Cheeseburger Soup (Keto, No Potatoes, 6g Net Carbs)

Cheeseburger soup is everything I like about a burger, minus the part where it falls apart in your hands. Browned beef. Sharp cheddar. Onion. A pickle on top. All of it in a thick, creamy bowl you can eat with a spoon on a cold night.

The classic version is built on diced potatoes and a flour-thickened base, which is where most of the carbs live. This one keeps the beef, the vegetables and the cheese, and swaps the potatoes for riced cauliflower. Heavy cream and a full two cups of cheddar thicken it instead of flour. A bowl comes to 6g net carbs, and the whole pot takes 40 minutes.

I got it wrong the first time I made a cheese soup like this. I let it boil after the cheese went in, and it turned grainy and greasy in about thirty seconds. The fix is simple, and it is the most important line in this recipe: take the heat down to low before the cheese goes in.

Why This Keto Cheeseburger Soup Works

Cauliflower rice stands in for the potatoes. It soaks up the broth, gives the soup some body and stays tender. Frozen riced cauliflower goes straight into the pot, so there is nothing extra to chop.

Cheese and cream do the thickening. No flour, no starch. Two cups of sharp cheddar and a cup of heavy cream melt into the broth and turn it thick and silky, which is exactly what you want from a cheeseburger soup.

The vegetables are small. Onion, shredded carrot and celery, cut fine, cook in five minutes in butter and melt into the soup. You taste them without biting into big chunks.

Burger toppings finish it. Diced dill pickles and fresh tomato on top are what make it taste like a cheeseburger and not just a beef and cheese soup. The sharp, sour crunch against the rich soup is the point.

Recipe Overview

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Serves: 6 (about 1½ cups each)
• Net Carbs: 6g per serving

Ingredients

For the soup

To serve

Shred the cheddar yourself. Bagged shredded cheese is coated so the shreds do not stick together, and that coating can leave a cheese soup slightly gritty. An 8 oz block, grated on the large holes of a box grater, melts smoothly.

Use 85/15 beef and drain it. It has enough fat to taste like a burger, and pouring off what renders keeps the soup from turning greasy once the cream and cheese go in.

Recipe Timing

How to Make Cheeseburger Soup, Step by Step

1. Soften the vegetables

Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant.

2. Brown the beef

Add the ground beef to the pot and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until no pink is left and the beef has browned in places. Let it sit untouched for a minute or two at a time so it browns instead of steaming. Tip the pot and spoon off the fat that collects.

3. Add the broth and cauliflower

Pour in the beef broth and add the frozen riced cauliflower, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. Turn the heat up and bring the soup to a boil, which takes about 5 minutes.

4. Simmer

Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes, until the cauliflower rice is tender and the flavors have come together.

5. Melt in the cream and cheese

Turn the heat to low. Stir in the heavy cream, then add the cheddar a handful at a time, stirring until each one melts before adding the next. Once it is smooth and thick, take it off the heat. Do not let it boil again from here.

Taste and add more salt if it needs it. Ladle into bowls and top with diced pickles and tomato.

Tips and Variations

• Want it thicker? Ladle about a cup of the soup into a blender, or use a stick blender in the pot for a few seconds, then stir it back in.
• Use ground turkey. It is leaner, so skip the draining step and add a little extra salt.
• Change the toppings. Shredded lettuce, chopped raw onion or a little extra cheddar all work, just like on a burger.
• Use a different cheese. Medium cheddar is milder, and a mix of cheddar and Monterey Jack melts very smoothly.
• Use half-and-half instead of cream. The soup is thinner and the carbs go up a little.

What to Serve With Cheeseburger Soup

It is filling enough to be dinner on its own. For something fresh beside it, a crisp green salad or our Big Mac salad carries the burger theme through the whole meal.

If you like the flavors but want something you can slice, our keto cheeseburger casserole bakes the same idea of beef, onion and cheddar in a dish, and it reheats well for lunches.

Storage and Reheating

Fridge: keep the soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Store the pickles and tomato separately and add them when you serve.

Reheat: warm it gently over low heat, stirring often, until hot. Do not let it boil, or the cheese can separate. A splash of broth loosens it if it has thickened in the fridge.

Freezer: cream and cheese soups can turn grainy after freezing. If you want to freeze some, freeze it before the cream and cheese go in, then thaw, reheat and stir them in fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is cheeseburger soup keto?

The classic recipe is not, because it uses potatoes and flour. This version swaps the potatoes for riced cauliflower and lets cream and cheddar thicken the soup, so a 1½-cup bowl has 6g net carbs.

Why did my cheese soup turn grainy?

Usually the heat was too high when the cheese went in, or the soup boiled after it. Bagged shredded cheese can add to it. Keep the heat low, add the cheese in handfuls and use cheddar you shredded from a block.

Can I make cheeseburger soup without cream cheese?

Yes. This recipe does not use any. The heavy cream and two cups of cheddar make it thick and creamy on their own.

Can I use fresh cauliflower?

Yes. Pulse about 12 oz of cauliflower florets in a food processor until they look like rice, and add them where the frozen rice goes in. They may need a few more minutes of simmering to turn tender.

More Low-Carb Soups to Try

• Keto Taco Soup — ground beef, cream cheese and tomatoes with green chilies, ready in 25 minutes.
• Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup — creamy cheddar and broccoli soup, ready in 30 minutes.
• Italian Wedding Soup — small baked beef meatballs, kale and cauliflower rice in a lemony broth.
• Keto Sloppy Joes — another ground beef favorite, in a tangy tomato sauce with no ketchup.

Recipe Card

The full ingredient list and the method in short are in the card below.

Keto Cheeseburger Soup

Cheeseburger soup without the potatoes or flour: browned ground beef, onion, carrot, celery and riced cauliflower simmered in beef broth, then thickened with heavy cream and sharp cheddar and topped with diced pickles and tomato. 6g net carbs a 1 1/2-cup serving.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Servings 6 servings

Calories 525 kcal

Equipment

• Large pot or Dutch oven
• Box grater

Ingredients

  

For the soup

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
• 1/2 cup carrot shredded
• 1/2 cup celery finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 lb ground beef 85/15
• 4 cups beef broth reduced-sodium if you can
• 12 oz frozen riced cauliflower no need to thaw
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp salt plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese shredded from an 8 oz block

To serve

• 1/3 cup dill pickles diced
• 1 small tomato diced

Instructions

 

Make the soup

• Soften: Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrot and celery about 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
• Brown: Add the ground beef and cook 7-8 minutes, breaking it up, until browned with no pink left. Spoon off the fat.
• Simmer: Add the beef broth, frozen riced cauliflower, basil, parsley, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 10 minutes until the cauliflower is tender.
• Finish: Turn the heat to low. Stir in the heavy cream, then the sharp cheddar cheese a handful at a time until melted and smooth. Do not let it boil. Season to taste.

Serve

• Serve: Ladle into bowls and top with the diced dill pickles and tomato.

Notes

Keep the heat low for the cheese: a boil after the cheddar goes in can make the soup grainy.

Thicker soup: blend about 1 cup of it and stir it back in.

Nutrition is for 1 of 6 servings (about 1 1/2 cups) with the toppings, regular beef broth and the beef counted raw before draining. Reduced-sodium broth lowers the sodium a lot.

Storage: up to 4 days in the fridge. Reheat gently without boiling. To freeze, freeze it before adding the cream and cheese.

Keyword cheeseburger soup, Gluten-Free, keto cheeseburger soup, low carb cheeseburger soup

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