This soul-satisfying bacon cheeseburger soup recipe is a wonderful belly-warmer. It’s my Keto take on this all-American comfort food classic. A creamy, rich soup that is seriously family-friendly!
Have you ever heard of bacon cheeseburger soup? If you live in Europe, chances are that you haven’t. Because I had not heard of it until about a month ago (as you may know I am German and live in London). And when I asked a few people if they knew cheeseburger soup was a REAL thing, I earned a bunch of raised eyebrows and sceptical faces.
If you are American, you’ve probably grown up with cheeseburger soup. I did a little online research and found out that in essence, it’s a super popular thick vegetable soup with ground beef and a few extras thrown in that remind us of a cheeseburger. We’re talking tomatoes here, bacon, cheese, and maybe even a few optional pickles or croutons.
You know what? I think its PURE BRILLIANCE. A hearty soup for a cold day? Yes please! Cheeseburger? Love it! So, why not combine the two and create one heavenly comfort food. Whoever came up with the first cheeseburger soup recipe deserves a medal!
This being a low carb blog, I wanted to make a Keto cheeseburger soup.
You see, one of the common ingredients in a regular cheeseburger soup is potatoes. They do make soup nice and thick, but potatoes are a starchy vegetable and therefore not used in low carb diets. Most of the other basic ingredients are perfectly low carb, so you’re getting maximum enjoyment and super satisfying taste.
This will be the best 30 minutes you spent cooking this week. Pinky swear.
How to make a crazy delicious bacon cheeseburger soup recipe – step by step:
1.) Add the butter to dutch oven or non stick soup pan. Add the onion and garlic and fry for 2 – 3 minutes until soft and translucent.
2.) Add the ground beef and bacon and cook for a further 4 – 6 minutes until cooked through.
Tip: If you are using a high fat content beef, you can drain the fat now.
3.) Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, dijon mustard, beef stock, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
4.) Reduce to a simmer on a medium / low heat and cook for about 15 minutes until thick and flavoursome.
5.) Add the cream cheese, 1 + 1/4 cup of cheddar and 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Mix well until the cheese melts. Stir in the heavy cream and take off the heat. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
Recipe Tips and Variations
I added a tin of tomatoes to the soup because we all know that tomato and mince go incredibly well together. Think Bolognese Sauce!
You could replace it with more beef stock if you’re not a fan, but I can assure you that the tomatoes mixed with the cream cheese and heavy cream give an incredible richness. Then when you allow the shredded cheese to melt into the hot soup, it goes all stringy and indulgent! And don’t forget that a cheeseburger wouldn’t be the same without a slice of tomato 🙂
The little pop of Dijon mustard gives a nice yet subtle tang to complement the sweet tomatoes. Well, what cheeseburger would be complete without a little mustard?
If you really want to go all out cheeseburger fever, feel free to top with some sugar free pickled gherkins.
I think the fresh parsley complements the richness of the soup. Of course, purists could leave it out and instead serve the soup with a crispy green salad.
Last but not least, let’s talk burger bun. You could make my Keto microwave bread, cut it into squares and fry it in some butter (and garlic) and top the soup with croutons. Or enjoy it with a proper bun as a dipper – for this I recommend my Keto dinner rolls.
Some people might still want to point out that this cheeseburger soup recipe is essentially a variation on a meat sauce. I hear you, I see what you mean.
The thing is, giving a good thing a twist – and a different name – is half the fun of cooking. And if you really, really want, you CAN serve it as a sauce with some shiratake pasta. I bet this would be delicious, too. Only then you couldn’t call it cheeseburger soup!
More comfort food recipes for cold days and nights:
- Keto Cauliflower And Broccoli Mac and Cheese
- Low Carb Keto Roast Chicken Soup
- Keto Chicken Curry Casserole
- Best Italian Keto Meatballs
Tried this recipe? Give it a star rating below!
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The Best Bacon Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
Equipment
- soup pan
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion chopped (60g)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 500 g / 1.1 lb ground beef
- 6 small slices of thin cut streaky bacon smoked or unsmoked, chopped (90g)
- 1 cup tinned chopped tomatoes 240g
- 1 - 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1.5 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/3 cup cream cheese 80g
- 1.5 cup shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese 170g
- 3 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1/3 cup heavy cream 80g
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cherry tomatoes 38g
Instructions
- Add the butter to dutch oven or non stick soup pan. Add the onion and garlic and fry for 2 - 3 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the ground beef and bacon and cook for a further 4 - 6 minutes until cooked through. Option to drain the fat if using a high fat content beef.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, dijon mustard, beef stock, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer on a medium / low heat and cook for about 15 minutes until thick and flavoursome.
- Add the cream cheese, 1 + 1/4 cup of cheddar and 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Mix well until the cheese melts. Stir in the heavy cream and take off the heat. Adjust the seasoning to taste.
