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.
I have such happy memories of Sunday dinners. My mother would put a pot roast with potatoe's, carrots, and onions in the oven before we left for church. What a wonderful fragrance we smelled when we got home. The whole family would sit around the table to a memborable time and a delicious meal. (After clean-up, afternoon nap). :o)
Coming from a big Italian family, my all time favorite homecooked meal would have to be that all day spaghetti sauce…yummy! I remember watching my dad make it for years and now, here I am, making it for my own family! Thanks for the giveaway!
missgidgette75@hotmail.com
Of course my all time favorite has to be Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie for dessert! (Mashed potatoes, mashed turnips, homemade stuffing with summer savory, gravy, coleslaw and a variety of homemade pickles. Doesn't get any better than this!
P.S. I would LOVE to win this great cookbook!
taylor_laurie@hotmail.com
My FAVORITE meal would be my Mom's homemade mac and cheese with ham and green onions. My second favorite is chicken in a basket (breakfast) made on Saturday mornings by my Dad. My husband and daughter loves my chicken and dumplings. I hope to one day pass on all of these recipes to my daughter for her children.
My favorite home-cooked meal is Lasagna…YUMMY!!
skidogsgirl@aol.com
Mr favorite when I was little was the special spaghetti sauce my Mom made in the pressure cooker. She would put in all the usual, but added pork country ribs. It was so tender, so different and so delicious!
dawn.zuluaga@yahoo.com
Homemade maccaroni and cheese!!! Juli Welling juliwelling@yahoo.com
As they used to say on Hee Haw: Grandpa what's for dinner? My mama's fried chicken, cornfield peas with tomato pudding, corn pudding, fresh cucumbers in vinegar, fresh tomatoes, and fried squash! Mmm mmm good!!
I love, love chicken and dumplings. Just like my mom used to make!! A comfort food everytime.
Kristi
kristijrn@me.com
Our favorite home cooked meals are for my husband chicken and dumplings, his mother always made this for him & it is a definite comfort food for him! For myself our family makes what we call goulash, we use ground beef, rice, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, heavy cream & butter & place in the oven! Heavenly! Tina, mom23boysinohio@yahoo.com
I think the soup recipe looks YUMMY!! I hope to be trying it SOON! My favorite meal would be Fried Chicken, Mac & cheese & green beans! I have lots of favorites but this on is my go to when company is coming. Thanks for the chance at the awesome book!
mimieavers@gmail.com
We make a porkchop with noodles and sour cream gravy meal, with green beans and hot buttered rolls and honey. That sure sounds good right now! (Thanks for including me in the giveaway drawing.)
My favorite Home Cooked Meal is: Crock Pot Chili Verde with warm torillas and fresh Avocados. Yummy. That Cheesebuger Soup is lookin pretty good too. 🙂 My husband and I am are big fans of soups and stews.
Cindikblw@aol.com
I L-O-V-E going to my grandmas for family dinner. She makes the best fried chicken, homemade noodles, and dinner rolls bigger than the size of softballs that you've ever tasted!
So many favorites— but I think a grilled hamburger with homemade french fries is my most favorite.
Doris Walcor@aol.com
My favorite home cooked meal would be my mom's lasagna or spaghetti. It reminds me of the classic family dinner.
My favorite meal my grandmother always made for me on my birthday was roastbeef, mashed potatoes, carrots, homemade noodles, homemade rolls, and angelfood cake with strawberries and ice cream for dessert. I looked forward to it every year. Now I make it for my daughter as its her favorite meal too.
Well this was kind of tough, it my mother growing up wasn't much of a cook, she mostly just threw things together and called it some kind of casserole LOL but there was one thing that I liked it was her Peppered steak over rice! She probably only made it once a year so we really looked forward to it!!
Misty Jones
trm25@sbcglobal.net
My favorite homecooked meal is my mom's "Sticky Chicken," rice and gravy, green/wax beans, biscuits, cucumbers in vinegar and peach kuchen for dessert. My mom first fries the very best fried chicken EVER. Then she makes her gravy (not milk gravy) and adds back several pieces into the gravy and lets it simmer until the crust of the chicken absorbs the gravy and becomes sticky. OMG. LITERALLY finger lickin' good. You cannot eat it without licking your fingers!
Adrianne Dyer
twingles_mom@hotmail.com
Thanks for reviewing another great Gooseberry Patch cookbook! The recipes sound great, and I am definitely going to try the Loaded Potato Soup.
My favorite all-time home cooked meal would have to be my mother's fried chicken with mashed potatoes, whatever vegetables that were around at the time, home-made biscuits, and pies (apple and pumpkin). My all-time favorite home cooked meal that I myself make is pot roast. I cook the pot roast separately from the potatoes because my grandson doesn't like the potatoes and carrots mixed in with the meat (he'll learn; he's only 13) and I mash the potatoes because that's the way he likes them. Then I fix corn as well as the carrots, 'cause neither of my grandchildren like carrots at this point.
Would love to win the cookbook; it sounds like it will be one of their best ever!
Thanks for the reviews!
I have two, kids are grown now but If I tell them I am fixing these, they come ready to eat! Chicken & Noodles and Biscuits & Gravy!
