Cheeseburger Soup
All the flavors of a cheeseburger in a creamy, comforting soup, topped with crisp bacon bits and hamburger bun croutons!
I love a good old fashioned cheeseburger just as much as the next person, but I can’t have it as often as I’d like or else I’d gain about 50 pounds. But when you serve it up in a bowl in the form of a comforting, cheesy soup – well, I think I could pretty much have that every single day of the week!
This cheeseburger soup has quickly become a number one favorite in our house. It’s loaded with so much goodness – from the ground up meat to the tender, crumbly potatoes. And you can’t forget the best part about the soup, which are, of course, the garnishes – the crumbled, crisp bacon bits, the extra cheddar cheese and the crunchy homemade hamburger croutons. You’ll want to pick off these garnishes one by one before stuffing your face with this soup!
Now isn’t this just so much better than an actual cheeseburger?
Cheeseburger Soup
Ingredients
- 3 hamburger buns, diced into 1-inch cubes
- 4 slices bacon, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces ground beef
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 2 cups milk, or more, as needed
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 10-15 minutes; set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat and set aside.
- Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, celery, carrots and Worcestershire. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in potatoes.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 12-15 minutes. Stir in ground beef, cheese, salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.
- Serve immediately, garnished with croutons, bacon and chives, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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I was searching The Damn Delicious webpage and came across this recipe for Cheeseburger Soup. It looked really good. So on this cold and wet Monday I put this soup together and boy does it smell delicious. I cannot wait to try it. I think I will make a Spinach Quiche to go with it. Thanks Damn Delicious for the recipe.
so good- my high school class made this last week along with some other soups. everyone choose this soup as their favorite!
A family staple now this is one of our all time favourites!I double it for our family of 8. Thanks for sharing
My family was hoping for soup on this very snowy day.  I’ve tried other cheeseburger soup recipes and been disappointed- not this time. This was delicious! I didn’t have celery and added a chopped jalapeño instead. Also added chopped picked as a garnish instead of chives. A keeper.
I have made cheeseburger soup recipes before and they fell short. That was not the case with this one. Follow the recipe as written and you will be so pleased with the outcome. Absolutely delicious.
I’ve made this soup twice now, following directions precisely it is delicious and oh so comforting! I haven’t tried a recipe on this blog that I didn’t like. My husband always tells people how much of a great cook I am. So it’s only appropriate I say a big Thank You to Chungah for making me look good 🙂
I have made this soup before exactly as written and it is amazing! So I had four leftover grilled burgers from Labor Day and decided to try to make this soup with them. I chopped them up and it really added a lot to the soup. The texture and grilled flavor reminded me of the old sirloin burger chunky soups we used to eat. I also didn’t have potatoes so I added about a cup of diced tater tots I had leftover , and a handful of dehydrated hash browns and it worked out great! The hash browns soaked up a lot of liquid and added a nice texture and thickness to the soup. I agree with one of Chungah’s earlier comments that the potatoes are a big part of this soup and if you don’t have them maybe you can get creative with substitutes. But definitely this is a go to recipe for leftover burgers it’s so good!
This sounds very very good and I intend on making it. There is one thing that I don’t understand and I’ve seen it in other recipes. Why do you add oil to cook ground meat? I never add oil to mine and there is no grease to drain off after it’s cooked.
You can omit the oil, if desired. 🙂
I have made this a few times-everyone loves it. Wanted to just give my experience of freezing as so many ppl commented about it. Made a double batch so I could try freezing some for my daughter to take to Uni. I froze in plastic solo cups for easy portions. Re-heated brilliantly! Highly recommend.Â
I love this soup very much. I make it many times over the winter. True comfort food. I just got an Instant Pot. Any idea how to convert this recipe? I’m still not confident enough to wing it. lol
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Love the way you put croutons on top, it looks so attracting and tasty I often eat the cheeseburger soup with breads which is also delicious.
– Natalie Ellis
I love this soup! Have you ever had success making it in a crockpot?Â
I actually have not tried making this in the slow cooker!
Here we are years later from when you first published this recipe and I am making it…again. Â This is one of hose great go-to recipes for when you have a hankering for a cheeseburger, but don’t feel like going through that whole process and mess.
Hey! Could I substitute (or leave out) the carrots and celery? My husband claims he can’t stand the texture of them in other dishes. Thanks!
Yes, you can omit.
