
Free: Healthy Freezer Meals Recipe Ebook
Get It NowThis post may contain affiliate links, which help keep this content free. (Full disclosure)
When you crave cozy comfort food, this bacon cheeseburger soup recipe is the perfect choice! With a rich, cheesy broth and big burger flavor, this soup satisfies far better than anything from the drive-through. It’s a lot like my traditional hamburger soup, but with an added creamy, cheesy element and extra comfort food factor.
Many cheeseburger soup recipes use potatoes for the bulk of the soup, but this lightened up (but still hearty) version uses cauliflower instead.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
- Rich bacon, burger, and cheese flavor
- Creamy, cheesy texture
- Only 20 minutes cook time
- No slow cooker needed
- A healthy cheeseburger soup without potatoes, flour, or velveeta cheese
- Includes hidden veggies
- Satisfies cheeseburger cravings fast!

Ingredient Notes
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for cheese hamburger soup, what each one does in the recipe, and some substitution options (with more in the Variations section below). For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Ground Beef – Any ground meat will work here, but I typically use 85/15 ground beef, which has just the right amount of flavor without being too greasy.
- Bacon Bits – Using pre-cooked bacon bits saves a lot of time with this recipe, but if you do have extra time you can prepare bacon in the oven or a skillet and crumble it yourself.
- Cauliflower – Adds body and comfort to the soup. Chop it into bite-sized florets. If you prefer a more carb-y soup, you can substitute russet potatoes (or really any potato you like), but they will take longer to cook than cauliflower does.
- Chicken Broth – I used a reduced sodium chicken broth because of the added salt from the bacon and cheese. You can also use beef broth or make homemade bone broth instead.
- Unsweetened Almond Milk – If your lifestyle allows, you can also use conventional milk or a different non-dairy milk if you don’t mind a slight change in flavor.
- Dried Parsley – You can also use a tablespoon of fresh parsley instead, or use other dried herbs, such as basil.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese – Use pre-shredded or shred it yourself. Freshly shredded cheese melts more easily, but also clumps more easily. You can also toss the cheese with a cornstarch swap like arrowroot powder to help it thicken the broth.
- Heavy Cream – Acts as an additional cornstarch alternative to help thicken the broth and provide richness, along with the cheese.

How To Make Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
This section shows how to make hamburger cheese soup, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
- Heat bacon. In a large pot or large Dutch oven, cook bacon bits over medium heat, until crisp.
- Brown. Raise stove to medium-high heat and add ground beef. Cook, breaking apart with a spoon, until browned.


- Simmer. Add in all remaining ingredients except cream and cheese. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until cauliflower is tender.
- Melt and thicken. Lower heat. Stir in heavy cream and cheese until soup is smooth and cheese is melted.



Tips For The Best Cheeseburger Soup
- No need to drain the bacon grease. Pre-cooked bacon bits do not render a lot of fat, but the small amount of fat they leave behind adds so much flavor. Leave it all in the pot! If you cook raw bacon instead, though, you may want to drain.
- Add the cheese slowly and stir constantly. To avoid clumping, add a small amount of cheese at a time and don’t stop stirring until fully melted before adding more.
- Or melt the cheese separately instead. Alternatively, ladle 2 cups of broth from the soup into a separate bowl and fully whisk in the cheese before returning to the pot.
Variations
- Swap the meats – Use ground turkey, ground chicken, or even ground pork instead of beef.
- Change cheeses – Try other hard melting cheeses such as Swiss for a whole new taste, or swap in pepper jack for a slightly spicy cheeseburger soup.
- Add more toppings – Garnish with chopped dill pickles, caramelized onions, sour cream, jalapeno slices, or even croutons if you miss the bun.
- Add other vegetables – As with any soup, almost any veggie you like can be added, but carrots are a particularly good pairing with the other flavors here. You can also saute onion and garlic after cooking the bacon.
- Make thicker, more creamy cheeseburger soup – Remove some of the liquid together with the cauliflower, puree in a blender, and return to the soup. You can also thicken it by adding cream cheese and letting it melt. (That’s one of the tricks I use in my broccoli cheese soup recipe without requiring a thickener.)
Storage Instructions
- Store: Cool soup completely and store in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the fridge.
- Meal prep: Brown bacon and beef, then cool and store until ready to cook. You can also chop cauliflower ahead of time and store separately.
- Reheat: Warm soup on the stove, stirring frequently to avoid separation.
- Freeze: Cool soup, then store leftovers in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating, or reheat directly in a saucepan or pot.

