This delectable, family-friendly Cheeseburger Soup combines all the wonderful savory flavors of cheeseburgers in a creamy, cheesy soup with a perfect blend of Italian seasonings.
Satisfy your cravings with this simple and delicious cheeseburger soup recipe. Made with ground beef, cheese, and savory seasonings, it’s the perfect comfort food for any occasion.
If your family is anything like ours, then soup is on the menu at least once a week all year round. There is just something so comforting about a big pot of creamy, warm soup. It not only warms your old bones but also warms your heart and soul. If you like this soup, try loaded potato soup, beef noodle soup, or lasagna soup.
Ingredients Needed
- Bacon: preferably thick sliced
- Ground beef: with a bit of fat in it
- Butter: salted or unsalted, just enough to leave four tablespoons of fat in the pot
- Vegetables: sweet onion, celery, carrots, and garlic
- Seasonings: onion powder, salt and pepper and dried thyme, basil, oregano, and parsley
- All-purpose flour
- Chicken broth: low-sodium is best
- Yukon Gold potatoes: you can use red or Russet potatoes, but Russets will break down more.
- Milk: whole or 2%
- Cheese: sharp cheddar is best, but any cheddar will work
How To Make Cheeseburger Soup
This is the summary version; see the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and the instructions.
Brown the bacon in a large Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium heat. About halfway through the browning process, add the ground beef and cook until it is almost browned, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks.
Add the onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions and celery are softened. Add all the spices, including the garlic, and cook for one minute. Turn the heat to medium-low and add enough butter to have three tablespoons of total fat in the pan. Tilting the pan will help you establish how much fat is in the pan.
Sprinkle in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes while stirring. Slowly stir in the chicken broth. Add the potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are soft. Reduce the heat to low and slowly add the milk. Add the beef and bacon back to the pot. Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the shredded cheddar, stirring until melted.
Preparation Tips and Storage
- Use ground beef with a bit of fat in it. Fat gives meat flavor.
- Yukon Gold potatoes work best as they hold their shape without breaking down and have nice tender skins, so you don’t have to peel them.
- If you don’t like a super thick, chunky soup, remove a couple of cups of broth and vegetables. Puree them with an immersion or stand blender (remember to remove the heat cap at the top) and stir the pureed contents into the soup pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This soup is best reheated in the microwave on reduced power, ensuring that it warms and does not cook the vegetables much more.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Substitute ground turkey, ground pork, or even ground chicken for the ground beef.
- Make this Cheeseburger Soup recipe low-carb and keto-friendly by eliminating the potatoes, carrots, and flour. Substitute cream for the milk and add about 4 ounces of small cubed cream cheese at the same time as the cheddar, stirring until it melts.
- Substitute elbow macaroni for the potatoes. Add 1 1/4 cups uncooked elbow macaroni to the pot after the chicken broth and milk. Simmer until the pasta is tender, and increase shredded cheddar to 2 1/2 cups.
Serving Suggestions
- Salad: garden salad, rocket salad, tomato salad, or corn salad
- Biscuits: cheddar drop biscuits, butter swim biscuits, or buttermilk biscuits
- Sandwich: grilled cheese, pork tenderloin sandwich, cheese quesadilla
More Soup Recipes
- Beef barley soup
- Sausage tortellini soup
- Chicken and rice soup
- Loaded potato soup
- Ravioli soup
- Creamy vichyssoise
Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 slices smoked bacon
- 1 lb ground beef with a little fat in it like 85/15
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 2 medium carrots peeled and shredded
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1-2 tablespoons butter or enough to make 3 tablespoons of fat in the skillet salted or unsalted
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes diced
- 1 cup whole milk warmed
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Brown the bacon in a large Dutch oven or heavy stockpot over medium heat. About halfway through the browning process, add the ground beef and cook until it is almost browned, breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks.
- Add the onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until the onions and celery are softened. Add the garlic, onion powder, dried thyme, dried basil, dried oregano, and dried parsley. Cook for 1 minute while stirring.
- Turn the heat to medium-low and add enough butter to have three tablespoons of total fat in the pan. Tilting the pan will help you establish how much fat is in the pan.
- Sprinkle in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes while stirring. Slowly stir in the chicken broth. Add the potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are soft.
- Reduce the heat to low and slowly add the milk. Add the beef and bacon back to the pot.
- Remove from the heat and slowly stir in the shredded cheddar, stirring until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
- Use ground beef with a little fat in it, and drain any excess fat from the beef and the pot. Fat gives meat flavor.
- Yukon Gold potatoes work best as they hold their shape without breaking down, and they have nice tender skins, so you don’t have to peel them.
- If you don’t really like a super thick, chunky soup, remove a couple of cups of broth and vegetables. Puree them with an immersion blender or a stand blender (remember to remove the heat cap at the top) and stir the pureed contents into the pot of soup.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This soup is best reheated in the microwave on a reduced power just to make sure that it warms and does not cook the vegetables too much more.
Nutrition
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Katherine
Yum! There are so many great flavors in this awesome soup.
Jessica Formicola
I love soup all year round, so I can’t wait to make this cheeseburger soup for dinner this week! I know my family will love it!
Gina
Add some spinach to this and it made the BEST dinner! Thanks for a great recipe and idea!
Tavog
Very nice recipe! The flavors are spot on!
Beth Pierce
Thanks!
Michelle
I’ve made this numerous times, shared it with my daughter who has 6 kids, hard to find anything that they all like INTILL now! This is a family favorite at both her home and with hubby and I .
I have made a change by using bulk spicy sausage and ground beef. We love it! It’s so darn hot here in CO right now, but I’m wanting it so bad that we may have soup in 90°🤷🏻♀️🥰
Michelle
Have you ever added broccoli or kale to it! I may need to next time I make it, just bought all the ingredients I needed and didn’t think outside the box while at the market , can’t wait till dinner!
Beth Pierce
Now I have not added either of those but broccoli sounds delicious!
Angela
The weather has been so cold here lately. I came across your recipe and had to try it. It cooks up in 30 minutes which I appreciate and my family loved it. Thanks for the great recipe!
Catherine
Cheeseburger soup is so comforting and a family favorite in my house. This looks SO delicious and comforting.
Patricia
Everyone in the family loves this hearty soup! I love when you’re able to make a fun twist to a classic dish (or sandwich, in this case)! So satisfying!
Katherine
There’s so much yumminess in this hearty soup! A real family-pleaser!
Jen
Thanks for the bacon recommendation. It was perfect for this soup! So delicious!
Vikki P
This was a big hit! Absolutely delicious, filling and “check” comfort food category! The fist time I made it I didn’t have ground beef or pork so used ground Italian sausage and that was delicious too.
A big thanks for sharing.
Beth Pierce
Thanks so much Vikki! So glad that you liked it! We are huge soup lovers!!
Diane Palacios
This sounds like a winner to me but bc I don’t really like potatoes that much I’m gonna use one potato and add some broccoli and a little cauliflower as well as someone mentioned above. All the seasonings sound great and everyone loves it so I can’t wait to try!!!
Beth Pierce
Thanks Diane! Enjoy! Your plan with the broccoli and cauliflower sounds great!
Vicki
I’m made this today with riced cauliflower instead of potatoes. I didn’t have any bacon on hand as we don’t eat pork often but it was still scrumptious.
Beth Pierce
Thanks Vicki! So glad that you liked it!
Ashley F.
We can’t get enough of soup no matter the time of year! This one is super tasty!
Biana
Love cheeseburgers, so I am sure we will love this soup as well! Looking forward to making it soon.