Cheeseburger Soup

Our cheeseburger Soup is a cheesy, meaty, creamy take on a classic cheeseburger. It’s Epic comfort food! We also add our original buttery hamburger bun croutons to finish it off with some crunch!

This easy cheeseburger soup is a huge family favorite. This is one dinner that everyone will be on time for. Everyone loves all the chunks of lean meat, veggies, cheesy broth, and toppings. They also like to top the soup with shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, sliced pickles, fresh tomato, and homemade hamburger bun croutons. The sky’s the limit with toppings, so use your imagination!

Actually, the croutons are my favorite part of the whole soup. They’re slightly sweet, buttery, crispy, and crunchy. Their flavor and texture complement and top the soup perfectly, in my humble opinion. 🙂 They’re really easy to make and only take about 10 minutes to prepare and bake. I make them before I start the soup so they’re all done and ready when the soup finishes.

My mom thinks I should call this cheeseburger chowder. She tells me this isn’t a soup, but rather a chowder.  She’s probably right! What do you think?

If you like beefy homemade soup soups, I hope you’ll try my vegetable beef soup, beef barley soup, beef and tomato soup, and of course, beef noodle soup!

Cheeseburger Soup Ingredients

• Hamburger Buns: We cube these up, butter, and toast them up to make some delish croutons!
• Butter: Use salted or unsalted.
• Beef: I like to use 80/20% for the best flavor. Feel free to use a lower-fat version or ground turkey or chicken instead.
• Onion: I like to use yellow onion, but white will work as well.
• Garlic: Use fresh garlic rather than the minced garlic in a jar.
• Flour: This will mix with the beef drippings to create a flavorful roux to thicken the soup.
• Beef Broth: I like to use low-sodium broth to control the overall salt in the finished soup.
• Diced Tomatoes: I like to use petite diced tomatoes so they fit nicely on a spoon and blend well with the other ingredients.
• Worcestershire sauce: Adds great deep flavor.
• Better than Bouillon-beef flavor: This fortifies the flavor of the beef broth.
• Potatoes: I like Russets. I love their creamy texture and as they cook they break down just a bit and help to thicken the soup.
• Cheddar: My favorite cheese for a cheeseburger. Feel free to use your favorite.
• Half and Half: This creates the perfect texture and a great mouth feel.

Optional Toppings

Toppings finish this soup off and allow everyone to customize their bowl! The croutons in the recipe, for me, are an absolute must. Everything else is the dealer’s choice!

We like chopped fresh tomatoes, extra shredded cheese, green or red onions, sliced pickles, and/or bacon!

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge?  The cooked cheeseburger soup will last in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Can You Freeze This? Since this soup has half and half, I prefer it freshly made.
• Make-Ahead Tips: This is even better made a day or two ahead of time. The flavors will continue to develop and will create a superior flavor.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more food safety info check out this article.

Tips + Notes

• Cheese options: This soup can be made with natural cheddar cheese or processed cheese, such as Velveeta. I like the taste of this soup best when it’s made with natural cheddar. The broth ends up being thinner when you use the natural cheese over the processed, but for me, the improved taste is more important. Honestly, it’s really delicious and made with cheese. I use extra sharp cheddar in this recipe because I feel like it gives me extra flavor. If you prefer mild or medium cheddar, feel free to substitute.
• Cheeseburger soup Velveeta: The processed cheese melts into the broth a bit more easily and produces a creamier texture in the finished soup. If you use Velveeta, an 8-ounce box will give you the 2 cups you need for this recipe. Cut it into small cubes before adding it to the soup.
• Cheeseburger Soup Crock Pot: This recipe is great to make in the crockpot. This is perfect for those times when you’re going to be busy most of the day but still want to come home and have an amazing soup for dinner. You can do it easy enough!
  1. Follow the recipe instructions below for the first part of step 1 and cook the hamburger or turkey, the onion. and the garlic on the stovetop.
  2. Then, add the cooked hamburger or turkey, onion, and garlic to a crockpot. Then add the beef broth, tomatoes with their juice, Worcestershire, black pepper, “Better than Bouillon”, and potatoes.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
  4. Add the half and half and 2 cups of cheese, cover, and cook on high for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Serving Recommendations

I love to serve this with homemade crescent rolls, beer bread, hunks of warm Southern cornbread, or for a sweeter version, Bisquick cornbread, or our favorite, Bisquick biscuits to dip and sop up the delicious gravy of this soup.

