This easy Beer Cheese Soup is rich and creamy and sharp cheddar cheesy! Brimming with smoky bacon flavor, jalapeños, aromatics, and your favorite beer, this 30-minute recipe is as simple as it is delicious!
Table of contents
Best Beer Cheese Soup Recipe
Homemade beer cheese soup is exactly as indulgent as it sounds and so easy to make at home. As decadent and loaded with flavor as this soup is, it’s made with just a few simple ingredients.
Grab a slice of crusty bread or homemade pretzels and enjoy!!
The cream, beer, and broth give it a thick and creamy texture that turns a popular beer cheese dip into the best bowl of hearty soup! Use whatever beer you have on hand, whether it’s an ale, a lager, or stout, you’re in for something special!
Ingredients/shopping list
- Bacon – Thick-cut bacon doesn’t get lost in this soup and the smokiness adds a depth of flavor while some of the grease is used to cook down the aromatics.
- Onion & Garlic – Onion and garlic are a flavor combination that most of us couldn’t live without! They add a ton of flavor to the roux which is the base of the soup.
- Jalapeños – I like to remove the seeds to be able to add the flavor without much heat, but if you like yours spicy, by all means, leave in a few seeds.
- Butter – When combined with the flour it creates a nutty paste that is used to thicken up the soup.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is a great neutral flour that will add body and weight to the broth without adding any unnecessary flavor.
- Chicken broth & beer – Use low sodium chicken stock or broth if you prefer, and whatever type of beer you’ve got on hand like light beer, wheat beer, pale ale, etc. The flavor of the beer will change the flavor of the soup, but they all work.
- Cheddar cheese – Grating your own fresh cheese from a block is a MUST! I love to use a Wisconsin sharp cheddar but you can use whatever sharp cheddar you like.
- Cornstarch – Used to coat the shredded cheese. It helps to avoid the cheese clumping and sticking together and allows it to melt evenly into the entire soup.
- Heavy cream – Gives it an even richer consistency when added towards the end.
- Green onion – Optional garnish.
How to Make This Cheese Soup
This recipe isn’t complicated and uses so few ingredients that it requires the best and freshest of ingredients and just 30 minutes of your time!
Cook the Bacon
Step 1: Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy. Place on a paper towel lined plate to absorb the grease and set it aside.
You can also cook the bake bacon in the oven on a foil-lined baking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees F until crispy.
Making the soup
Step 2: Replace the skillet with a large Dutch oven or large pot over the same heat and add a tablespoon of the bacon to the pot (so much flavor!). Cook the onion for about 4-5 minutes until tender. Stir constantly.
Step 3: Add the garlic and jalapeños to cook for about a minute, continue to stir constantly, then add the butter and flour to create a roux.
Step 4: To the paste, add broth and beer and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
Step 5: Combine the cheese and cornstarch and toss to coat. To the pot, add the cream and ½ cup of cheese at a time, stirring constantly until each batch has melted. Remove from the heat.
Garnish with crispy bacon and sliced green onions. Serve hot with soft pretzels on the side!
Variations/ Substitutions
- Add 1 cup of cooked chopped broccoli for a lovely broccoli cheddar (and beer!) soup. Use either fresh or frozen.
- Add a dash of Worcestershire sauce for a bit of an umami flavor.
- For a vegetarian option, use vegetable stock in place of the chicken broth and leave out the bacon. In this case, substitute a tablespoon of melted butter, olive oil or vegetable oil instead of using bacon grease to cook the onion and garlic.
- Use non-alcoholic beer if preferred.
- Stir in a teaspoon of dry mustard. If you’ve ever added dry mustard to your macaroni and cheese sauce, you’ll know what a nice tangy addition it provides.
- Substitute one teaspoon hot sauce for the jalapeños for a different heat.
Tips
- Use a variety of different cheese: sharp white cheddar cheese, yellow cheddar cheese, or any Wisconsin sharp cheddar. Some people enjoy using smoked cheddar cheese or adding a little cream cheese as well.
- Be sure to freshly grate cheese off of a block. It melts much better for a creamier soup. Like I said, only the freshest ingredients!
- Omit the jalapeños peppers if you prefer a no-spice soup or add a little more if you like it extra spicy.
- Substitute whole milk, low-fat milk, half and half or favorite non-dairy milk for the heavy cream.
- Use an immersion blender to blend it completely smooth.
- Serve it in bread bowls for added presentation!
FAQ’s
Keep any leftover soup in the fridge, covered in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
This soup will thicken as it cools. It will thin out as you warm it up, but you may need to add a splash of broth or cream to thin it out even more. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat until heated through.
Other Easy Soup Recipes
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Easy Beer Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 4 ounces bacon thick cut
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 jalapeno minced and seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 12 ounces lager mild beer, pale ale or lager
- 16 ounces cheddar cheese freshly grated
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat for 4 minutes on each side until crispy or bake bacon in the oven,
- After cooking, place the bacon on paper towels to absorb grease.
- Heat a large dutch oven or pot over medium heat and add a tablespoon of bacon grease to the pot.
- Add the diced onion and cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it becomes tender.
- Then add the garlic and diced jalapenos and cook for one minute, stirring constantly.
- Add butter and then add the flour and into the onion and garlic mixture.
- Add the broth and beer and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often.
- In a large bowl, combine the cheese and cornstarch and toss to coat the cheese completely.
- Add the heavy cream to the soup and then add ½ cup of cheese at a time, stirring constantly in between each batch until melted.
- Once all of the cheese has been added and melted. remove the pot from the heat.
- Garnish with diced cooked bacon and sliced green onions.
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