This Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup fuses the homey flavors of cheeseburgers with only 15 minutes of prep time.
It’s perfect for cozy family weeknight dinners, especially during the autumn months when the nights are starting to get colder.
Pair this cheeseburger soup with starchy side dishes, like Instant Pot French Bread or Air Fryer Breadsticks, and you’ll have a hearty meal that’ll make everyone at the table feel satiated!
Instant pot recipes are always lifesavers for busy moms like me. Master a couple of them, and you’ll always have a no-fuss dish you can prepare in minutes during busy days and nights!
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Why are there potatoes in cheeseburger soup?
You won’t usually find potatoes in regular cheeseburgers. But, as many of us enjoy burgers paired with fries or hashbrowns, potatoes will also go really well in cheeseburger soup. Both adults and kids will love the combination of diced potatoes and cheesy broth.
Apart from enhancing the soup’s flavor, potatoes also have many health benefits as they’re loaded with antioxidants, minerals, and fiber. So, adding them to meals is one of my personal favorite ways to energize my kids while keeping them healthy.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Creamy, savory, and cheesy. Those are some of the best aspects of this easy cheeseburger soup recipe. But there are absolutely more things to love about this delicious soup.
- It’s very easy to make. Thanks to the instant pot’s cooking convenience, you just need to prep the ingredients for 15 minutes, and you can focus on other things until the family-favorite burger pot soup is made.
- This dish is kid-friendly. The cheesiness of this recipe makes even the pickiest eaters love this soup with every slurp they have.
- This comforting soup is customizable. You can personalize the instant pot cheeseburger soup recipe to pair suitably with your preferences by choosing your favorite meat and cheese.
If you love Instant Pot soup recipes but prefer Mexican cuisine, you may want to check out this Instant Pot Taco Soup for a filling and delicious meal time.
🥘 Ingredients
Here are the essential ingredients you need to make cheeseburger soup in an instant pot.
- Lean ground meat: You can choose ground beef, pork, or ground turkey, depending on your preferences.
- Onion: The onion offers a sweet and aromatic depth to the soup, making a flavorful foundation that complements the other ingredients.
- Potatoes: Diced potatoes will highlight the soup’s texture and thickness.
- Condensed cheddar cheese soup: This ingredient will ensure that the soup is creamy, thick, and cheesy.
- Onion powder: Made from dried onions, this seasoning adds a concentrated burst of onion flavor to the other ingredients.
- Garlic powder: This powder infuses the soup with a rich and robust garlic flavor. Its impactful taste will improve the flavor profile of this recipe into a great soup.
- Heavy cream: This pantry staple adds a velvety texture to the soup, enriching it and giving it a satisfying thickness.
- Shredded cheese: A generous dollop of shredded cheese creates the perfect gooey, cheesy goodness that’ll make this cheeseburger soup as tasty as it is.
- Green onions: Chopped green onions, used both for garnish and flavor, give a mild savory flavor and enhance the color of the soup.
See recipe card for complete list of ingredients and quantities.
🔀 Substitutions
Green onions: If you can’t find green onions or don’t prefer using them in your soup, you can add chopped chives to this recipe instead.
Heavy cream: You can replace heavy cream with whole milk for a thinner sauce consistency.
🌈 Variations / Options / Add-Ins
Here are some of the indulgent variations of this pressure cooker cheeseburger soup recipe.
- Spicy Kick: Add chili pepper flakes or some ground cayenne pepper while cooking to imbue heat into the dish.
- Kid-friendly: Make this recipe even more kid-friendly by adding small pasta shapes like macaroni or mini shells to the soup. Kids will love the cheesy pasta combination.
- Loaded Deluxe Edition: Take the goodness of this soup up a notch by incorporating crispy bacon bits as a topping.
Do you love cheeseburger-inspired recipes? Then, you and your kids would definitely like this Cheeseburger Macaroni.
🥄 Equipment Needed / Helpful Tools
All of the tools you need to cook this cheeseburger soup are common cooking equipment.
- Measuring cups and spoons: You’ll need precise measurements to ensure consistent flavor and texture when you make this cheeseburger soup.
- Stirring spoon: Use this tool to sauté the ingredients together and to ensure even mixing.