What To Serve With Cheeseburger Soup
This is easily my favorite cheeseburger soup recipe because it satisfies all on its own, but you can include these sides to make it a big meal:
- Salads – Spinach bacon salad, cucumber tomato avocado salad, or 7 layer salad would all pair nicely with this recipe for cheeseburger soup.
- Chips or crackers – Add crunch with almond flour crackers, air fryer zucchini chips, or flax seed crackers.
- Veggie fries – For a burger and fries experience with a healthy spin, serve this soup with rutabaga fries, jicama fries, or baked zucchini fries.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
If you liked this dish, try these delicious soup recipes next — full of rich, creamy taste and hearty meats:
Recommended Tools
- Large Soup Pot – This 4 qt soup pot has extra tall sides, so no soup splashes on the stove!
- Cooking Utensils – From stirring to browning, this set does it all.
- Storage Containers – Make a double batch of soup and freeze in these glass containers.
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
Bacon Cheeseburger Soup Recipe (Quick & Easy!)
This easy bacon cheeseburger soup recipe is comfort in a bowl. It's surprisingly healthy, gluten-free, and ready in just 20 minutes!
Recipe Video
Tap on the image below to watch the video.Like this video? Subscribe to my YouTube cooking channel for healthy recipes weekly! (Click the bell icon to be notified when I post a new video.)
Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
-
In a large pot, cook bacon bits for a couple of minutes over medium heat, until crispy.
-
Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the ground beef. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and breaking apart with a spoon or spatula, until browned.
-
Add the cauliflower, chicken broth, almond milk, dried parsley, sea salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until cauliflower is tender.
-
Remove pot from heat. Stir in the cheddar cheese and heavy cream, until the soup is smooth and the cheese is melted.
Last Step: Leave A Rating!
Share your recipe picture by tagging @wholesomeyum and hashtag it #wholesomeyum on Instagram – I’d love to see it!
Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 cup
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
Want to save this recipe?
Create a free account to save your favorite recipes!
Sign Up To Save Recipes© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead. 🙂

113 Comments
Becky
0This was a quick and delicious meal! Thanks so much.
Dandy Eisenhofer
0I just made this soup today! It was AMAZING!!! What’s not to like… bacon, cheese, hamburger and cauliflower!! It was a super easy recipe and came together quickly, and makes a lot of wonderful, warming soup (was really great with the rainy day). My soup base was a bit thin to begin with, but just added more cheese and it became wonderfully creamy and smooth. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly except for the cheese and I was out of my regular cheddar (that I shred myself) so substituted with some swiss cheese chunks (a couple of handfuls) and some “cheddary” cheese slices (similar to Velveeta slices – Austria’s take on the same, but with real cheese and milk), the end result was really good (probably would have been better with the suggested shredded cheddar, but sometimes ya gotta go with what you’ve got!) As always, your recipe is spot on! Many, many thanks for your wonderful recipes and the time it takes to make each one to the perfection you share with us. Your presentations, tips, videos are absolutely GOLD! Taking into account many of the issues we novices encounter with trying to cook our favorite foods keeping it KETO friendly, you have taken the stress out of the process! Looking forward to more wonderful, tasty treats and meals 🙂
Carol Scally
0This is a very clever soup! Since I like my cheeseburgers with mustard and mayo and lettuce and tomatoes I added just a smidgeon of mustard and mayo, a chopped up grape tomato and some chopped spinach to my bowl.
Pure heaven!
Thank you for posting such a great recipe. : )
Tammy Major
0This was very good. I did add cumin, onion powder and chili powder. I will definitely make this again.
Donna Harrison
0I tried the cheeseburger soup and it was good, adding garlic salt to recipe, except I added 1 tbs of sour cream to each serving and that was the kicker to make this recipe over and over again. It adds .5 carbs to the serving, but boy it is worth it. I also put grated cheese on top of the hot soup.
I have been to high end restaurants where the cooks were graduates in culinary school, and sour cream is a secret ingredient they use in many of their soups especially when cheese is added., and I was told that makes them come back to the restaurants. I remember waiting in a line at The Malt Shop in Minneapolis years ago that was a block long for a bowl of their cream of cauliflower soup. I was told it was out of this world, and I didn’t want it because I didn’t like cauliflower. However I trusted my friend who said it didn’t matter if I liked cauliflower or not, that I would love the soup. She was right. Yes, they did add bacon to it and the cauliflower adsorbed all the other flavors including the sour cream.
Since then I always added sour cream and cheddar to my creamy soups, stews and casseroles using beef, chicken, tuna, and pork. I made them for many groups of people and they rave about it. But since I want them to rave about it just to me, I don’t tell my circle of friends my secret ingredient.
