Best Ever Beer Cheese Soup

Fall is quickly approaching here in the Midwest and I’m excited about soup season and PSL season as well.

I’m just going to come out and say that I am not a beer drinker. But when the beer is in something like soup or some kind of baked good  I will eat it. Have you had beer bread before? That stuff is the best and would probably be a really good dipper for this soup. 

Beer cheese soup is mostly pureed vegetables, mainly carrots and peppers made with a roux to thicken the soup. Then beer and lots of cheese get added to help thicken the soup up. My favorite thing to do is to dip homemade soft pretzels into the soup on a cold rainy or snowy day. This really isn’t a soup that is satisfying to classify as a dinner or whole meal but it makes a great appetizer. 

What Ingredients do I need? 

In this section, you can find substitutes or suggestions for certain ingredients. I also will try and list out what the ingredients’ purpose is for. 

Butter  and Flour help to make a thick roux for the soup 

Vegetables – diced carrots and bell peppers

Chicken Stock – low-sodium store-bought or homemade

Beer – preferably a mild-flavored blond or pale ale

Half and Half – can sub heavy cream or whole milk – I have not tried this with dairy-free milk. 

Cheddar – aged yellow cheddar (aged at least 2 years), grated

Worcestershire Sauce and Hot Sauce – to taste

Soft Pretzels – You can make your own or just use some store-bought ones. They are easy to throw in the microwave! I have a recipe for 2 ingredient dough that makes wonderful soft pretzels here. 2 Ingredient Dough

 How to make the Best Ever Beer Cheese Soup  

To print the full recipe please see the recipe card below. 

1. In a large stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until well incorporated, about 5 minutes more. – Preferably a dutch oven 
2. Add the chicken stock, beer and half-and-half and cook, whisking often, at a very slow simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.
3. Add the cheddar to the soup by the handful, whisking each batch until smooth. Add the Worcestershire, hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, the nutmeg, mustard and lemon juice, and stir to combine.
4. Puree the soup in batches in a blender (holding a thick towel over the lid to prevent overflow) until very smooth. – You can also use an immersion hand blender if you don’t want to transfer hot soup to a blender. 
5. Just before serving, reheat the soup until steaming and taste for seasoning, adding salt as necessary. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each bowl with a swirl of mustard oil, a dollop of goat cheese and a sprinkle of thyme.

Other Recipes to Try 

25 Slow Cooker Recipes for Dinner 

Maple Bacon Corn Bread Muffins 

Knock you Naked Brownies 

Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash 

Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos 

If you’ve tried this Best Ever Beer Cheese Soup recipe or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out. Snap a picture and upload it to Pinterest.

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