Beer Cheese Soup.
Okay… help me.
I need a soup intervention. A souptervention, if you will.
It’s all I’ve been craving and all I’ve been wanting and this would be super awesome if it wasn’t still like 80 degrees, but whatever. Brush it off.
When I made bread bowls on Sunday I knew exactly what I was going to fill them with. And I do mean exactly. The only answer was this specific soup. The cheese soup base has been in our family for ages (it was one of the first recipes I ever rambled about here) and obviously it could only get better with beer. I mean, beer in soup!
It’s one of those things I only get so often, occasionally showing it’s face during random Octoberfest celebrations and in restaurants that have no business serving such a high maintenance soup. And it definitely is high maintenance, but anything with cups upon cups of gooey, shredded cheese is. You can’t just let it sit there people. It’s needs a little spoon lovin’… like, constantly.
But.
I promise it’s 100% worth it. Our favorite way to eat this cheese soup is with red peppers and crisp bacon tossed in at the end, but it really is a fabulous base for a traditional beer cheese soup (I think carrots and celery and other disgusting things I’m not friends with have a place there) or seeing where your own spin takes you. Add some green bell peppers, add jalapeños, add chicken… seriously, do whatever you want. And yes – it tastes like beer. You should probably enjoy beer – even just a teeny bit – to enjoy this soup. Or maybe this soup will make you like beer. Which would be a pretty cool benefit.
And yes, you should definitely dip a billion pieces of bread in it. But you didn’t hear that from me.
Beer Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 3 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 1 sweet onion, finely diced
- 1/2 red pepper, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups of your favorite beer, I find that lighter wheat beers work best
- 1 cup half and half
- 4 ounces sharp white cheddar, freshly grated
- 4 ounces extra sharp yellow cheddar, freshly grated
- 4 ounces colby jack, freshly grated
- fresh herbs, I like cilantro for garnish
- salt and pepper to season if needed
- easy whole wheat bread bowls
Instructions
- Heat a large stock pot over medium heat and add chopped bacon. Fry until crispy and fat is rendered, them remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain. Reduce heat to low and add onions, peppers and garlic, stirring to coat. Cook for about 10 minutes, until vegetables are translucent, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to medium-high and add in butter. Once sizzling, which in flour and cook for 3-4 minutes until flour is nutty and golden. Add in beer and stirring constantly, cook for 5 minutes so they alcohol cooks out and the mixture somewhat thickens.
- Add in half and half, then reduce heat to low and gradually add cheese while stirring. Stir until smooth, then fold in bacon and serve immediately. Garnish fresh chopped herbs over top if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
I can now rest easy.
128 Comments on “Beer Cheese Soup.”
This looks amazing! Would be so perfect with football on Saturday. Pinning this to make next weekend. Thanks!
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Oooh, I actually pulled a beer cheese soup recipe from a vegetarian cookbook I have yesterday and planned to make it this weekend, but this version with BACON looks waaaay better!
I’m from WI, so I gravitate to beer cheese soup like a bee to honey. These photos are gorgeous.
WI girl here! Can’t wait to make this!!!
It is cold and rainy tonight in the northern burbs of Chicago and this would be SOOO yummy to eat right now!!! Looks delicious!! Definitely adding it to my list of things to make this fall!!
Omgomgomg! Soooo how much cheese do you think I’ll need to buy in order to fill a bathtub with this stuff. ;)
I need to get a set of soup spoons like you have, they’re so nice! Love anything in a bread bowl, but cheesy soup is definitely one of the best things to fill them. :)
You just keep finding ways for me to keep falling in love with you. I might make this for one of my tailgating parties. Good job!
Delicious. And can I just say I totally sympathize. I love soup, I love fall food, and it is just still too stinkin’ hot!
Wow!!
Holy. Hell. Yum.
That is all.
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my butt just became two sizes bigger. *sigh*
Wow, this is something the boys would love!
Jessica- as a born and raised Wisconsin Girl- this soup is making me so darn homesick! It looks so creamy and delicious. I can’t wait to make for a football Sunday.
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Beer & cheese – my 2 favorite things!!! This looks delicious – your blog is hilarious. I love reading!
xoKelsey
tortoiseinthesun.blogspot.com
I would do just about anything for a bowl of this soup right now! Yum!
This reminds me of the cheddar cheese soup at le cellier steakhouse in epcot which is one of my favorite things ever!
I made this last night for me & my boyfriend and it was delicious, cheesy, beery decadence. I used Bell’s Oberon wheat beer and it worked beautifully!
Made this evening to accompany the leftover bread bowls from yesterday (it’s already cold here in the UK!), and it was deliciousssssss…..I know you said 4-6 servings, but between me, my boyfriend, and the dog…..we ate almost all of it. The shame! But so, so worth it :P
Yum! This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it, especially in one of the bread bowls that I will definitely be making too!
Made this for dinner tonight. Super delish! Next time it’s definitely going in a bread bowl! Love your blog :)
you should call this Cheer Soup.
cheese + beer= cheer…no matter how you’re looking at this.
This looks amazing and I want to stick my face in it. That is all.
This is on my dinner menu for this week. Can.not.wait.
Now this is what will take the “edge off” on a chilly Fall day. What a wonderfully delicious sounding recipe (I say that because I’ve never tried it before, although I’ve heard of it and seen it on menus at restaurants). What’s nice about your recipe is that it doesn’t sound overly complicated to make, which is good for me — because of time.
I appreciate that you’ve shared this recipe with all of us. Now that I know what’s in it, I’m even more inclined to make it. Thanks!
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I am originally from Wisconsin and do not think I have ever had Beer Cheese Soup. But Paul Ryan mentions it and I realize, a true Wisconsinite must have tasted this. I made a full course dinner for the first time for the guy I’m dating last night and found myself scouring your blog for which recipes to make. I made this soup and the bread bowls and have nothing but success to declare. How can I thank you for providing me with recipes to win over my man’s heart through his belly? I paired it with the Sweet Potato Burgers (with roasted garlic and avocado) and I found myself in food heaven as I ate the burger [ohhhmyyygossshsoogood]. You being a food genius makes me cook like a food genius.
The moral of this: THANK YOU!
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Yes! These was so good. Seriously, I had it last night for supper and just woke from my beer cheese soup coma. I added dill and cracked pepper, and tarnished with bacon and chives. This one’s a keeper!
Would you recmomend freezing this soup?!?! And then reheating like you did in the directions!?!?
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I made this soup tonight and when we tasted it in the pot, we found it a trifle bland, even after salt and pepper were added. So we threw in a 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, which perked it up nicely. Instead of the bread bowls, which I didn’t have time for today, I served it with garlic bread. It was quite nice for dipping. Great recipe!
I substituted hard cider (because it was already in my fridge), and added some paprika and cayenne. It’s amazing! The cider gives it a nice fruity flavor that isn’t overwhelming.
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So is the beer and half and half and butter the only liquids? Do you not add water at all?
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Ummm, this was delicious! I loved it! And I blogged about it!
http://carynvincent.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/beer-cheese-soup/
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do you have a beer cheese recipe? this one souds good as a soup. thanks.
Ok I tried your recipe being a lover of beer cheese soup. I wound up with a runny kettle grainy ….. broth? what did I do wrong
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Would this cheese based soup freeze well? I live alone and want to try this without having one million leftovers!
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