Name: Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup Bacon Bits; 2 tbsp Butter; 1 pound Ground Beef; 4 ounces Cream Cheese or Half of an Eight-Ounce Brick (softened to room temperature); 2 tbsp Tomato Paste; 1 tbsp Yellow Mustard; ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder; ¼ teaspoon Smoked Paprika; Pinch Salt; ¼ teaspoon Pepper; 2 cups Beef Broth; 2 cups Frozen Hash Browns; 6 ounces Shredded Cheddar Cheese (mild, medium, or sharp cheddar, your choice); ¼ cup Heavy Whipping Cream (can substitute half and half if you want)

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When you’re watching your weight, you will want to pick recipes that are filling, but light. This recipe is not for one of those times. Cheeseburger Soup is one of those recipes that is meant for a splurge night. It has meat, two kinds of cheese, bacon, and potatoes in it, as well as heavy whipping cream. Diet food? No way. This recipe is hearty and filling, so even those who think that soup is never going to fill hungry bellies will be surprised.

A bowl of cheeseburger soup with cheeseburger buns on the side.

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Cheeseburger Soup Recipe

April Freeman

With a meaty, cheesy broth, this recipe for Cheeseburger Soup combines all of the flavors of your favorite fast food meal. Whether you want a quick dinner for the family at home or need something tasty to take to a potluck, this recipe for Cheeseburger Soup comes together quickly and easily in just a few minutes.

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Cuisine American

Servings Servings

Equipment

Large Dutch Oven
Soup Pot
Spatula
Ladle

Ingredients

¼ cup Bacon Bits
2 tbsp Butter
1 pound Ground Beef
4 ounces Cream Cheese or Half of an Eight-Ounce Brick softened to room temperature
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 tbsp Yellow Mustard
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
¼ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
Pinch Salt
¼ teaspoon Pepper
2 cups Beef Broth
2 cups Frozen Hash Browns
6 ounces Shredded Cheddar Cheese mild, medium, or sharp cheddar, your choice
¼ cup Heavy Whipping Cream can substitute half and half if you want

Instructions

In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is sizzling, tilt the pan so that the butter coats the bottom of the pan. Add the ground beef and use a spatula to chop the beef into small bits as you brown it. When there are no pink areas left, drain any accumulated grease from the beef.
Cut the cream cheese into small bits and add it to the pot that contains the beef. Add the tomato paste, mustard, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Stir this mixture as the cream cheese melts and the beef is mixed together into a nice, thick, flavorful sauce. Pour in the beef broth and the heavy cream and reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the hash browns as well.
Bring the soup to a low simmer. Add the cheese and cook it on low heat for about 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth. Add the bacon, stirring it into the soup. Serve in bowls.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container. This recipe is one that reheats best on the stove rather than in the microwave. Ladle the soup into a pot and warm it over medium-low heat. Don’t boil the soup, or the dairy products in the broth may curdle. Simply heat it until it starts steaming. Use leftovers within five days.
This recipe is not one that freezes well. The texture of the potatoes will be squishy and the broth will separate if you try to freeze the soup.

Notes

This soup is very easy to make, taking only twenty minutes of prep time. There is no chopping of vegetables, cooking and chopping bacon, or extensive cooking. Our recipe uses a couple of quick kitchen shortcuts. Pre-shredded cheese is used so that the cheese will melt quickly into the broth. Of course, if you want to buy cheese in a block and shred it yourself, that is perfectly fine as well.

Rather than having to cook bacon, drain it on paper towels, and chop it into bits, our recipe calls for the use of bacon bits as a shortcut. Instead of peeling potatoes, cooking them in a pot, and then mixing them in the soup, we used frozen hash browns. These potatoes are already peeled and pre-shredded. You simply can stir them into the hot soup, and they will thaw and soften as the soup cooks.

Our recipe for Cheeseburger Soup has all of the great seasonings that a fast-food hamburger provides. With ground beef, tomato paste, mustard, and cheese, this soup is like having a burger and fries in a soup bowl. Top the soup with a scattering of shredded cheese and a sprinkling of bacon bits for added appeal and flavor.

Another good topping idea is to add a handful of croutons to the top of each bowl for added crunch and interest. Even the pickiest member of the family will be scraping their bowls clean when you serve Cheeseburger Soup for dinner.

If you want to make a few adjustments, you can change this soup a little to make it somewhat lighter in texture and calories. Use low-fat cream cheese, low-fat cheese, and substitute whole milk or half and a half for the heavy cream. The recipe will still taste great, though it will be a little lighter in texture. Additionally, you can substitute ground turkey or ground chicken for ground beef. No one will ever know the difference!

Keyword Cheeseburger Soup, Recipe, Soup