Cheeseburger Soup

Cheeseburger soup is a rich and hearty dish made with ground beef, tender potatoes, and vegetables simmered in a creamy, cheesy broth. It’s flavorful, filling, and the perfect way to turn simple ingredients into comfort food. A cozy meal that’s easy enough for weeknights but satisfying enough for the whole family.

Love More Soup Recipes? Try My French Onion Soup or this Hearty Cabbage Soup next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

All the flavors of a classic cheeseburger come together in a warm, creamy bowl that’s hearty and filling. It’s rich, cheesy, and satisfying enough to stand on its own as a full meal. A true family favorite that’s both nostalgic and comforting.

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Ingredient List

For the Soup Base:

• 4 tablespoons butter, split up (real butter, not that fake stuff)
• ½ pound lean ground beef (I use 85/15 – fatty enough for flavor)
• ¾ cup chopped onion (yellow onion works fine, don’t overthink it)
• ¾ cup shredded carrots (buy the bag, save yourself some time)
• ¾ cup chopped celery (include the leafy parts – they taste good)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (fresh is fine too if you have it)
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley (same deal with fresh)
• 4 cups cubed potatoes (russets are best, don’t bother peeling them)
• 3 cups chicken broth (get the good stuff, it makes a difference)

For the Creamy Cheese Base:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour (this makes it thick, don’t skip it)
• 1½ cups milk (whole milk – skim makes it taste like water)
• 2 cups cubed cheddar cheese (cut it yourself, pre-shredded is garbage)
• ¼ cup sour cream (let it sit out before you use it)

For Garnish:

• Green onions, chopped up
• Whatever else you want – bacon, pickles, more cheese

Why These Ingredients Work

Ground beef gives you that burger taste, obviously. Can’t make cheeseburger soup without the cheeseburger part. The vegetables aren’t just taking up space – they actually make it taste like real food instead of just melted cheese with meat floating in it.

Potatoes are the secret weapon here. They soak up all the flavors and make the soup thick without needing weird thickeners. Plus they make it filling. My teenage son can eat two bowls and actually be satisfied.

The flour-butter thing creates what my cooking teacher called a roux. Sounds fancy but it’s just what makes cream soups creamy instead of chunky. Learned this from my grandmother who made the best potato soup ever. Same technique.

Cheddar cheese is non-negotiable. Tried making it with Swiss once – tasted like fondue gone wrong. Sharp cheddar gives you that tangy bite that makes it taste like an actual cheeseburger. The sour cream at the end brightens everything up. Like how pickles make burgers better.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Big heavy pot (learned this lesson when I burnt the bottom in a cheap pan)
• Medium pot for the cheese sauce
• Whisk that actually works (not those tiny ones that do nothing)
• Sharp knife
• Cutting board
• Measuring stuff
• Something to stir with
• Ladle for serving

Don’t have a heavy pot? Keep the heat lower and stir more. Found this out the hard way when I scorched a whole batch and had to order pizza instead.

How To Make Cheeseburger Soup

Step 1: Build Your Flavor Base

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in your big pot, medium heat. When it stops bubbling, dump in the ground beef, onion, carrots, and celery all at once. Yeah, it looks like a lot. That’s fine.

Stir it around and break up the beef for about 5-7 minutes. You want the beef brown and crumbly, vegetables soft. Should smell like cooking burgers at this point. My dog always shows up in the kitchen during this step because it smells so good.

Don’t rush it. Good browning here means better flavor later. If some parts get a little crispy, even better.

Step 2: Season and Add Liquid

Throw in the basil and parsley. Smells amazing when it hits the hot mixture. Add the potatoes and pour in the broth. Should cover everything by about an inch. If not, add water.

Bring it to a real boil – big bubbles breaking the surface. Then turn it down so it’s just simmering. Little bubbles around the edges. Put a lid on it and let it go for 10-12 minutes until potatoes are soft.

Stick a fork in a potato piece. If it goes in easy, you’re good. If not, give it a few more minutes.

Step 3: Create the Magic Sauce

This is the trickiest part but not really that tricky. In your other pot, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. When it’s melted, whisk in the flour. Keep whisking for about a minute – it’ll smell nutty when it’s ready.

Now slowly pour in the milk while whisking constantly. I mean constantly. Don’t stop or you’ll get lumps and have to start over. Add maybe ¼ cup at first, whisk until smooth, then add more. Once you get about half in, you can go faster but keep whisking.

Cook it until it’s thick enough to coat a spoon. Takes maybe 3-4 minutes of gentle bubbling. If you get lumps anyway, keep whisking hard – sometimes they smooth out.

Step 4: Bring It All Together

Pour the milk mixture into your soup pot slowly, stirring the soup as you pour. This keeps it from getting lumpy. Bring everything back to a bubble, stirring so nothing sticks.

Once it’s bubbling, turn the heat to low and add the cheese cubes bit by bit. Don’t dump it all in – it won’t melt right. Stir each handful in before adding more. Watch it turn golden and gorgeous.

Last step – stir in the sour cream just until it’s warm. Don’t let it boil after this or it might look weird.

Taste it. Add salt and pepper if you want. Usually doesn’t need much because the broth and cheese are already salty.

Step 5: Serve and Enjoy

Scoop it into bowls and put green onions on top. Or whatever you want – crispy bacon, pickles, more cheese. My kids like to float crackers on top.

Serve it hot with bread if you want. Fills you up either way.

Must Know

Don’t skip cooking the flour-butter mixture for that full minute. Raw flour tastes awful and makes everything pasty.

