Cheeseburger Soup
Cheeseburger Soup is the ultimate comfort soup. Chock full of seasoned ground beef, potatoes, onions, and of course, cheese all in a creamy soup!
A HEARTY, BEEFY, CHEESY, FILLING SOUP
I have been in a soup sort of mood lately. My mind is gradually turning to all things fall. Football games, apple picking, hay rides and warm, comforting soup. This Cheeseburger Soup is definitely what I would call comfort soup. It is thick, filling and is a whole meal all by itself!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
We enjoy eating cheeseburger soup with some thick crusty bread to dip into the soup. Also, a small side salad would be perfect with this soup.
Bacon is my favorite but we also enjoy sliced green onions and a dollop of sour cream.
Yep! I have an actual recipe for Crock Pot Cheeseburger Soup if you’d like to check that one out. But basically, you’d want to brown and crumble the ground beef first. Then pop all the ingredients in a 5-6 quart crock pot, cover and cook on low for about 4-6 hours. About an how before serving, stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and heavy cream.
I mention it a bit more in the ingredient listing below but I would skip the hamburger seasoning and use a no salt seasoning blend. In addition you can use a heart healthy version of the cheddar cheese soup and a no sodium (it may just say unsalted) beef broth.
Yes. However, when it is eventually reheated, it may not have the exact same texture as it did when it was freshly made. Potatoes can become mushy when frozen then reheated. It’s important to ensure this is stored in a freezer-safe bag or container. Only freeze once the soup has cooled completely.
Note: I recently updated this recipe because I got so many complaints that the original recipe used Velveeta. Apparently A LOT of people really hate Velveeta – ha! Anyways, I put the original recipe below since many of you wondered where the old recipe went after I changed it. How come none of y’all commented that you liked it?? When you don’t comment positive things about a recipe and I only hear the negative then I assume no one likes the recipe and it is time to change it and go back to the drawing board. So please, please comment in the future when you like a recipe on my site or else I have no way of knowing if anyone is enjoying a recipe or not. 🙂 For those who enjoyed the original recipe, here you go:
Ingredients:
▢ 2 cups potatoes, peeled and cubed
▢ 2 carrots, peeled and grated
▢ 1 small onion, chopped
▢ 1 clove garlic, minced
▢ 1 ½ cups water
▢ 1 Tablespoon beef bouillon granules (about 4 cubes)
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
▢ 2 ½ cups milk (divided use)
▢ 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
▢ 8 ounces Velveeta, cubed
▢ ½ pound bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled
Instructions:
1. Brown and crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease and set aside.
2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. 3. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender.
4. Stir in beef and 2 cups of milk.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and remaining ½ cup milk until smooth. Gradually whisk into soup.
6. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly (so mixture does not burn.)
7. Reduce heat; add cheese and stir until completely melted.
8. Garnish with bacon and serve.
If the soup is too thick, you can add a bit more water or beef broth.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- bacon
- lean ground beef
- hamburger seasoning – you can just use salt and pepper if you don’t have this. I just use the Hamburger Seasoning by McCormick (not an affiliate link.)
- garlic – I prefer fresh garlic but you can use the jarred stuff if you need to. Or you can use about 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder in a pinch.
- cheddar cheese soup – if you have any salt sensitivities, I would recommend using a low sodium version (non affiliate link) of this. It is usually called “heart healthy”. You can leave out the cheddar cheese soup if you don’t have it. But if you need help finding it in the store, it can be found where all the other soups are (usually near the cream of chicken soups).
- beef broth – again, if you are concerned at all about salt levels, of with a low or no sodium option. You can always add salt but you can’t remove it.
- potatoes O’Brien (with onions and peppers) – you will sometimes see this go by a few names but they are just frozen diced potatoes. I got the Ore Ida brand (not an affiliate link). They may also be called southern hash browns (not an affiliate link) or just diced hash browns (not an affiliate link). When I think of hash browns, I think of shredded has browns but every store seems to have their own names for these things but you want the frozen diced potatoes (even if they don’t have the onions and peppers, that’s ok. Or, if you don’t want to use frozen potatoes, you can use peeled and diced russet potatoes.