Just made this last night, it was delicious! And the whole family gobbled it up. Has anyone tried to reheat leftovers? Any tricks?
So every time I google a recipe for something that I think is a yummy combination or would make a good meal for my family,,, who comes up? YOU!!! We must have similar tastes. I really enjoy your recipes and this soup was a hit!!
Thank you for this recipe! I was lacking in some ingredients…I had half the potatoes, so doubled the hamburger. I had only half the milk, butter and cheese. I had to use onion powder instead of fresh onion, lol. Even so, this recipe was delicious and everyone just loved it. Thanks again. I love when recipes are flexible lol!
making super bowl sunday 2016! Â would it be ok to freeze?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I was going to make a big pot of chili this weekend but your recipe changed my mind. Â Looks delicious. Â I can’t eat a cheeseburger without mustard, pickles, and onions. Â I think I will dice some onions and pickles and add them and a small squirt of mustard to to the bowl of soup. Â Yum. Â
My family loves this soup!! However, I try to lower some of the fat in this recipe.
I use ground turkey and omit the bacon and butter. I also use low fat milk. Â The
soup is still excellent. Â You won’t regret trying this comforting soup.
Have u made this in the crock pot? If so what modifications did u make! Thanks!
It is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide. Hope that helps!
I want to make a double batch-do you think it would freeze well? I LOVE your recipes. They are wonderful.
Thank you, Carole! But unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Thank you for the quick response! I guess only one way to find out! I know I already said it, but I’ve made several of your recipes and they have ALL been not only delicious but so very easy to make. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Carole,
Did you try freezing this recipe? I’m going to make it this week and will increase the batch if it freezes well.
Hi Chungah,
I just found your website on pinterest, and love it! I have several recipes pinned just waiting to try and this one was my first one–it was awesome. Here in New England tonight, we are in the middle of a blizzard (again) and this was the perfect comfort while we watched the snow fall! I didn’t use the celery and used beef broth because I had some open–it was just perfect and hubby loved it. This will certainly be in my favorite box……just pinned too!
The only change/addition I would make would be to chop up some dill pickles and add to the soup or garnish. I always have dill pickles on my cheeseburgers. Wonderful recipe!
Just made this for dinner. I have a finicky grandma who likes literally only baked goods and tacos. She happily has eaten every recipe I have made from your site, and she ate this up, asking happily for seconds. Thanks for this delicious-0 recipe!
Thanks. Fyi: i just found your website by looking at an IG recipe post from some1 else that i follow. So far, i already see about 10 dishes i want to make now. Glad i found you!! Thanks bunches
Looks delish! How many does this soup serve?
This soup yields about 4-6 servings.
I am confused. There are comments regarding shirachi but I don’t see that in the recipe at all.
Jerelyn, I am confused as well. There is no mention of Sriracha in this recipe.
Cannot WAIT to try this! Thanks for sharing.
Hello,
Do you use sharp cheddar cheese?
It’s really up to you and how it fits into your taste preferences. I personally like to use a mild to medium cheddar cheese.
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I was so excited to find this recipe! I have one ‘picky eater’ in the bunch (he’ll eat anything and never say a word, but I know what he doesn’t like). I’m trying to make all his favorites before he leaves for school but there’s only so much you can do with a cheeseburger, steak, Mac n cheese, etc. Most cheeseburger soup recipes have velveeta which I try to avoid. When I saw yours I knew it would be good! I love all of your recipes and they’ve always been big hits at our house!! Thanks for sharing such great recipies. 🙂
This soup is REALLY good. I was limited to what I already had in the house, so I had to use a sprinkle of dried celery seed instead of the fresh celery (still gave it awesome flavor). I only had a few baby carrots, which I did grate into the soup, but I also added a few green peas for more veggies.
The biggest change I had to make was use smoked gouda cheese because I didn’t have cheddar. IT. WAS. AWESOME. It really made it taste more like a hamburger because you get a bit of that smoky grill flavor that a hamburger has. I would definitely recommend making it with the smoked gouda!
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll definitely have to try that next time.
Made this last night and I’m eating the leftovers right now. Really great soup. Only thing I did differently was I cooked the ground beef in the bacon fat because – well – why the hell not? 🙂
Served with homemade hamburger buns instead of croutons. SUPER yummy and really quick and easy to make. Thanks for the great recipe.
My family and I LOVE this recipe! I looked at a few other recipes like this one but they used processed cheese or sour cream. So nice to have a healthy and delicious meal! Thank you!
