Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

This Bacon Cheeseburger Soup is lightly creamy and cheesy, and loaded with your favorite burger flavors, like bacon, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Topped with shredded cheese and dill pickles, this easy soup recipe tastes just like your favorite cheeseburger!

The Best Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

This easy Bacon Cheeseburger Soup was inspired by a meal I had while visiting my parents many years ago. If you could imagine a cheeseburger with bacon and mushrooms…in a bowl…this would be it! Yum!!

This beefy burger of a soup is hearty and so fun – especially with toasted garlic buns for dipping. My family loves them. And for me? I adore loading up my bowl with dill pickle chips…because what’s a cheeseburger without pickles?!

What You’ll Need

This easy soup recipe includes ingredients you’d expect when making homemade cheeseburgers. Plus, I folded in a couple flavors that my mom has always used when making burgers – Lipton Onion Soup Mix and Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. I promise you, you’ll want a second bowl!

See the recipe card below for measurements and full instructions.

For the Soup:

• Bacon – I like to use a thick-cut bacon for this soup, but any bacon will work. I’d just stay away from any with added flavors, such as maple, for this “cheeseburger” flavored soup.
• Ground beef – Use lean ground beef to avoid excess grease.
• Lipton Onion Soup Mix – This is a nostalgia thing for me, as Mom always used this when making burgers. I love the flavor that it gives!
• Unsalted butter
• Onion & garlic – Add flavor to the burger. I like to use yellow onion, but red or white would also work.
• Mushrooms – I like button mushrooms for this recipe.
• Beef broth – This enhances the savory beefy burger flavor even more, but chicken broth would also be good.
• Fire-roasted tomatoes – These canned tomatoes add extra flavor to the soup – because I do love some tomato on my cheeseburgers! Do not drain, as the tomato juice adds more delicious flavor to the broth.
• Cheddar cheese soup – Adds a lightly creamy texture, plus cheesy richness to the broth – again, driving home that cheeseburger flavor.
• Half & half – Adds just a bit more creaminess. Skip it if you like.
• Sour cream – Adds a bit of tangy creaminess to the soup.
• Worcestershire sauce – A key ingredient for savory burger flavor.
• Ketchup & mustard – More classic burger flavors that make their way into this savory soup.
• Spices – The remaining flavor comes from cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, and black pepper.

For the Toasted Garlic Buns:

• Dinner rolls – I use whole wheat dinner rolls but you can use regular white rolls if preferred.
• Unsalted butter – Feel free to use more butter if you want the buns to taste extra buttery!
• Garlic powder – For that irresistible garlic flavor.

How to Make Mushroom Bacon Cheeseburger Soup

Here’s how to make this hearty bacon cheeseburger soup in just over 35 minutes.

• Cook the bacon. Fry the bacon in a heavy pot, then transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Cool, then roughly chop and set aside. Drain the grease.
• Cook the beef. Cook the beef in the same pot, breaking it into small pieces. Sprinkle with the onion soup mix and stir. Cook until browned, then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to drain.
• Saute the onion and mushrooms. Drain any burger grease from the pot – then add the butter, onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook until softened.

• Combine the ingredients. Return the beef to the pot, along with the beef broth, tomatoes, Lipton Onion Soup Mix, half & half, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, mustard, and seasonings. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.
• Add the bacon. Stir in the sour cream and chopped bacon. Cook another minute to warm.
• Enjoy. Serve with your desired garnished (dill pickles and shredded cheese, please!) and toasted garlic buns.

How to Make Toasted Garlic Buns

My family loves the toasted garlic buns that go with this beefy mushroom bacon soup. They’re so simple to make – I just toast the buns while the soup is cooking.

• Butter and season the buns. Butter the cut sides of each roll, then sprinkle with garlic powder.
• Toast. Toast the buns on a grill, in a skillet, or on a griddle over medium-high heat until nicely browned.

Recipe Tips & Variations

Here are a few tips and suggestions for making your cheeseburger with bacon soup.

• Be sure to drain the grease. Any grease from the bacon or ground beef should be drained from the pan before adding the next ingredients. This ensures that the final soup doesn’t have a heavy, greasy taste and texture.
• Use regular diced tomatoes. I like the look and flavor of canned fire-roasted tomatoes, but feel free to use regular diced tomatoes.
• Add some spice. If you like heat, add a few splashes of sriracha or hot sauce, some jalapeno slices, or red chili pepper flakes.
• Substitute the meat. Feel free to try this soup with ground turkey or ground chicken. While the ground beef really does make this taste more like a cheeseburger, it’s still a very flavorful soup all on its own.

What to Serve with Cheeseburger Soup

As I already mentioned, my go-to way to serve this bacon mushroom cheeseburger soup is topped with dill pickle chips and cheddar cheese, and toasted garlic rolls on the side. To me, that combination tastes just like my favorite bacon cheeseburger.

Feel free to add your own preferred toppings, like diced fresh tomatoes or jalapeno slices. You may also want to add some extra chopped bacon or a dollop of sour cream. Some fresh green onion would also be good!

Breadsticks, Cheesy Garlic Bread, Texas Toast, and even plain crusty bread can be used in place of the toasted dinner rolls too.

If you’d like to serve a salad with this soup, I’d recommend keeping it simple with some fresh iceberg or Romaine lettuce, plus some sliced onion and fresh tomatoes. Buttermilk Ranch Dressing would be perfect!

And for all you crazy pickle fanatics (me!!), a side of Fried Dill Pickles would be SO GOOD with this meal!

How to Store & Reheat Leftovers

Leftover bacon cheeseburger soup will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently on the stovetop, stirring frequently.

Can I Freeze This?

Soups with lots of dairy tend not to freeze as well, but this bacon cheeseburger soup is an exception. Allow the soup to cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw overnight in the fridge.

The key is to reheat it slowly on the stovetop, as mentioned above, and stir frequently so that the dairy incorporates back into the soup.

More Hearty Soup Recipes:

• Lasagna Soup
• Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Minestrone Soup
• Chicken Wild Rice Soup
• Irish Beef Stew
• Pizza Soup

This post was originally published in 2011 and then updated in 2023.