s texture you can imagine, but it also boosts the flavor of your helper to be cheesier and tastier than ever.
Cream cheese is the answer to how to make hamburger helper without milk.
You can find cream cheese everywhere in supermarkets, and they range from different cheese components, from Roquefort cheese to Cheddar, Mozzarella, etc.
It is up to you to find the suitable cream cheese for your hamburger helper with no milk to turn out excellent!
6. Almond Milk
Finally, a non-dairy option for those who are looking for a non-dairy milk substitute for hamburger helper!
If milk is not your favorite, and you ask, “Can you use almond milk in hamburger helper?” then the answer is yes!
Almond milk can replace milk in making hamburger helper without milk, but the texture it delivers will be less dense compared to milk.
In this case, you can choose to use more almond milk than the regular amount of milk or add some butter to make the texture thicken.
Some brands produce smooth, creamy-texture almond milk with dense density, so you won’t need to add more ingredients in this case. Hamburger helper with almond milk is delicious and healthy.
7. Chicken Stock
What to substitute for milk in hamburger helper without milk? Well, another option for those who do not favor milk or its family members – chicken stock.
Stock is made by cooking bones until they are tender in the boiling water.
People love stock for the light, delicate texture with astonishing poultry flavor. For that reason, chicken stock can be used as a milk substitute when you want your hamburger to reflect the savoriness.
Other than hamburger helper, chicken stock is available to prepare soup, sauce, gravy, etc. It is a cool substitution to consider other than milk in making hamburger helper.
Frequently Asked Question
How Do You Make Hamburger Helper Without Milk Taste Better?
A hamburger helper can taste better if you know what hamburger’s flavor you are trying to connect to the helper too.
For example, if you have a chicken burger, try substituting milk with chicken broth to make your helper’s flavor connect to the main flavor.
In other cases, if you want your hamburger helper to taste creamier and tastier, try using cream cheese or sour cream to make the texture denser and make the flavor bolder.
What Side Do You Eat With A Hamburger Helper?
Besides using a hamburger helper with hamburgers (obviously), this tasty sauce can be used in many more dishes that need dressing sauce such as salad, florets, etc.
A hamburger helper can go well with vegetables of all kinds, so in case you have extra helper left, take a bowl, toss vegetables and the helper in, and you will have a healthy appetizer!
Is Expired Hamburger Helper OK To Eat?
An expired hamburger helper is fine to eat as long as you know how many days since it has been considered expired.
However, it takes a long time for them to go bad with hamburger helpers, so feel free to continue using the hamburger helper after its best by date.
If you find yourself feeling sick after using that hamburger helper, then consider throwing it away.
