Crockpot Creamy Potato Hamburger Soup makes a filling dinner from browned beef, diced potatoes, and a broth finished with milk and cheddar. The potatoes stay in soft, spoon-sized pieces, and the beef is spread through the bowl rather than sitting in large clumps. It is a simple soup to serve with bread when you want dinner to feel substantial.
The slow cooker handles the long part, but the order matters. Cook the beef before it goes in, let the potatoes become tender in the broth, and save the dairy and cheese for the finish. That gives you a creamy soup without asking the milk to cook for hours.
Choose the texture before you start
The soup can have a fairly loose, creamy broth or a thicker, spoon-coating finish. The flour in the recipe is optional. Use it if you want more body, or leave it out and mash a few cooked potatoes into the broth instead. Leave most of the potato pieces intact so the soup still has something to bite into.
Whole milk gives a lighter finish, while half-and-half makes the broth richer. Either works with the amounts in the card. The cheddar adds flavor and some thickness of its own, so wait until it has melted before deciding whether the soup needs anything else.
Ingredient notes for this version
Ground beef. Lean beef is convenient here because there is less grease to drain. Break it into small crumbles as it browns. Large chunks are harder to distribute evenly through a bowl of soup.
Potatoes, onion, and garlic. Peel the potatoes and cut them into roughly half-inch cubes. Fairly even pieces soften at a similar pace. Dice the onion small and mince the garlic so their flavor spreads through the broth.
Chicken broth and dried herbs. Lower-sodium broth makes the final salt adjustment easier. Dried parsley, thyme, and basil season the base while it cooks. Fresh green onions or parsley are optional garnishes rather than necessary parts of the finish.
Milk and cheddar. Keep the dairy for the last stage. Shred the cheddar from a block if you can, and add it gradually to hot soup after the heat is turned off. A hard boil is not helpful once the cheese goes in.
Optional flour and butter. Flour needs to be mixed with cold dairy before it meets the hot broth. The butter is a separate, optional finishing ingredient; stir it in once the cheese has melted.
Get the beef and potatoes into the cooker
Start with a skillet over medium heat. Brown the ground beef, breaking it apart as it cooks, until it is cooked through. Drain excess grease before transferring it. Taking care of that first keeps a layer of fat from floating on the finished soup.
Put the browned beef in a roomy slow cooker with the diced potatoes, onion, and garlic. A six-quart cooker gives you space for the ingredients and for stirring in the dairy later. Cut any noticeably large potato pieces down before loading the crock.
Add the chicken broth and dried herbs, then give everything a stir. Season lightly with salt and pepper at this point. The broth and cheese may already contribute salt, so leave room to adjust the taste at the end.
Let the potatoes set the pace
Keep the lid on and cook on LOW for about six to seven hours, or HIGH for three to four hours. Check a few potato cubes before moving on. They should be tender through the center, not just soft around the edges. If they still resist, keep cooking and check again.
Slow cookers vary, and larger potato pieces can need more time. Treat the range as a guide. This is also the point to mash a few potatoes against the side of the crock if you want a fuller broth without using the optional flour.
Finish in this order: milk, then cheese
If using flour, whisk it into a small portion of the cold milk or half-and-half until there are no lumps. Stir that mixture and the remaining dairy into the soup. If skipping the flour, simply stir in the dairy. Do this before adding any cheddar.
Cover and cook on HIGH for about thirty to forty-five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the soup is hot and the optional thickener has had time to cook. Give it longer if it needs it, and avoid a hard boil.
Turn the cooker off and let the soup stand for about five minutes, until it is no longer bubbling. Stir in the shredded cheddar a handful at a time. Let one addition melt before adding the next, rather than tipping all the cheese into one spot.
Stir in the optional butter, then taste for salt and pepper. The broth should be smooth around the potato pieces. If it is thicker than you like, add a small splash of milk or broth and stir gently.
Serve it while the broth is smooth and creamy
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve it hot. Crusty bread, dinner rolls, or toast are easy accompaniments. The optional garnish can be left off; the potatoes, beef, and cheddar already give the bowl plenty of flavor.
Keep the potato pieces mostly intact when stirring and serving. The finished bowl should have tender cubes and small beef crumbles throughout, with creamy broth between them.
Two useful substitutions
Can I use beef broth? Yes. It gives the soup a stronger beef flavor. Choose a broth you like and taste before adding more salt, especially after the cheddar has melted.
Can I use ground turkey? It can replace the beef. Brown it and cook it through first, then use the same potato and dairy stages. The flavor will be lighter than the beef version.
For another hearty beef soup, try Cabbage Roll Soup. Creamy Beef and Shells is an option when you want a quicker ground-beef dinner, while Chicken Rice Soup gives you a different soup to put on the menu.
Crockpot Creamy Potato & Hamburger Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef lean preferred
- 5-6 medium potatoes peeled and cut into roughly 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 cups chicken broth lower-sodium preferred
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 3 cups whole milk or half-and-half add near the end; use cold dairy when mixing with flour
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese freshly shredded preferred
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour optional; whisk into some cold dairy before adding
- 2 tablespoons butter optional, stirred in at the end
- Chopped green onions or fresh parsley optional, for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it into small crumbles, until browned and cooked through. Drain excess grease.
- Transfer the cooked beef to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the peeled potatoes, cut into roughly 1/2-inch cubes, along with the diced onion and minced garlic.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir in the dried parsley, thyme, and basil. Season lightly with salt and black pepper, reserving the final adjustment until after the cheese has melted.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until the potato cubes are tender all the way through. Continue cooking if needed. For more body without the optional flour, gently mash a few of the cooked potatoes against the side of the crock.
- If using the optional flour, first whisk it into a small portion of the cold milk or half-and-half until smooth. Stir this mixture and the remaining dairy into the soup. If omitting flour, stir in the dairy directly. Cover and cook on HIGH for about 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot and, if using flour, slightly thickened. Allow more time if needed; avoid a hard boil.
- Turn the slow cooker OFF and let the soup stand for about 5 minutes, until it is no longer bubbling. Add the shredded cheddar a handful at a time, stirring each addition into the hot soup until melted before adding more.
- Stir in the optional butter until melted. Taste and adjust the salt and black pepper. If the soup is thicker than you prefer, stir in a small splash of milk or broth.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and serve while hot. Green onions or fresh parsley are optional garnishes, and the soup can be served without them. Crusty bread or dinner rolls work well alongside.
