Cheeseburger soup
Browned beef, soft potatoes and a whole lot of melted cheddar in a thick, creamy soup that tastes exactly like its name.
- 50 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.31 a serving
- 500 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 carrot, grated
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1½ lb russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 8 oz cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 1½ cups milk
- ¼ cup sour cream (optional)
- 2 dill pickles, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried parsley flakes
- 3 cups water
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 500 calories, 29 g protein, 33 g carbs and 28 g fat, and costs about $2.31 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No russet potatoes? Yukon Gold potatoes work.
- No cheddar cheese? Shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese or Mexican blend cheese works.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, celery and potatoes, and the carrot and the cheddar.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Grate. Grating means rubbing food across the holes of a grater to make fine shreds or flakes. It spreads cheese, garlic or ginger evenly through a dish so it melts right in.
How you’ll know: Even shreds fall off the back of the grater, and you stop while the piece is still big enough to hold.
Cook the beef in a large pot over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until no pink remains, about 8 minutes. Scoop it onto a plate and pour off the fat.
Medium-high heatTimer: 8 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
the butter in the same pot over medium heat and cook the onion, carrot and celery with the basil and parsley, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Add the water, bouillon cubes and potatoes and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Turn the heat to low, cover and for 12 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 13 min 30 sec
the flour into the cold milk in a bowl until completely smooth, then stir it into the soup. Simmer, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes, until .
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Medium heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Flour whisked into cold milk first never lumps. Flour dumped straight into hot soup always does.Stir the beef back in with the salt and pepper, then turn off the heat.
Stir in the cheddar a handful at a time until melted and smooth.
Dolly’s tip: Adding cheese off the heat keeps it creamy instead of stringy or grainy.Ladle into bowls and top with a spoonful of sour cream and pickles, like a burger.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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