Description
A hearty, one-pot comfort food soup featuring ground beef, Yukon Gold potatoes, and melted cheddar cheese in a creamy, satisfying base. Perfect for cold days and feeding hungry families.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef (≈ 450 g)
- 1 large yellow onion, finely diced (about 1½ cups)
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 4 cups beef broth (32 oz / ~960 ml)
- 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced (≈ 900 g, about 4 cups)
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper (or to taste)
For the Creamy Cheese Base:
- 1½ cups mild cheddar cheese, shredded (≈ 170 g, plus extra for garnish)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream (≈ 240 ml)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
For Garnish:
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Extra shredded cheese
Instructions
I heat my pot over medium and toss in the ground beef with the chopped onion. Using my wooden spoon, I break up the meat as it browns. This usually takes me about ten minutes – sometimes longer if I’m multitasking with homework help. The beef should look properly browned, not gray, and the onions get soft and smell amazing. I drain the grease because nobody wants greasy soup.
The garlic goes in next and I stir it around for maybe a minute. My kitchen starts smelling like dinner at this point.
I pour in the beef broth first, then add all the diced potatoes, paprika, salt, and pepper. Everything comes to a boil pretty quickly, then I turn the heat down and let it bubble gently for about twenty minutes. I test the potatoes with a fork – they should break apart easily but not fall to pieces.
This is where I used to mess up constantly. I add the cheese slowly, maybe a handful at a time, stirring the whole time. If you dump it all in at once, you get cheese globs instead of smooth soup. Learned this lesson the hard way during my first attempt three years ago.
The heavy cream goes in next and I stir everything together. I keep the heat low now because if it boils, the cream separates and looks awful. I let it warm up for about five minutes.
In that small bowl, I whisk the cornstarch with cold water until it’s smooth. This goes into the soup slowly while I’m stirring. After a couple more minutes of gentle simmering, the soup gets thick enough to coat the back of my spoon.
I ladle this into bowls and sprinkle chopped parsley on top with extra cheese. My kids always want the cheese to be visible, so I’m generous with it.
Notes
- Brown the beef properly – gray meat makes bland soup
- Cut your potatoes the same size so they finish cooking together
- Shred your own cheese – the pre-shredded stuff has coating that makes it clumpy
- Taste before you serve and add more salt if needed
- If your soup gets too thick, add more broth a little at a time
- Too thin? Mix another teaspoon of cornstarch with cold water and stir it in
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American