This Easy Cheeseburger Soup is a quick and easy weeknight meal! No drive thru needed for the satisfying cheeseburger flavors you’re craving. The pickles and bacon on top are the perfect garnish. Make this for game day, a chilly night, or anytime you want dinner done in 45 minutes. It’s easy to throw together, and if you’re already at the store you can grab a package of sesame buns to butter and toast for homemade croutons. Originally published March 21, 2014.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients for the Best Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
- How to make Cheeseburger Soup with Velveeta
- Tips for making this Recipe for Cheeseburger Soup
- Cheeseburger Soup Recipe variations and substitutions
- How to Serve the Best Ever Cheeseburger Soup
- How to Store the Best Cheeseburger Soup
- Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
The other day I saw something small on my kitchen floor and bent over to pick it up. I’m on a constant quest to keep the floor spotless, because Truman is still in the stage where he puts everything in his mouth.
But then I realized that it was a piece of lettuce. And I was THIS CLOSE to putting it back.
We’re bringing “tricking our kids into eating vegetables” to a whooooooole different level over here, guys.
Speaking of baby boys, my friend Claire over at Lemon Jelly Cake just had a sweet little boy a few weeks ago. Today I’m posting over there to give her a break so that she can get some freaking sleep snuggle with her baby. (The recipe is now available below.)
Claire asked me to make something that I would bring to a new mom in real life, and I instantly thought of soup, because it’s warm and comforting and fills you up when you need 5,000 calories per meal to keep up with nursing. Or was that just what I told myself way back when?
It really does taste like a bacon cheeseburger, pickles and all. And I don’t even like pickles. This soup is best served immediately because it has fresh iceberg lettuce in it. (Don’t be weirded out. Just trust me.)
Ingredients for the Best Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
Here’s a quick list of everything you need to make this soup. Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for a full list!
- Onion
- Ground beef
- Tomato paste
- Worcestershire sauce
- Yellow mustard
- Beef broth (or use Better than Bouillon beef base, love that stuff)
- Velveeta cheese
- Iceberg lettuce
- Grape or cherry tomatoes
- Chopped pickles (relish would work too, for garnish)
- Bacon (cooked, and crumbled, for garnish)
How to make Cheeseburger Soup with Velveeta
I love how easy this soup is. Here’s how you make it!
Cook the onion and ground beef over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is cooked through. Use a spoon to remove the grease.
Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard, and stir that together for about 2-3 minutes. Add the beef broth and Velveeta. Stir until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
Add the grape tomatoes and lettuce, (it will look like WAY too much, but it will cook down, don’t worry) and simmer until the lettuce has just barely wilted, about 2 minutes.
Garnish with chopped pickles and cooked bacon.
Tips for making this Recipe for Cheeseburger Soup
Here are a couple tips for making this easy cheeseburger soup recipe turn out just right, every time.
- Drain the grease. I already recommend using lean ground beef (like 90/10) for this soup, but you’ll still want to drain off extra grease.
- Garnish right before eating. No one likes soggy lettuce! We’re letting it wilt for just a couple minutes. If you won’t finish off all the soup in one night, consider garnishing individual bowls with lettuce and tomato, rather than adding it all to the soup pot.
Cheeseburger Soup Recipe variations and substitutions
Just like a burger, you can have this soup your way. Here are a few ideas!
- Make it vegetarian. Use a pound of your preferred ground beef substitute (like Impossible plant-based ground beef, or Beyond Beef, or Wegmans “Don’t Have a Cow” crumbles) instead of the regular ground beef. Omit the bacon, of course.
- Sub your meat. Ground turkey works in this too!
- Add mushrooms. Saute up some white button mushrooms or baby bellas and add them as a topping with the lettuce and tomatoes.
- More cheese. If you’re a Swiss burger lover or you’ve got some pepper jack cheese on hand, add a slice or a sprinkling of grated cheese and let it melt on top of the hot soup. Cheddar cheese, Colby jack cheese, it’s all good. The creaminess!!
- Fancy it up. See serving suggestions immediately below for how to gussy up this soup and send it off to the dinner table in style (or just serve it as an easy dinner just the way it is).
- Give it a kick. Add a little hot sauce!
How to Serve the Best Ever Cheeseburger Soup
I serve this soup as a one-and-done kind of dinner, but here are a few ideas for giving your meal a little somethin somethin.
- Brush some sesame seed buns with butter, cut them into 1.5 inch pieces, toast them in the oven, and serve your bun-croutons on top of the soup.
- Make some easy one hour dinner rolls and serve them with the soup.
- Throw some frozen french fries in the oven and serve them on top (or on the side).
