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A hearty, creamy cheeseburger soup made with ground beef, Yukon Gold potatoes, cheddar cheese, and plenty of vegetables. This big-batch recipe serves 6–8 and is one of my kids’ frequent requests once fall and winter roll around.

Cheeseburger soup is one of those meals that starts getting requested around here as soon as the weather turns cooler.

It’s hearty enough to be dinner on its own, it makes a good-sized pot for a family, and it has all the things my kids tend to love: ground beef, potatoes, cheddar cheese, and a creamy broth.

Overhead view of cheeseburger soup in a white bowl topped with shredded cheddar, croutons, and chives, on a wooden board with a spoon and striped kitchen towel.

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This particular batch also ended up being a good example of why I like keeping ingredients prepped ahead.

I already had cooked ground beef frozen in Souper Cubes, and the onions, carrots, and celery were leftover from prep I had done earlier. The only vegetable I actually had to chop for dinner was the potatoes.

That meant I could get a big pot of soup going without starting completely from scratch—and the kids were still talking about it days later. I should have made more.

Why This Cheeseburger Soup Works for a Family Dinner

This isn’t a tiny soup recipe. It makes a substantial batch and should serve about 6–8 people, depending on serving size and what you serve alongside it.

I also prefer using regular shredded cheddar here rather than processed cheese. I used raw cheddar in this batch because that’s what I had, but raw cheese certainly isn’t required. A good regular cheddar works just fine.

The Yukon Gold potatoes are another easy shortcut. I leave the skins on, so there’s no peeling required. Just wash, dice, and add them to the pot.

Prep Ahead and Make Dinner Faster

One of the easiest ways I’ve found to make home-cooked dinners more manageable is to take advantage of prep I’ve already done.

For this batch, I used previously cooked ground beef that I had frozen in portions. The onion, carrots, and celery were also already chopped.

Diced red onion and celery sliding off a wooden cutting board into a pot with frozen blocks of cooked ground beef.

Instead of browning meat and prepping four different vegetables at dinnertime, I only needed to chop the potatoes and start adding ingredients to the pot.

You certainly don’t have to prep anything ahead to make this recipe. I’ve included directions for starting with raw ground beef below. But if you already have cooked beef or chopped vegetables waiting in the refrigerator or freezer, this is a great recipe for putting them to work.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded or finely chopped carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
4 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, diced and left unpeeled
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup sour cream
Chopped chives and croutons, optional for serving

Hand holding a sprig of fresh basil over a pot of simmering potatoes, ground beef, and vegetables.

How to Make Cheeseburger Soup

Cook the ground beef. If you’re starting with raw beef, brown 1 pound of ground beef in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Drain excess grease and set the beef aside. If you’re using previously cooked ground beef like I did, you can skip this step.
Cook the vegetables. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook until they begin to soften.
Add the potatoes and broth. Add the diced Yukon Gold potatoes, chicken broth, cooked ground beef, fresh basil, and parsley.
Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, approximately 10–15 minutes depending on how large you’ve cut them.
Make the roux. In a small skillet or saucepan, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the butter-and-flour mixture to the soup and stir well. Allow the soup to cook until it begins to thicken.
Make it creamy. Reduce the heat and stir in the milk followed by the shredded cheddar. Stir gently until the cheese has completely melted into the soup.
Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Taste and add additional salt if needed.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the sour cream.
Ladle into bowls and top with chopped chives and croutons, if desired.

Milk being poured from a glass jar into a pot of cheeseburger soup while a wooden spoon stirs.

Do I Have to Peel Yukon Gold Potatoes?

No. I don’t peel them for this soup.

Yukon Gold skins are thin, and leaving them on saves an entire prep step. Give the potatoes a good scrub, dice them into relatively even pieces, and they’re ready for the pot.

Broth poured from a glass jar over diced unpeeled Yukon Gold potatoes, ground beef, and vegetables in a pot.

Keeping the pieces similar in size also helps them finish cooking at about the same time.

Can I Use Regular Cheddar Cheese?

Yes.

I used raw cheddar cheese when I made this batch because that’s what I had on hand, but it isn’t necessary for the recipe. Use a cheddar you enjoy eating.

Shredded cheddar cheese sliding off a wooden cutting board into a pot of creamy cheeseburger soup.

I prefer shredding cheese from a block for creamy soups like this. Add it with the heat turned down and stir until it’s melted rather than aggressively boiling the soup after the cheese goes in.

Can I Use Frozen Cooked Ground Beef?

Absolutely—and that’s exactly what I did.

I often cook ground beef ahead and freeze it in portions using Souper Cubes. For a recipe like this, having the beef already cooked takes another step out of dinner prep.

If your beef is frozen, you can thaw it first or add it to the soup while the broth heats, allowing it to thaw and warm through as everything cooks.

What to Serve With Cheeseburger Soup

Honestly, this one doesn’t need much.

With beef, potatoes, vegetables, cheese, and a creamy broth, it’s already a pretty complete meal. I finished our bowls with croutons and chopped chives, which gives the soup a little extra texture and color without adding another side dish to dinner.

Bowl of cheeseburger soup topped with croutons and chopped chives beside the pot and a small dish of croutons.

A loaf of bread or simple rolls would also work well if you want something for dipping.

A Good Recipe for Using What You Already Have

This is exactly the kind of dinner I want Pantry to Plate to be about.

Not every homemade dinner has to begin with an empty cutting board and an hour of prep. Sometimes the work you did earlier—cooking extra beef, chopping vegetables while you’re already using the cutting board, or keeping a stocked pantry—pays you back later.

For this meal, the beef was already cooked. Most of the vegetables were already chopped. I grabbed potatoes, broth, dairy, and a few pantry staples and had a substantial pot of soup going quickly.

Close-up of creamy cheeseburger soup with potato chunks, ground beef, shredded cheddar, and croutons in a white bowl.

And considering the kids were still talking about it days later, I’ll probably take their advice next time and make even more.

A Few Things I Use

Souper Cubes – for freezing cooked ground beef in portions.
Dutch oven – for big-batch soups.
Raw cheddar cheese – the raw cheddar I used in this batch.