- shredded cheddar cheese
- heavy cream – this adds wonderful richness to this but you can use milk in a pinch.
- additional toppings: shredded cheese and/or sliced green onions
HOW TO MAKE CHEESEBURGER SOUP:
Cook the bacon in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat until crispy. Depending on how crispy you like your bacon this can take 8-15 minutes. Remove the bacon to a large plate with clean paper towels and allow to cool.
Add the ground beef and hamburger seasoning into the bacon grease. Brown and crumble for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Drain off and remove all the excess grease. Reduce the heat to medium and add the minced garlic to the ground beef, sautéing for 1 minute or until fragrant.
Add in the cheddar cheese soup, beef broth and hash browns and gently stir until combined and smooth. Bring to a boil and cook until the hash browns are heated through, about 7-10 minutes.
Crumble the bacon well and then add half to the soup, reserving the other half for topping. Once the soup and potatoes are heated through, add in the cheddar cheese, a handful at a time, stirring well to melt and combine it with the soup.
After all the cheese has been added, slowly stir in the heavy cream and then bring the mixture just to a simmer. Simmer for 1-2 minutes or until thick and creamy. Do not boil or the cream may curdle.
Remove from heat and serve topped with bacon. Optional: top with additional shredded cheese and sliced green onions.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Recipe originally published: October 2011
Updated and republished: October 2024
Cheeseburger Soup
Ingredients
- 12 ounce package bacon
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoons hamburger seasoning (or just season with a little salt and pepper)
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 10.5 ounce can cheddar cheese soup (can use low sodium)
- 2 cups beef broth (can use low or no sodium)
- 5 cups O'Brien diced potatoes with onions and peppers (you do not need to thaw first)
- 8 ounce block medium cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- Optional toppings: chopped green onions and/or extra shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat until crispy. Depending on how crispy you like your bacon this can take 8-15 minutes. Remove the bacon to a large plate with clean paper towels and allow to cool.
- Add the ground beef and hamburger seasoning into the bacon grease. Brown and crumble for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Drain off and remove all the excess grease.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the minced garlic to the ground beef, sautéing for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Add in the cheddar cheese soup, beef broth and hash browns and gently stir until combined and smooth. Bring to a boil and cook until the hash browns are heated through, about 7-10 minutes.
- Crumble the bacon well and then add half to the soup, reserving the other half for topping.
- Once the soup and potatoes are heated through, add in the cheddar cheese, a handful at a time, stirring well to melt and combine it with the soup.
- After all the cheese has been added, slowly stir in the heavy cream and then bring the mixture just to a simmer. Simmer for 1-2 minutes or until thick and creamy. Do not boil or the cream may curdle.
- Remove from heat and serve topped with bacon. Optional: top with additional shredded cheese and sliced green onions.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- You can probably get 8 servings out of this if you serve a smaller amount per serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
The soup looks delicious, I will definitely be trying this one! Please enter me in your drawing, I enjoy anything Gooseberry Patch.
I think my favorite comfort food is from my childhood. On cold winter days my mom would make tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. Easy to fix meal but it always hit the spot!
Thanks for the great recipes!
Denisep228@sbcglobal.net
This cheeseburger soup looks amazing!!!! I saw it featured on Foodbuzz's top 10, congrats… that's awesome! Oh it looks fantastic, I could eat a bowl or two right now, especially since it's chilly and rainy here and I need this comforting soup!
I would love to win that cookbook! My fave homecooked meal right now is Zuppa Toscana, but I always love me some steak and potatoes 🙂
vickdn512@gmail.com
wow, that is amazing! thank u so very much for sharing!
The ultimate in comfort food, very nice!
Fav from times past: my mom's homemade tacos 🙂
My Mom's homemade Chicken And Dumplings
My favorite home cooked meal from my Mom was her fried chicken. It was the best. I haven't made it in years, but I can still remember the taste.
