Beer cheese soup is an easy recipe to make and tastes fantastic. Have it as a first course appetizer or as a main dish. It is sure to please.
Last week, the Minneapolis Star Tribune was celebrating 50 years of the Taste section. There was an article about how they would get suggestions from readers for restaurant recipes. The Taste editors would then ask the particular restaurant if they would like to share the recipe. As you can imagine, some restaurants shared and others, not so much.
In the article they republished the beer cheese soup recipe from Jax Cafe in Minneapolis. Jax has been at their location since the 1930’s and is still going strong. It is a $$$$ steakhouse and seafood restaurant. The beer cheese soup is not on the current menu but perhaps they have it occasionally as the soup de jour.
I’ve never made beer cheese soup…but Hey! What could be wrong with BEER and CHEESE? You know I had to try it.
Making Beer Cheese Soup
I’ve made it twice. The first time strictly by the recipe. It calls for finely chopped onion, carrots and celery. The soup tasted fine, but I have a problem with the chunks of veggies. No matter how small you chop them, they are still noticeable in the mouth. I much prefer a creamier soup.
And for spices, the recipe calls for white pepper and seasoned salt and only 1/2 teaspoon of each!
Second time making it, (some things had to be fixed): I chopped the vegetables, but not so finely this time, and simmered them in 2 cups of vegetable broth for 20 minutes. Then just pureed them in a blender which makes the soup much more mouth friendly, IMHO.
A little more beer, (twice as much), was added the second time.
More seasoned salt, Lawry’s, (twice as much).
And the ingredient that just takes the recipe over the top…smoked paprika. And just 1/4 teaspoon. It’s like adding bacon bits to the soup…no kidding. It just amps up the flavor with smokiness and goes so well with the cheese.
I made some stovetop, skillet browned croutons from a bread that MaryJo had just made. And chopped scallions as a garnish are a delightful spiciness in a spoonful of the soup.
The printable recipe is below and you can also adjust the number of servings on the recipe card.
Here are a few of my favorite soups to try:
Easy Beer Cheese Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup celery, small chopped 2 stalks
- 1/2 cup carrots, small chopped 2 carrots
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, small chopped 1/3 to 1/2 medium onion
- 4 cups vegetable broth chicken broth can be substituted
- 1/2 cup AP flour
- 1 stick butter, melted, (8 tbsp)
- 1 cup beer, your choice, lager, IPA, or stout
- 1/2 lbs. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- croutons
- chopped scallions
Instructions
- In a 3 quart heavy sauce pan, add 2 cups of broth and all the chopped vegetables. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
- Place the broth and vegetables into a blender and puree 60 to 90 seconds until smooth. Place the puree back into the sauce pan and add the remainder of the broth and the cup of beer. Bring to a boil.
- In a small bowl, melt the butter in a microwave, then add the flour and stir with a fork to combine. Add this roux to the boiling soup, stir and bring up to a boil again. Stir in the pepper, salt, and smoked paprika.
- Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add the grated cheese and stir to melt.
- Serve hot and garnish with croutons and chopped scallions if desired.
Alan Howie
I agree with your comment “what could be wrong with BEER and Cheese?”
It looks like a perfect fit for our upcoming Fall weather in Minnesota. I will
immediately submit this recipe to my soup monger.
sandra axelrod
Your version sounds far better Joe!! As soon as it gets a little cooler here in South Florida I will make this recipe. Thanks for sharing your much improved version!!!