To freshen the meal up, I like o add to a crisp green salad dressed and tossed with my easy-peasy balsamic vinaigrette or crispy copycat KFC coleslaw.

How To Make Cheeseburger Soup

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Cheeseburger Soup

This deliciously cheesy, meaty, creamy cheeseburger soup is a savory beefy rendition of the classic American meal complete with buttery bun croutons.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

Hamburger Bun Croutons:

• ▢ 4 seeded hamburger bun tops, reserve the bottom half of the buns for another use
• ▢ 2-4 tablespoons butter melted

Soup:

• ▢ 2 pounds ground beef or turkey
• ▢ 1 large onion, chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3 cups beef broth
• ▢ 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, with their liquid
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1 heaping tablespoon Better than Bouillon-beef flavor or 2 large bouillon cubes
• ▢ 6 cups russet potatoes, cut into 1/2 cubes, (about 3 large)
• ▢ 2 cups packed extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• ▢ 2 cups half and half

Toppings:

• ▢ 6 slices bacon cooked and chopped
• ▢ green onions or chives thinly sliced
• ▢ sliced pickles
• ▢ tomatoes chopped
• ▢ extra-sharp cheddar cheese shredded

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Hamburger Bun Croutons:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
• Pour melted butter (2-4 tablespoons) on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Cut the hamburger bun (4) tops into 1/2 inch cubes, spread them onto the baking sheet, then toss the cubes to evenly coat with melted butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cubes are crispy, about 6-8 minutes until the buns are crisp and nicely browned.

Make the Soup:

• Brown the ground beef (2 pounds) in a Dutch oven, over medium heat, and continue cooking until the beef or turkey is no longer pink. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Add the onion (1 large) and garlic (2 gloves) and sautee on medium heat until they're soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add the ground beef back to the Dutch oven and sprinkle the beef and onion mixture with the flour (1/4 cup). Stir to evenly distribute.
• Add beef broth (3 cups), tomatoes with their juice (1 can), Worcestershire sauce (1 teaspoon), black pepper (1/2 teaspoon), Better than Bouillon (1 heaping tablespoon), and potatoes (6 cups). Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 20-25 minutes.
• Reduce heat to low and add the half and half (2 cups) and 2 cups of cheese. Cook, stirring often, until the cheese melts.

Fans Also Made:

• 
  Crack Potato Soup
• 
  Hamburger Soup Recipe
• 
  Hamburger Stew
• 
  Italian Sausage Soup

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Notes

1. Nutrition facts - toppings not included.
2. Cheese options: This soup can be made with natural cheddar cheese or a processed cheese, such as Velveeta. I like the taste of this soup best when it’s made with natural cheddar. The broth ends up being thinner when you use the natural cheese over the processed, but for me, the improved taste is more important.  Honestly, it’s really delicious made with either cheese. I use extra sharp cheddar in this recipe because I feel like it gives me extra flavor. If you prefer mild or medium cheddar, feel free to substitute.
3. Cheeseburger soup Velveeta: The processed cheese melts into the broth a bit more easily and produces a creamier texture in the finished soup. If you use Velveeta, an 8-ounce box will give you the 2 cups you need for this recipe. Cut it into small cubes before adding it to the soup.
4. Cheeseburger Soup Crock Pot: This recipe is great to make in the crockpot. This is perfect for those times when you’re going to be busy most of the day but still want to come home and have an amazing soup for dinner. You can do it easy enough!

• 1. Follow the recipe instructions below for the first part of steps 1 and cook the hamburger or turkey, the onion. and the garlic on the stove top.
  2. Then, add the cooked hamburger or turkey, onion, and garlic to a crockpot. Then add the beef broth, tomatoes with their juice, Worcestershire, black pepper, “Better than Bouillon”, and potatoes.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
  4. Add the half and half and 2 cups of cheese, cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until heated through

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 of the recipe | Calories: 938kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 183mg | Sodium: 1167mg | Potassium: 1528mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 931IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 482mg | Iron: 7mg

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