The Cozy Cookbook is here! 
This Beer Cheese Soup recipe is easy to make and is super cozy! Caramelized onions gives the broth depth of flavor with plenty of cheese and beer options. This recipe uses subtle flavor enhancers that round out the flavor profile for a restaurant quality soup.
Be sure to pair this with my crusty, airy, No Knead Bread for dipping!
Beer Cheese Soup
This incredible Beer Cheese Soup is like a bowl of cozy heaven. It starts with savory bacon, which adds a ton of flavor to the soup pot. The drippings are reserved and are used to caramelize the onions, which adds a slightly sweet offset to the beer. It has the best blend of seasonings and subtle flavor enhancers that takes this soup to restaurant status, and the combination of cheese options are endless.
As for the beer, stick to a variety of beer that you enjoy drinking on its own. (For me, that’s actually Bud Light. 😂) Pale Ale is a great choice as well.
More on the cheese and beer in my PRO tips below, don’t miss those!
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Cook bacon and set aside. Chop once cooled and reserve bacon drippings.
Add bacon drippings and butter back to the pot along with the diced onions. Cook until browned and caramelized. Add the garlic, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings. Stir to combine. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the beer in small splashes, stirring continuously.
Add the chicken broth and half and half in the same manner. Add the bay leaf. Bring to a gentle bubble and simmer gently, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf. Reduce heat to low and stir in the cheese. Garnish with bacon and green onions and serve!
Pro Tips
- Cheese: I use Cracker Barrel Sharp Yellow Cheese for this recipe. It adds a nice color and tastes great. A combination of cheese adds a nice depth of flavor. A little bit of Cabot Hot Habanero Cheese adds a nice kick. Gouda cheese makes a nice addition as well.
- Shred the cheese from a block. It will melt and taste much better than pre-shredded.
- Make sure the base of the soup isn’t too hot when you add the cheese, otherwise the dairy will separate and create a grainy consistency.
- Beer: Use a beer that you would want to drink, be careful about using very hoppy/bitter beer or something super strong in taste, as it will transfer that flavor in to the soup. (I’ll admit, I like using Bud Light.) Tuckerman Pale Ale is good too, but stronger in flavor.
- The hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard powder are flavor enhancers in this soup that can’t be tasted outright. I use Frank’s Hot Sauce.
- Crock Pot: Due to the dairy content in this soup, I don’t recommend cooking this in the crock pot as it can curdle. The stove top method also allows us to simmer and reduce the soup which concentrates the flavor and thickens the broth. It also cooks off the alcohol. (That’s something that can’t be replicated in the crock pot.)
- Be sure to pair this with my crusty, airy, No Knead Bread for dipping!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This soup does freeze and reheat pretty well even though it’s dairy based. (The flour helps with that.)
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Kitchen Shears & Kitchen Tongs – To cut/handle the bacon
- 3.5 Quart Dutch Oven– Great for making soup as it conducts heat really well.
- Silicone Spatula – To ‘clean’ the bottom of the pot during cooking. (Adds flavor to the broth.)
- Immersion Blender– To blend the caramelized onions into the broth. (Optional)
- Box Cheese Grater– Freshly shredded cheese melts and tastes much better than packaged shredded cheese.
- Better Than Bouillon– This is what I always use for broth in my recipes. It takes very little space and makes it easy to measure out customized amounts of broth.
- Measuring Spoons– I have these magnetic ones which stay nice and organized in my utensil drawer.
- Pinch Bowls– For measuring seasonings, etc. ahead of time.
- Soup Ladle
- 16 oz. storage containers I use these to store/freeze my soups. They have 8 oz. sizes as well. They’re stackable, leak proof, and dishwasher/microwave safe.
Try These Next
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- Steak with Gravy
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- Beef Noodle Soup
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- Chicken Marsala
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- Chicken Stew
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- Creamy Herb Chicken
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- Clam Chowder
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Tried This Recipe?
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Beer Cheese Soup
Ingredients
Soup
- 4-6 slices thick-cut bacon
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce, I use Frank’s hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 5 tablespoons flour
- 12 oz. beer, see notes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups half and half, half milk/half cream
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, see notes
- 2 Green onions, diced
Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- ½ teaspoon each: dried thyme, smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon each: salt, pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne, optional
Instructions
Prep Work
- Cook the bacon slowly over low heat in a in a 3.5-quart soup pot. (I cut my bacon in half, it’s easier to fit it in the pan and have it cook evenly.) While the bacon cooks, measure out remaining ingredients. Once the bacon is cooked, set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Chop once cooled and reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings.
- Wipe any dark spots from the pot but leave as much bacon remnants as you can, as that will add flavor to the soup.
Make the Soup
- Add reserved bacon drippings and butter to the pot over medium heat and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the pot. Add the diced onions and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. They should begin to brown and caramelize, this adds a nice sweet offset to the beer.
- Add the garlic, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings. Stir to combine. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously.
- Add the beer in small splashes, stirring continuously. (It will be thick.)
- Add the chicken broth and half and half in the same manner. (If desired, you may use an immersion blender to blend the onions fully into the broth.)
- Add the bay leaf. Bring to a gentle bubble. Let it simmer gently, reduce, and thicken for 15 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to low and let the soup cool for a minute. Remove the bay leaf. Gradually sprinkle in the shredded cheese, stirring continuously. (Doing so over low heat ensures that the dairy doesn’t separate, which maintains a smooth consistency.)