Oh boy, I can tell this will be a new favorite in our house! It looks so satisfying 🙂
I made this soup for dinner tonight and it was delicious and a big hit with my husband!
I’m always in awe of your beautiful cheesy foods Chung-Ah. You know I struggle with it! But hey, practice makes perfect. I’m not surprised this cheesy soup is a hit with Jason! Kevin’s favorite food, besides peanut butter cups and buffalo chicken, is cheeseburgers. LOVE the hamburger bun croutons. So creative.
I have loved all of your recipes that I have made at home so far…they are creative and delicious! However, I must say that this recipe took me a while to prepare and my family was somewhat pleased but not totally satisfied—UNTIL I took the potatoes out. The potatoes make this soup a little blah, but without, the soup was totally delicious and I will make it again without potatoes next time 🙂 The garnishes are perfect as well!
Bummer! I actually loved the potatoes in this dish – it provides a lot of substance and makes it very filling. Otherwise it’s just a cheesy, meaty broth!
I accidentally added the cheese along with the potatoes. Without letting the potato simmer first. Will it be OK??? Help
I’m not sure! How did it turn out?
I’d suggest leaving them in but cutting them up smaller – they they’re less noticeable.
Yum! I just found your site today and have pinned almost all of your recipes haha! I can’t wait to make this and all the others. 🙂
Sweetie loves soup this time of year. I do what is called “fridge” soup once a week all the left over into a pot, add broth and enjoy have not hit a bad one yet lol. Your recipe will be added to my list of soups. I know he will enjoy this one as much as the ones I’ve made.
Thank you for Sharing great recipes.
Beautiful!! Cheeseburger soup is one of my most favorites! There is a little restaurant in Buffalo called Grovers (Actually Grover Cleveland’s old hunting lodge).. and they make the most delicious cheeseburger soup I’ve ever tasted.
Honestly? Your soup is much prettier than theirs… AND… I think with the ingredients you’ve added, I think you may have them beat! I’ll be trying this recipe for sure!!
Wonderful recipe!!
My Hubby will absolutely LOVE this! Great recipe =)
Classic comfort food, I love it!
Gosh your recipes are just terrific and this is just another example. That sounds amazing and I love that you use sesame croutons as a garnish…terrific idea 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Oh my gosh those bun croutons are the cutest! Love this soup and definitely need to give it a try! Gorgeous photos, pinned 🙂
OMG! this soup is just lip-smacking …!! love the recipe, would love to try it out soon!!
Hamburger bun croutons. Girl, you just blew my mind. I can’t wait to give this soup a try before the weather here warms up again. And beautiful photography, as always.
My husband would go crazy for this soup! It looks like comfort food at it’s best!
Ha! I totally love that the “bun” part of this cheeseburger soup is made into croutons!! How genius!! This looks so good and comforting. We just got more snow yesterday so this is perfect for the cold weather!!
I wouldn’t make it with all that snow. Come play with me in SF with all the sun. I’m walking around in flip flops!
At what point do you add the hamburger back into the pot?
Susan, thank you for letting me know. I just updated the recipe. The ground beef should be added with the cheese at the very end.
My goodness! That looks like a big bowl of heaven! Nicely done.
Love the hamburger bun croutons! You make the best soups!
This sounds amazing! Would love to dive head first into that comforting bowl of goodness right about now!!! Pinned 🙂
You are the queen of soups! This one will be made in my house soon 🙂
What a clever idea! Deconstructed burger in a soup 😀 I have staple soup that I call “pizza soup” simply because of the pizzaesque (which should totally be a word by the way!) flavours! In reality though, it’s chickpea and chorizo soup, so good 😀 x
oo Jules, this pizza soup (chickpea and chorizo) sounds intriguing! Recipe please?
This soup can keep me warm and happy too! Love the creamy texture. Your clicks are beautiful 🙂
This soup is AWESOME! It was actually funny yesterday because my husband was saying that he should blend up all his food because it’s easier for him to digest.
So. This. Is. Perfect.
I LOVE the bun croutons!
Pinned!
You never replied to my question of what shirachi is?
Shriracha (spelling?) is a bottled hot sauce.
Marilita, I actually responded immediately upon receiving your question. Please check your email or the original post where the comment was left.
Also, google it.
Yes. This.
Love.this. This is so insanely creative! You amaze me with what you can come up with! And gorgeous images, of course!