All the flavor of a cheeseburger packed into a nutritious and tasty soup! And best of all? It's ready in just about 30 minutes for the perfect weeknight dinner the whole family will love.
Ask my kids what their favorite food is and both will unanimously decide: "Burgers!" It only makes sense then that I'd take their favorite food and try to expand their palate by making it into as many different dishes as possible. Having already turned it into a pie, and a casserole (I'll share that recipe soon), soup was my next stop (and salad, I'm looking at you next)!
The resulting Cheeseburger Soup truly does have a taste of that classic burger taste (thanks to the ketchup, mustard, and pickle juice in the broth), and better yet, it's an easy-to-make weeknight dinner option with just a few pantry staples.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here is a brief overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe with quantities is listed below this text in the recipe card. If substitutions are available for this recipe, they'll be listed here. If you don't see a substitution you are looking for, please leave a comment below.
- olive oil
- red onion
- ground beef (you could swap in ground turkey)
- kosher salt + black pepper (I use Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt in my recipes, if you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt you will likely need to decrease the amount of salt called for)
- cornstarch (this helps the broth get a hearty mouthfeel without needing to add too much cream or cheese, all-purpose flour could be substituted if needed but increase it to 2 tablespoons)
- ketchup (because.....burgers)
- pickle juice (you can use the juice from sweet or sour pickle depending on your preferences)
- yellow mustard
- Worcestershire sauce (this deepens the umami flavor of the soup)
- beef broth
- russet potatoes (another type of potato could be substituted if needed)
- canned diced tomatoes (note in the recipe that the tomatoes are drained, and just the actual tomatoes are used and not the liquid...if needed fresh diced tomatoes could be substituted)
- heavy cream (just a touch to give the soup a creamier feeling without loads of cheese)
- grated cheddar cheese (there is room to increase the quantity of cheese added here, but I try to balance the flavor and nutrition of the soup, so only 4 ounces is called for)
- green onions (for garnish)
Overview of Steps
Here is a brief overview of the order of preparation and anything useful to note (with the full recipe listed below):
- sweat down the onions until they are very translucent and starting to get a bit sweet...this helps balance the flavor of the soup by adding another flavor
- cook the ground beef and drain any excess fat...this step is important in this soup because any excess fat will gather on the top of the soup and just be generally unpleasant...if you use very lean ground beef you may be able to skip this step
- add in the flavor: ketchup, mustard, and pickle juice, and briefly cook to deepen the flavor...you're house will smell like a burger joint during this step
- simmer: add in the remainder of the ingredients and simmer until potatoes are tender
- make it creamy: shut off the heat and stir in the heavy cream and shredded cheese
A Note on Adding Cheese to Hot Soups
I've tested this recipe with several different brands of cheese. I always used freshly grated cheese. I noticed that when I used an inexpensive store-brand block of cheddar it had some trouble integrating into the soup and separated. Ideally, when the cheddar is added, it's going to melt right into the soup and create a creamy sauce. And that is just what happened when I used high-quality cheddar (I tried both Cabot and Tillamook).
If using a lesser-quality store-brand cheddar, let the soup cool off for a few minutes before adding the cheese to help prevent the cheddar from separating.
Serving and Storing
This soup is a meal in itself and needs no additional components! You could always add in a few burger topping ideas like crispy bacon or fresh diced tomatoes or pickles!
This soup keeps well for a few days in the refrigerator. When reheating, because of the added cheddar cheese, do so slowly.
Because of the potatoes and cheddar cheese, this is not a good soup to freeze.
More Soup Recipes:
PrintFull Recipe
Cheeseburger Soup
- Prep Time: 00:05
- Cook Time: 00:30
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: Soup
Description
All the flavor of a cheeseburger packed into a nutritious and tasty soup! And best of all? It's ready in just about 30 minutes for the perfect weeknight dinner the whole family will love.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, finely diced
- 1-½ pounds ground beef
- 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, more to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 tablespoons pickle juice (sweet or sour)
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4-6 cups beef broth
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced into ½” cubes
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream
- 4 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
- 3 green onions, sliced thin
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium heat and cook the onion until very soft, about 10-12 minutes.
- Add the beef, salt and pepper and cook until no pink remains about 6 minutes.
- Add the cornstarch, ketchup, pickle juice, mustard and Worcestershire and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Add the beef broth, russet potatoes, and diced tomatoes and cook until the potatoes are cooked through and the soup is slightly thickened, about 10-12 minutes. As needed, add additional beef broth/water for desired consistency.
- Shut off the heat and stir in the heavy cream and shredded cheddar.
- Top with green onions and serve!
Notes
Have a question or looking for tips? The text written above the recipe is always a great first place to start! If it's not answered there, be sure to leave a comment and I'll get back as soon as possible.
I use Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt in my recipes, if you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt you will likely need to decrease the amount of salt called for.
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