Thanks for your ear about this. This made the difference in my dogs licking the bowl to me licking the bowl. LOL
Alicea
0Good tip! I’m going to make this and was thinking of adding heavy cream, but I’ll try sour cream instead.
LORI WILKINSON
0This soup was a huge hit with my family especially for the ones that do not like cauliflower. They thought it tasted just like loaded baked potato soup. I added chopped fresh kale and spinach for extra nutrition. I will definitely be making this again!
Elaine Farmer
0This looks yummy–I will be cooking for about 30. Please explain “cauliflower in blend to thicken soup. How much would I need to blend?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Elaine, I think you are referring to the bonus tip to help thicken the soup further? Blending some of the cauliflower with the broth will create a thicker consistency. The amount of cauliflower you blend is really up to you. If you want the soup really thick (like potato soup thick) blend all of the cauliflower in with the broth. If you want some texture in your soup, leave about half of the cauliflower unblended. It will be delicious either way you decide to go!
Terena
0So excited to try these recipes on my new journey.
Allie
0A (super nice) friend made this for me. It was SO delicious!!!
Ella
0I made this on Monday night as the winter cold nights have definitely arrived, it was AMAZING, even my husband loved it and he’s really fussy 🙂
Jas @ All that's Jas
0You had me at bacon, lol! I love cauliflower and the combination of the two is making my mouth water!
Beth
0This dish is made in Heaven! Cheeseburger, soup and bacon is everything I need to be happy – almost everything 🙂
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
0I Made this for a gathering and it was a hit, everyone loved it! Will definitely make it again!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
0I’m making this for the weekend, I bet everyone is going to devour it!
Jennifer
0I love that this dish can come together so quickly – it’s going on my weeknight dinner rotation!
wilhelmina
0My family loved this soup! It is definetly going in my roster of weeknight favs. You won’t believe how much flavor it has in just 20 minutes!
Paula Montenegro
0So easy and delicious! I can’t believe it’s low carb, especially with that title! I’m saving this one to try it out very soon.
Robin Skidmore
0Could I substitute the almond milk with water + cream?
Wholesome Yum A
0That should be fine, Robin!
Ashleigh
0You know, I’d usually consider myself to be a pretty bad cook but I tried, made a mess in the kitchen, wished I was a cleaner chef and sat down to enjoy something that ACTUALLY WORKED! I’m new to this keto thing. On behalf of my tummy, thank you for this amazing recipe.
Laverne
0Just made this for dinner today! Love love it!! And so easy to make. Yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
Samantha
0Amazing!! My whole family loved it. The best part was it was quick and easy!
Marlene
0Delicious, hearty and flavorful!!! Printed for my collection and its now a part of our monthly rotation for dinner. I made this recipe using my instant pot on saute mode (no lid) about the same amount of time, turned out perfect.
Becky M
0About how many slices of bacon are needed to make 1/2 cup bacon bits?
Wholesome Yum M
0Hi Becky, Depending on the size of your bacon, that’s about 6-8 slices.
Doris
0It was delicious . And I didn’t puree some cauliflower to ad thickness but that’s what I usually do to thicken my soups . We enjoyed it as is . Ty so much .
Kassandra Thompson
0This soup is AWESOME!! I let the cauliflower cook down so it thickens the soup and it’s like eating a potato soup! I’ve made it 3 weeks in a row for my lunch and shared. Everyone loves it. I also played with the cheese and tried using different kinds. It’s always good!
Dawn
0I’m cow dairy free so tried this recipe using goat cheddar cheese instead of the regular cheddar , and 1/2 cup coconut milk instead of the heavy cream. It was fantastic!!
Donna
0Do you have any idea how long you would cook this for in the instant pot? It sounds delicious, and I just got an instant pot so I’d like to try this recipe!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Donna, Sorry, I haven’t tried it in an Instant Pot yet. It would probably be pretty quick under pressure. Let me know how it goes if you try!
Melissa
0Can you use frozen cauliflower?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Melissa, Yes, you can!
Patricia
0I NEVER write reviews on recipes. But girl… this was so good! Made it for dinner tonight and even my 10 year old son gobbled it up! I totally second the advice to stick some of the cooked cauliflower into the blender. In fact, I was having a difficult time getting the cheese to mix in (even with pulling out some broth and just adding it to that), but when I stuck it in the blender with the cauliflower, it mixed together wonderfully! Thanks again for this great recipe!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much, Patricia! I’m glad you and your son liked it.
Chelsea
0Has anyone successfully made this dairy-free? Could nutritional yeast be substituted for cheddar cheese?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Chelsea, I haven’t tried that, but in theory it should work.
