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Easy Cheeseburger Soup Recipe filled with flavorful ground beef, classic burger seasonings, cheddar cheese, and potatoes in a warm and gooey cheese-filled broth. It’s the ultimate homemade comfort food.
The Best Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
This incredibly delicious cheeseburger soup is, without question, one of the most creamy, cheesy, and comforting soups to ever exist. Bursting with seasoned ground beef, veggies, and tender potatoes in a rich, creamy, cheese-filled broth – no Velveeta cheese required. A guaranteed family favorite, hints of classic cheeseburger flavor flood each yummy spoonful. And with tons of simple swaps and modifications, feel free to follow the recipe exactly as written or make it your own.
Check out my hamburger soup recipe for a less creamy, less cheesy version of this recipe.
Key Ingredients
Find the printable recipe with measurements in the recipe card below.
- Ground Meat: Ground beef is the most popular choice as it tastes most similar to the meat patty of a cheeseburger. For a lighter version of this soup, try swapping the ground beef for ground turkey or chicken.
- Vegetables: This recipe includes diced onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes. These hearty veggies add flavor, texture, and nutrients.
- Broth: I’ve chosen to use beef broth, but chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water will also work.
- Cheese: In this cheeseburger soup recipe, we add sharp cheddar cheese that’s been shredded directly from a large block (not pre-shredded from a bag). It’s the perfect choice for flavor and melting properties. We’re also adding cream cheese for its extra creaminess. Other great options include American, Colby, Pepper Jack, Mozzarella, or Monterey Jack.
- Cream (or Milk): To add creaminess! This recipe calls for heavy cream for its rich flavor and lower curdling risk when added to the hot broth (as compared to milk, which is lower in fat). If you prefer your soup to be less heavy, swap for half-and-half or whole milk; just be sure to bring the milk
- Flour: All-purpose flour thickens the soup, giving it a hearty consistency.
- Tomato Paste: Used to both thicken and flavor the broth.
- Seasonings: Minced garlic, Italian seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce.
How to Make Cheeseburger Soup
1. Set a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown the ground beef until it’s no longer pink and it’s cooked through.
2. Drain any excess fat before adding the butter, onions, carrots, and celery, mixing well to combine. Cook until the veggies have softened and the onions are translucent about 6-8 minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and Worcestershire and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Then add the flour and mix until fully incorporated.
4. Stir in the potatoes and beef broth. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil before reducing the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot with a lid set slightly ajar and simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until the potatoes are nearly fork-tender.
5. Add the (room temperature) heavy cream and cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese has dissolved into the broth. Return the soup to a simmer and continue to cook until the potatoes are completely tender.
6. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheese, a little at a time, until the cheese melts and is incorporated within the soup.
7. Garnish and serve with all of your favorite toppings!
Favorite Cheeseburger Soup Toppings
Having fun with toppings is the best part! Here are some of my family’s favorites:
- Cooked bacon bits
- Chopped green, white onion, or chives
- Sour cream
- Croutons, bun croutons, or crackers
- Salty potato chips
- Chopped dill pickles, relish, or pickled jalapeños
- Tabasco sauce or buffalo sauce
Can I Make Cheeseburger Soup in a Crockpot?
This cheeseburger soup is a great recipe to make in a slow cooker. Here’s the basic method using the ingredients listed in the recipe card below:
- Brown the Meat: Before adding it to the crockpot, brown the ground meat in a large skillet set over medium heat until it is no longer pink in the middle. Drain any excess fat and transfer it to the crockpot.
- Add the Vegetable: Add the onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes to the crockpot.
- Add the Seasonings and Broth: Stir in the tomato paste, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, and beef broth.
- Cook: Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Thicken: About 30 minutes before the end of cooking, add the butter to a small bowl. Melt in the microwave, then use a small whisk to whisk the flour into the butter until fully incorporated (this is your roux). Slowly, about a tablespoon at a time, add broth from the soup into the roux, whisking well between each addition. Continue adding broth until you have a pour-able mixture. Stir it into the soup.
- Add the Dairy: Gently heat the cream (or milk) and cream cheese in the microwave until it reaches room temperature, then stir into the soup.
- Add the Cheese: Add the shredded cheese, stirring until it melts.
Storage
When storing leftover cheeseburger soup, cool it to room temperature before transferring it to an air-tight container and placing it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat it on the stovetop or in a microwave until hot throughout.
Can I freeze cheeseburger soup? While you can freeze leftover cheeseburger soup, I don’t recommend doing so, given the various sources of dairy in the recipe (cream, cream cheese, and cheddar cheese). While not always, dairy can separate and turn grainy after thawing and reheating. The taste will be the same, but the texture may be slightly less appealing.
More Comforting Soup Recipes
- Potato Soup Recipe
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- The Best Chicken Soup Recipe
- Chicken Barley Soup
- Easy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe
- Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe
- Soothing Pastina Soup
- Avgolemono Soup Recipe: Greek Lemon Chicken and Egg Soup
If you try making this Cheeseburger Soup Recipe, please leave me a comment below! I always love to read your thoughts and feedback!
Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 pound Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (see notes)
- 6 cups low-sodium beef broth, or chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream, or half-and-half or whole-milk, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces, at room temperature
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large pot or Dutch oven set over medium heat until cooked through.
- Carefully drain as much fat from the pot as possible (optional) before adding the butter, onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until the veggies are soft and the onions are translucent, about 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and Worcestershire and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Sprinkle the flour over the ground beef and veggies and mix until fully incorporated, then stir in the potatoes and the beef broth.
- Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil before reducing the heat to medium-low. Cover the pot with a lid set slightly ajar and simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until the potatoes are nearly fork-tender.
- Add the heavy cream and cream cheese and stir until the cream cheese has dissolved in the broth. Return the soup to a simmer and continue simmering until the potatoes are completely tender about 5 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese a little at a time until thoroughly melted.
- Serve with burger bun croutons, additional cheese, green onion, and freshly minced parsley for garnish if desired.
Notes
- For a lighter soup, swap the ground beef for ground turkey. Note: Add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil to the pot before adding the ground poultry to prevent it from sticking.
- Cheeseburger soup can be made with any potato. I chose Russet potatoes because that’s what I had on hand. Russets are starchier with thick skin. They can be peeled, or you can leave the skin on. After chopping, you may want to soak them in a bowl of cold water until you’re ready to use them, preventing them from turning rust-colored as they sit out. Russet potatoes will fall apart and dissolve into the soup after repeated boiling. If you know you’ll have leftovers, you may want to swap the Russets for a waxy type of potato like Yukon golds or baby potatoes. These potatoes hold up better after long-term boiling.
- For best results, bring the cream (or half-and-half or milk) and cream cheese to room temperature before adding to the soup. This helps reduce the risk of curdling and ultimately leads to a smoother soup. Cold dairy products (especially cream cheese) take longer to melt or melt unevenly and may lead to a lumpy or grainy texture.
- Optional additions & toppings: Light beer (approximately 1/2 cup, added at the same time as the tomato paste), diced tomatoes, cooked bacon, chopped dill pickles, pickled jalapeños, and sliced green onions.
- Keep leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
