Description
Hearty crock pot hamburger potato soup brings comfort and warmth to winter meals. Creamy potato and ground beef combine with simple ingredients for a satisfying one-pot dinner you’ll crave during chilly evenings.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb (454 g) ground beef or ground turkey
- 4 cups (600 g) potatoes, peeled & diced (Yukon Gold or Russet)
- 2 cups (240 g) carrots, sliced
- 4 cups (946 ml) beef or chicken broth
- 1 (14.5 oz/411 g) can diced tomatoes, drained (optional)
- 1 cup (240 ml) milk or heavy cream
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup (100 g) shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp smoked paprika (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsps cornstarch mixed with ¼ cup (60 ml) water (to thicken, if needed)
- Fresh parsley or green onions
- Extra shredded cheese
Instructions
- Meat Preparation: Sauté ground beef in a skillet over medium heat, fragmenting into uniform crumbles until completely browned, roughly 5-6 minutes.
- Crockpot Assembly: Transfer drained meat into crockpot, creating a robust protein foundation for the soup.
- Vegetable Integration: Dice potatoes into consistent cubes and mince onions and garlic, layering them meticulously over the meat base.
- Liquid Foundation: Gently pour chicken broth into the crockpot, ensuring comprehensive ingredient coverage.
- Creamy Transformation: Blend cream cheese and milk thoroughly, stirring to generate a velvety, unified texture that harmonizes all components.
- Seasoning Enhancement: Generously season with salt, pepper, and complementary herbs to amplify the soup’s intricate flavor profile.
- Slow Cooking Process: Seal crockpot and configure to low heat, allowing ingredients to languish and intermingle their essences for 6-7 hours.
- Final Refinement: Periodically stir to prevent adherence and guarantee uniform heat distribution, then taste and calibrate seasonings for a perfectly balanced culinary experience.
Notes
- Optimize Meat Preparation: Brown ground beef thoroughly to develop deeper flavor and remove excess fat, which prevents a greasy soup texture.
- Control Potato Consistency: Cut potatoes into uniform 1-inch cubes to guarantee even cooking and prevent mushy or undercooked potato pieces.
- Enhance Creaminess Technique: Soften cream cheese at room temperature before adding to prevent lumping and achieve a smoother, more integrated soup base.
- Customize Dietary Adaptations: Swap ground beef with ground turkey for a leaner option, or use plant-based crumbles to create a vegetarian version of the soup.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 6-8 hours (low) or 3-4 hours (high)
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 7
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg