One-Pot Macaroni Cheeseburger Soup – NO VELVEETA!
This cheeseburger soup recipe takes just 30 minutes to throw together and everything cooks in one pot! It’s an easy, cheesy comfort food that your whole family will love – and it’s made without VELVEETA! Just real, whole ingredients that you can feel good about feeding your family!
The Best One-Pot Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
- This macaroni soup recipe combines all of the flavors you love of cheeseburgers and macaroni and cheese. It’s got all the same ingredients as your favorite burger, minus the ketchup and mustard, and add perfectly al dente macaroni noodles that boil right along with the other ingredients! It might sound like an odd combination, but I promise you the creamy, cheesy base combined with al dente elbow noodles, and seasoned ground beef is a *chef’s kiss* bowl of delicious!
- One of the best parts about this soup is that it’s made with all real ingredients! No processed Velveeta cheese here! The creaminess comes from a simple roux made by coating the veggies in flour, and then adding broth, heavy cream, and sharp cheddar.
Ingredients for Cheeseburger Soup
Ground Beef
I like to use 80/20 organic grass-fed ground beef for this recipe. Feel free to use plant-based meat or black beans in place of the beef if you want to keep it vegetarian. Or use ground turkey for a bit of extra protein. Feel free to add some crispy crumbled bacon and transform this into a bacon cheeseburger soup recipe as well!
Onion, Carrot, Celery
This combination is also referred to as mirepoix. These aromatic vegetables form the base for many soups and stews. Check your grocery store for a pre-chopped mirepoix mix to save prep time!
Garlic
Freshly minced garlic is going to add a delicious depth of flavor to this soup. Feel free to sub with half a teaspoon or so of garlic powder in place of the fresh garlic.
Dried Herbs
Dried oregano and dried thyme are my herbs of choice. You could also use Italian seasoning as a substitute.
Flour
All-purpose flour works best in this recipe. It’s going to give your soup the perfect creamy texture without having to add a cornstarch slurry.
Chicken Broth
Feel free to use veggie broth or beef broth in place of the chicken broth if you’d like.
Elbow Macaroni
You can use your favorite short cut of pasta for this soup. I love the classic shape of elbow macaroni noodles but feel free to use whatever your family likes! If you’re looking to use different carbohydrates in place of the pasta, try diced Russet or Yukon gold potatoes (simmer just until fork tender). You could even try cauliflower for a low-carb option if you’d like!
Heavy Cream
Heavy cream is what gives this soup its rich, silky texture and hearty flavor. You could sub half and half in its place but the consistency of the soup will be a bit thinner.
Sharp Cheddar
This gives the soup a delicious cheesy flavor and creamy texture. Sharp cheddar on its own has quite a strong flavor, but when it is combined with all the ingredients in this soup it mellows and tastes delicious! Feel free to sub with mild cheddar if you prefer.
How to Make Cheeseburger Soup in One Pot
Hamburger Bun Croutons
- A fun way to complete the cheeseburger theme in this soup is to make crispy, crunchy croutons out of sesame-seed hamburger buns. You can use my super simple homemade crouton recipe as a guide.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place sesame seed bun cubes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and whatever seasonings you’d like – I love dried oregano and garlic powder – and toss to coat evenly. Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy on the outside.
Cheeseburger Soup
While the sesame bun croutons are baking, heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground beef, oregano, thyme, salt, and pepper. Brown the beef, crumbling with a spatula until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
Heat butter in the same large pot over medium heat (no need to wipe out or drain the grease). Saute onion, carrots, and celery, along with a large pinch of salt and pepper in the same pot over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Reduce heat, add garlic, oregano, and thyme, and cook for another minute.
Then add flour and stir to coat veggies. Cook for one more minute, stirring frequently.
Add a splash of chicken broth to deglaze the pot, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom.
Stir in the remaining chicken broth and macaroni noodles along with another pinch of salt and pepper and bring to a simmer.
Simmer for 5-7 minutes or pasta is al dente. Stir in heavy cream and shredded cheese.
Then add the white balsamic vinegar and cooked ground beef back into the pot.
