Now that you’ve read the title, I have your attention don’t I? I mean, who doesn’t love a bacon cheeseburger? Who doesn’t love hot, comforting soup in the fall? Perfect combination! My Bacon Cheeseburger Soup is a family favorite and kind of amazing if I do say so. I’ve been thinking about it for weeks and working on the best combo of ingredients that tasted as “cheeseburgery” (new word I just made up!) as possible. I also wanted to create the simplest process that would still result in creamy, savory deliciousness. I think I nailed it!
You start with crisping the bacon then you cook the ground beef. What percentage of fat should you buy for ground beef? It really depends on what you’re cooking. If I was making a cheeseburger, I’d buy 80-85% lean for a juicer patty, but for a soup I prefer leaner. Why? Because I hate draining the grease! If you use leaner ground beef, then you probably won’t have much grease to drain, if any. Either will work great for this soup, though.
Making the Roux
Y’all know by now that I use a roux in many of my recipes because I’m not a big fan of cream based soups. It sounds fancy but is a crucial skill to learn when cooking! What is a roux? It’s a mixture of fat and flour used to thicken sauces. Once you have learned to make one, you’ll feel like a rockstar home chef and feel so much more confident in the kitchen.
For my Bacon Cheeseburger Soup, I needed it to be thicker and creamy so a roux was essential. It literally took me about 3 minutes to make the roux and add it to my soup! Just melt the butter, add flour, whisk for a minute, then stir into the soup. The soup thickened right away and I was really happy that it worked so well. Then just add the milk, cheese, and bacon and you’re ready to serve. Moral of the story, don’t be scared of making a roux. It’s so so easy!
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup is Perfect for Halloween
If you’re lucky enough to live near a Lee’s Marketplace, make sure to grab some of their adorable pumpkin bread bowls for my Bacon Cheeseburger Soup. I can’t stand how cute they are! They are perfect for Halloween! Also, when it comes to “Halloween food” do not stress! You don’t always need to go to the efforts of making a meatloaf look like a zombie face. Just add some plastic spiders to whatever you’re making, and call it good!
Bread bowls or not, this soup would be the best thing to make for your family on Halloween. It’s kid-friendly and such a crowd pleaser! My husband declared this his new favorite soup so it will be on repeat all year long at my house. I know you’ll love it too!
Sponsored post for Lee’s Marketplace. Items on sale the week of October 27-November 2: ground beef, sharp cheddar, potatoes, beef broth, bacon, flour, milk
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup onion (yellow or white), diced
- 2 cups potato, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 32 oz beef broth (low sodium)
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk, 2% or whole
- 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, divided
- Bread bowls for serving, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high. Add bacon and cook until crisp. Drain and set aside.
- Add ground beef to the same pan. Crumble and cook until browned. Drain grease if needed.
- Add onions, potatoes, carrots, ground mustard, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to the ground beef. Stir to combine. Add beef broth, stir, and cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender.
- In a small saucepan or skillet, melt butter. Add flour and whisk to form a roux or paste. Add to soup and quickly stir until combined well (Use a wide whisk if possible).
- Increase heat to medium, add milk, and stir for a few minutes. Add 3 cups of cheese and stir until melted. Add bacon and stir.
- Serve immediately. Top individual servings with remaining cheese.
Notes
- Cook 1 lb of bacon (instead of half) and use the extra for topping individual servings if desired.
- Add fresh, diced jalapeno if you want some spice.Â
This was delicious! My family loved it! Definitely a soup we’ll make again!
Thank you so much! Happy you loved it!