- Pour the cheeseburger soup into bowls and top with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese and chopped fresh tomatoes mixed with the remaining 1 tbsp of parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
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Laura says
Wow, another really great recipe. And so easy. I’ve literally just made it. I used mascarpone and less cheese, but who knows, I might add some more on top to serve. I also didn’t have a beef stock so just mushroom and added coconut aminos. It really is delicious.
I not usually much of a reviewer, but really, I love you site. I’ve been pouring over your recipes as my night time read, Planning what to bake, make next. It’s a really great website and the way you write and explain everything is perfect. Thanks again.
Katrin Nürnberger says
That’s so good to hear! Thank you so much for your kind words 🙂
Luz Galindo says
Deliciosaaaa! Ayer hice las albóndigas (meatballs) y hoy hice esta receta, y éxito total! Muchas gracias por compartir estas recetas!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Luz, I’m loving it that you’re cooking yourself through my blog! 🙂 Let me now what you’re making next?
Katrin van den Heuvel says
Made this recipe already 3 or 4 times – it is incredibly good. We are also using it as a sort Bolognese with cauliflower-celery puree.
love your blog!
Katrin Nürnberger says
That sounds like a PERFECT winter dinner!!!!
Stephanie says
Just saw this recipe but it sounds delicious! Am going to give a go and will add a dollop of sour cream and avocado at the end =) Sine I don’t care for parsley I will try substituting it with cilantro….and add some cayenne to the seasoning! I’m American and had never heard of this soup until recently and it is a good soup! Thank you for the dinner idea and love your website!
Angela Eichholzer says
Gave this recipe a go today. Absolutely lip-smacking delicious, BTW. Each serving came to exactly 1 cup. I am curious, however, what products you’re using that result in such a low carb count. I put all the ingredients into my carb tracking app, removed the optional toppings (cherry tomatoes and 1/4 cup cheese) and used the lowest carb versions of every ingredient I could find. It still came to 6g net carb per serving. Perfectly acceptable for a meal but a far cry from the 2.5g net carbs indicated on the recipe. Not trying to be cheeky or a Debbie Downer, just genuinely curious how to minimise the carb count.
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Angela, that’s interesting you’re getting such a different result. I used the Ketodiet app nutrition checker, which stores all nutrition within the app. So I checked and saw I actually hadn’t added the right amount of tomatoes – but still this brings it only to 3.3g net carbs for me (changing this in the post now). I have repeatedly found that different calculators can give very different results. But also, different brands of the same product can actually have varying amounts of carbs – almond flour is one where you’ll get huge differences, for example. I think in the end we all have to trust our common sense and make the right choice based on what we know is good for our bodies.
Kris says
This soup is very good. My only recommendation would be to crisp the bacon up first, remove it and then brown the ground beef. This way it stays crispy and doesn’t get gummy. I also added a few teaspoons of pickle juice to mine. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Kris, that is a great idea. Thanks for the tip!
Wendy says
Can this be frozen and thawed to be consumed on another day? Thinking of making this and freezing to last me a few lunches!
Katrin Nürnberger says
Hi Wendy, this soup freezes really well 🙂
Julie Waters says
is the calorie count for a cup or bowel?
Katrin says
Per portion assuming 5 portions. Sorry, I did not weigh them.
Solange says
I just made it again for the 2nd time since the recipe was published, it’s delicious, comforting and perfect for these autumn evenings. I love all the recipes I’ve tried so far. Thank you for making this low carb journey much easier
Ruth says
Hi Katrin,
I never have heard before about cheeseburger soup. Sounds quite strange. But knowing by experience, that whatever I find in your blog tastes great, I immediately tried it out.
How rich it is! I prepared a big portion, so I could use the rest the next day as sauce for pasta. I liked the idea of adding mustard, as it always helps harmonizing different tastes. And as we all like it hot, I finally enriched the mixture with a tsp of Sambal Oelek.
What a felicitous name for a really fantastic tasting and filling dish, quick and easy to prepare!
Katrin says
Hi Ruth, adding a bit of heat with sambal sounds like an interesting addition!!
Susan Klein says
I’m definitely making this soon. With the leaves turning and the temperatures dropping, this sounds like a great bowl of comfort food. If you want to make it even more “traditional American” – you could top it with a squirt of yellow mustard, some sugar-free ketchup and some chopped dill pickles. Trust me – the pickles will take it to the next level.
Katrin says
I’ll definitely have to add pickles next time!!!
Kathy Snyder says
This is soooo down my alley! We have a potluck for a co-worker retiring at the end of the month. I’m going to make this soup! No one will ever know they’re eating keto…
Katrin says
Hi Kathy, I’d love to hear how it went!!!