Hi I love your recipes and my favorite homemade recipes are meatloaf and hashbrown casserole
Looks like a wonderful book! 🙂 Favorite homecooked meal…hmmm…would have to be pork roast, mashed potatoes, blackeyed peas and cornbread. Of course in our family you *always* have to mix the taters and peas together! 🙂 I could make a meal out of those 2 alone! lol Comfort on a plate. 🙂
Heather – supermomto2@ymail.com
My favorite homemade recipes was my mothers homemade stuffing balls. During the holidays everyone had some form of stuffing but mom would prepare hers and form them into balls and put them on a cookie sheet and put them in the oven. The outside would be crunchy and the inside warm and moist. I miss moms food, she passed away two years ago.
Oh, I have so many favorite homecooked meals – lasagna, chicken parm, caribou vegetable soup, pork chops with scalloped potatoes, oven fried chicken, chicken and biscuits, and best of all, meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. kmgervais@nycap.rr.com
Honestly can't pick just 1 favorite meal but if I have to french toast, hashbrowns w/ cheese/onion and a side of bacon! 🙂
My favorite homecooked meal is: Beef pot roast with brown gravy, mashed potatoes, field peas, fried okra, cornbread, sliced tomatoes, onions and cucumbes, sweet tea, peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream, and then a leisurely cup of coffee.
This soup sounds amazing! My favorite homecooked meal was anything that ended with my mom's fried chocolate pies…yum!
Not a meal but a tasty dessert! We called it 'orange stuff' then and we call it 'orange stuff' now. It's a collaboration of tasty foods to make a orang-ey dessert substance that's heaven to the mouth. We also have strawberry and pineapple versions. I'd love to win!
What a great soup for fall! My favorite home cooked meal is probably enchiladas and mexican rice. I love my rice recipe – full of avocados and green onions. And then enchiladas are spicy and full of our favorite stuff!
Oooh, I have a feeling this soup would be a hit here…and topped with bacon??? YUM!
Let's see…I think my favorite homecooked meal would be our typical Thankgiving meal…turkey, stuffing, spinach souffle, fruit salad…and on and on…followed up with a French silk pie 🙂
Hope you had a nice holiday!!!
My favorite home cooked meal is Roast & Mashed Potatoes with Green Beans! YUM!
My all-time favorite home cooked meal has to be a big pot of spicy chili with spaghetti added served with a hot toasted peanut butter sandwich. YUMMO! pmbeach@insightbb.com
My all time favorite home cooked meal would have to be meatloaf! Which also inspired the name of my blog … It Came From My Mother's Meatloaf. Oh the stories I could … and do … tell on my blog.
http://lillianchild.blogspot.com
My favorite homecooked meal is my grandmother's collard greens with some pot roast. Everytime I think about eating that, it reminds me of the special times that I've spent in the kitchen with my grandmother teaching me how to cook.
Shontae A. shontae.alston@gmail.com
my all-time favorite home-cooked meal would have to be my grandmother's chicken pot pie and fresh picked creamed corn – love on a plate 🙂
Wow Brandie! This is definitely something different and looks so comforting. I am dying to taste this one!
My mom makes this fabulous chicken, cabbage, and V8 juice soup. It's SO yummy.
Ladytink_534(at)yahoo(dot)com
My favorite home cooked meal my grandmother makes is beef steak & gravy with mashed potatoes & peas…YUM-MEE!!
Wow! This soup sounds so great and looks amazing! I definitely need to try this… I've had a cheeseburger pie and pizza before so I know I will love a cheeseburger soup! MMM!
Favorite meal?…hmmm….I reckon it is macaroni & cheese, creamed potatoes, broccoli with cheese sauce, green beans (my mom's are the best!) and just about any other vegetable (except turnip greens :o)& homemade rolls with honey-cinnamon butter. Thank you for sharing so many good recipes!
I would love to win that recipe book. This soup looks fantastic and perfect for that fall weather just around the corner. We can always hope!
My favorite meal is pretty much anything Italian, but I would have to say my mom and grandma's recipes for homemade manicotti!
My all time favorite is one of three meats, meatloaf, roastbeef or turkey served with FF and gravy on both, fries and meat. Slaw was always the side. I was born in the fifties and had grandparents that loved to eat at roadside diners. I am now showing signs of this in my figure. Back then you got home cooked food at diners not frozen or fast order.
