Cheeseburger Soup
Updated November 19, 2025
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
- Ready In
- 35 min
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups beef broth
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
2 cups shredded yellow Cheddar, plus more for serving
Chopped scallions (optional), for serving
Diced tomato (optional), for serving
Crumbled cooked bacon (optional), for serving
Sour cream (optional), for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up into small pieces, until just barely pink, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate and set aside; pour off any fat.
- Step 2
Heat the olive oil in the same pot over medium. Add the diced onion, celery, carrot, minced garlic, mustard powder, paprika and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until the onion is just softened and everything is fragrant.
- Step 3
Adjust the heat to medium-high, then stir in the broth, potatoes and reserved beef; cover to bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are just soft when pierced with a fork, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk until light tan and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add milk and continue to whisk until thickened, making sure no lumps form, 4 to 5 minutes more.
- Step 5
Add the milk mixture to the pot along with the shredded Cheddar. Stir until the cheese is incorporated and the soup is fully warmed through and creamy, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Keep warm over medium heat until ready to serve. Serve topped as desired, with shredded Cheddar, chopped tomatoes and scallions, crumbled bacon and sour cream. (Soup can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.)
Private Notes
Comments
Kinda crazy but added diced pickle as a garnish at the end and it was fantastic!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! My son loves cheeseburger soup, but I'm always finding "mid" recipes online and trying to make them less dense, cloying, or ... velveeta-ish. Made this as written (except subbed chicken broth for beef) and it just tasted like a hearty soup made of real food. We all loved it.
@JAA— It did seem wise to cut back on the oil, eliminate the butter (& flour, use cornstarch), and reduce the milk. But of course it’s necessary to use all the cheese, plus more for topping. A great recipe: rich and satisfying, even with the fats reduced as described.
We loved this soup. Rich and satisfying. I took other's advice and upped the paprika and mustard powder to a tablespoon, cooked bacon in the soup in addition to using as a garnish (I cooked it in the pan first) and added chopped pickles as a garnish. And I added dried thyme. Also, I added the cheese gradually to the milk sauce, not directly into the soup. Not sure if it makes a difference but I have had bad experiences with cheese not melting into a sauce properly. Will definitely make again.
We don't eat beef, so I used ground chicken and chicken broth. The kid doesn't like potatoes, sigh, so I added a can of diced tomatoes and used potato chips as a garnish. It definitely needs acid, though. Next time, I will increase the spices, and add some pickle juice to the broth.
Good but takes way longer than 35 to cook and prepare. Took me about an hour to