Heat the soup over medium heat for a couple of minutes, until the beef is heated through. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve soup with sesame seed bun croutons and garnish with green onions and shredded cheddar cheese and enjoy!
Tips for Making the Best Cheeseburger Soup
- Shred your own cheese. Freshly shredded cheese melts better and will give you a smoother texture. It’s worth the extra few minutes of prep! Pre-shredded cheeses are coated in cellulose which helps prevent them from clumping but also means they won’t melt as well.
- This cheeseburger chowder will thicken as it cools. Feel free to add an extra splash or two of broth of cream to loosen it up.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is cheese soup made of?
This cheesy soup is made with a variety of veggies, macaroni noodles, and ground beef along with sharp cheddar, heavy cream, and chicken broth. It’s an easy, cheesy soup that your whole family will love!
How do you add cheddar to soup?
The best way to add shredded cheddar to soup is towards the end of the cooking time and along with heavy cream. You’ll want to make sure that the soup isn’t too hot when you add the cheese or it will turn grainy in texture instead of melting into the soup. The heavy cream helps to bring the temp of the soup down a bit and allow the cheese to melt nicely into the broth.
What is cheeseburger soup made of?
It is made with ground beef, mirepoix, dried herbs, flour, broth, elbow macaroni, heavy cream, and sharp cheddar cheese. You won’t see any Velveeta on this ingredient list! And the best part is that it all cooks together in one pot!
Make Cheeseburger Soup Ahead of Time
Because the noodles are cooked right in the pot, this soup is going to thicken considerably when made ahead of time and the noodles will continue to soak up moisture as it sits. If you want to make this soup ahead, I recommend cooking the noodles separately and then combining the soup with the noodles just before serving so that the consistency stays smooth and creamy and the noodles aren’t mushy. If you’ll be enjoying this soup right away, however, this won’t be a problem!
Storing Leftover Cheeseburger Soup
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. As mentioned above, the noodles will continue to soak up moisture as they sit, however, the soup will still be delicious after a day or two in the fridge!
Reheating Cheeseburger Soup
Reheat soup in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until warmed through. You will likely need to add a splash of broth or cream to loosen the soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving!
Things You Can Add to Cheeseburger Soup
Feel free to add more of your favorite flavors to this cheeseburger chowder! Some of our suggestions include:
- shredded pepper jack cheese
- crispy bacon
- fresh chopped parsley
- sour cream
- dill pickles
- diced tomatoes
More Easy Soup Recipes
Did you love this recipe?
Please leave a 5-star rating and review below!
One Pot Macaroni Cheeseburger Soup
This cheeseburger soup recipe takes just 30 minutes to throw together and everything cooks in one pot! It’s an easy, cheesy comfort food that your whole family will love – and it’s made without VELVEETA!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme, divided
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 8 oz. uncooked elbow macaroni
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
For the Croutons:
- 4 sesame seed buns, diced into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Garnish:
- sliced green onion, for garnish
- shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place sesame seed bun cubes in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat evenly. Bake for 10 minutes or until crispy on the outside.
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 pound ground beef, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Brown ground beef, crumbling with a spatula until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Heat 6 tablespoons of butter in the same large pot over medium heat (no need to wipe it out or drain the grease).
- Add 1 cup diced onion, 1 cup sliced carrots, 1 cup sliced celery, and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and add 5 cloves minced garlic, the remaining 1 teaspoon oregano, and the remaining 1 teaspoon thyme, and cook for another minute.
- Then add 4 tablespoons flour and stir to coat veggies. Cook for one more minute, stirring frequently.
- Add a splash of chicken broth to deglaze the pot, scraping all the yummy bits off the bottom.
- Stir in the rest of the 8 cups of chicken broth and 8 oz. of uncooked macaroni noodles along with another pinch of salt and pepper. Turn heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer.
- Once it begins to simmer, turn the heat to low and simmer for 5-7 minutes or pasta is al dente. Stir occasionally to prevent noodles from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Remove soup from heat. Stir in 1 cup of heavy cream and 8 oz. of shredded cheese.
