Looking for a healthy low oxalate meal? This is a low oxalate twist on the Cheeseburger soup, it's a delicious variation that taste like a steak and cheese meets a cheeseburger but ditches the high oxalate vegetables. The foundation of the meal is still the basics of the cheeseburger soup but with some easy swaps. Many of the traditional cheeseburger soups are full of high oxalate potatoes, celery and carrots. This is a family favorite, keeps your oxalate content low, is full of dairy and meat but uses some safe vegetables to keep the oxalate content within a safe range and gives flavor and variety to your taste buds.
This meal is great for fall and winter and I just really love a soup that's warm, savory and full of nutrient dense ingredients. Its so important to use animal products as your foundation for meals, because it provides important nutrients. I love a good cheeseburger hamburger in the summer time on the grill but this twist on the traditional cheeseburger gives a nice switch up for fall and winter, when you don't necessarily want to pull out the grill.
I chose to swap the potatoes, celery and carrots for red peppers and it was a successful substitute. Red Peppers are a medium oxalate food but per serving make it a low oxalate option. The brightness of the red was also a great contrast to the creamy color of the soup. I use whole milk and cream, make a roux with cornstarch which I prefer over flour and use a good quality sharp cheddar cheese that gives the soup a tasty kick. To finish off the soup I sprinkle crunchy bacon and chives on top and that adds a great flavor combo!
Equipment
You will need a stock pot, pairing knife, wooden spatula, skillet, cutting board, measuring cup and measuring spoons. Using a stainless steel stock pot, has less toxins and is a great conductor of heat. I prefer a pairing knife for chopping my onion and peppers but you can use whatever knife you prefer. I use a wooden cutting board to prevent plastic from getting into my dish. https://www.foodandwine.com/are-plastic-cutting-boards-safe-8624857
Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Chicken broth
- Red peppers
- Onion
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Corn starch
- Parsley
- Basil
- Salt
- White pepper
- Milk
- Cream
- Bacon
- Chives
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe Part 1: The Soup Base
Gathers all your ingredients for part one of Philly Cheeseburger Soup. This is called Mise en Place. It really helps to be organize so you can move quickly though the cooking process, instead of pulling out your ingredients as you go. chop up your vegetables so you can add them quickly to the stock pot. Here's a great read on how Mise en Place can be helpful. https://www.escoffier.edu/blog/culinary-arts/what-is-mise-en-place-and-why-is-it-so-important-to-chefs/
In a stock pot add your butter, onions, peppers and salt. Sautee till the onions and peppers start to look more translucent. I even like to see a little bit of brown on them, 5-7 minutes.
In a separate stainless steel skillet add 80/20 ground beef, then salt and cook until it browned.
After you cook your ground beef place it into a stainless steel strainer, and let it sit for about 5 minutes to let the fat drain off the meat. Fat adds flavor but too much fat can over take the flavor of the meat. Draining some of the fat also helps to keep balance to the flavors.
Once you have drained the fat from the ground beef, add it to your other sauce pan with the onions and peppers. Then pour in your chicken broth, add salt, white pepper, parsley, and basil. Bring to a boil then reduce the head so the soup simmers. This will simmer for 35-45 minutes.
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe Part 2: The Roux
To thicken your soup and create that delicious creamy base we need to make a roux. Corn Starch is low oxalate and is gluten free, so I really like using it to thicken my soups and sauces. When making a roux you want to move quickly, so I like having everything measured out and ready to go. You will also need a stock pot for this process.
In order to make the roux you will need to add equal parts or corn starch to water. I used 2 tablespoons of corn starch to 2 tablespoons of water. Then with a fork in my measuring cup, combined them till there are no chunks and its smooth.
Now add your 1 ½ cup of milk and cream to your stock pot and get it hot. Then you will add your corn starch mixture slowly to the milk. Stir constantly while adding the corn starch mixture. Once the milk, cream and the corn starch are blended, bring it back to a boil and keep stirring. Let it boil for 1 minute. Turn off the heat.
This is the fun part! Slowly add your roux into your soup and stir constantly till the are fully blended.
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe Part 3: Adding the Sharp Cheddar Cheese
You will need to dice up your two cups of Sharp Cheddar. I really liked using a good quality sharp cheddar because it gives it a great kick of flavor.
Now, slowly add in your cheddar cheese and keep stirring. You don't want the cheese to melt at the bottom of the stock pot. If you consistently stir till the cheese as it melts, you will have a smooth and creamy soup that is absolutely delectable.
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe Part 4: The Toppings
Lastly, I topped my Philly Cheeseburger Soup with bacon. I like using the Costco pre-cooked bacon when I am in a rush but you can use fresh bacon too. I air fried the bacon in my oven to get it crispy, chopped it up and topped my soup with it.
Add your chopped bacon and chives, and serve your Philly Cheeseburger Soup this makes for a fantastic bite!
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe
This yummy, creamy, Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe is low oxalate, full of flavor and super easy to make. A really great twist on the Philly Cheese Steak and the Cheeseburger in one killer recipe.
