Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
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Cheeseburger Soup is over the top comfort food. Forget the drive-thru! Grab a spoon (and a fork!) for this hearty Cheeseburger Soup right at home. It’s an American classic reimagined in soup form and it is oh so easy to make. This is seriously easy soup making, y’all.
We sure do love making soup around here. Some people think soup isn’t really a meal. Some of those people may be my children. But I disagree. A good hearty soup, combined with a salad, baked potato and some great bread is one of my favorite meals.
Whether you are entertaining for the Super Bowl, serving a crowd of teenagers or just have a hankering for a cheeseburger, this Cheeseburger Soup is perfectly pleasing! This easy satisfying soup is made with ground beef, cheddar cheese, onions, garlic, tomatoes, a bit of mustard, plus a hint of pickles, because what cheeseburger is complete without pickles? Just be sure to make plenty because this cheesy bowl of goodness will have everyone going back for seconds!
This soup could not be easier to make. Begin by browning ground beef in a large stock pot. Once browned, transfer the beef to a bowl or plate to wait. Sauté the diced onion, then add the garlic, along with salt and pepper and sauté for a quick minute before adding the flour. To thicken up the soup, a bit of flour is sprinkled over the top, stirred in and cooked for a couple of minutes.
As mentioned, flour is used as a thickener. Cooking it for a couple of minutes before adding the liquid helps to remove that flour-y flavor. It may even become slightly browned, but that’s okay. BUT, if you are avoiding flour, heavy cream may be substituted (see recipe notes).
Next, add dried parsley, pickle juice, mustard, beef broth, diced tomato and the browned hamburger. Stir it all together and bring everything to a simmer. Cover and let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes. Lower the heat, then stir in half and half and the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir to combine and to melt the cheese. Cook on low for at least 10 more minutes and you’re done. All that’s left to do is to grab a spoon and dig in!
This Cheeseburger Soup reheats very well. It could be made ahead by a day or two, covered and refrigerated until ready to rewarm before serving. Serve warm with a variety of garnishes like more shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, diced pickles, croutons or jalapenos.
More soup recipes perfect for entertaining:
- Bacon Lentil Soup Recipe
- Verde Chicken Soup Recipe
- Perfect Potato Soup
- Garden Harvest Cheese Soup Recipe from Dine and Dish
Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
Cheeseburger Soup
A hearty soup that tastes just like a cheeseburger.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups diced onion
- 4 garlic cloves, grated/minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour* (see notes for substitutions)
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1/2 cup dill pickle juice
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 24 ounces beef broth
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup half and half or heavy cream
- 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a large stockpot over medium heat, add ground beef. Break apart beef and cook until browned. Use a slotted spoon to transfer ground beef to a bowl or plate; cover and set aside.
- Add butter to pan. Once butter has melted, add the diced onion; cook stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, salt and pepper; continue to cook stirring constantly for 1 minute.
- Sprinkle flour* over and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Mixture will be dry and flour may become slightly browned.
- Stir in parsley, pickle juice, mustard, beef broth, diced tomatoes and browned hamburger; stir to combine well. Bring to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Lower heat, add half and half and shredded cheese; stir until melted. Continue cooking on low heat for another 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Notes
*If needed, substitute a gluten-free thickener or substitute heavy cream. If substituting heavy cream, stir in the heavy cream and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally until slightly thickened.
This recipe is RIDICULOUS it is so good. We fancy ourselves as soup connoisseurs, and we have tried many cheeseburger soups, but this one is lengths ahead of everything we have ever tried! Thanks for sharing it. We will be making it again and again!
Thank you so much, Erika!
Can I use ground mustard instead of yellow mustard?
Yes. According to The Spruce Eats, “As a rule, use 1 teaspoon of dry mustard for each tablespoon of prepared mustard called for in your recipe.” https://www.thespruceeats.com/substitute-dry-mustard-for-prepared-mustard
This soup is amazing! Thank you for sharing!
Just made this soup during a cold spell and it hit the spot. I made it just as directed and it was perfect. Loved the pickles on top too.
Happy to hear that you liked it, Irene! 🙂
can something be substituted for the pickle juice?
You can delete it without any problems, add just a bit more mustard, or substitute the pickle juice 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar.
Is there something i can use if i dont have half and half but have everything else?
I do not have sourcream either i thought of that
Do you have plain yogurt? You could use that.
You can use half milk and half cream, or just milk.
I just made this soup and had rave reviews!! The taste is authenic to a real cheeseburger. It was easy to make and a hit with all the people I have fed it to over the last 3 days. This is a definite keeper recipe and looking forward to trying more recipes from this site.
I’m so glad you and yours enjoyed it as much as we have, Marilyn. It is one soup that is hard to resist!
I substituted heavy cream for the half and half. I also used Chipotle gouda for the cheddar and wickle juice in place the pickle juice.
Made this tonight. Excellent! Made 2 pots at once. One for us and one for my daughter and her husband. Yum!
That’s a great idea, Sandy! I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed it.
Oh gooD! I know what’s for dinner tomorrow! 😉
Tasty! I didn’t have pickle juice so I omitted but still enjoyed it
Delicious! Just finished making this soup- extremely simple and delectable!! Followed instructions 100%. I garnished with a slice of cheese on top with pickles and small “mini burgers” for looks!
What a cute presentation, Olivia! I’m going to try that next time.
What kind of pickles did you use?
Dill pickles.
Thank you soooo much!!!!
Can you make it without flour?
Quick, easy and delicious! My men folk LOVED it!!
Great to hear, Amy!
Do I drain the grease?
If you want to.
Searched, read reviews, looked & looked for the right cheeseburger soup to make for the 1st time…decided on this one and holy cow, it is awesome! For me, it tasted JUST like a Krystal’s burger!
If it helps anyone, I used two cans of 14 oz beef broth so that made 28 oz. I keep the small amount of grease from ground beef since I used a leaner percentage. An amazing burger is greasy anyway, right?!
I added an extra tablespoon of mustard, making it 3 instead of 2. I’m a mustard fan. The pickle juice is just right for this too!
I took my can of diced tomatoes & pulsed them in the food processor. Only because I’m not a huge fan of cooked tomato chunks. I do this in any soup or salsa that calls for canned tomatoes.
I loved everything about this soup. It is most def going to be in circulation! Chowed down 2 bowls for dinner & looking forward to lunch today!
Thank you!
Jessica F
I plan to make this tonight. I’m so glad I found this recipe. Pickle juice…genius! Also, I wasn’t a fan of the carrots and celery almost every other cheeseburger soup recipe. Who puts carrots on their burgers? Thanks!!
This soup was totally amazing!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Dan!
I want to make this soup. It looks so good. What kind of pickle juice? I’m guessing dill/deli. But then I thought some people put bread and butter pickles on their cheeseburgers lol.
Thank you!
Has anyone made this in a Crock-Pot?
Fantastic! My 3rd time to make it. I use an almond flour blend and a little gluccoman in place of the flour. One of my top 10!
How many calories is this?
I have no idea.
This is the best ever cheeseburger soup. I don’t like pickles and considered leaving the pickle juice out the first time I made but it really enhanced the overall flavor of the soup. Thinking this will make a great meal again this weekend.