My favorite meal would be glazed meatloaf,scalloped potatoes, corn casserole, waldorf salad, and a white cake with chocolate icing for dessert….
All time favorite? That is difficult. I would have to say grandma's spaghetti. That was always my request for b-day dinner.
Hm.. maybe shepards pie… But its hard to just pick one. Pretty much anything with mashed potatoes! (or maybe just carbs) Lol. Although nothing is better than homemade chicken and dumplings when I'm not feelin so great.
Erin x0xmiss.erinx0x@gmail.con
My favorite homecooked meal is my mother-in-laws beef and noodles and mashed potatoes. Please don't tell MY mom!
My fav. meal is my grandmother's chicken and dumplings. When I'm homesick, I have them at Crackerbarrel, but it's just not the same.
jjscalf at gmail dot com
Thanks for the giveaway!
My favorite homecooked meal is meatballs! It was always my favorite when I'd come home from college – and now I get to make it for my family!
My favorite is my mom's chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans.
I have a couple favorite homecooked meals: My mom's fried chicken, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob or my dad's venison lasagna. I can eat either of these any day of the week. Today I also found a new favorite its your Honey Bun cake… YUMMY
nanny_yaya81@yahoo.com …. amanda
Hamburger pie is one of our family's favorite meals.
barb babergbower@gmail.com
I love home made beef stew!
I have to thank My Friend Michelle's Mom for introducing me to this recipe in my teen years My all time favorite meal to serve to those I love and prepare when in need of some homemade comfort food.. I love this recipe…. Cheesy Hashbrown And Porkchop Casserole served with green beans and chunky homemade apple sauce.. It's my favorite meal to eat and serve to my love one… no better way to show love
eleanor C
Tamise@comcast.net
I never really had a specific meal I loved but I do soooooo adore my mom's home made mac and cheese in the over… was so simple and crunchy on top yuuummmmm that and she used to make home made milk shakes that were sooooo thick – ice cream-mil-chocolate syrup till smooth… was a special treat for sure.
Rosanna S.
FallColors63@gmail.com
My all-time favorite meal has to be my grandma's chicken and noodles. I used to watch her mix that dough up and roll it out, flour it and then dress for church on Sunday morning. She'd leave them drying on the dining room table while we were at church and when got back home, she'd roll them up and slice them and put them in with the chicken that had been cooked earlier that morning. She made pure egg noodles "her way", and no recipe I've ever found comes close to that taste and believe me, I think I've tried them all! She passed away about 30 years ago without giving me her recipe. When I asked her for it, she said there wasn't one….it was just stuff she threw together.
It's so hard to pick a favorite meal because most food is tied to memories and I have so many! My mother passed away 7 years ago, but was well known for her noodles! People called her all the time to make noodles for them! So my mothers fabulous chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes, green beans and bacon, and big fluffy biscuits with homemade apple butter has to be my all time fav! Thank you for the awesome giveaway! leesasilvers@gmail.com
I can't pick one, so I have 2 faves! Homemade lasagna with salad and garlic bread with cheese, and meatloaf, mash taters, green beans, corn and rolls. Mmmmmmmm 😀
Lisa S.
jimbolisa@bellsouth.net
My favorite home cooked meal is ( believe it or not) Ox tails with gravy over rice. My boyfriend's family is from down south and although I was a bit hesitant at first I absolutely LOVE it. It is the BEST most tender meat I have ever tasted.
Sara Capalongo
sc325@cornell.edu
MY favorite home cooked meal is ( believe it or not_ Ox tails with gravy over rice. My boyfriend's family is from down south and I was a bit hesitant at fiorst but it is the BEST most tender meat I ahve ever tasted.
I am not sure if I mentioned it or not, but I made this the other day. My family LOVED it and we are not great at eating our leftovers and we ate this the next day for lunch too. DELICIOUS!!!
Yummy. Paula Deen makes a hamberger soup too. Going to have to give this a try. My all time fav has to be my grandmothers string tied pot roast, we used to have every Sunday. Fall apart perfect.
This soup sounds yummy! We tried the shortcut danish and reallly loved them! Love your site!
The soup looks delicious! I have to try this.
Benita
Mine would be some good ole meatloaf and mashed potatoes with biscuits.
I still love my Mom's salmon patties. I get her to make them whenever she visits. I even love them cold.
I love the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks! Our favorite family meal is slow cooker salisbury staek with mashed potatoes – my husband literally licks his plate!
crystalr410@yahoo.com
Hi Brandie!
My fave…well i have 2 One would be chicken and dumplings from my friend Sarah form N.C. she made the best and the other would be her Sunday roast, biscuits and fresh picked green beans! Those are my two all time faves 🙂
Thanks so much for the chance!
~Mippy 🙂
bunnysmip (AT) yahoo (DOT) com
Really hard to choose! I think that my favorite meal would have to be when we first pick up our freshly pressed olive oil and my wife makes Spaghetti Carbonara with bacon and good Italian sausage.Then I smother it with the 'olio nuovo'! Nothing better!
My all time favorite home cooked meal has to be meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans. It's the ultimate comfort food from my childhood.
Scallop Potatoes and Ham. YumYum!
I don't even have to think about it. Chicken and Dumplings with the big fluffy biscuits. Best.Food.EVER.