Equipment
- 2 Stock pots
- 1 Skillet
- 1 Pairing knife
- 1 Wooden Spatula
- 2 Wooden cutting board
- 2 Measuring cups
- 1 Cookie Sheet
- 1 Stainless steel strainer
Ingredients
Philly Cheeseburg Soup Recipe Part 1: The Soup Base
- 2 lbs Ground beef No oxalate
- 3 cups Chicken broth No oxalate
- 4 Red bell peppers 24 mg of oxalate
- 1 Large yellow onion 2 mg of oxalate for 1 cup
- 2 teaspoon Parsley 6.5 mg of oxalate
- 2 teaspoon Basil 2 mg of oxalate
- 2 tsp Salt Redmon brand
- White pepper Low oxalate (to taste)
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe Part 2: The Roux
- 2 tablespoon Corn Starch Very Low Oxalate
- 2 tablespoon Water No oxalate
- 1 cup Whole milk No oxalate
- ½ cup Cream No oxalate
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe Part 3: Adding The Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 2 cups Sharp cheddar cheese No oxalate
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe Part 4: The Toppings
- 6 Slices Bacon No oxalate
- Chives to taste Very low oxalate ( 1 tablespoon is .22 mg of oxalate)
Instructions
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe Part 1
- Gather all your ingredients and equipment so the cooking process moves smoothly. This includes dicing your onions and peppers, so you can add them quickly to the heated stock pot.
- Pre-heat both your stock pot(vegetables) and skillet(meat) on medium heat, one is for your vegetables and one is for your ground beef. Add your butter to the stock pot and let it melt. Add your onions first, salt them and sauté them for 3 or 4 minutes. Then add your peppers, salt them and sauté them with the onions for an additional 5 minutes. Stir the vegetables as they cook. They will sauté for a total of about 8 minutes. I like to see a little brown.
- While your vegetables are cooking add your 2lb of ground beef, to your skillet, salt generously and let that brown. Once its browned consistently, its ready.
- Strain your browned ground beef of the extra fat, too much fat can cloud the flavor and make it too rich. I like to let it strain for 5-7 minutes and I stir it around the strainer as well. This helps to keep the fat from pooling.
- Once the ground beef is fully strained, add it to the vegetables in the stock pot. Add your parsley, basil, salt and white pepper and your 3 cups of chicken broth, bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer. This will simmer for 35-45 minutes.
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Recipe Part 2: The Roux
- You will need two measuring cups, I prefer the Pyrex glass measuring cups. I use the 1 cup and the 2 cup measurements. A stock pot, tablespoon, fork and corn starch, whole milk and cream.
- Add 2 tablespoons of corn starch to your 1 measuring cup, then add 2 tablespoons of good filtered water. Mix with your fork until it's consistency is smooth.
- Add 1 cup of whole milk to your measuring cup and ½ cup of cream to your measuring cup and stir them together. Pour the 1 ½ cup of milk into your stock pot and get the liquid hot. Once the liquid is hot start pouring in your corn starch mixture slowly and stir constantly. Once both the milk and the corn starch have been combined, you will bring the mixture to a boil for one minute, while stirring and then turn the heat off. Your mixture should be pretty thick. This is an important part of thickening your Philly Cheeseburger Soup recipe.
- Now you are going to very slowly add the roux into your simmering soup from part 1, pour slowly and do not stop stirring the soup and roux. Do not rush this process, go slow and steady, this part creates the incredibly creamy soup. You will know when they are combined because you will see no separation and the color will be creamy.
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Part 3: Adding the Cheddar Cheese
- Take your log of sharp cheddar cheese and cut it into a block, cut the block into strips and cut the strips into small cubes of cheese. You will need two cups for cubed sharp cheddar cheese or whatever cheddar cheese your prefer.
- Start adding your cubes of sharp cheddar cheese to your simmering Philly Cheeseburger Soup and stir constantly. If you do not stir the cheese it will pool at the bottom of your stock pot. If you constantly stir the cheddar cheese till its completely melted, it blends perfectly. I let it simmer together for another 5-10 minutes to let all the flavors meld together. Then you can take it off the heat.
Philly Cheeseburger Soup Part 4: The Toppings
- Lastly, crisp up your bacon, chop it into bite size pieces. Top your bowl of Philly Cheeseburger Soup with bacon bites and chives. This give it a killer bite.
Notes
This recipe makes 8-12 servings, depending on your portion size and family size. It does feed our family for 4 for about 3 days.
I think I would like to even play with adding an additional pound of ground beef but keeping all the other measurements the same, I think it would provide an even meatier bite.
The total mg of oxalate per serving for 8 is about 5 mg of oxalate and 12 servings is about 3mg of oxalate.
I don't love using high oxalate foods for cooking anymore but you can see with a large meal prep, you can use some medium oxalate foods and they become low oxalate when the concentration is disbursed.
Cheryl Mitchell says
Can't wait to try this!! 😍
christi says
Awesome!