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Mike actually turned up his nose when I told him I was going to whip up this Creamy Potato & Hamburger Soup. He seriously thinks he doesn’t like hamburger in soups. Every time I talk about putting ground beef in a soup, he tells me he doesn’t like it. And then every single time I make a soup with ground beef in it, he loves it.
Seriously. The guy has this mental block about it. Hamburger soup is awesome, right?
If you like this, try my Mushroom Crockpot Cube Steak too!
How to Make Hamburger Soup
I swear that most of my soup concoctions are because I have a stuff in my freezer, fridge and pantry that I have to use up. I was desperately trying to use up potatoes before we went to the States for Christmas, I had some ground beef in my freezer and always those frozen veggies.Well, voila. This creamy potato & hamburger soup was the result of my cleaning out my freezer and pantry. Making hamburger soup is simple.
First, you fry up the ground beef mixture until cooked then place into a crock pot or slow cooker.
Second, you add in all the vegetables and spices ( NOT the milk products!) and cook for hours in the slow cooker, breaking down the ground beef into softer meat and the potatoes into smooth velvety goodness.
Then you whisk in the dairy ingredients at the end and serve!
Different Hamburger Soup Recipes
The spices in my hamburger soup are different from the tomato based hamburger soup. I use parsley and basil with the garlic. When you are looking for a tomato based simple classic hamburger soup you can use thyme or even Italian spices.
This recipe is similar to my Crockpot Macaroni Cheeseburger Soup which is pretty much one of my favourite soups of all time. This one isn’t as rich – though if you want to add more Velveeta cheese, feel free to do so! – and you can cut it with a dollop of sour cream on top if you wish.
Again, remember that Mike doesn’t like rich soups, so if he enjoyed this one it should be good for everyone. I love a thick, rich soup. Him? He pretends that he doesn’t like ground beef in soup, remember?
Poor Mr Magpie. Good thing we love him so much!
If you want to make a Hamburger Soup with Macaroni, that’s another delicious and filling way to make hamburger soup for the family!
Easy Hamburger Soup
This would be perfect for Christmas Eve after church, Christmas lunch, a New Year’s party or any ol’ time of the year. It’s going on the regular rotation soup list, for sure. I love how easy it is, how stick to the bones hearty it is and most of all, how Mike argues with me every time I make it. 😉
You can make this soup on the stove top, just follow the instructions and when it comes to cooking time, simmer on the stove in a large stockpot. Then at the end, add in the dairy.
Tips & Tricks for Hamburger Soup
- Make sure to use Russet potatoes as they fall apart and make the soup thicker and tastier! Don’t use red potatoes they will remain in one piece and not add any starch to the soup.
- You can use ground chicken as well if you don’t eat ground beef.
- Flavor to your liking at the end if you desire, sometimes I prefer more basil in mine.
- You don’t have to use the exact mixed vegetables that I do, use vegetables that your family loves! Peas, carrots, green beans, corn, all of these match flavour-wise, just choose what you like.
I hope you all make it through the holidays happy and well loved! Make sure that you don’t miss my new and amazing Crockpot Meatball Shepherd’s Pie!
Love,
Karlynn
Creamy Potato & Hamburger Soup
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 4 hours
- Total Time
- 4 hours 20 minutes
- Course
- Soup
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 10
- Calories
- 279
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 medium white onion peeled and diced
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 6 cups of chicken broth
- 6 cups of peeled & diced Russet potatoes
- 2 cups of your favourite frozen vegetable mix
- 3 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 8 ounces Velveeta cheese cubed
Instructions
- In a large skillet ,fry the ground beef and onions until the onions are soft and the ground beef browned. Drain the grease.
- Fry the garlic until browned and fragrant. Add the beef mixture to the crockpot or stockpot on the stove.
- Add in the potatoes, broth, vegetables, basil and parsley.
- Cook in the crockpot on low for 6-8 hours, on high for 3-4, or simmer on the stove until the potatoes are tender and starting to dissolve sightly.
- Whisk the cornstarch into the milk, then whisk into the soup. Add the Velveeta and let it melt, stirring occasionally. When it’s melted in completely, spoon into bowls and serve.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Wynter says
This soup was amazing! We loved it and will make it many more times. So easy and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Annie says
Love this!!! However, I do have a question… between my husband and I we have six kiddos all in their teens… Can this be done in an Insta Pot to cut down on the four hour making time??? Has anyone tried this?
I know I can’t wait to serve this to my family…DELICIOUS!!