- Top each serving with half a toasted, buttered sesame seed bun, like a little hat for the soup (and of course, dip it in).
How to Store the Best Cheeseburger Soup
This cheeseburger soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, but I recommend leaving the lettuce out of whatever portion you’re not serving right away. That way you can add it last minute and get more crispy-crunchy goodness. You can also freeze it for 2-3 months. In this case, I’d recommend adding both the lettuce AND tomatoes after you defrost and reheat it on the stove.
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Cheeseburger Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 1 pound ground beef, the leaner the better
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 16 ounces reduced sodium beef broth, 2 cups
- 8 ounces velveeta made with 2%, half of a small block
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 1/2 cup diced grape tomatoes, or more
- chopped pickles, for garnish
- cooked and crumbled bacon, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large stock pot or dutch oven, add the onion and ground beef. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is cooked through. Use a spoon to remove the grease.
- Add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard, and stir that together for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the beef broth and velveeta. Stir until the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
- Add the grape tomatoes and lettuce, (it will look like WAY too much, but it will cook down, don’t worry) and cook until the lettuce has just barely wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped pickles and cooked bacon.
The blog you guest posted this recipe to is down :-( I bought all of the ingredients and planned on making it tonight but now I can’t access her blog for the recipe!
Ashley, I’m so sorry! I’ve contacted the other blogger but haven’t heard back. I wish I had the recipe somewhere else but I don’t. If you look up cheeseburger soup you will find a million different recipes. All I remember about this one is that you add the chopped lettuce at the end. Good luck, I’m so very sorry! I will email you if I get the recipe from Claire.
I found it Ashley!
Tried this tonight and LOVED it! Thanks for sharing! I love everything I’ve ever tried from your website!
Hooray I’m glad you liked it Brooke! You just made my day, I’m glad my recipes have worked out for you :)
Karen, I saw this recipe on Claire’s Lemon Jelly Cake blog. The soup sounds delicious and looks so easy to make! I’ve enjoyed reading through your blog – great recipes and photos! Your posts really make me laugh. :-) Thanks!
Thanks so much for telling me that Colleen! Comments like this keep me going :) Claire is such a sweetheart for letting me post for her. Let me know if you try the soup :)
This is one of my most favorite soups! I am so glad you like it too. It re-confirms that I’m not completely crazy. (I’m not a maniac- I only play one on my blog.)
Impeccable taste, as usual Ami. Definitely not maniacal.
Cheeseburger-in a soup!!! I need!
Pretty much in love with this idea. Anytime I can have a cheeseburger, no matter the form, I’m in!
Haha right Pamela?? They just can’t be beat.
Haha, that is definitely a great way to get the kids to eat more vegetables! You’re so funny Karen, seriously! This soup sounds so yummy!
You should try it natalie. I feel like you would love this soup.
This looks absolutely mouthwatering as always, Karen! Will definitely head over to check out the recipe – I have a feeling I need it very soon. Good thing I have yet to go grocery shopping for the week, ha! Thanks for your awesome parenting tip – I am taking notes for later, lol.
This sounds SO good! It is still freezing enough for soup weather and I can’t wait to pop this into the rotation. Anything in hamburger form is my friend :) PS: I’m stopping by from Lemon Jelly Cake :)
Thanks for coming by Amy! I’m so sad that it’s still freezing where you are!! Come hang out in California with me :)
Love the soup! Chuckling about the lettuce :)
Haha, thanks Laura! Me too.
Why did I never think of that? Cheeseburger soup sounds uhmazing!! Thanks for sharing – can’t wait to try it! :D
uhamazing is right Beeta! :) And you just can’t beat how fast it is, for soup.
Hey girl…whatever it takes to get those veggies in em! I won’t judge. :)
Haha thanks Courtney. Although I’m kinda judging myself.
Cute post as always! Very creative soup!
Aw thanks Cheri! You’re so sweet!
We used to have a little joke in our house when our kids were going through that phase of putting everything in their mouth, that we should just throw their dinner on the floor, and then maybe they’d actually eat it. Pickles as a garnish – I LIKE the way you think. We used to order this cheeseburger pizza from Godfather’s forever ago and we loved it because they put sliced pickles on top. They stopped doing it though, so sad.
That’s such a good idea! Truman is always scrounging around under his high chair for food that he threw overboard at the previous meal anyway :)
Ermagawd you are hilarious! You should just start “accidentally” “dropping” veggies on the floor all over the place, like in his crib. Did you turn cheeseburger into soup?! You’re amazing! Heading over to check out the guest post.
Haha, like in his crib?? hahahaha