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Dairy-Free Cheeseburger Soup

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Lately I have been craving ground beef. I take this as my body’s way of telling me that I need to eat it. So one night I decided to make cheeseburger soup. I’ve been creating recipes for long enough to know that I was most definitely not the first person to think of this 🙂 I knew that a quick Google would show me a bajillion recipes for cheeseburger soup. But I also knew that they would all be made with dairy, probably not even real dairy, but like Velveta. Eew. I whipped up this dairy-free cheeseburger soup in no time, and amazingly enough my entire family loved it. So I made it again, and again. We’ve had it three times now, always this exact same way. It’s so easy. We have it with salad, and then I put so much shredded lettuce on top of my soup that it’s practically another salad. (I held way back on the lettuce in this photo – I figured you needed to see some of the soup 🙂 )

Don’t forget this Saturday is my 12-year-old daughter Zoe’s book signing! Please join me in celebrating her first published book, and while you’re at Snackin’ Free get some paleo tortillas and pizza crusts to take home with you!

Dairy-Free Cheeseburger Soup

paleo, gluten-free, grain-free

1 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds grass-fed ground beef
2 cups tomato puree
2 cups beef broth
1 and 1/2 cups plain cashews
2 teaspoons arrowroot flour
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 and 1/2 teaspoons pink salt

1. Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot over low to medium heat.
2. Add a tablespoon of fat (I use bacon grease), the onion, garlic, and ground beef.
3. Stir occasionally, breaking up the beef, and cook until the meat is no longer pink, and the onions are tender.
4. Add the tomato puree and increase the heat to medium.
5. Add the beef broth, cashews, arrowroot flour, tomato paste, and salt to the blender, and puree until completely smooth.
5. Pour the puree into the pot, and bring to a boil.
6. Once a boil is reached, turn off the heat, and allow to cool for a few minutes.
7. Serve with shredded romaine lettuce, and chopped green onions.

♥, Kelly


EPM-soups
This recipe comes from the soup chapter in my new book, Easy Paleo Meals. Soups are one of my go-tos for fast easy healthy dinner 🙂

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    • This is the third day of eating this soup… insanely delicious. Yesterday I fried some chopped beef liver in ghee and added it to the soup, it was a great addition.

  2. Can we use something else instead of cashews to thicken? I have a friend who’s allergic to nuts.

    Also, on another note, I would love to see a post on how you manage to bake anything without using guar gum or xanthan gum. I’ve tried that and everything I’ve tried ends up a crumbly mess.

    • You can grind up chia seeds if you don’t want starch. I make a jam that way and it works great. You won’t need much.

  3. My four year old and I just made this! It is excellent! The cashews are awesome, such a good idea. I didn’t have everything, so I modified of course- chicken broth for beef and salsa for tomato puree, ketchup for tomato paste (I’m out of some staples 😉 So so good, now we wait for everyone else to come home to eat. Thanks, Kelly! BTW, I made your pumpkin chili for Halloween and it was also excellent!

  4. I too would love to know an alternative for the cashews. This household can eat them! Thank you!!

    • The cashews make it creamy and thick. I would have to experiment with using coconut cream and maybe another teaspoon of arrowroot.

  6. As always, this was AAAAAAMAAAAAAzing!!! Have followed you for years and love all the recipes I try!!!! You are so creative, Kelly! Thanks for sharing your wonderful and creative recipes online and in your cookbooks!!

  7. We made this for dinner tonight and it was SO GOOD! We put Bubbies dill pickle relish on it and it really tasted like cheeseburgers. Thank you!!

  8. I used almonds because I was out of cashews, the thickness was fine. I think I missed out on flavor though, so I added nutritional yeast, when that didn’t work, I added cheese. Oh Well. May try it again when I have the right ingredients. Regardless, with green onions and cheddar cheese it was yummy and quick.

  9. I cooked this recipe tonight for the kids and I. I used only half the amount of beef and still it was very thick. One small bowl each and we were full. Very tasty. When I reheat the leftovers I will add more broth, macaroni, and sliced mushrooms.

  11. This was hubby approved! My husband does what I like to call Paleo+ (paleo + what ever he wants). I cooke paleo so thats what he is going to eat lol…

    The cashews give this dish a real creamy cheesie falovor! Thank you!

  13. I have had to change a lot in my diet lately due to health. I felt a loss and pang as food is a part of my identity. Soul or down home cooking is something my family has passed down from generation to generation. It was a gift we shared, time spent together. I felt like that had been ripped away from me. This is one of the first recipes that makes me feel like some of my identity has returned. It is a meal I would share with any of my family not dealing with dietary changes and are relieved and glad about it. Thank you for sharing I have a happy husband, toddler and papa. I will be sharing this with others.

  14. I made this soup for dinner tonight. I followed the recipe exactly and it was excellent. Dairy was not missed at all in this creamy, cheesy bowl of yummy cheeseburger goodness. There were rave reviews all around the dinner table. It’s amazing that this soup is dairy-free. I also ate it with shredded lettuce covering the entire bowl–delicious! Looking forward to trying more if your recipes and to making this meal again. Thank you for creating this healthy and wholesome recipe that complies with my dietary needs. It felt like a cheat meal, but it wasn’t and my body won’t suffer for it. Amazing.