Becky
0Have you done it in the Crock-Pot? I browned the bacon and hamburger (with a little onion), then threw everything, except the cream and cheese, in the Crock-Pot. I hope it turns out ok.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Becky, I haven’t tried that yet. Please let us know how it went!
Chrimson
0Seventh time making this! My ENTIRE family loves it, that’s five generations eating this bacon cheeseburger soup! ❤️❤️❤️
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I love to hear that, Chrimson! Thank you for stopping by!
Patrick
0I used turkey instead of beef and garnished with scallions. AMAZING! It is a great replacement for potato soup, very similar. Thanks Maya!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked it, Patrick! Have a great day!
Myriam Perez
0Super delicious! My family loved it.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy to hear that, Myriam! Have a great day!
Ana
0Hi! Amazing recipe <3
Have you tried to freeze it in portions?
Thank you.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Ana, Yes, you can freeze it! I’ve added instructions to the post.
Rob
0ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Fast and easy. I had andouille sausage in the fridge and added that after the bacon and ground beef were browned. Very good, thanks for the imaginative dish. My low carb diet, have lost 18 #s in 10 weeks.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Rob!
Dawn
0This was SUPER easy and YUMMY! I added mushrooms and will definitely be making this again! Thanks.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Dawn!
Maggie
0Hi Maya! I’m so excited to make this soup! I do have a question though, would ground turkey be an okay substitute for the ground beef?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Maggie, Yes, absolutely!
Kathryn
0I have literally never made homemade soup in my life. I just made this recipe and it’s incredible. Delicious, hearty, and so easy that even I could do it. Thank you for introducing me to my new favorite meal!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Kathryn!
Lori
0Could I just use a 1 1/2 of heavy whipping cream instead of almond milk? I don’t have any almond milk at home.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lori, Yes, that should be just fine!
Melissa
0This soup is flavorful, delicious, and so satisfying! Exactly what I was looking for after hitting a low-carb slump! I’m curious how full-fat coconut milk would taste as a substitution for the heavy cream.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Melissa! Full-fat coconut milk would probably work but it will turn out thinner. I would recommend using coconut cream for a closer substitution. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
Tricia Fleming
0VERY TASTY!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Tricia!
Sarah Edwards
0I don’t like almond milk or coconut milk. Will regular milk work the same?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Sarah, Yes, dairy milk will work just fine, but will have more carbs. For what it’s worth, you can’t taste the almond milk in this recipe, because the cream and cheese are much more flavorful.
Linda
0I don’t like almond milk. Could I use half and half instead? I would assume so, and would just have to count the few extra carbs.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Linda, Absolutely! It should work the same way.
Rytas
0Roger that, thank you. Looking forward to making this over the coming weekend!
Rytas
0Hi Maya, I’m curious about one thing with the recipe. Before you add in the non-meat ingredients, do you drain the fats from the bacon/ground beef or leave it all in the pot?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Rytas, I didn’t drain. Cooking over medium-high heat means most of the fat gets absorbed into the beef during browning. At first it gets released but as you continue to cook there isn’t much to drain by the end. It will vary depending on the beef you use, though. If you end up with more than you want, you could drain it, but it’s not required.
Heather
0This is very good! Do you mind if I mention it in my blog?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Heather, Of course! Please don’t re-post the entire recipe but I’m always happy to have a mention or image used with a link back. Thank you!
Krystle
0Wow, this turned out delicious! So flavorful! Just so I know for next time, should I use the 8 ounce bag of cheese, or 16? I meant to grab the 16, but I only had eight, and it turned out good
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Krystle! The recipe requires 2 cups of shredded cheese which is an 8 ounce bag, so what you used is perfect.
Krystle
0Could I use coconut milk instead of almond milk?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Absolutely! You can use the same amount if it’s the liquid kind from a carton. If you’re using the kind from a can, sometimes it can be thicker, so if that’s the case you can thin it out with a little water until it’s a typical milk consistency.
Marci Schwab
0Is a serving 1 cup?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Marci, I made the recipe again recently to update the exact serving size. The recipe card has been updated to reflect this – it makes 10 servings, 1 cup each. The exact amount will vary a bit though, depending on how big your head of cauliflower is.
Jessica
0Yeah it does. I got 7 1 cup servings, how would I work out ratios for that?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0If you want the nutrition info for a different number of servings, you’d need to add up the nutrition info for all the ingredients total and then divide by the number of servings.
Cheryl
0This soup is awesome! It’s a great replacement for cream of potatoe soup, truthfully it’s better.
Thank You for a great recipe!!