Hearty and oh so good! This cheeseburger soup is quick to come together and loaded with so many healthy ingredients. Full of ground beef, onions, carrots, potatoes, spinach, and a bit of cream and fresh cheddar. All real ingredients that make this soup one of our family’s favorites.

A little on the Lighter Side

From what I have seen online, this cheeseburger soup is a bit on the lighter side than many other recipes out there. It does have heavy cream and cheese, but it is not a thick creamy soup. Yet, it is hearty and full of real food ingredients.

I find that the chopping and prepping of a soup is actually quite relaxing. And there definitely is some of that for this soup. Read on for some tips below for how to make some of this go a bit quicker.

Ingredients for Cheeseburger Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pounds ground beef (or 1 pound ground beef and one pound ground sausage)
1 med-large yellow onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups potatoes, cubed
6 cups chicken or beef broth (homemade makes this soup so good)
2 cups fresh spinach or other greens such as kale or Swiss chard
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1-2 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp black pepper
1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Jump to Recipe

Step by Step Instructions

1. Put the oil in the Dutch Oven and let warm up. Throw in the onions, celery, and carrots and sauté until soft. Add in the garlic the last minute of cooking time. Salt and pepper the veggies after a few minutes of cooking.

chopped onions, celery, carrots, and garlic for the soup

2. Then add the ground beef into the soup pot to brown up and cook most of the way. I add some more salt and pepper now.

3. Then add the broth, potatoes, herbs, and more salt, and pepper if needed. Heat until boiling and reduce heat to a soft boil and boil for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

4. Taste soup and adjust seasonings.

5. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach or kale. Then add in the cream. Give it a stir and then add the cheese and stir until melted.

Toppings that would be Great On the Cheeseburger Soup

We usually do not add any toppings to this soup and love it just the way it is, but there are several things you could do to go the extra step.

Toss on some homemade crunchy croutons. Here is a quick recipe.
Cook up some bacon until crunchy and throw it on the top
Chop up a few green onions for a topping

Non-Dairy Option

My husband can’t do much dairy so when I make this soup, I take out a portion for him before adding the cream and cheese. He still loves it, so those two ingredients could be omitted and you would a have dairy-free soup.

You could also use coconut cream instead of dairy cream and omit the cheese for dairy-free.

Tips for Making the Soup Come together

This recipe is a great way to use the already sautéed ground beef and onions that I have on hand in my freezer. What I like to do when I bring home a big container of ground beef is sauté it up right away with an onion and then put it in the freezer in 2 cup packages. This makes one less step for me when making the soup. Just start with sautéing the carrots and celery.
If you don’t have enough cheddar, use any other cheese except maybe mozzarella. Once we used some sliced munster because we didn’t have anything else and it was so good. The best is the combo of the two types, but use what you have.
If you have fresh herbs, you can use them instead of the dried. Just add in more.
As with most of my soups, the measurements are a guideline and I rarely stick to the exact amounts listed above. If there is a little more or less of something, it will be ok. Soup is easy like that.
As always, homemade soups are best with homemade soup broth. If you haven’t made your own before, jump over here to see how easy it can be.