Hey all! Here's a YUMMY new soup...and it's not just any sort of soup. It's crockpot cheeseburger soup! It's creamy, EASY and absolutely amazing tasting...
My nephew had this at a friend's house and was telling me about it. He was all excited and wanted me to try and make it. I honestly had no idea where to start...then I thought "hey, Velveeta"...and we were off to the races.
Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
And after making it and it coming out of the crock pot absolutely DELISH the first time...I looked online. Now, I didn't think I was the first one to make it because I honestly don't think there are that many original ideas in the world. But there are several versions of this recipe. This one is ours.
And we made up a couple of variations of this recipe too. Some, just for tastes. Some, for health and dietary needs. Unfortunately, no variety is low fat... I just don't see how that could be possible with creamy, cheesy soup.
But that's okay. Moderation for me. Not the first night we had it because I was starving and we'd been out super late. But the second night and boy, oh boy this stuff is even better on the second night...I ate a smaller bowl and a salad. Yah me 🙂
Here's the original recipe...the healthier versions and the other modifications are down further below. Enjoy! And Rock That Crock!
Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup Topics
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Step by Step for Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup
For our first round of recipe making, we used the following ingredients. It was almost perfect straight out of the gate. If it's too thick for your taste...add a bit more milk.
Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Chicken gravy
- Chicken broth
- Hash browns or diced potatoes
- Velveeta or Shredded Cheese
- Basil
- Parsley
- Sour cream
- Milk or Evaporated Milk
- Salt and pepper
Prep for Cheeseburger Soup
You are obviously going to need cooked ground beef...
You can use the traditional skillet if you want. Which I think it cool because I use my cast iron skillets
This is from our Hamburger Tater Tot Casserole recipe. We had this when my sister came over one night...that nephew LOVED it. You can check that out here if you'd like. You can also read about my secondary obsession with cast iron 🙂
You can also opt to do our make-ahead crockpot ground beef. It isn't faster or better...it's just an option. You can cook it away and not have to worry about it!
- You don't have to monitor the stove
- No worries about kids or animals getting popped with grease
- Very little chance of burning
- Takes up one less burner
- So if you are freezer cooking, this can be a lifesaver.
Recipe Variations for Making Cheeseburger Soup Crock Pot Style
Here are just a few options and ideas we came up with for this recipe. If you think of or know anymore...let us know! We'd be happy to learn and share...
Ingredient Substitutions
- Swap out the Velveeta for shredded cheese, any sort of cheese.
- Why, health or taste, your choice. Some folks don't eat Velveeta and that's cool. You can swap any sort of shredded cheese you want here. Some will melt and combine better than others. You can always hit it with an immersion blender if you can't get it to work by just stirring.
- Swap the meats. Swap the ground beef for leftover chicken, ground sausage, smoked sausage...you get the idea! We tried ground pork in a second recipe...YUM!
- Use diced potatoes instead of frozen hash browns.
- Make your own base/chicken gravy. For this recipe, the chicken gravy is actually serving as a base for the soup. If you don't have any or you prefer...you can make your own. It takes a few more minutes but it is easy!
Homemade Chicken Gravy
Homemade Chicken Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 to 2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
- 2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch + 1/4 cup cold water
Instructions
- Bring the chicken stock to boil over medium-high heat
- Dissolve the cornstarch in the COLD water
- Slowly add the cornstarch slurry to the chicken broth/stock while stirring
- Season to taste using the poultry seasoning
Printable & Pinnable for Crock Pot Cheeseburger Soup
Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 med onion chopped
- 2 med carrots diced or shredded
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 can chicken broth 14.5 oz
- 1 can chicken gravy 10 oz
- 3 cups hash brown potatoes
- 12 ounces Velveeta or shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups regular or evaporated milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
All Cooking Methods
- Precook your ground beef and drain most of the grease. If you'd rather get a jump start, check out our make-ahead ground beef recipe.
Slow Cooker
- Add the butter, chicken broth, and chicken gravy, stir well. Add the beef, vegetables, and herbs. Stir again.
- Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours; high 3 to 4 hours.
- About 30 minutes before serving add the cheese and milk using the Instant Pot directions, line #3. Stir and cover. Allow the soup to heat through and the cheese to melt before serving
Instant Pot
- If you haven't cooked the ground beef, use the saute function to cook the meat and onion. Cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onion is translucent. Drain meat but do not blot.
- Turn the pot off and add the carrots, celery, chicken broth, potatoes, basil, and parsley. Close lid and vent, manual high for 7 minutes. Natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release.
