Beer Cheese Dip is an easy appetizer that is perfect for game day or when hosting friends.
A combination of your favorite beer, a variety of cheeses, and delicious seasonings this recipe is a welcome addition to any appetizer spread!
Holly’s Highlights For Beer Cheese Dip
- Flavor: This cheese dip has a bold flavor—the beer can be light or dark which will change the flavor of the dip.
- Difficulty: It’s easy to prepare.
- Ingredient Tip: Medium or mild cheese is not recommended, it doesn’t have enough flavor for this dip.
- Prep note: Shredding your own cheese will make the smoothest dip.
- Serving suggestion: Pair with warm pretzels, tortilla chips, or veggies like carrot sticks.
Ingredient Tips for Beer Cheese Dip
Cheese: Use a combination of sharp cheddar cheese and gruyere. While you can use any cheese, a mild cheese will have a milder flavor (and won’t pair well with a bold dark beer). I highly recommend sharp cheddar.
For the smoothest sauce, shred cheese from a block for this recipe. Pre-shredded cheeses will taste great, but the additives that keep them from sticking in the bag mean they do not melt as nicely.
Beer: Use the beer you like best!
- Dark Beer, like stout or malt, will produce a deep, slightly bitter flavor. Great for serving with your favorite bread.
- Light Beers like ales, pilsners, and IPAs will give a lighter flavor (this is my preference). These pair well with vegetables.
- Non-alcoholic beer works well in this recipe, too, and is great served with any dipper.
How to Make Beer Cheese Dip
- Melt butter, seasonings, and flour (creating a roux) RECIPE BELOW.
- Add beer and milk, whisking after each addition. It will seem thick and almost pasty at first, but as you continue to stir, it will smooth out nicely.
- Once thick and bubbly, whisk in the cheeses.
Holly’s Favorite Dippers!
I often make beer cheese dip for pretzels and serve it warm like a cheese fondue. But the dipper possibilities are endless!
- Bread: soft pretzel bites or pretzel sticks, tortilla chips, chunks of French or sourdough bread, soft breadsticks, and garlic crostini rounds are some of my favorites.
- Veggies: celery sticks, broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, carrots, zucchini rounds, bell pepper strips, and whole (cooked) baby red potatoes.
- Fruits: sliced green apples, pears, and grapes give it the perfect balance with sweetness.
Storing Leftovers
As with most recipes containing dairy, beer cheese dip does not freeze well. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
More Cheesy Favorites
Did you make this Beer Cheese Dip? Leave a rating and a comment below!
Beer Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- ⅔ cup beer
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese 8 ounces
- 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese or Swiss cheese, 4 ounces
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter, flour, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in milk and beer a bit at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Continue cooking over medium heat, add in mustard and Worcestershire, cooking sauce until thick and bubbly.
- Turn off the heat and add the cheddar and Gruyere cheese. Stir until melted and smooth.
- Serve warm with vegetables, tortilla chips or soft pretzels.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Dip, Party Food
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This dip was incredibly easy to make and absolutely delicious—especially paired with homemade pretzels! I had some leftovers, so I got creative and turned them into a flavorful mac and cheese by adding bacon bits and jalapeños. It made for two amazing meals from one simple recipe. Highly recommend!
Thank you! This was so easy to make and it was so very yummy!!!!
I’ve made this several times and it’s amazing! I’ve tried other recipes in the past with no luck, gritty or doesn’t taste good but this one is perfect! Can it be frozen?
Unfortunately, this recipe does not freeze well.
So yummy! Easy to make and just the right flavours. Will make again, and again, and again.
This was so good! I served it with your homemade pretzel bites for the best game day appetizer! SWP Employee
perfect for homemade soft beer pretzel nuggets !
What is the estimated serving size for this recipe? I see it serves 12, but what is the total yield? Thanks!
The estimated serving size is 3 tablespoons. You can find this in the recipe notes. Enjoy!
I’m making this for a party this week and wondering if I can keep it warm in a crock pot to enjoy throughout the night or will it affect the consistency? Have you ever tried this?
I have not tried keeping it warm in a slow cooker (although, when I think of fondue, it’s fairly similar). If you do try it and it begins to thicken too much, you could try whisking in a little bit of warm milk. Let us know how it goes!
Just wondering how it worked in a crock pot. I wanted to make it for a luncheon at work and wanted to see if I could keep it on warm for a few hours.
This is always my go to beer cheese recipe!
I love this recipe. It’s easy to make and much cheaper than going to the melting pot.
Why does it say 1 cup of Gruyère cheese, 4 oz.? A cup is 8 oz. Am I missing something?
1 cup is 8 fluid ounces which is volume (liquid)— 4 ounces of cheese is a weight, not a volume.
1 cup of shredded cheese weighs 4 ounces. A good example of this is if you filled a measuring cup with marshmallows and the same cup with dry rice both would be 1 cup but the weight would be different (both would not weigh 8 ounces). I hope that helps!
can something be substituted for the flour and not affect the overall end result?
I have only tried this recipe as listed so I can’t say for sure. I would love to hear what you try!