Easy Beer Cheese Soup
Very tasty soup that can be used as a first course or as a meal served with a side vegetable or salad.
Servings 6 servings
Calories 369kcal
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.
Notes
If you don't puree the vegetables, just chop them finely and cook for 15 minutes then follow the remaining instructions.
The beer I used was Founders, All Day IPA, which is pretty hoppy. The soup didn't taste of the hops when finished. Just use the beer of your choice. I haven't tried a heavy stout like Guinness yet. Next time I make it though!
Allow the broth to cool slightly before adding the grated cheese. At too high of a temperature, the proteins in the cheese do something weird and the cheese could get grainy. (Not a very scientific explanation, but that's all I know).
The croutons and chopped scallions are a very good accompaniment to the soup. Highly recommended.
The nutrition information is for 6 starter sized servings. A main course serving, (4 people), would be about 550 calories.
Nutrition
Serving: 6servings | Calories: 369kcal