- Stir soup base and remove about a cup of the broth. Slowly stir the hot broth with the chicken gravy. Add the milk and stir well. Turn to pot and incorporate.
- Stir in the cheese and sour cream. Turn to saute. Stir frequently until cheeses are melted. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.
Stovetop
- Use a large, deep skillet to saute the ground beef, onion, carrots, and celery over medium-high heat until the meat and onions are cooked through. Drain most of the grease and return to heat.
- Turn heat to medium-low and add the onion, broth, and spices. Cover and cook for 45 to 50 minutes. Or until your vegetables are done to your liking.
- Remove a cup of the liquid and incorporate the gravy and milk into the hot soup base. Slowly add back to the pot while stirring.
- Add the cheese and sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Freezer Meal Directions:
- Make a note on your label and in your meal journal that you will need: 1 1/2 to 3 cups milk/evap milk and 1/4 cup sour cream.
- Precook the ground beef and onions. See Make Ahead Ground Beef for a shortcut.
- Drain most of the grease from the meat/onion combo. Add to 1-gallon bag.
- Add carrots, celery, broth, potatoes, basil, parsley, and butter. Seal with as much air removed as possible.
- Use freezer or painter's tape to attach the main soup bag and the cheese bag. See Chicken Pot Pie to see how I do it.
- Freeze for up to 6 weeks for fresh potatoes, 8 weeks for frozen hashbrowns. Defrost in the refrigerator before cooking.
Notes
More Crockpot Deliciousness!
If this crockpot cheeseburger soup sounds amazing OR if cheeseburger is just sorta your thing...here are MORE cheeseburger ideas. Some are crockpot, some aren't... but it's ALL cheeseburger!
- Cheeseburger Burritos by Meals, Heels, and Cocktails. YUM! For the folks needing it...these would be SO easy to convert to low carb.
- Crock Pot Tater Tot Casserole! This is our recipe. It doesn't say "cheeseburger" in the title but it sure is! There are crockpot, oven AND skillet directions for this baby too!
- Cheeseburger Quesadillas by Yammie's Noshery. All I can say is OMG on this one...I'm making these! Pst...for the taste you get in the Mex restaurants...don't substitute anything for butter when prepping your tortillas. THAT is one of their "secrets".
- Oven Baked Cheeseburgers by Joyful Momma's Kitchen. Don't these look delish! And so easy too 🙂
- Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza by The Girl Who Ate Everything. OH! I've had this! Not Christy's recipe but at an itty bitty pizza joint called Goodfella's in Texas. If you're ever through Sour Lake Texas...oh my goodness..stop! If not, Christy's recipe looks awesome!
- Crock Pot Hamburger Potato Casserole! This is another of our recipes. Nope, it doesn't say "cheeseburger" either. Trust me...add a thin layer of dill pickles right before the cheese layer. Deliciousness!
- Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Casserole by Plain Chicken. Okay...this one steps it up with bacon too! Yummies...
- Crockpot Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf by Everyday Good Thinking. This one adds bacon too. And its a meatloaf! I betcha it'd make an awesome freezer meal AND even better...leftover meatloaf sandwiches...with dill pickles of course.
- Crockpot Cheeseburger Macaroni Casserole! This is another of our recipes. It will please anyone and everyone that likes pasta OR cheeseburgers. Yeck, go wild...add bacon to this one too. Then you'll have bacon cheeseburger macaroni casserole 🙂
- Cheeseburger Tots by Homemade Interest. Oh my, these are soooo cute. Okay, it's food so taste is the rule of the day...not cute. But they are just the same. They'd ROCK for an appetizer too. Or a movie night snack!
- Cheeseburger Crescent Ring by Delish. I haven't made this one but I've eaten it. Worth it! Another one that's awesome as an appetizer or snack BUT it works for a meal too!
If you like this crockpot cheeseburger soup recipe you might want to checkout some our other yummy slow cookin' stuff too 🙂
- 110 Crockpot Freezer Meals! One afternoon, 2 people, 8 recipes
- Crockpot Menu Planning! 60+ meals, most are freezer friendly...prep a little, stress less!
- Ground Beef Freezer Meals Step by step directions and less than and hour for this one
Have you ever made this with sausage? I had it like that once and can't find a recipe. Would this one work if i just substituted the meat?
I sure have! Well, not sausage, but ground pork, so that's pretty close. It works just fine. Just cook it and drain all the grease off before proceeding. It should work great!