Rich, creamy, and totally irresistible! Beer cheese soup has a long history in brewpubs and restaurants worldwide and it’s really easy to make at home too!
This soup is decadent and delicious, even better served with crispy garlic cheese toasts! Use a great quality cheddar and any kind of beer from a lager to a stout or even a non-alcoholic beer!
I am so excited to have partnered with Cabot Cheese to share this yummy beer cheese soup!
Why We Love This Soup
CHEESE! Hands down my favorite addition to any dish, this soup is rich and cheesy. Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar adds heaps of rich cheesy flavor.
This recipe is so beloved because it’s a cinch to make, uses fresh and flavorful ingredients, and only takes one skillet!
All the savory flavors of bacon, broth, and Cabot Cheddar Cheese come together for a satisfying soup that really delivers.
Ingredients/Variations
Cheese: This is one of the main flavors of this dish so it’s important to choose a high-quality cheese with lots of bold cheesy flavor.
Cabot Seriously Sharp adds great flavor in this recipe. Cabot is a cooperative owned by over 800 farm families in New York and New England and produces cheeses that are rich, creamy, and packed with the flavor. They’re also naturally lactose-free, naturally aged, and naturally gluten-free!
Change the cheeses to change the flavor of the soup:
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- For extra flavor, try Cabot’s Spicy Jack Cheddar Cheese or Smoked Bacon Cheddar.
- Wildly Horseradish Cheese (my favorite cheese on the planet) goes great with a lighter Irish Ale.
- Or try Cabot’s Pepper Jack Cheese or Cracked Peppercorn Cheddar Cheese for a little zip in this recipe.
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Beer: Much like a beer cheese dip, anything goes in this recipe. A darker beer will have a stronger flavor and add a bit more bitterness to the soup while of course, a lighter beer like a lager means a lighter flavor. Non-alcoholic beer works in this recipe too.
Broth & Cream: Chicken broth and heavy cream provide the best creamy and rich base for this easy cheesy soup!
For a lighter version of this soup, try substituting heavy cream with light cream or milk. This will change the texture and thickness of the soup but is still delicious! You can also replace the chicken broth with a vegetable broth.
Cheese Toast: It is the perfect addition to this beer cheese soup but you can always replace it homemade croutons or a slice of sourdough baguette! The sourdough is a bright flavor that complements the depth of beer cheese soup perfectly!
How to Make Beer Cheese Soup
Beer Cheese Soup is so easy to prepare!
- Cook bacon and then cook veggies in the leftover bacon drippings until tender.
- Stir in flour (per recipe below).
- Slowly whisk in the beer and broth into the soup base while bringing to a simmer.
- Add remaining ingredients (except cheese) and cook until bubbly. Remove from heat.
- Mix in cheese stirring until the soup is smooth.
Ladle soup into bowls (or bread bowls!), garnish with bacon crumbles, extra shredded cheese, and serve with cheesy toast.
How to Make Cheese Toast
This easy cheesy toast is perfect for soaking up all of those amazing soup flavors!
- Butter baguette slices with garlic butter.
- Top with cheese and broil until bubbly & browned!
Prep the cheese toast in advance and pop in the oven just as the beer cheese soup is finishing to serve both while hot and bubbly!
Tips for Success
This soup is easy and versatile, it’s practically fool-proof! But to help you succeed every time here are some helpful tips and tricks!
- Allow the flour to cook a full minute before adding liquids, this removes any starchy flavor.
- Add the beer a bit at a time mixing after each addition. The mixture will seem thick and pasty at first but will smooth out.
- Cook over medium heat, high heat can cause the dairy (cream) to scorch.
- When adding cheese to a sauce or soup, remove the mixture from the heat before stirring in the cheese. If the soup is too hot, it can cause the cheese to separate.
Creamy Cheesy Soups
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup
- Creamy Potato Soup
- Homemade Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Philly Cheesesteak Soup
- Roasted Cauliflower Soup
Did you love this Beer Cheese Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 rib celery finely chopped
- 1 carrot finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 12 ounces beer
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded, divided
Broiled Cheese Toasts
- 12 slices baguette ½" thick
- 2 tablespoons garlic butter
- 2 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Spread garlic butter over 12 baguette slices. Top with cheese and place on a baking sheet.
- Broil cheese toasts 6" from the heat until golden and bubbly, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp. Reserve drippings and remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
- Add butter to reserved bacon drippings. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic and cook over medium heat until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in flour and dry mustard. Cook 1 minute.
- Slowly add beer a little bit at a time whisking after each addition. The mixture will be very thick at first. Add chicken broth and cream a little bit at a time whisking until smooth after each addition. Add Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, smoked paprika, and fresh thyme leaves.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat while whisking. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until thick and bubbly. Remove from the heat.
- Set ¼ cup cheese aside for topping, stir remaining cheese into the soup until melted.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, top with reserved cheese and crumbled bacon. Serve with cheese toasts.
Notes
- Allow the flour to cook a full minute before adding liquids, this removes any starchy flavor.
- Add the beer a bit at a time mixing after each addition. The mixture will seem thick and pasty at first but will smooth out.
- Cook over medium heat, high heat can cause the dairy (cream) to scorch.
- When adding cheese remove the mixture from the heat before stirring in the cheese. If the soup is too hot, it can cause the cheese to separate.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Bread, Main Course, Soup
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Made this soup yesterday and we don’t like it at all.
I’m sorry to hear that Lisa, this recipe is usually a hit with readers.
Looks delicious. Can you tell me what brand & kind of beer you use in the soup?
