This delicious lightened up cheeseburger soup swaps out heavy ingredients like butter and cream for readily available lighter ingredients. It is thick, creamy and so yummy!

This soup is loaded with vegetables and thickened using a simple blended mixture of milk and flour (and of course, cheese). You’ll never even notice the butter and cream are missing…this soup is so good!

White bowl with spoon scooping ingredients in creamy cheesy soup with cooked potatoes, ground beef, and carrots and topped with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped chives.

Why You’ll Love This Soup

There is a lot to love about this easy, weeknight, creamy soup!

  • It is loaded with inexpensive, hearty vegetables, like potatoes, carrots, celery and onions.
  • It is thick and creamy without the need for heavy ingredients, like butter, cream, half-and-half, and other common ingredients in popular cheeseburger soup recipes.
  • Other than a bit of chopping, it comes together quickly and is a perfect, cozy soup for any day of the week.
  • It is delicious served in bowls with dippers like crackers or bread…and also thick enough for a bread bowl, if you want to take it to the next carb-loaded level.
Enameled cast iron pot with cooked ground beef, carrots, and celery.
Enameled cast iron Dutch oven with creamy soup and pile of shredded sharp cheddar in the center.

How to Make Cheeseburger Soup

Pro Tip: dice all the vegetables prior to starting to make the soup. It will streamline the process and make it much quicker and easier once you start cooking.

  1. Brown the lean ground beef, carrots, celery and onions. Drain excess grease.
  2. Add the potatoes, broth, parsley, and mustard powder. Simmer until the potatoes are tender.
  3. Blend the milk and flour until smooth. Add to the soup and cook until thickened.
  4. Off the heat, add the cheese a handful at a time and stir until melted.
  5. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. This is important! It’s likely you’ll need to add a bit of salt and pepper for flavor, so don’t skip this step.

Serve the soup with chopped green onions or chives, sour cream and additional shredded cheese, if desired. (But you should desire it, because YUM.) The soup will thicken considerably as it cools.

Ladle with scoop of creamy cheesy soup with potatoes, hamburger, and carrots and sprinkled with fresh chives.

A Few Additional Notes:

  • Ground Beef: for a less meaty soup, the ground beef can be decreased to 1/2 pound.
  • Gluten-Free: for a gluten-free version, sub 2 tablespoons cornstarch for the 1/4 cup flour (blend and add to the soup per the recipe). 
  • Cheese: 1/2 of the cheddar cheese can be subbed for shredded Monterey Jack cheese, if desired (the cheese flavor will be less pronounced and the soup will be slightly creamier).
  • Make-Ahead: this soup can be made on the stovetop and then transferred to a slow cooker to keep warm for several hours.

This soup is an absolute winner! It is so creamy and cheesy and cozy…pretty much all the things a really good soup should be.

If you aren’t sure about eating a soup that tastes like a cheeseburger, be assured that the “cheeseburger vibe” is less tomato, pickle and mustard and more a hearty mishmash of lean beef, cheese, and veggies. It is DEEEEELICIOUS. And I can’t wait for you to try it!

White bowl with creamy cheesy soup with cooked potatoes, carrots and ground beef topped with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped chives.

What to Serve With This:

White bowl with spoon scooping ingredients in creamy cheesy soup with cooked potatoes, ground beef, and carrots and topped with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped chives.

Lightened Up Cheeseburger Soup

Yield: 6 to 7 servings
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
4.73 stars (11 ratings)
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 cup diced carrots
  • ½ cup diced celery
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 4 cups peeled and diced Yukon gold or russet potatoes
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • ½ teaspoon mustard powder
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour (see note for GF version)
  • 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (see note)
  • Chopped green onions or chives, sour cream, shredded cheese, for serving

Instructions 

  • In a 6-quart pot set over medium heat, add the ground beef, carrots, celery, onion, salt, and pepper. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is no longer pink. Off the heat, drain excess grease.
  • Return the pot to medium heat and add the potatoes, broth, parsley, and mustard powder. Stir to combine. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
  • To a blender, add the milk and flour and blend until smooth. Pour the mixture into the soup and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the soup has thickened.
  • Off the heat, add the cheese a handful at a time and stir until melted.
  • Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed (important!).
  • Serve with chopped green onions or chives, sour cream and additional shredded cheese, if desired. The soup will thicken considerably as it cools.

Notes

Ground Beef: for a less meaty soup, the ground beef can be decreased to 1/2 pound.
Gluten Free Substitute: for a gluten-free version, sub 2 tablespoons cornstarch for the 1/4 cup flour (blend and add to the soup per the recipe). 
Cheese: 1/2 of the cheddar cheese can be subbed for shredded Monterey Jack cheese, if desired (the cheese flavor will be less pronounced and the soup will be slightly creamier).
Author: Mel Gunnell
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Method: Stovetop
Serving: 1 serving (about 2 cups soup), Calories: 451kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 34g, Fat: 18g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 87mg, Sodium: 591mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 6g

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Wooden Spoon
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Ladle

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

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