- Garnish with bacon and green onions and serve!
Notes
- Cheese: I use Cracker Barrel Sharp Yellow Cheese for this recipe. It adds a nice color and tastes great. A combination of cheese adds a nice depth of flavor. A little bit of Cabot Hot Habanero Cheese adds a nice kick. Gouda cheese makes a nice addition as well.
- Shred the cheese from a block. It will melt and taste much better than pre-shredded.
- Beer: Use a beer that you would want to drink, be careful about using very hoppy beer or something super strong in taste, as it will transfer that flavor in to the soup. (I'll admit, I like using Bud Light.) Tuckerman Pale Ale is good too, but stronger in flavor.
- The hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard powder are flavor enhancers in this soup that can't be tasted outright. I use Frank's Hot Sauce.
- Crock Pot: Due to the dairy content in this soup, I don't recommend cooking this in the crock pot as it can curdle. The stove top method also allows us to simmer and reduce the soup which concentrates the flavor and thickens the broth. It also cooks off the alcohol. (That's something that can't be replicated in the crock pot.)
- Be sure to pair this with my crusty, airy, No Knead Bread for dipping!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This soup does freeze and reheat pretty well even though it's dairy based. (The flour helps with that.)
The Nutritional Information provided is an estimate and is per cup. This recipe makes approximately 6 cups.
Do not use a dark beer like a Guinness. It ruined my soup. It was brown( s looked disgusting) and it was so salty I had to throw it away. That’s the only change I made. Usually I use a a light beer, like a Coors or Bud light, but thought I’d up my game. Don’t.
Thanks for the info Connie, good to know! Thanks for taking the time to comment and leave a review!😃
You show a photo of onions in your directions,,,,,,but you state add garlic? So what do you really do next?
Hi Meme, you caramelize onions, and then you add garlic once they’re caramelized. Be sure you’re looking at the recipe card at the bottom of the post and not solely going by the photos. The recipe card contains full ingredient amounts and instructions! 🙂
Made this soup for a second time in a month and it came out as tasty as it did on the first try. That’s when you know a recipe is a WIN – you dream about eating it again hoping it tastes just as amazing and you nail the recipe both times! Since we are cooking from Japan, we used Sapporo beer and thankfully I can get some great Kraft cheddar and Oscar Meyer bacon from the commissary on the US base.
I’m so happy you enjoyed this one all the way from Japan Andrea! This is one of my favorites too, but I kinda say that about all my soups lol. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!❤️
Made it with Gruyere , Irish cheddar and Mild cheddar. It was a hit. Beer used was Lagunitas. Will make it again 👍
That sounds so yummy Brad! I’m so happy this was a hit. Thanks so much for the great review!❤️
Can this soup be frozen?
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This soup does freeze and reheat pretty well even though it’s dairy based, although the consistency is slightly altered.
Hi Deborah, yes! I freeze this all the time and find that it does reheat well.
This was a hit. I used what I had in my fridge. Substituted sweet onion for 1/2 red onion and added half a turnip. Used a more malty beer (Fat tire ) vs hoppy beer (magic hat) and used white and yellow cheeses both were cheddar although one was extra sharp. I think the key on the cheese is to make sure it’s block cheese that you shred and not already shredded cheese. I did add a couple dashes of Worcestershire which I think gave it a little more complexity and then a dollop of herbed goat cheese just before serving. Again- these additions were based on what I had in the fridge. Omitted the bacon as I did not have any but next time I will add. Easy recipe to follow!
I’m so happy this was a hit for you Melissa! I totally agree, the key to success is shredding from a block. Thanks so much for contributing your additions, sounds delicious😋, and thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
This was great! I omitted the bacon and used half the amount of dark beer (“Irish Death”) which was all I had, making up the volume with more chicken broth. It was excellent and I will make it this way again without fear!
I’m so happy you liked this Dennis! I can’t stop laughing at the name of that beer “Irish Death” 🤣🤣🤣🤣. Not sure if that’s the beer for me lol. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!!
This is one of the best soups I’ve ever made. I”m so grateful I ran across your site. I had some beer I didn’t care for and looked for a recipe to get rid of it. Ran across this and I will be making it again soon! Bacon is not on my diet (so sad), but I had some deli thin sliced ham. I diced it and fried it up as I would bacon. It was wonderful. I garnished it also. I don’t feel like I gave up anything. My husband is a tough critic of mine and he gave this an A. Then stopped and said…. maybe an A+. Home Run!!
I’m so happy you guys enjoyed this one so much! You’re husband sounds a lot like mine lol🤣! I have to confess… I pretty much did the same thing you did! I had beer in the fridge that no one was drinking and wanted to use it on something so I landed on Beer cheese soup lol! Thanks so much for the review!
Delicious! Made for a potluck & it was a huge hit – was asked if I could make it again for Superbowl Sunday. I used Beck’s.
I am SO happy to hear that Christi!!! You made my day! I just published a beer cheese dip recipe that you’ll have to make next! haha!! 🙂 Have a great day! -Stephanie
(By the way, thank you SO much for taking the time to leave a review!!!)
Made this for my husband and his football buddies and they loved it! Has a lot of flavor and really easy to make! I used Sam Adams Boston Lager for the beer. Delicious!
I’m happy to hear the soup was a hit Nora!😃 I had a similar situation with my husband and his football friends, they loved it! Thanks so much for the review!