A Quick Cheeseburger Macaroni Soup

Cheeseburger Macaroni Soup is the ultimate comfort food! It’s warm, cheesy, thick and delicious! This family-friendly recipe is easy to make and can be prepared in about 30 minutes.

I originally made this Cheeseburger Mac Soup back in 2014 but I re-make it every time there’s a cold night! Plus – your kids will never know there’s spinach in it! Sneaky vegetables FTW!

Cheeseburger Macaroni Soup Ingredients

I tend to not love soup for dinner because I still tend to be hungry – but not with this Bacon Cheeseburger Soup! It’s definitely a MEAL in a bowl! Here’s what you’ll need: 

• lean ground beef – if you’re trying to keep calories down, feel free to use ground turkey or ground chicken, want more flavor – use Italian sausage! 
• bell pepper – any color, diced
• onion, diced
• sliced mushrooms 
• minced garlic
• olive oil
• Spices: oregano, thyme, salt & black pepper
• chicken broth or beef broth
• elbow macaroni noodles
• baby spinach
• sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or cubed
• crumbled cooked bacon
• OPTIONAL: diced pickles – make it a real cheeseburger by dicing up a few dill pickles on top for crunch!

You can make substitutions and variations as well! 

• Want more veggies – feel free to add in tomatoes, corn, green beans or carrots. 
• Have other cheese in your fridge? Feel free to use Velveeta cheese, colby jack or whatever else you like!

How do you make Cheeseburger Macaroni Soup?

This flavor in this soup is DELICIOUS! The cheese sort of sticks to the ground beef and pasta – which I love – because it’s still a brothy soup rather than creamy. It’s just my absolute favorite!

• In a dutch oven, brown ground beef over medium-high heat. Season with salt & pepper. If beef is lean, add a little olive oil.
• Add pepper, onion, mushrooms, garlic, oregano and thyme. Stir often until beef is cooked through and vegetables are tender.
• Add chicken broth and simmer 20 minutes.
• While broth is simmering, boil & cook macaroni according to directions.
• Stir spinach into the pot along with cheese. Stir frequently as the spinach becomes wilted and the cheese is melting completely
• Once macaroni is done, drain and rinse quickly. Then add to the soup.
• Garnish with shredded cheese and bacon if desired.

I also took some of the leftover Cheeseburger soup to work the next day for a coworker and he loved it as well! He’s always asking people to bring lunch in for him – so I obliged. Once the macaroni is in the soup overnight – it becomes less of a soup as the macaroni absorbs a lot of the liquid. Still delicious though – maybe even better than the first night!

How do you store and reheat leftovers?

The soup definitely makes enough for 6+ but you probably won’t want to share! Store in airtight glass containers and refrigerate up to a week – or freeze up to three months. Reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.