Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup
146 Comments Mar 13, 2023
Updated Sep 22, 2025
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This Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup is a family favorite cheesy soup filled with cooked ground beef, potatoes, shredded Velveeta cheese, chicken broth, veggies, and seasonings – it may be the most decadent soup you’ll ever try!
Featured Comment
“I love this soup. Last year I entered it into a soup contest and won second place!”
– Karen
Not only is this slow cooker cheeseburger soup a delicious one-pot meal, but it’s also perfect to have any time of the year. You’ll notice that the soup is relatively thick, but I don’t add flour. Instead, I use a combination of chicken broth with Velveeta cheese and cream cheese added toward the end of cooking time. I’ve perfected this slow cooker recipe for you to enjoy.
This is an excellent soup for feeding a crowd during a party, for it’s indulgent party food! It’s very similar to the flavors in rotel dip.
Key Ingredients
This from-scratch cheeseburger soup (well, except for the Velveeta) is easy to put together. See the full recipe in the recipe card below the images.
- Ground Beef: For less grease when browning, opt for lean ground beef.
- Chicken Broth: Using a broth will help create a soupy texture and also give the cheese a substance to help with melting.
- Vegetables: Russet potatoes, carrots, celery, and an onion are added for additional flavor and heartiness to the cheeseburger soup.
- Cheese: Velveeta is the best choice for a smooth soup. Cream cheese is also used as a thickening agent. If you want a cheese-free soup, try my slow cooker hamburger soup.
- Seasonings: Oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper are classic soup seasonings that add the perfect flavor.
How to Make Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup
- Slow cook the beef, veggies, and seasonings in broth until tender.
- Melt in the cheeses toward the end.
- Stir until smooth and serve.
Tips & Variations
This recipe can be adapted to your tastes, see how to do it:
- Potato Swap: Any potato variety works (red, white or gold!). Just be sure to dice them into small cubes so they cook in the allotted time.
- Meat Swap: Ground turkey or chicken can be used but it won’t be as flavorful as ground be would be. Make this bacon cheeseburger soup by adding 8 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon.
- More Veggies: Other vegetables that are great are leeks, mushrooms and green beans.
- Broth Change: You can use beef broth, but I find it overpowers soup recipes like this one.
How to Serve Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup
You don’t need much else to enjoy this soup, but here are my favorite ways to eat:
- Since this is a “cheeseburger” soup, you can add burger-like toppings such as sliced dill pickle, crumbled bacon, coarsely chopped lettuce, and extra shredded cheddar cheese.
- You can keep it in classic soup form by adding optional toppings like chopped green onions, bacon bits, and sour cream. You can also add crunchy toppings like saltine crackers, tortilla chips, or croutons.
- Serve it with homemade garlic bread or cornbread to make it an entire meal. We love to make a loaf of bread in our bread maker.
Can I freeze Cheeseburger Soup?
Yes — you can freeze cheeseburger soup, but keep in mind that soups with potatoes and dairy can change texture after thawing. The potatoes may soften more, and the cheese base can separate slightly. For best results eat within a few days to avoid having to freeze.
Can I use shredded cheese instead of Velveeta?
You can swap Velveeta for freshly shredded sharp cheddar if you prefer. Use about one pound, and stir it in slowly after adding the cream cheese. The texture won’t be as silky, but the flavor will still be delicious.
Crockpot Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
How to Video
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
- 2 russet potatoes, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 celery ribs, peeled and diced
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 lb. Velveeta cheese, (add towards the end of the cooking time)
- 8 oz. cream cheese, (add towards the end of the cooking time)
Instructions
- (note before starting this recipe, the total slow cooking time is 8 hours, the Velveeta cheese and cream cheese are added at the 7th hour and cooked for 1 more hour)
- Add the cooked beef, potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, salt, pepper, basil, garlic powder and chicken broth. DO NOT add Velveeta cheese and cream cheese yet.
- Cover and cook and LOW for 7 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time. (Can cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours, or until the potatoes are tender).
- Cut the velveeta cheese and cream cheese into cubes, add to the soup in the slow cooker. Stir to get the cubes into the soup (they won’t melt straight away).
- Cover and cook for one more hour on low.
- Stir until the cheeses are blended into the soup. Serve and enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More slow cooker soup recipes!
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup, Dill Pickle Soup, and Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana each bring their own unique comfort to the table.
Kielbasa Potato Soup and 7 Can Soup are quick, flavorful options that make dinnertime easy.
For something lighter, Weight Loss Soup is full of fresh vegetables in a satisfying broth.
Hi Sarah!! I absolutely LOVE Cheeseburger Soup!! My little brother used to call it, “Cheesebooger Soup!” LOL!
When I make this soup towards the end when adding the Velveeta cheese and the cream cheese, I kind of change it up. What I do is add half cream cheese and half sour cream, as well as one cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Then let it melt all together like you do. It changes the flavor ever so slightly and it’s super yummy!!
Any way you make this recipe you’ll be totally satisfied! I haven’t met a single person that says they don’t love this stuff! Thank you for sharing!!
I’m not a real fan of Velveeta what is a good sub?
I used some sliced cheese only because I think I used too much broth and it turned out fine. I do however think if you were to go with something else besides velveeta you would need a lot of it. I think you might be able to use block cheese to, but you would have to soften it up before it went in. Good luck!
I don’t like Velveeta either I just used shredded cheddar it was yummy
This soup is DELICIOUS and just won me a Soup-er Bowl trophy at work!!
Yay! I’m so proud of you. Congrats!!!
Why not just do on stove top and get it done!!
This is a slow cooker website. If you did this on the stove you’d have to stay home and watch and stir it for at least an hour or more.
Love this recipe
My soup turned out super thick, which I didn’t like. Can I add more chicken stock to thin it out?
Yes! You can do that with any slow cooker soup. And you may need to for leftovers when you are reheating as well.
Thanks for sharing! Looks delish! I have a large family so can you double the recipe in a large crockpot for a larger crowd? Will it all fit or no?
Nice but what does Velveeta cheese translate to in New Zealand? Is it something like Philly?
No Philly is cream cheese. Velvetta is a processed cheese (not real cheese) comes in rectangular shape melts real smoothly, unlike cheddar. If you have anything like that, it will work!
How much cheese should you use if using shredded?
I would start with 2 cups or 8 oz.
Could this be made into a “quick” dish? Using high instead of low?
If so, what do you suggest for the cooking time with high?
Thanks!
I would do 4 hours on high, it takes a while for the potatoes to tenderize. I don’t think the cheese will take long to melt after that if you cook on high, probably only 30 mins.
Can this be converted to a pressure cooker recipe? It sounds amazing.
Yes. I just made it in an Instapot because I was short on time. I browned the hamburger on saute and then cooked the soup for 8 mins on “Soup/Broth”, added the cheeses and closed the lid back up until melted.
Sarah, I love your recipes as I am seasonal slow cooker user. Each Winter I bring out my slow cooker and make meals suited for Winter weather. Each week I try a different recipe and with the abundance of your recipes I never run out of slow cooker ideas for my Winter meals. I am a true fan of your slow cooker recipes and I appreciate you sharing them.
Randy Morton
Thank you so much Randy! It’s nice to know when people are enjoying the recipes.