Hi Shelly, we use whatever we have on hand which is often a light beer like Bud Light. But any beer will work in this recipe. A darker beer will have a stronger flavor and add a bit more bitterness to the soup while a lighter beer means a lighter flavor. Non-alcoholic beer works in this recipe too. Hope that helps!
I am making this next week for my family. I would like to make sandwiches to go along with them (I have to much deli meat). Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks!
Hi Kandice, We have a bunch of sandwich recipes that might interest you depending on what deli meat you have available.
Thos is a good recipe to go by for a general idea. We add potato diced small, leek instead of onion, Canadian bacon and a jalapeño. Small can of corn also
I’m always looking for a new Beer Cheese soup recipe and made this today. I used a light beer and 1/2 and 1/2 also added a pinch of salt. My soup turned out GREAT! I will make this again since the guys just ate it all.
Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I have tasted and made many Cheddar Ale Soups. This particular recipe was just ok. I’m thinking the key to this recipe is using a lighter ale and a strong cheddar cheese. Also, I think I may cut back on the worcestershire sauce. I also like my soup to be strained and creamier.
Can this be served at an AA meeting?
I would serve at your discretion, Bob. But there are 12 ounces of beer in this soup recipe.
My husband and I love this recipe! As a US expat, I’m always looking for recipes that remind me of home and this soup is it. Fortunately, it works really well with UK-style bacon (which is more like Candian bacon) and a good British lager. Thanks for the nostalgia!
So happy to hear that Aurora!
Disgusting. Basically tasted like I was drinking a beer.
Sorry that you didn’t enjoy this Liz.
Made this for a driveway crawl where I am serving this in 2 oz shot glasses. Used some habanero sharp cheddar to give it a little kick. YUMMY
Sounds like a fun idea and a great dish to serve!
I’m confused. The liquids total 3-1/2 cups – beer, broth, cream – as per ingredient list. The photo shows a bottle of what looks like chicken broth and it’s marked 2 cups. Which is correct? Is the serving size really only a little more than 1/2 cup of soup? Help!
The recipe is correct as written. The additional ingredients (onion, carrot, celery, cheese etc) add volume to the recipe as well. This soup is quite rich and does serve 6.
I made this today!! I used a ale beer instead!
Remember everyone , if you don’t like the flavor of beer . You will not like this soup! I love beer and I love this soup!!
this is a yummy recipe. i made it for the first time, and have a few suggestions from my experience. First, I used Sam Adams Boston Lager. This was a bit bitter and I would use a lighter lager next time. Also, I think I would blend and strain for a smoother and creamy soup. The richness is more like a bisque and the chunky veggies detract in my opinion.
I tried an experiment and made pretzel mustard dumplings to go along with this soup. I basically used a matzo ball recipe but used ground pretzel instead of matzo meal, and added 2 Tbs of Dijon mustard. It turned out pretty good, but some dumplings were rather dense , while others were perfect. not sure why because it was from the same batch, same size, and dropped in the water at the same time. maybe they needed a bit more time cooking. but the flavor was good and i prefer more density for a rich soup like this.
I made this soup tonight and think it’s the worst soup I have ever made. I followed the recipe exactly. I have been cooking for 80 years so am comfortable in the kitchen. There are some really good beer cheese soup recipes so skip this one. A waste of time and ingredients.
I’m very sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy this soup Doris. We really love it. Thank you for trying it.
Did it make you feel good to be so utterly nasty to a total stranger, Doris?
Best beer cheese soup I’ve ever had. I’m convinced the negative comments are from Crazies!! I work at a small town cafe and used this for our soup of the day and it received raving reviews! I use Kona big wave which is the perfect beer light but very crisp! Thanks for the recipe :)
We really enjoyed the soup. I made it exactly as the recipe said but I doubled it due to the number of people and I bought high quality ingredients. Delicious. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome Brian!
I am a cheese lover. Wanted to try making beer cheese soup. But this one is horrible. Who puts an entire tablespoon of worchestershire sauce in ANYTHING? I actually cut that back to 1/2 a tablespoon and I added extra cheese. It was still terrible. Seriously terrible. It tasted like Cream of Worchestershire Soup. BLEH!
Sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy this soup as much as we do Dana. Thank you for trying it.
Can you make this soup ahead of time? I want to make it for a family dinner but do not have time the day of.
This should work fine made ahead and reheated on low heat.
This is the gold standard in beer cheese soups! I made this for our New Year’s Eve dinner at home, with homemade pretzel bread bowls, and it was just what we needed to close out this rough year. I made it vegetarian for my brother by leaving out the bacon and using vegetable broth, but honestly I thought it was plenty rich and certainly delicious! I did increase the amount of butter to compensate for the missing bacon drippings. I also blended the vegetables with my stick blender to make it a smooth soup, but that’s only because I have celery-haters in my family, and I have to hide it. :) For the beer, I used Yards Brawler, which is a malty English mild style beer, and it balanced beautifully with the cheddar. I have a couple of others in mind to try in the future, too! Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
So glad your family loved this as much as mine Colleen!
This soup was fantastic! My first time eating beer soup and I love it now!! Thanks for the info and tips for making, they were so helpful!! I will be making this again this winter. I am going to try the beer dip now!
So glad you enjoyed this as much as we did Nancy!
Horrible recipe! A total waste of expensive ingredients.
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe Kim, thank you for trying it.
No reason to be rude. A simple “I didn’t care for it” would’ve sufficed. Looks like plenty of people disagree with you so apparently it isn’t “horrlble”.