Karlynn Johnston says
You can, you have to add the dairy at the end for sure! Do it on 20 minutes high pressure to cook the potatoes and the meat, then open and add the rest!
Gerald Hart says
This is a great soup but no way would I serve this without awesome tea biscuits.lol
Karla says
This is delicious!!! Making it a second time. I omitted the cheese, just for my own taste. This is now my favorite soup to make
Kathy says
We loved this soup. My son loves Velveeta, so I used more than called for. I also used half and half instead of milk and added salt and pepper. I served this with cornbread. Delish!
Ladymote says
The only add in we did with this recipe is add a 1/2 tablespoon of white pepper – but boy was this delicious and hearty!! I served it with toasted butter and garlic croutons and it was delectable! Definitely a new addition to our menu.
Cally says
Someone asked about salt. I guess that’s going to vary from person to person. However, I added 1 teaspoon garlic salt, one teaspoon jalapeno salt, and one teaspoon pepper. I did this before the Velveeta… not thinking about the salt that it contains. Probably could have held back, but it just seemed bland, when I gave it a taste. The final product is great! I’d make it again, and it seems like there are lots of ways to change things up with different ingredients.
kathy says
Can you use can potatoes in this
Neva Moss says
Great recipe! I just wanted to add that onion isn’t always necessary in soups…I just developed a severe onion allergy 5 years ago and have had to re invent my cooking of favorite things with out it…Itried it with out onions and used garlic instead, and it was really good! I usually add the garlic with the meat when it’s cooking…
kathy says
Can you use can potatoes instead of regulark
Alayssia says
So good!! Will definitely be making again.
Martha says
Lost me at processed cheese food Velveeta. Has anyone made it with REAL CHEESE?
Ashley K says
I made a roux and added cheese to it. Then added that to the soup.
Used 2T butter, 2T flour, 1c milk of choice (I used oat), 8oz shredded cheese.
Melt butter in a skillet until bubbling. Add flour and whisk until golden brown. Slowly add milk while whisking. Once that is completely incorporated, start adding cheese a handful at a time until melted.
Then I added the 2T of cornstarch to enough water to make a slurry. Added the slurry to my cheese mix. Once it thickened just a bit, I transferred the cheese sauce into the soup and stirred well. Worked amazingly well. However is a bit more work than just adding velveeta.
Connie A. says
This sounds like a great idea! I will try it next time!
Janet says
Thank you for asking this, it was my question, and thanks for the tip on the roux. I like a little kick so may add some crushed red pepper flakes.
Karen T says
Try making it with no fat shredded cheddar cheese by Kraft or a blend of the no fat cheese (doesn’t melt wonderfully all the time) with some low fat 1% shredded cheddar cheese from whatever brand. I have found that works well instead of velveeta and fewer calories from fat.
Jamie Carpenter says
Sounded different and I had the ingredients. I needed to use the pkg of ground beef in my fridge. However, I failed to have the same results others mentioned. This looked unappealing as it cooked and even after adding the dairy products, it was awful. I used real cheese. Basically a potato soup but basil is not a spice I use. Wasted my time and the food items used to make this concoction. Won’t be making this or any of your other soups.
Condy says
This is the first time for me making this soup and I have to say it was excellent. I chose not to add the frozen mixed vegetables nor did I add any sour cream but fresh bread went perfectly with the soup. I will be making this again.
Marion Duenkel says
great tasting and easy. Enjoy the soup
Jordan says
I made the soup today. Instead of cornstarch I used whole-wheat flour. And I used cheddar cheese with Habanero instead of valveeta cheese.
John Griess says
My father,Charles Griess,made a soup very similar to this for us 8 children in the ’50’s & 60’s.
He called it Hamburger Hash,and we loved it!
Jessica L Shay says
I grew up eating Hamburger hash soup!
Sara Horton says
Very delicious! I only had Yukon golds on hand so used those and went through with a potato masher before serving and it made the texture perfect.
Esther Elliott says
I’ve made this for years! The things I do different are I make a white sauce and add cheese to that. I add 1 can of evaporated milk. Then put in the pot. I also add some chopped jalapeños and some of the jalapeño juice. Just enough to flavor it, but not make it too hot. I’ve been making this for a long time for our scrapbooking weekend get togethers. It is REQUESTED EVERY TIME.
Sheri says
Loved the soup!!!!
Kari says
I made this soup yesterday with ground chicken & mushrooms (not the plastic canned kind). It is a winner, very filling as well as versitile!
