15 Easy Cheeseburger Soup to Try Tonight

Cheeseburger soup takes everything you love about a juicy burger – seasoned beef, melted cheddar, soft potatoes – and turns it into one comforting bowl you can eat with a spoon. It's ready in about an hour, uses a single pot for easy cleanup, and reheats beautifully for lunches all week. Below you'll find 15 ways to make it, from the classic stovetop version to slow-cooker, Instant Pot, bacon-loaded and lightened-up takes, so there's a bowl for every craving and every night of the week.

This is the base recipe everything else on the list builds from: browned ground beef, sautéed onion, carrot and celery, diced potatoes simmered in stock, then finished with a butter-and-flour roux, milk, sharp cheddar and a spoonful of sour cream. The result is a thick, hearty soup that tastes exactly like a cheeseburger in bowl form. Stick with 80/20 ground beef for flavour and drain it well so the finished soup isn't greasy.

For busy nights, swap the raw diced potatoes for a 700 g (1.5 lb) bag of frozen diced hash browns, which cook through in half the time and skip the peeling and chopping. Use pre-shredded cheddar and jarred minced garlic to shave off another five minutes of prep. The soup is on the table in under 30 minutes and tastes just as rich as the long version.

Cook 150 g (5 oz) of chopped bacon first and use a tablespoon of the rendered fat in place of butter to sauté the vegetables, then brown the beef in the same pot for extra smoky depth. Stir most of the crispy bacon into the soup and save a little to scatter on top with the cheese. This version is noticeably richer and meatier, closer to an actual bacon cheeseburger than a plain one.

Brown the beef and soften the vegetables on the stovetop first, then transfer everything to a slow cooker with the stock and potatoes and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours until the potatoes are meltingly tender. Stir in the milk, cheese and sour cream during the last 20-30 minutes so the dairy doesn't separate over long, slow heat. This is the easiest hands-off version for a cold day, since the slow cooker does most of the work.

Replace the shredded cheddar with 225 g (8 oz) of cubed processed cheese such as Velveeta, which melts into a silkier, glossier soup with no risk of graininess. Add it off the heat in small handfuls, stirring until fully melted before adding more. It's the closest you'll get to a diner-style cheese sauce texture.

Strip the recipe back to ground beef, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, potatoes, a tin of condensed cheddar cheese soup and milk for a version that takes ten minutes of active work. Skip the roux entirely, since the condensed soup already thickens the base. It's not as complex as the classic, but it's genuinely useful on the nights you don't want to think about cooking.

Use a full 350 g (12 oz) of cheese here, split between sharp cheddar for flavour and mild cheddar for smooth melting, and stir it in gradually over low heat so it doesn't split. A final handful of cheese melted on top just before serving gives every bowl a molten layer. Keep the heat low once the cheese goes in – boiling melted cheese is the main reason this soup turns grainy.

Brown the beef using the sauté function, add the stock and potatoes, then seal and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes with a quick release. Whisk the flour into the milk separately before stirring it in on the sauté setting, then add the cheese once the soup is off the boil. This version delivers the same long-simmered flavour in about 20 minutes total.

Stretch 350 g (12 oz) of ground beef further by adding an extra cup of diced potatoes and using a mild processed cheese instead of a premium cheddar, which costs less and still melts smoothly. Frozen mixed vegetables replace fresh carrot and celery without sacrificing much flavour. This version feeds the same number of people for noticeably less at the till.

Swap the ground beef for lean ground turkey and use reduced-fat milk and a light cream cheese instead of sour cream to cut the richness without losing the cheeseburger flavour. Because turkey releases less fat, you'll need the full amount of butter for the roux rather than skimming any off. It's noticeably lighter but still thick and satisfying.

Leave the potatoes in larger, rougher chunks and skip blending or mashing any of it, so the finished soup has a chunky, stew-like texture rather than a smooth one. Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce and a bay leaf while it simmers for a deeper, savoury background note. Serve it in big farmhouse bowls with crusty bread for mopping up the last of the cheese.

Combine the classic recipe with baked-potato toppings: pile on crispy bacon bits, extra shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream and sliced spring onions right before serving. Using russet potatoes rather than waxy ones gives the soup a slightly fluffier texture that mimics a loaded jacket potato. This is the version to make when you want maximum toppings and maximum comfort.

Drop the black pepper to a pinch and use a mild cheddar so the flavour is gentle enough for younger palates, while keeping the same beef, potato and vegetable base everyone else is eating. Dice the vegetables extra small so fussier eaters don't pick them out. It's an easy way to get a vegetable-packed dinner past kids without a fuss.

This version combines the best tricks from every other one on the list: bacon fat for sautéing, a proper roux for body, a mix of sharp and mild cheddar, and a splash of sour cream stirred in off the heat for tang. Taste and adjust the salt right at the end, since the cheese and stock both add their own. Reader feedback consistently points to this combination as the most balanced and craveable of the bunch.

Brown the beef, then sauté the vegetables and build the entire soup in the same large pot or Dutch oven without dirtying a second pan for the roux. Push the cooked vegetables to one side, melt the last of the butter in the cleared space, whisk in the flour, then stir everything back together. It's the classic recipe with one goal in mind: less washing up.

Shred your own cheese from a block rather than using pre-shredded bags, which are coated in anti-caking starch that can make the soup slightly grainy. Add the cheese and milk over low heat and stir constantly, since boiling dairy is the single most common reason this soup breaks or curdles. If the soup is thinner than you'd like, mash a few of the cooked potato cubes against the side of the pot to thicken it naturally without extra flour.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with classic burger extras: crispy bacon, extra shredded cheddar, diced pickles, sliced spring onion or a few halved cherry tomatoes. Serve alongside toasted brioche buns, garlic bread or oyster crackers for dunking, and add a simple green salad on the side to balance the richness. A drizzle of ketchup or burger sauce swirled on top leans even further into the cheeseburger theme.

Cool the soup completely before transferring it to an airtight container and refrigerating for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, stirring often and adding a splash of milk or stock to loosen it, since the potatoes and cheese thicken further once chilled. Freezing isn't recommended once the cheese and dairy are added, as it tends to separate and turn grainy on thawing; if you want to freeze ahead, freeze the soup base before adding the milk, cheese and sour cream, then stir those in fresh after reheating.