Make everyone smile with this easy, creamy recipe.
Table of Contents
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🗝️ Key takeaways
- My easy cheeseburger soup recipe features the amazing flavors of a classic burger in a hearty soup the whole family will love—even picky eaters!
- A steaming bowl of comforting soup is a great way to get warm and cozy on a cold winter day.
- Caramelizing the onions and browning the ground beef is key to mouthwatering flavor and texture.
Who knew you could turn a juicy cheeseburger with a side of French fries into a delicious soup?
Flavorful ground beef, tender potatoes, caramelized onions, and a luscious cheese sauce combine to create this creamy cheeseburger soup that’s oh-so addicting!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Lean ground beef makes this soup taste like a cheeseburger. However, you can use other meat, like ground chicken, ground turkey, or Italian sausage.
- Yukon Gold potatoes and red potatoes both work great in cheeseburger soup.
- I prefer the flavor of sharp cheddar cheese, but you can use Velveeta cheese cubes, American cheese, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, or Pepper Jack.
- Plain Greek yogurt can be substituted for the sour cream if you like.
- Evaporated milk gives this creamy soup its luscious texture, but whole milk will do in a pinch.
- Add a dash of hot sauce, red pepper flakes, or a warming zing of cayenne pepper for a spicy kick.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page. Click on the image to see it full-sized.
Here are images on how to make the cream sauce step by step.
In a large pot over medium heat, saute onion and brown ground beef. Add the potatoes, chicken stock, and French onion soup base.
Make the cream sauce and stir it and the shredded sharp cheddar cheese into the soup.
Stir in the sour cream.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with your favorite toppings!
🍴 Equipment
- Large stockpot or a Dutch oven
🥫 How to store leftovers
Once your creamy, cheesy soup has cooled to room temperature, store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days.
Reheat leftover soup in a saucepan on the stovetop, or zap it in the microwave. Warm in thirty-second bursts until heated through.
I don’t recommend freezing this soup, since the potatoes get mushy and the cheesy broth separates when it’s frozen and thawed.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Skip the pre-shredded cheese and grate your own cheese from a block. Freshly grated cheese always melts and tastes better!
- Drain excess grease from ground beef into a bowl before adding the other ingredients so your soup isn't oily. If you use 90/10 lean ground beef you probably won't have to drain it.
- Stick with yellow or red potatoes—russet potatoes tend to get mushy and fall apart in soups.
- The size of your potatoes will affect how quickly the soup cooks. For a shorter cooking time, dice the spuds into smaller pieces.
- Speed up prep (and cooking!) even more by using a bag of frozen, diced potatoes. Just toss 'em in the soup and cook until they're thawed and hot.
- Check the potatoes for doneness by piercing one with a fork. If it's soft enough to grab easily, your soup's just about ready!
- Don't forget to garnish with your favorite toppings, such as sliced green onions, crispy bacon bits, fried onions, and a dollop of sour cream. You can even add some sliced pickles on top if you'd like for true burger flavor.
👩🍳 FAQs
Firm, waxy potatoes such as gold and red potatoes are best in soups. Avoid super starchy potatoes like russets, which get mushy and fall apart quickly.
Sure! Feel free to use beef broth to enhance the beefy flavor of your soup. Vegetable broth works, too. Whatever you've got on hand will do!
If they're hard, saute them with the onion. Otherwise, dice 'em up and toss 'em with the broth! You can bulk up soup with extra veggies like shredded carrots, diced celery, sauteed mushrooms, or bell peppers.
Sure! You don’t have to stick with sharp cheddar cheese. Shredded mild cheddar, Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, and American cheese work great, too. Use Pepper Jack cheese for a touch of heat or cubes of Velveeta cheese for an extra creamy sauce.
If you need, you can easily turn this into a crock pot cheeseburger soup recipe.
Cook the potatoes, onions, French onion soup, and broth in your
Prepare the cream sauce in the same pan, then stir it in the
📚 Related recipes
- Old Fashioned Potato Soup is one of the most delicious soups and always a family favorite—creamy texture and vintage flavors are hard to beat!
- Baby Doe's Beer Cheese Soup is a mild soup with a tiny bite of hot sauce made famous in Dallas in the 1970s. Now, you can enjoy it from home.
- Full of hearty ground beef, tender pasta, and a cheesy tomato soup base, Lasagna Soup is just as tasty as the casserole but way easier to make!
🍽️ Serve with...
A crusty bread like my Homemade Baguette recipe is perfect for sopping up this creamy cheese soup—and it’s ready in only 30 minutes!
The tangy, smoky taste of Southern Green Beans pairs well with the cheesy flavors of cheeseburger soup.
Old Fashioned Southern Blackberry Cobbler made from scratch is full of homemade country flavor—the juicy fruit filling and cake-like topping are always a huge hit!
📞 The last word
There's nothing like a bowl of steaming soup on a chilly day. It just warms you to the center of your soul. This is one of my favorites - I'm partial to rich, creamy soups.
Give it a try and let me know what you think!
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Cheeseburger Soup
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 ½ cup chopped onion
- 4 cups cubed potatoes
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 21 ounce condensed French Onion soup, 2-10.5 ounce cans, undiluted
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups evaporated milk
- 4 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy stockpot over medium heat.
- Add ground beef and onion.
- Cook until beef is browned and done, breaking up as it cooks, about 5-6 minutes.
- Add potatoes, stock, and soup.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to12 minutes.
- Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Add flour and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in evaporated milk; simmer and stir until sauce is thick and smooth.
- Add cream sauce into soup, stirring constantly.
- Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and stir in cheese until melted.
- Stir in sour cream, stirring until just heated through.
- Serve hot topped with green onions, French fried onions, or croutons.
Notes
- Grate cheese from a block - don't buy the pre-shredded kind.
- Drain excess grease from ground beef into a bowl before adding the other ingredients so your soup isn't oily. If you use lean (90/10) ground beef you probably won't have to drain it.
- Stick with yellow or red potatoes—russet potatoes tend to get mushy and fall apart in soups.
- Speed up prep (and cooking!) even more by using a bag of frozen, diced potatoes. Just toss 'em in the soup and cook until they're thawed and hot.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Jeanmarie ziegler says
This worked exactly as written, thanks!