The delicious flavours of a cheeseburger in soup form! With ground beef, veggies, cheese and dill pickle juice, this cheesy beef soup in a bread bowl is hearty, delicious and so comforting on a cold day. Top with your favourite hamburger toppings for an extra fun meal you’ll want to make again and again.
This is not diet food.
And I’m totally okay with that.
I’m all about balance and this cheeseburger soup leans towards an indulgent (and totally delicious) treat meal.
As the days get colder and we head more into fall (and subsequently winter), I crave all kinds of comfort food, and this hearty ground beef soup just hits the spot.
It’s quite simple to prepare and super fun served in sourdough bread bowls.
I think what makes this cheeseburger soup a little extra special and burger-like is the dill weed and dill pickle juice in the soup (plus, it’s topped with some chopped pickle for extra pickle flavour). So, if you’re a fan of pickles (like me), you should definitely give this one a go!
Why We Love Cheeseburger Soup
- The name says it all: cheeseburger soup. Period.
- Fan of cheesy burgers? Then this soup gives you those flavours, only in soup form (perfect for cold weather days).
- It’s made in one pot for not much fuss and easy cleanup (and who doesn’t love that?).
- You can make it your own with fun soup toppings (think yummy garnishes like you’d put on a burger). Whip up a batch of soup, set up a garnish station and let everyone top their own bowl.
- Of course, this soup is simply delicious!
How To Make Cheeseburger Soup
Here is an overview of how to make cheeseburger soup (full details are in the recipe card below):
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or soup pot, then cook the ground beef until fully cooked through.
- Add the carrots, celery and onion and cook until the veggies have softened.
- Stir in cubes of potato, then season with salt, black pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Pour in broth and diced tomatoes. Cook until the potatoes are tender.
- Stir in cubes of cream cheese and stir until incorporated.
- Pour in milk, then add shredded cheese (in batches) and not adding more until each batch has incorporated into the soup.
- Add dried dill, dill pickle juice, buffalo sauce and some more salt and pepper. Simmer for a little, then serve.
Tip: Going with the cheeseburger theme, dill pickle juice is added to this soup. Want more pickle flavour? Stir in some chopped dill pickles (and also garnish with some). Cheeseburger soup with pickles is definitely delicious!
Making Bread Bowls
For the bread bowls, I picked up some small round loaves of sourdough bread from my local bakery.
To make each bread bowl, I cut out a circle on the top of the loaf of bread, then scooped out the bread inside.
You want to leave enough bread around the hole so the soup doesn’t leak out. Having said that, of course, some of the soup will absorb into the bread (not a big deal, still totally delicious, just something to keep in mind).
Don’t throw away the bread that was scooped out! It can be used for dressing (stuffing), croutons, salads and so on.
Do I Have To Use Bread Bowls?
Of course not! They add a lot of substance and heft to the meal but are totally optional.
If you simply want to serve the soup in regular bowls, go for it!
The Cheese
Instead of using store-bought shredded cheese, take a few extra minutes and grate your own. It melts a lot easier into the soup, meaning extra cheesy goodness!
Pick a good melting cheese. I like simple mild cheddar cheese here. The recipe calls for two cups or 8 ounces (meaning about a little more than half of a large 400 gram block of cheese). I find that a digital kitchen scale is quite a handy little tool for measuring things.
Can I Add Bacon?
Absolutely! Cheeseburger bacon soup would be fantastic! You can cook some chopped bacon and mix into the soup or serve as a garnish.
Can I Use Ground Turkey Instead?
Definitely! Lighten things up a tad by using ground turkey instead of ground beef. Turkey cheeseburger soup is also super yummy!
Cheeseburger Soup Garnish Ideas
One of my favourite ways to jazz up any meal is with toppings. Some delicious garnish ideas for this cheeseburger soup are:
- Chopped pickle
- Shredded cheese
- Diced pickle
- Pickled sliced jalapeno peppers
- Crispy crumbled bacon
- Shredded lettuce
- Finely chopped red onion
- Sprinkling of ground cayenne pepper
More Easy Ground Beef Recipes
If you make this scrumptious cheeseburger soup recipe, be sure to leave a comment below!
