Description
Easy slow cooker cheeseburger soup recipe with ground beef, potatoes, carrots, and melted cheese. Ready in 6 hours with minimal prep work.
Ingredients
The Hearty Base:
- 1 pound ground beef (80/20 blend works perfectly for flavor)
- 4 small potatoes, peeled and diced (Yukon Gold are my favorite for creaminess)
- 1 small white onion, chopped (yellow onion works too)
- 1 cup shredded carrots (pre-shredded saves time, but fresh is even better)
The Flavorful Liquid:
- 3 cups beef broth (about 2 cans – I love the rich, deep flavor)
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup (this adds incredible richness)
The Perfect Seasonings:
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (gives it that special something)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic (fresh or jarred both work)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
The Creamy Finish:
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (sharp cheddar is divine)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into smaller pieces (room temperature melts easier)
Instructions
Heat up your skillet and brown the ground beef over medium-high heat. Break it up as it cooks. Takes about 6 minutes until there’s no pink left. Drain the grease in the sink – trust me, you don’t want greasy soup.
Pro Tip: My mom always said brown your meat first. She was right about this one. Raw meat dumped straight in the crockpot tastes bland compared to properly browned beef.
Dump everything into your crockpot – the beef, potatoes, onion, and carrots. I give it a quick stir because it makes me feel useful, even though the crockpot does all the actual work here.
Pour the beef broth in first, then add the cream of mushroom soup. Stir everything together. Sometimes stuff sticks to the bottom so scrape it up – those bits taste good.
Add the Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir it all up. My kitchen already smells amazing at this point and I haven’t even turned the thing on yet.
Put the lid on. Cook 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high. Check that the potatoes are soft with a fork when time’s up. By hour 4, my whole house smells like comfort food heaven.
Pro Tip: Low setting is better if you have time. Everything gets more tender and flavors blend together better. High works when I’m rushing around and forgot to start early.
About 30 minutes before eating, add both cheeses. Stir gently and cover again. Everything melts into this gorgeous creamy mess that looks like expensive restaurant soup.
Ladle into bowls while it’s hot. I set out little bowls of chopped green onions, bacon bits, and diced tomatoes for toppings. My teenagers dump bacon on everything like it’s a food group.
Notes
Start with room temperature cream cheese whenever possible – it melts so much smoother and faster. If you forgot to take it out ahead of time, just pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to soften it up. When browning your ground beef, don’t overcrowd the pan or move it around too much – let it develop those gorgeous brown bits that add incredible flavor.
Here’s a game-changer: if your soup seems too thin at the end, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water and stir it in during the last 15 minutes. If it’s too thick, just splash in a little extra beef broth until it’s perfect. And please, please taste before serving – sometimes a little extra salt or pepper makes all the difference in the world.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours (LOW) or 3 hours (HIGH)
- Category: Soup
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1⅓ cups
- Calories: 640
- Sugar: 8g
- Sodium: 1,150mg
- Fat: 42g
- Saturated Fat: 20g
- Unsaturated Fat: 18g
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 28g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 32g
- Cholesterol: 125mg