Today I plan on adding a can of drained white kidney beans & some spinach to the leftover soup. This recipe is a keeper, I have already written it down in my beloved recipe book.
I look forward to trying it out with all kinds of meats,- ground beef or pork, as well as leftovers like ham, turkey & yes chicken.
Thanks so very much.
Kari
Rheama says
This soup rocks ,this is a keeper
Jennifer G says
This is really good on a cold day! Yum!
Rebecca says
Will be making this tomorrow.
Cathy says
Does this freeze well?
Karlynn Johnston says
Cream soups can be hit or miss when it comes to freezing. they can separate. It’s best to not freeze it.
Joe says
I need to thicken all liquids. Should I add more potato or corn starch.
Nikki says
This is the 2nd time making this soup!!! My family loves it!!! I cant wait to try your other recipes!
Michelle says
Mmmm mmmm yummy to the tummy!! Saving this to loved it!! So delicious
Richard Brazeal says
Do you need the cheese
Barb Dalley says
I know it sounds strange but mixing in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard to the pot is amazingly delicious!
Cindy says
I just found this potato hamburger soup & I can’t wait to try it this weekend. Thanks your other soup recipes look just as delicious! Thanks
Yvonne says
Has anyone made this in the Instapot or have any ideas how to adjust the cooking times for the Instapot?
angel kelly says
Hey did you ever figure it out? I was thinking about doing this myself bc I forgot to start it in the crockpot earlier. ?♀️?
Toffee says
Maybe use the slow cooker function on high.
Daphnee says
making it right now… i’m doing it on high for 24 mins
Wanda Montgomery says
Can I use shreaded velveeta instead of the box?
Dorcas says
ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!! My husband wants this weekly! We don’t like basil so I leave that out, but it is still scrumptious!! I would like to know too, if it freezes well.
Vegan Cook says
This is like a Shepard’s Pie or Cottage Pie chowder!
Make it vegan, by making these substitutions
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs PLANT BASED ground, such as Light Life Smart Ground
1 medium white onion peeled and diced
1 large garlic clove minced
6 cups of chick-un VEGAN broth (made with Rapunzel VEGETABLE bullion cubes, or Better than Bouillon broth paste
6 cups of peeled & diced Russet potatoes
2 cups of your favourite frozen vegetable mix
3 tsp dried basil
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 cups PLANT BASED milk, such as oat, soy, hemp, etc.
2 tbsp NON GMO cornstarch
8 ounces Daiya Cheddar Style block cheeze cubed
Kat says
How much is a serving size?
Marion Duenkel says
great tasting and easy. Enjoy the soup
Nancy says
I made this today because the Spring weather just will not come? It is now the end of March and the real feel temp is 19 degrees and flurries off and on all day. Sick of winter BUT this delicous soup made it so much better! I have made this type of soup before but didnt use this recipe. This is a great soup that you could do many different things with per your liking. We are going to set down and eat soon with warm bread. Thanks for the great recipe!
Wilma Dunn says
This was great I add sour cream salt and pepper and some hot sauce
Jamie says
How big is a serving?
Vegan Cook says
Most likely a cup/8 ounces, is a serving.
But since this is what I call a uni-meal (a single edible containing protein, vegetable & starch) one could probably have 1 & a 1/2 cups as a serving, for a more hearty meal, since all the servings of protein, vegetable and starch are all mixed together. Then add on a 1/2 cup of fruit, to make the whole meal 2 cups of food.
Generally, I consider 2 cups of food, per meal, or less, to be a standard serving.
The protein though, is generally only 2 ounces/8th a cup/2 TBSs per serving,
For example a meal for me might be: 2 TBSs of sloppy Joes, (protein) on a standard burger bun (starch), with 1/2 a cup of vegetable, & 1/2 a cup of fruit. That has all 4 meal elements in it, protein, starch, vegetable & fruit.
So, 1.5 cups of an “all in one” meal, is acceptable, without being gluttonous. I would serve this “Cottage Pie Chowder”, with a half cup of fruit, such as mandarin oranges, apple slices, etc., to make the whole meal 2 cups of food.
Be careful with your dessert with this, because if you serve a piece of pie with it, you’ll be boosting the starch to probably more than half a cup per meal.
So, this recipe, probably makes 10 one cup servings, or about 5, cup & a half servings, with one cup left over.
Amelia says
I would love to know how much salt to add. 😀
Bobbi Hendrickson says
I don’t imagine you really need to add any salt since Velveta has plenty in it.