Do you ever have an evening when you don’t feel like preparing a fancy meal? I have those evenings a lot. In fact, sometimes this feels like an “almost every evening” occurrence at our home. With the cold weather settling in, I’ve been in the mood for soup. I could put make soup in the crockpot and allow it to simmer all day, but sometimes I want a recipe that takes around 30 minutes from start to finish. This Cheeseburger Soup Recipe fits the bill. It’s quick, comforting, and kid-pleasing!
Easy Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
This recipe is a good way to use leftover cooked, crumbled hamburger meat or leftover, baked potatoes. Serve it with a sandwich or salad for a complete meal.
Substitutions:
- Need a gluten-free version of the soup? Substitute an equal amount of Gluten-free one-to-one all-purpose flour for the flour called for in this recipe.
- For a vegetarian version, substitute 1-pound of frozen veggie meat crumbles (like Morningstar) for the ground beef and 3 vegetable bouillon cubes for the beef bouillon cubes.
- For a vegan version, follow the vegetarian step above and also substitute soy or almond milk for the whole milk used in the recipe and use vegan cheese.
- For a low-fat version of the soup, substitute 1-pound ground turkey for the ground beef.
- Substitute 2 cups finely cubed processed cheese (think Velveeta) or 2 cups cheese sauce (think Cheez-whiz or Tostino’s Cheddar Cheese Dip) for the 2 cups of cheddar cheese. You can also substitute Queso dip or Salsa con Queso dip.
- If using finely cubed processed cheese, be sure to cut the cheese into very small pieces to ensure even melting.
Good Garnishes Include:
- additional shredded cheese
- a dollop of sour cream
- crumbled bacon (because who doesn’t love a bacon cheeseburger?)
- green onion tops
Cooking Tips:
- One of my kitchen secrets is to bake several potatoes in advance and dice them. Store them in an airtight storage container in the fridge for up to four days. This shortens the soup’s cooking time when using pre-cooked potatoes. If using pre-cooked potatoes, reduce the simmering time to 10 minutes before adding the cheese.
- You can also substitute 2 (15-ounce) cans of cooked potatoes if you are in a hurry. Just dice them and toss them into the pot.
Crockpot Directions
Want to fix it and forget it? Use our handy crockpot cooking directions.
- Cook the hamburger, onion, celery, and garlic as directed. Drain and place in the crockpot.
- Add the beef bouillon, water, salt, and flour. Stir until blended. Add the potatoes and milk. Stir until blended. Cook on low for four hours.
- Add cheese and cook for an additional five to ten minutes. Stir and serve.
Printable Recipe:
Easy Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
Easy Cheeseburger Soup recipe.
Ingredients
1 1/2-lb ground beef, 80-20
1/2 cup diced yellow onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/4 cup beef broth
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to personal preference
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups cubed potatoes
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, add the ground beef, onion, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until ground beef is no longer pink, approximately 8 minutes. Drain and return to saucepan.
- Mix the crushed bouillon cubes, salt, flour, and water. Stir into the ground beef mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Add the potatoes and the milk. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft, stirring frequently.
- Add the cheese and cook for an additional 1 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.
Notes
- Substitute 2 cups processed cheese sauce for the 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese.
Storage:
Due to the dairy products used in the soup, which become grainy and will separate when frozen, this soup is best enjoyed fresh. It can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Let us know your thoughts if you try the soup. Here’s to a warm bowl of soup on a cold day!
I have never tried a cheeseburger soup before how very interesting, I will give it a try for sure.
Pinned and on this weeks menu. Never heard of this soup before, but Babushka KNOWS Sweetie and BIL are gonna love it. Gracias for the recipe and BB2U.
I’ve never had cheeseburger soup before, but I lvoe cheeseburgers. Biscuits make everything better so this sounds like a winning meal. As I sit here trying to figure out what we are eating for dinner.
I haven’t had cheeseburger soup in years. This looks so good and reminded me of a great dinner option!
You had me at easy soup, and I know my family will go for it when I say cheeseburger. Yum!
This is something my husband would love! This is the first time I encounter a burger soup, I’d love to make it someday.
I can easily identify those times when you do not want to spend too much time in the kitchen. You want something quick and easy. This soup seems just right for those times.
Never heard of Cheeseburger Soup before. It looks like a delicious comfort food. Will have to try this soup.
Now this soup sounds like it is right up my alley! I need to make this ASAP!!
This looks really tasty and something to eat on these cold winter days we’ve been having where it doesn’t get above freezing. I really can’t wait until spring!
We don’t eat meat or dairy, but this is a soup I’m sure my kids would love!
Talk about a hearty and filling soup! I bet my husband will like this one, especially since the flavors are spot on. Thanks for the recipe!
You totally had me with that cheese on the top. I think this would taste absolutely delicious! I definitely love a good soup in the winter.
Oh wow, I have never had a cheeseburger soup before. It sounds so good! I could make a bit batch of this and warm it up for lunch. I always feel like I make the same things for lunch and I need something new.
I’ve never had cheeseburger soup before. Yum, this looks so fabulous. I love having soup when it’s cold out.
I’ve never heard of cheeseburger soup but it sounds like a tasty way to ward off this winter’s chill. Those biscuits look really tasty also. I’m thinking a nice dollop of sour cream ranch dressing on that soup would be a nice topping. Yum!
Oooo! I love Cheeseburger Soup. I love to add a little ketchup and mustard and dill pickles slices as garnish. It sounds not good but it is surprisingly fun.
A easy meat and potatoes soup. Quick to throw together and really great soup that will fill you up. We like to add cheese on tops of our a well.
Cheeseburger soup is one of my favorite comfort foods. Yours sounds so good. I wish I had a bowl in front of me right now.