How to Make Beer Cheese Soup

How to Make Beer Cheese Soup

I love Beer Cheese Soup.

As you probably know by now, I am CRAZY about soup. I’ve got my Tomato Basil Soup, my Minestrone Soup, my Chili Recipe, and a bajillion other soups from other awesome people on my Soup Pinterest Board.

So it was about time that I posted another soup recipe on this website. My tomato basil soup is my summer soup recipe. My chili recipe is my comfort food recipe. And my beer cheese soup recipe? That’s for when I want to spoil myself with a special treat. Some gals might like ice cream or cookies, but me, I like to spoil myself with some beer cheese soup. ♥

Let’s talk about what I love about this beer cheese soup recipe. First, I’m addicted to cheese. No, for real. All I ever ask for as birthday presents is specialty cheeses that I can’t afford or I can’t buy without feeling guilty. Cheese is amazing. Second, you all know I’m in love with soup. Third, beer is good stuff. Yum. So when you put it all together, you get….yup, my favorite treat in the world.

I have collected many beer cheese soup recipes over the years, and I got to the point where I liked certain things about all sorts of recipes. Soon, I had 10 beer cheese soup recipe tabs up on my computer whenever I was making some beer cheese soup, and I struggled to remember what I liked about each one. So I decided to stop making myself crazy and just post my recipe. 

Here’s what I love about my beer cheese soup recipe: it’s creamy, slightly spicy, loaded with veggies, and super beer-tasting.

There’s lots of bland “beer” cheese soup recipes out there. I get a bit grumpy when you can’t taste the beer in something called…BEER cheese soup. If you aren’t as big of a fan of a beer taste to your soup, consider using just one bottle. If you don’t like spicy soup, just use 1 or 2 jalapenos. And so on with all the ingredients. The joy of cooking is making a recipe perfected for your own taste buds. I hope my Beer Cheese Soup recipe makes you as happy as it makes me!

Beer Cheese Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 10-12 pieces of bacon, cut up into 1 inch pieces
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 potatoes, diced (I use red potatoes with the skins on, but you do what you want)
• 2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 jalapenos, diced small
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. flour
• 2 (12 oz each) beers, light-medium colored ales work best
• 1-2 tbsp. dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 2 cups half and half
• 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
• 1 bayleaf
• 12 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, smoked paprika, etc., to taste

Directions:

1. Cut up 10-12 pieces of bacon. In a large soup pot, cook bacon pieces. Remove the cooked bacon, place it in a paper towel-lined bowl. Leave enough of the bacon grease in the soup pot to saute vegetables.
2. Cook the onion and shallot on medium heat, for about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add 2 potatoes, 2-3 carrots, 2 celery, 3 jalapenos, and 4-5 cloves of garlic. Cook another 5-7 minutes on medium-low heat.
4. Add 2 tbsp. flour, stir to coat all the veggies in the flour. 
5. Slowly add 2 beers, 1-2 tbsp. dijon mustard, 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, 1 cup broth, 1 bayleaf. Bring to a boil, then put on low and simmer and cover for 10 minutes.
6. Next, while stirring, slowly add 2 cups of half and half and 8 oz. cream cheese. Add it slowly while constantly stirring, or you risk scalding the dairy products. Let it simmer 5 more minutes on low.
7. Add cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and any other spices you want. I love adding smoked paprika.
8. Add 12 oz. shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup at a time. Stir constantly. Next, add the cooked bacon back to the soup. Once all the cheese has melted into the soup, taste and adjust the spices to your taste preferences.
9. Enjoy!