  15. Has anyone tried this with ground turkey or a vegetarian version? I made it last night and it was so delicious that I want to make it again soon without going crazy on the red meat consumption 🙂

  16. I had to tell you. This recipe just made a dream come true for me. I know that sounds crazy, but one of my very favorite foods growing up was my mom’s “goulash”. She would use a box of mac and cheese, mix the cheese packet with a can of condensed tomato soup, then mix it all up with a pack of hamburger. I’ve been wanting that again for so long and this tastes identical to that. Kelly, thank you so much for what you do. I am a very happy girl tonight.

  17. Made this for dinner tonight – excellent! Used crushed tomatoes, 1c cashews + some coconut milk, rice flour, and added some pepper and chipotle chili powder. Topped with chopped spinach and green onions. I happened to have ground beef on hand, but would normally use ground turkey and think it would be just as delicious.

  18. Just made this tonight, exactly as written. It’s awesome!! Topped it with shredded romaine, avocados, chopped onion, chopped roma tomatoes and a little chopped dill pickle. Really hits the spot! Thank you.

  19. One of my favorite dishes at a local restaurant is their Cheeseburger Soup and I’ve missed it so much since going dairy free due to severe lactose intolerance. Thank you, thank you, thank you for creating this recipe and giving me this soup back!

  20. This was delicious! I was skeptical of the dish, but the photo you posted kept drawing me in! Hubby and teens approved. Yes! Thank you!

  21. I don’t have any arrowroot. Went to 2 stores and they were both out. Do you think I could substitute gelatin?

  22. We just ate this for dinner; it’s absolutely delicious! My dad, who eats dairy, said on his first bite that it tastes just like a cheeseburger. Thanks so much for an awesome and easy recipe! Of course, when it’s your recipe I know it’s going to be awesome. 🙂 Thanks again; we loved it.

  23. Can this – and any of your delicious looking soup recipes – be made in the crock pot? Maybe six hours on low? I’m a huge slow cooker fan which is why I’m asking. 🙂 I am looking forward to making so many of your recipes! Thank you!

  24. I have made this twice now and just love it! Note to self… do not process the cashews and other wet ingredients in a food processor… unless you want a mess

  25. Just made this! It turned out delicious. I did not add the arrowroot powder or any thickener and it was perfect regardless. Threw on some green onion and chopped pickle. Yum!

  27. I am on a low fodmap diet, so I have to avoid onions and garlic. Plus garlic chunks do not like me anyway. But I can use garlic powder so I usually sub that. But for now, I know we’d be missing a lot of the aromatics, but would we be missing anything to leave those out? Any ideas for anything similar we could sub? This looks delicious and been wanting to try it, I love cheeseburger anything! 🙂

  28. My family loved this! My 5 year old can be a little difficult to please when it comes to food but she gobbled this up! Thank you, Kelly, for another wonderful recipe!

  30. This was excellent!! Even my dairy loving husband ate multiple bowls. I mixed avocado in with mine instead of lettuce and it was delicious. Making a triple batch to freeze before the school year starts!

  31. So here’s the deal. During football season my husband always wants these super rich, cheesy soups. And then while he eats I basically cry in a corner bc I can’t do cheesy soups and can’t find a healthy alternative to a good comfort soup. Then this recipe came in to my life (like 3 seconds ago) and my heart is singing!!! Cannot WAIT to make this!

  32. Hi Kelly- I made this tonight and oh my goodness- this was SO good. I didn’t make any modifications to the recipe because my taste test was so yummy. My husband loved it too and that makes me feel like a dinner cooking queen!! This was my first time making any of your recipes and I can’t wait to see what else is out there!

  33. Hi Kelly, I love so many of your recipes! As I’m sure you remember, fall in Colorado means roasted chiles! I used your cheeseburger soup as inspiration for a Creamy Green Chile Chicken Chowder and it was phenomenal. I sautéed onions and garlic in ghee. Then I added diced green chiles and a little bit of water. I poached some chicken in chicken broth (but you could use pre-cooked chicken instead). Then I blended the chicken broth with cashews, arrowroot, and cumin and added the puree to the pan with the onion and chile mixture. I added in the poached chicken which I had cubed and let it cook on low for a few minutes to blend the flavor. I then added salt and pepper to taste. Thanks for all of your wonderful recipes and for the awesome template for the Green Chile Chicken Chowder!

  34. I LOVE THIS SOUP!!!!! It’s so good!! Got your recipe book for Christmas and have made about 6 recipes so far including this one and all have been a hit!! Such a relief. I hate wasting time & money on a new recipe just to have it bomb.
    Thanks!!

  37. This is my favorite soup recipe. Ever. I always have the ingredients on hand to make it. So imagine my surprise when I was halfway through cooking and I realized that I didn’t have the tomatoes!!!! WHAT?!?!?! The only remotely based tomato ingredient I had was salsa. So in it went. What a happy accident that was. I added a bit of chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika. It turned into a fun taco cheeseburger soup. Absolutely delicious.