Ultimate Beer Cheese Soup

Why you’ll love it

The history of beer cheese soup is pretty interesting. It has its roots in Germany, where they made Biersuppe in the medieval days and actually ate a piping hot bowl of it for breakfast. It was closer to something like eggnog, but it became the inspiration for German immigrants in Wisconsin (the dairy state) to combine it with cheese and make the now-iconic beer cheddar soup!

This beer cheese soup recipe is next-level tasty with the addition of crispy bacon. The beer gives this soup its signature malty tang, and the creamy, rich, and cheesy broth has a great seasoning combo. It’s easy to recreate this pub favorite in your own kitchen using everyday ingredients.

What you’ll need

• Bacon – to add a crispy, savory dimension. I like to easily cut it up with kitchen shears.
• Onion, celery, and garlic – our base aromatics. I prefer sweet (Vidalia) onions.
• Butter and flour – together they form a roux to thicken the broth
• Chicken broth – for more depth of flavor
• Beer – it should go without saying, but if you’re not a beer fan, I don’t think you’ll like this soup recipe. Use one you genuinely enjoy the taste of.
• Heavy cream – for that additional luxurious touch and to mellow out the beer
• Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard – I use both of these very often in my recipes as flavor enhancers. You don’t taste them individually, and they add a whole lot of delicious savory goodness.
• Cayenne pepper – it gives a gentle warmth throughout, not enough to make it spicy
• Cheddar cheese – use a good-quality cheese to set the tone of the soup, and grate it from the block yourself. I like this grater. Cabot and Tillamook are both highly regarded brands of cheddar that are hard to go wrong with!
• Scallions – these mild onions add a pop of freshness

How to make beer cheese soup

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.

Cut up the bacon and fry it in a soup pot until crispy, and then transfer to a paper towel lined plate. In the bacon grease, sauté the onion and celery until softened. Add the garlic and butter.

When the butter melts, stir in the flour. After cooking for a couple of minutes, pour in the chicken broth slowly and stir or whisk it in until the flour dissolves completely.

Add the beer, cream, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, cayenne pepper, and half of the bacon. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Take it off the heat and gradually stir in the cheddar. Season with salt & pepper if needed, and garnish with the scallions and remaining bacon.

Substitutions and variations

• You could use beef broth for a more robust flavor, but keep in mind the soup will then be darker in color than it appears in the photos.
• I’ve seen some recipes use half pepper jack and half cheddar, so that’s definitely an option to change things up.
• We don’t recommend swapping out the heavy cream for anything lower fat. It won’t taste as good or be as rich and could even curdle. As written, it’s the right proportions to keep everything in balance and not have the beer take over the soup.