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This Slow Cooker Cheeseburger soup is the kind of weeknight dinner that practically makes itself — five ingredients, no browning, and the Slow Cooker does all the work. Raw ground beef goes in, a few pantry staples get added, and a few hours later you’ve got a thick, Creamy, cheesy soup that tastes like a deconstructed cheeseburger in a bowl.
Why You’ll Love It
Just 5 ingredients — ground beef, broth, two canned soups, and shredded cheese. That’s it.
No browning required — raw beef goes straight into the slow cooker, no skillet needed.
Set it and forget it — six to seven hours on LOW and dinner is waiting for you.
Rich and creamy without any fuss — the condensed soups do all the thickening work automatically.
Great for meal prep — it reheats beautifully and keeps in the fridge for days.
Ingredient Notes
The ground beef: I usually buy 85% lean. I’ve made it with 80% and it’s richer — some people would say too rich, though I am not one of those people. I’ve made it with 93% lean and it’s fine, just a little less lush. Don’t stress about this. Use what you have.
The chicken broth: It has to be low-sodium, or the whole thing becomes aggressively salty. I learned this the hard way, as I learn most things. The canned soups are already loaded with salt and then you’re adding shredded cheese on top of that, so please, low-sodium broth.
The canned soups: Do not add water. Do not dilute them. Some people see “condensed” and instinctively reach for the water, and I am here to stop you. They go in as-is. This is what makes the soup thick.
The shredded cheese: Buy a block and shred it yourself if you can. Pre-shredded cheese has a coating on it that makes it melt a little oddly sometimes — it still works, I use it plenty, but freshly shredded cheddar just melts cleaner and tastes sharper. Sharp cheddar is my preference.
Ingredients
1½ pounds ground beef (80–85% lean, raw — I usually go closer to 85%)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I sometimes do 4½ if I want it a little thinner)
1 can (10.5 oz) condensed cream of potato soup — do not dilute
1 can (10.5 oz) condensed cheddar cheese soup — same deal
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, packed (I honestly probably use more like 1¼ cups — I eyeball it)
Instructions
Get out your slow cooker. Five to six quarts is what you need — I have a six-quart oval one that I’ve had for years, and it’s indestructible and I love it. Put the raw ground beef in the bottom and break it up loosely with your hands or a spoon. You don’t need to crumble it into tiny bits — just break it into rough chunks so the broth can get around it.
Pour the chicken broth over all of it. It’s going to look a little strange. Lumps of raw beef sitting in broth. Trust the process.
Add both cans of condensed soup directly on top. Don’t open them and stir them separately or anything — just open, pour, that’s it. Stir the whole thing gently, just enough to loosely combine the soups and broth. You’re not trying to emulsify anything here. A few stirs with a big spoon. Done.
Put the lid on. If you’re doing LOW, walk away for six to seven hours. If you’re doing HIGH because you forgot to start it earlier — which happens to me more often than I’d like to admit — three to four hours. I usually start it in the morning before work on LOW and by the time I’m thinking about dinner it’s ready, which feels like a small miracle every single time.
About halfway through, give it a stir. This helps break up the beef a little more and keeps things cooking evenly. If you forget, it’s usually fine.
When the beef is cooked through and breaking apart easily — you’ll see it — stir in the shredded cheddar a handful at a time. Don’t dump it all in at once or it’ll clump. Handful, stir, melt, repeat. Once it’s smooth and creamy, taste it. Add black pepper if you want. I usually don’t add salt because by the time the canned soups and cheese have done their work, it’s already plenty seasoned, but you know your own palate.
Ladle it into bowls. If you have people who like to make a small production out of things, set out some toppings — dill pickle slices, sliced green onions, extra shredded cheese, maybe a little drizzle of mustard if anyone’s feeling adventurous.
Variations
Adding diced frozen hash browns in the last hour of cooking makes the soup even heartier — thickens it up and gives it something to chew. Frozen peas stirred in at the very end also works, if you’re going that route.
For a bacon version: cook some bacon, crumble it, put it on top of each bowl right before serving. Do not skip this if you are a bacon person.
If you want more soup — more servings, say you’re feeding a crowd — add an extra cup of broth and serve it over egg noodles or cooked rice. It stretches easily.
Storage
It keeps in the fridge for about four days. Let it cool completely before you put the lid on — skipping this step leads to sad, watery leftovers because of condensation, which is a lesson worth learning once and remembering. Reheat it low and slow on the stove or in the microwave with a splash of broth or milk if it’s gotten too thick. It will get thick in the fridge. That’s just what it does.
It freezes okay too. Cheese soups sometimes separate a little when you thaw them — just stir aggressively when you reheat and it comes back together. Not perfect, but fine.
Serve it with bread if you have it. Crusty bread, dinner rolls, garlic toast — anything you can tear and dunk. A green salad on the side if you’re feeling responsible about vegetables. Pickle chips on top if you’re leaning into the cheeseburger thing fully, which I recommend.
It’s simple food. It’s good food. Those two things aren’t always the same, but in this case they happen to line up, and that’s enough.