Cheeseburger Soup in a Bread Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1 cup shredded carrots, about 2 large carrots (1 heaping cup)
- 1 cup shredded celery, about 2 large ribs of celery (1 heaping cup)
- 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion, about 1 medium onion (1 heaping cup)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups peeled and diced potatoes, from about 3 to 4 Red or Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 pound before peeling)
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cups no salt added beef broth, or chicken broth
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut into small cubes (half of a 250 gram package)
- 1.5 to 2 cups whole milk, depending on how thick you want the soup
- 2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese, about 8 ounces
- ½ teaspoon dried dill (dill weed)
- ¼ cup dill pickle juice, from your jar of pickles
- 2 tablespoons buffalo sauce
- 6 small round sourdough bread loaves, for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. (I used an enameled cast-iron Dutch oven.)
- Add the ground beef to the pot and cook, breaking the ground beef up into small pieces and stirring occasionally, until fully cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic to the ground beef and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the diced potatoes to the ground beef mixture, stirring in. Season with ½ teaspoon each of salt and black pepper and stir in Worcestershire sauce.
- Pour in broth and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat (to about medium-low) to a simmer, cover and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork or a knife, about 10 to 12 minutes or so.
- To soup, stir in cream cheese until incorporated into the soup. Then stir in milk. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese (in ½ cup increments, not adding more until the previous batch has been incorporated).Note: I used the full 2 cups of milk, but you could use just 1.5 cups of you want the soup thicker.
- Stir in dried dill, dill pickle juice, buffalo sauce and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and remaining ½ teaspoon of black pepper. Gently simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- To make the bread bowls, cut out a circle in the top of each loaf of sourdough, then scoop out some of the interior bread, ensuring you don't cut through the sides of the loaf. You want to leave enough bread around the hole so the soup doesn't leak out and the bread bowls have enough structure (i.e., don't make the circumference of the circle too large). If you want to toast the bread bowls, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, place the loaves on a sheet pan and toast for about 5 to 10 minutes or until they're toasted to your desired doneness (toasting is optional).
- To serve, divide the soup into bread bowls and garnish with your favourite soup toppings. Enjoy! Yields about 6 to 8 servings (6 hearty servings or 8 smaller ones).Note: If you don't want to use bread bowls, that's okay too! Simply ladle the soup into regular soup bowls.
A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Tried this recipe?
If you do make this recipe, thank you!! It would mean so much if you could leave a comment below. Love to know how you enjoyed it, and it helps other readers too!
Kelly | Foodtasia
Dawn, these cheeseburger soup bowls are so cozy and so fun! My kids would love them!
Valentina
I laughed out loud when I read “this is not diet food.” So funny, and I’m totally okay with that, too. I mean c’mon, a cheeseburger in a bread bowl?! Yes, please. I’m so in for this comforting deliciousness. 🙂 ~Valentina
Katherine | Love In My Oven
This is mouth-watering!!! That dill pickle juice!? Genius! I want to tuck right into this Dawn!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
What a yummy bowl of deliciousness! I have to admit, this is the first recipe where I’ve seen pickle juice as an ingredient! But why not…it’s got a lot of great flavor and pickles are perfect with burgers so why not soup! Love putting this in a bread bowl too!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
I had a cheeseburger soup in Buffalo many years ago that I still dream about 🙂 I have never tried to make one at home though, so I can’t wait to try yours. Love the bread bowl, too!
Michelle
What a delicious soup in a bowl! Comfort food at its best!
David @ Spiced
I love that you added a bit of dill pickle juice into this soup – so creative! I’m ok that this isn’t a healthy soup. That’s what January is for! I have always loved a good burger, and this soup is really calling to me. It’s the perfect way to warm my belly on these chilly days!