My all time fave homecooked meal is meatloaf, mashed pototoes, corn, and green beans. YUM!
Cheeburger Cheeburger! Looks awesome Brandie. One of those comfort foods I can never seem to get enough of
My favorite meal would be spicy meatloaf (has rotel tomatoes in it), mashed potatoes and a steamed vegetable.
I love my mom's deep fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, and chocolate mayonnaise cake! Makes me hungry just thinking about it!
My all time favorite homemade meal is my Mom's lasagna…it takes her ALL day to make it and she does everything from scratch and boy can you taste it in every bite…I recently turned 40 and for my 40th birthday she surprised me and made a huge pan of it with all the fixins on the side, fresh Italian salad and homemade rolls…it was to die for and I thoroughly enjoyed every bite! I am grateful to still have my Mom around to make this for me:)
My contact info is poppprincess2@hotmail.com and my name is Angela Popp
Mac & Cheese is my fav but you probably already knew that, great giveaway!!!!
My favorite home-cooked meal is fried chicken, rice & gravy, green beans & homemade yeast rolls!
My most favorite has got to be Hungarian Nockral. Or as our family calls them, Niffles. My Grandmother would make these, and I would eat til I was miserable! They are like drop dumplings, but not as airy. Drenched in butter and salt and pepper, talk about comfort food! 🙂 Thanks for all the wonderful recipes you've shared and introduced to us Brandi, you rock!
It's so hard to pick sometimes. Probably something of my moms–beef n noodles, coleslaw, or meatloaf.
Everyday Mom's Meals
I actually have 2 home-cooked meals that I would call favorites. One was my Mother's Peppered Steak. It's been many years since I've had it as she passed away 29 years ago. A more current favorite is my mother-in-laws chicken chow mein. I have her recipe, but of course, when I fiz it, it never tastes the same.
I can hardly wait to try this Cheeseburger Soup. I will be fixing it tomorrow.
rhondaree1958@yahoo.com
I never tried this kind of soup..wow, it sounds so goood! Love the flavors..thank you for sharing I think it will a winner meal for my kids:)
My favorite meal would have to be pot roast, mashed potatoes, & green beans. I just found your sight and have several recipes that I am going to try. I am always in the market for a great cookbook.
I think the best homecooked meal by far is Chicken and Dumplings. It must be made with the heavy, chewy, noodle dumplings not with the fluffy biscuits! It is the ultimate in comfort food!
Sharry…..shysaver2@yahoo.com
I look at that photo of ingredients and can't find a thing not to like. It looks delicious; not good for me, but delicious. I'm definitely adding this to the list. I hope you're doing well!
that soup looks mouthwatering
Nothing is more homemade to me than slow-cooked roast and gravy w/mashed potatoes and homemade biscuits to soak up every last bit of that gravy goodness!! 🙂
Definitely southern fried chicken in a cast iron skillet, mashed garlic potatoes, gravy, fried yellow squash, pinto beans and dixie cornbread, walla walla onion, fresh garden tomatoes, homemade hot chow chow, and fresh peach cobbler with Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream. BURP!!!
My favorite meal we call steak casserole. It is round steak coated in flour, browned, and baked in the oven covered in cream of mushroom soup. It is so yummy with mashed potatoes for the gravy. I would love to win the Gooseberry Patch cookbook. Their recipes always sound so good. Thank you for the opportunity.
ladybug8@bellsouth.net
My all-time favorite meal is grilled salmon with saute broccoli and wild rice.
My favorite meal is Chicken stew with home made noodles! Still my favorite on a cold day. Thanks for this chance to win a copy of the cook book. I've not seen one from Gooseberry Patch before so it would be neat to have one.
My favorite meal was cooked by my grandmother and after church we all would gather over her house for the Sunday dinner. She would have cooked the Sunday dinner on Saturday evening and just heat it up what needed to be heated for after Church Sunday dinner. She cooked fried chicken, potato salad, sweet peas, homemade rolls, coconut cake and sweet tea. At times I will cook this for our Sunday dinner the way my grandmother did.
Elizabeth elizabedu3@aol.com