🔪 How to Make Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup
Let’s jump straight to the steps you’ll need to follow to make this soup!
Step 1: Sauté meat and onion
Set the instant pot to saute mode and put in the ground meat and onion. Sauté until the meat is slightly cooked with a pink color and the onion is translucent. Keep in mind that you shouldn’t fully cook the meat as it’ll be further cooked under pressure later. This step should take about 3-5 minutes.
Step 2: Add more ingredients and season
Add the water and potatoes into the instant pot, ensuring that the potatoes are evenly spread out. After doing so, you can add the soup, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Do not mix these ingredients.
Step 3: Pressure cook
Place the Instant Pot’s lid on top and twist to seal it. Close the pressure valve by pushing it away from you and set your instant pot to high pressure for a minute. Once done, release the pressure valve manually to conduct a quick release.
Step 4: Incorporate cream and green onions
Choose cancel on the Instant Pot and switch to sauté mode. Add in the cream slowly and then the onions once the whole pot starts to simmer. Stir it thoroughly to ensure an even mixture.
Step 5: Add cheese
Now that you’re more than halfway done, stir in the shredded cheese and mix it all in. Make sure the soup is thoroughly mixed before you add garnish to this comfort food.
Step 6: Put the final touches
Top the dish with burger toppings of your choice, like bacon bits, green onions, or even more cheese, to make this dish more magical.
Step 7: Serve
Bring out your bowls and spoons. Then, serve and enjoy this hearty comfort food! If preferred, you may add more salt and pepper to each serving.
👩🍳 Pro Tips
- To make this dish healthier, consider adding more vegetables to the broth. I personally love adding spinach to this recipe if I want an extra healthy dinner.
- It’s best to serve cheeseburger soup immediately after cooking. Reheating this recipe can negatively alter the texture of the ingredients.
❓ Recipe FAQs
No, freezing this particular recipe isn’t ideal for two good reasons. First, the high dairy content of frozen Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup alters the flavor during thawing. Second, frozen or thawed potatoes usually tend to be mushy, which leads to an undesirable texture.
I highly recommend consuming this Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup right away. However, if you really can’t avoid leftovers, you can store them in the fridge using an airtight container. Make sure that your soup has cooled down first before refrigerating, and consume it within two to three days.
Unfortunately, as this recipe uses potatoes, which are high in carbohydrates, it’s not exactly keto-friendly. However, if you don’t add the diced potatoes, this recipe can be considered low-carb.
🙏 Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup:
Ready to get cooking? Print off the recipe card below or toggle on Cook Mode to keep your screen from going dark while you follow along on your phone or tablet.
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📋 Recipe
Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Stirring spoon
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground meat I used ground turkey, but you can use ground chicken or ground beef
- 1/2 onion diced
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 cups potatoes diced
- 2 – 10.5 ounces condensed cheddar cheese soup
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups shredded cheese
- 1 bunch green onions chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Set the instant pot on to sauté mode. Add the onion and meat. Then, sauté until the meat is slightly pink and your onion is translucent. This should only take about 3 to 5 minutes. Remember, you don’t need to thoroughly cook your meat in this step as it will continue cooking under pressure later.
- Add the water and potatoes to your instant pot. Ensure that the potatoes are evenly spread out in your pot, then, add in the following ingredients: soup, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Do not mix.
- Place a lid on your instant pot, and twist it to seal. Close the pressure valve at the top by pushing it away from you. Then, set your instant pot to high pressure for one minute. Once the pot has finished cooking, do a quick release of the pressure by releasing the pressure valve manually.
- Set your Instant Pot to cancel, and then turn on the sauté mode. Once your ingredients start to simmer, slowly add in the cream while stirring. When the cream is completely incorporated, add in your green onions and mix.
- While stirring slowly using a spoon, add in your shredded cheese. Mix until it's well incorporated and melted in.
- Serve and enjoy this comforting soup! You may top it off with bacon bits, more cheese, and green onions. If preferred, you may also add more salt and pepper to each bowl, according to your liking.
Notes
- To make this dish healthier, consider adding more vegetables to the broth. I personally love adding spinach to this recipe if I want an extra healthy dinner.
- It’s best to serve cheeseburger soup immediately after cooking. Reheating this recipe can negatively alter the texture of the ingredients.