This hearty Cheeseburger Soup is everything you love about a classic cheeseburger in warm, cozy soup form. Our recipe is made with real cheddar cheese, ground beef and tender potatoes. It’s a hearty comfort food dinner that everyone will love.
Why We Love This Cheeseburger Soup
This cheeseburger soup is everything you love about a cheeseburger but in a cozy, spoonable form. It’s rich, hearty and creamy while still being easy enough for a weeknight dinner.
- Ultra creamy and cheesy with real cheddar cheese melted right into the broth.
- Loaded with flavor from seasoned and seared ground beef, simple seasonings and hearty vegetables.
- Weeknight friendly meal made with everyday ingredients.
- Family approved comfort food that even picky eaters are going to love.
What Is Cheeseburger Soup?
Cheeseburger soup is a thick, creamy and hearty soup (almost like a chowder) that has all the flavors and vibes of a cheeseburger. You can adapt the ingredients and flavors in so many ways, to what you have on hand or your specific tastes.
We think our version is extra special because we are using all real cheddar cheese (no processed cheese) and our method for browning the ground beef adds so much extra flavor.
How To Make Cheeseburger Soup (Step By Step)
This cozy soup comes together in less than 30 minutes! An easy weeknight dinner or a cozy, comfort food meal for busy weekends.
- Add olive oil to a dutch oven and press the ground beef into an even layer. Leave the beef untouched for 5 minutes to create a brown crust and then break up into crumbles.
- Add diced potatoes, onions, celery and seasonings, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of flour, stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in chicken broth to deglaze the pan, scraping up the bottom. Add a can of diced tomatoes and stir. Bring the broth to a simmer and then partially cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Finish the soup by whisking in cream cheese, heavy cream and shredded cheddar cheese.
How To Store and Reheat
Let the soup cool and then transfer into air tight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. We recommend using the soup up within that time because cheeseburger soup doesn’t freeze well. Because this soup recipe has cream and real cheese, it tends to become grainy upon defrosting.
The microwave works best for reheating this soup, you can add another splash of chicken broth or cream to loosen the broth up if you need to. If you do have to freeze, let the soup defrost in the refrigerator and then heat up in a pot on the stove over low heat. Whisk in more cream and/or chicken broth to bring the soup back together.
Variations
Swap out the ingredients in this recipe to your liking, or for what you have already in the refrigerator. Or if you’re following a certain type of diet, we’ve got you there, too!
- For a low carb soup, ditch the potatoes and add more vegetables. Some good choices are broccoli, zucchini or cauliflower, but really anything you like will work.
- Make a bacon cheeseburger soup by adding cooked, chopped bacon. We use bacon bits for garnish, but you can go further and add it right to the soup.
- Try using ground turkey for a turkey burger vibe! You can also leave the meat out and switch to a veggie broth for a vegetarian version.
Topping Ideas
We love topping this soup with sour cream, more cheese and bacon bits (of course you can use real bacon, too). Croutons or toasted hamburger buns are delicious, or you can toast up hamburger buns or ciabatta and use it for dunking.
If you really want to lean into the cheeseburger vibe, try adding diced pickles or a pickle salsa like in this cheeseburger bowl. Diced red onion will ad a nice sharp flavor that will cut through some of the creaminess in this soup.
Looking For More Soup Recipes?
- Beefy Tomato Soup (our #1 soup recipe!)
- Easy Wonton Soup
- Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Fajita Soup
- Marry Me Chicken Soup
- Homemade Turkey Soup
- New England Clam Chowder (super easy, our family loves this version)
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Cheeseburger Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeThis hearty Cheeseburger Soup is the ultimate comfort food dinner! Our recipe uses real cheddar cheese with ground beef and tender potatoes. It’s a family friendly meal that everyone will love!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 2 large russet potatoes (you’ll need about 3 heaping cups of diced potatoes, we leave the skin on but you can peel if you like)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 4 cups chicken broth (you can use beef broth, too)
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (with juice)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, (2 cups go in soup, 1 cup for topping)
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ground beef, pressing down slightly into an even layer. Let the ground beef cook (without breaking up) for 5 minutes until a brown crust forms on the bottom. Now break the beef apart into large crumbles. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the grease from the pot.
- Add the onions, celery and potatoes, stirring in with the ground beef, and let cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, stir and let cook for 1 minute longer.
- Pour in the chicken broth while stirring and scraping up the bottom of the pot. Add the diced tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Let the soup simmer, partially covered for 15 minutes. Stir once in between cooking so the potatoes don’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the softened cream cheese along with a cup of the shredded cheese. Use a whisk to gently combine the cheeses into the soup. Add another cup of the cheese, whisking until combined.
- Simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered, taste for seasonings and adjust if needed.
- Garnish the soup with more shredded cheese and desired toppings. See the post for topping ideas.
- Category: Soup
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