- Then add 1 teaspoon of white balsamic vinegar. Add cooked ground beef back into the pot. Heat the soup over medium heat for a couple minutes, until the beef is heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve soup with sesame seed bun croutons and garnish with green onions and shredded cheddar cheese and enjoy!
Notes
- Shred your own cheese. Freshly shredded cheese melts better and will give you a smoother texture. It’s worth the extra few minutes of prep! Pre-shredded cheeses are coated in cellulose which helps prevent them from clumping but also means they won’t melt as well.
- This cheeseburger chowder will thicken as it cools. Feel free to add an extra splash or two of broth of cream to loosen it up.
Absolutely delicious! Followed recipe as is, and it was easy and fun to make. Adding this to our soup rotation…thank you so much for sharing.
I’d don’t buy balsamic vinegar. What can I use in its place?
Do you have apple cider vinegar, white vine vinegar, or red wine vinegar? Any splash of acid will cut the richness and boost the flavors!
It was great soup but I have to agree, it really the taste of a cheeseburger. I added some kale for additional nutrition and cooked the pasta out to serve on the side. It makes a big batch so if I want to freeze it I can without the worry of mushy pasta. Overall great flavour and will definitely make again. Thank you
Does this freeze well?
I don’t love to freeze this soup just because of the pasta. It can have a bit of an odd texture after freezing, thawing, and being reheated. If you freeze it without the noodles though I think it would be great!!!
Could I add diced potatoes into this soup as well?
Sure! I’d recommend either cooking the pasta or the potatoes separately because it would be hard to cook them both in the same soup and not over or under cook one of them.
Hello!
What could I use instead of heavy cream? I have milk and buttermilk on hand – do you think either of those would be okay?
Yes! I think either would work! The consistency of the soup will just be thinner.
5 stars!
Glad to hear it, Tammy!
Is the elbow macaroni measured by a cup or by weight?
The dry pasta is measured in ounces by weight in this recipe.
My husband and I thought it was delicious! I used half and half instead of heavy cream. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers.
Hey Kylie – since it was 150* here in Omaha today😜 I decided to make this soup! I thought it came together very easily. I followed the recipe to a “T” however as a major cheese lover originally from Wisconsin, I elected to add more cheddar! You can never have too much cheese, right!? It makes a lot and as a single gal, it provides me the opportunity to share some. I will make this again & saved the recipe.
I also wanted to mention it was great using REAL cheese, thank you for that. 😊🧀.
GO PACK GO!
Haha I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed this soup, Janae! I agree that all weather is soup weather! Even when it’s 100+!!! You are totally right – you can NEVER have too much cheese 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
I have not made the soup yet, but it does look delicious my husband and I both love a big Mac, once in a while, I thought of when serving the soup adding a dash of Russian dressing to the bowl. Does that sound good?
I bet that would be a delicious addition, Connie! Can’t wait to hear what you think if you give it a try!
Amazing!
Overall this was good, but… Usually I don’t take time to leave reviews on recipes unless their life changing good but the incongruence between the title of the recipe and the taste of the end result really got me. I just had to scan the other reviews and see if anyone has the same experience. This doesn’t hint at the taste of cheeseburgers really. The thyme and oregano are quite over powering and I’d back off if I made this again. I’m not sure what you’d add to this instead of those spices to impart a cheeseburger taste, I see one person suggested pickle juice and Worcestershire and I’d say that’s getting closer! The texture of the soup was wonderful, smooth and creamy! My family ate it without complaining but definitely thought that it didn’t qualify as “cheeseburger” ish. You’ve got something going on here, just not a “cheeseburger” soup. Haha
Can you add potatoes?
Sure! Potatoes would be a great addition! Dependingon their size and which potato you use, you may need to boil them for a bit longer than the pasta. Or you could use potatoes instead of the pasta. Or cook the pasta separately. So many possibilities!
Looks delicious and I can’t wait to make it. Do you think I could use canned evaporated milk instead of the heavy cream?
I think that would work – yes. It may make the consistency slightly thinner but I think the flavor will still be delicious!
This looks great! Could it be done in a crockpot?
I haven’t tried it but I think it could work! I’m going to publish the comment in hopes that another reader might share if they’re tried it!