Don’t Screw This Up: When you add the milk mixture to the soup, stir constantly and don’t use high heat. Made it curdle once and had to throw the whole thing out.

Temperature Thing: Get your sour cream out early so it’s room temperature. Cold sour cream hitting hot soup sometimes makes it look chunky.

Personal Secret: Always cut your own cheese. Pre-shredded has stuff on it that makes soup grainy. Learned this when I got lazy one time and bought the bag. Soup turned out weird and chalky.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Brown in batches: Making a double batch? Brown the meat in two separate pans or it steams instead of browns. Steamed ground beef is sad ground beef.
• Cheese trick: Half cheddar, half cream cheese makes it extra creamy. Cut the cream cheese into chunks first so it melts easier.
• Cut everything the same size: Sounds obvious but I used to cut carrots tiny and celery huge. Everything cooks unevenly that way.
• Secret ingredient: Splash of Worcestershire sauce with the herbs. Just a little – adds depth without being obvious about it.
• Storage tip: Gets really thick in the fridge. Thin it out with milk when reheating or it’s like eating cheese paste.
• Potato hack: Cut them smaller if you’re in a hurry. They cook faster and soup’s ready sooner.
• Don’t boil after sour cream: Seriously. It curdles and looks gross. Keep it gentle.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Bacon Version: Fry 4-5 pieces of bacon first, chop them up, add with the beef. Use the bacon grease to cook the vegetables. My brother says this version is better than any restaurant soup.

Spicy One: Add diced jalapeños with the vegetables. Or hot sauce at the end. Start small – you can add more but can’t take it out.

Loaded Style: Top with everything – bacon bits, pickles, diced tomatoes, crispy onions, extra cheese. Like those loaded fries but soup.

Healthier: Ground turkey instead of beef, less butter, low-fat milk and cheese. Add bell peppers or mushrooms. Still good but lighter.

Smoky: Teaspoon of smoked paprika with the herbs. Tastes like grilled burgers.

No Meat: Skip the beef, add mushrooms and bell peppers. Use vegetable broth. Different but still filling.

Make-Ahead Options

Better the next day honestly. Flavors blend together overnight in the fridge. Make it Sunday, eat it all week. Keeps 3-4 days easy.

Reheating’s the tricky part. Do it slow on the stove, stir a lot, add milk if it’s too thick. Don’t rush it or it separates.

Freezes okay for maybe 3 months but texture changes a little. The dairy can get weird when you thaw it. Still tastes good though. Freeze in portions so you can grab one for lunch.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Gets thicker as it cools so don’t worry if it seems thin when hot. By the time you eat it, it’ll be perfect.

If it curdles (happens sometimes), take it off heat and whisk in cold milk. Usually fixes it. If not, blend part of it and mix back in.

Gluten-free people can use cornstarch instead of flour. Mix 2 tablespoons with cold milk first, then add it in.

Doubles easily if you’re feeding more people. Just use a bigger pot and maybe cook a little longer.

Serving Suggestions

Rich enough to be dinner by itself but I usually make grilled cheese too. Kids expect it now. Sometimes do cornbread instead.

Green salad cuts the richness if you’re trying to eat vegetables. My mother-in-law always serves it with crackers.

Good for weeknight dinners when you want comfort food without much work. Game day food – everybody loves it. Potluck contribution that actually gets eaten. Sick day meal when you need something warm and comforting.

Top with whatever makes you happy. Crispy onions, chives, more sour cream, crushed crackers. My kids float oyster crackers on top like little boats.

Hope your family likes it as much as mine does. Sometimes the best recipes happen when you’re just trying to use up what’s in the fridge.

How to Store Your Cheeseburger Soup

Fridge: Good for 3-4 days in containers with lids. Use glass ones if you have them – doesn’t pick up flavors like plastic does.

Freezer: Portion it out and freeze up to 3 months. Write the date on masking tape so you remember.

Reheating: Stovetop’s best – low heat, stir a lot, add milk if needed. Microwave works in 30-second bursts, stir between. Don’t zap it on high or it gets weird.

Let it cool completely before putting it in the fridge. Hot soup heats up everything else in there.

Allergy Information

Has: Milk stuff (butter, milk, cheese, sour cream), wheat (flour)

No Milk: Use plant butter, cashew milk, dairy-free cheese, coconut cream instead of sour cream. Won’t taste exactly the same but still good soup.

No Wheat: Cornstarch instead of flour. Mix 2 tablespoons with cold milk first. Make sure your broth doesn’t have wheat in it.

No nuts, eggs, or shellfish. Chicken broth means not vegetarian but you can use vegetable broth instead.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Different cheese work?

Yeah. Gouda’s really good – smoky flavor. Monterey Jack’s mild. Swiss works but tastes different. Don’t use anything that doesn’t melt well.

Too thick or thin?

Thick – add milk or broth until it’s right. Thin – mix cornstarch with cold milk, stir in, let it bubble a few minutes.

Q: Other vegetables? A: Bell peppers, mushrooms, corn all good. Add with other vegetables so they cook right. Frozen vegetables work too.

Why curdle?

Too hot usually, or cold dairy hitting hot soup. Keep heat lower, warm up sour cream first. If it happens, try whisking cold milk in off heat.

Make it dairy-free?

Yeah but it’s different. Plant alternatives for everything. Nutritional yeast adds cheese flavor. Won’t be exactly the same but decent soup.

💬 Made this? Tell me how it went! What did you put on top? Did your kids actually eat it without complaining?