Fitness / March 26, 2024

Beer Cheese Soup

Delicious fondue inspired soup you can fon-do yourself!

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You wouldn’t think it, but alcohol and cheese have a lot in common! You might not think so with the sweet and bready flavors and textures of wine and beer compared to the creamy goodness of a melted cheddar, but there’s a reason they make such good pairs on charcuterie boards and wine listings! Some of the best tasting cheese balls and fondue combine cheese with some beer or wine for a deliciously complex flavor that surpasses cheese or alcohol on its own! What could unite such different flavor palates? Fermentation!

Beer and cheese both go way back in human history and both are the result of active cultures (microbiology goodness for our digestive systems) getting imbued into the food! All these good bacteria need to thrive is a conducive environment and a little bit of carbohydrate, a substance they can find easily while living in a controlled distillery or cellar. With that, the fermentation process begins and they produce some of the funky flavors for the distinct taste of your favorite IPAs and stinkiest cheeses!

In a way, the fondue of today is a recreation of our age-old favorite combinations, mixed thoroughly together and perfect for dipping; but, if you want a meal which can transport you to another time that pairs perfectly with almost anything, have we got the recipe for you! You, too, can take a walk through the ancient art of flavorful fermentation with our beer cheese soup – and you won’t even need a time machine, just bring your taste buds!

Is Beer Cheese Soup Healthy?

Beer cheese soup has many healthy attributes, especially from the active cultures that go into the dish! If ever you’re worried about the calorie content of beer cheese soup, try substituting our chosen Pilsner for light beer or our suggested cheeses for low-fat versions! You could even take the bacon out (or substitute it with turkey bacon!) and still have a delicious combination of humanity’s oldest fermented friends. However, it doesn’t quite meet the qualifications for many dietary restrictions. Because of the amount of carbs in beer and the primary ingredient of cheese, keto and vegan options should be considered when pursuing this dish for dinner.

Wait, Fermentation Does What?

Fermentation is an age old process but you might have read the word “bacteria” earlier and gotten a little skittish! You might have even heard people refer to fermentation as “controlled rotting”! As disgusting as that sounds, don’t worry! Not all bacteria are created equally and there are some good microbes that are conducive to a healthy diet! Fermentation is the process of controlling the production of these healthy gut bacteria!

Cows have four stomachs to ferment the grass they eat and make it into the energy they need and, while we don’t need four stomachs to do it, we also need a little bit of help with digesting our food! Eating good gut bacteria helps cultivate your digestive biome, that’s the fancy way of saying that you digest your food easier with the help of active cultures living symbiotically in us all!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 pound bacon, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups light beer, such as pilsner
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 ounces medium cheddar cheese, shredded
2 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Chives, chopped for garnish (optional)
Flat-leaf parsley, chopped for garnish (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Crisp

Cook bacon in a pot until crispy, then set aside on paper towels.

Sauté

Leave some bacon fat in the pot and cook the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and thyme until soft.

Thicken

Add butter and flour, cook briefly, then pour in beer, broth, and cream, stirring until thickened.

Melt

Simmer and gradually add cheeses, stirring until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish and Serve

Mix in half the bacon, garnish with the rest, plus herbs if desired.

Devour!

FAQs & Tips

How to Make Ahead and Store?

Cheese notoriously doesn’t reheat quite right if not done correctly! This is the sort of soup that will break (that is, the oils will separate from the water) if you’re not careful! So, if you’re making this ahead to store for later, I recommend doing so in pre-portioned quantities and reheating on the stove. For a single serving, pour the contents into a saucepan and gradually increase the heat until boiling. Make sure you’re stirring frequently or else that base will break!

Could I use shredded cheese for this recipe?

Technically yes, store-bought shredded cheese would work for this recipe just as well as freshly shredded; however, store-bought shredded cheese is often coated with starch to prevent the strands from blocking together. Added starch can change the consistency of your broth so keep that in mind when deciding whether or not to shred your own cheddar!

I don’t really like pilsner. Or beer for that matter. Do I need beer for beer cheese soup?

If you’re not a fan of our chosen beer (or beer in general) then you’re in luck! The fun about fermented flavors is that so many of them go well together that there’s nearly an endless combination at your disposal! If you don’t like pilsner, other beers that pair well with cheddar include Belgian ales and stout! If you don’t like beer at all, don’t worry! Sauvignon Blanc makes a fruity accomplice for cheddar’s distinct flavor!

Beer is so bitter! How do I make sure my beer cheese soup isn’t?

The sharpness of cheddar usually helps counter-act the bitterness of beer; however, using a lower-hop brew also reduces the bitterness in your final product! When in doubt, you can add a teeny tiny morsel of honey to give your soup more complexity and help reduce that bitter flavor – honey is also a fermented good!

What if my soup is curdling?!

The proteins in the cheese must have separated and reformed in clumps. The best option from here is to add a little more cheese while off the heat, stir the contents back together, and slowly bring back up to temp. This should reincorporate some of those proteins back into a homogenized soup!

Serving Suggestions

Nothing pairs better with a fondue-inspired soup filled with fermented ingredients like another one of mankind’s favorite fermented foods: bread! Stick to the dipping with some delicious pull-apart air fryer biscuits (or, for a gluten-free alternative, take a look at some cheddary biscuit goodness!). For true fondue-y fun, raw vegetables like celery, carrot, broccoli, and cauliflower are perfect pairs! But, the best kind of pairing for beer and cheese soup would be a bottle of the beer you used during the cooking process!

Beer Cheese Soup

Course Appetizer, lunch, Soup

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 390kcal

Author FoodFaithFitness

Ingredients

1/2 pound bacon cut into small pieces
1 small onion diced
1 red bell pepper diced
1 jalapeño seeded and minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups light beer such as pilsner
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese shredded
4 ounces medium cheddar cheese shredded
2 ounces pepper jack cheese shredded
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Chives chopped for garnish (optional)
Flat-leaf parsley chopped for garnish (optional)

Instructions

In a large pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crispy, about 7 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Pour off excess bacon fat, leaving about 1 to 2 tablespoons in the pot. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and thyme, cooking until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium, add butter and stir until melted. Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
Gradually pour in beer while stirring, then add chicken broth and heavy cream. Stir continuously until the mixture is smooth and begins to thicken.
Reduce heat to a simmer and add shredded cheeses a little at a time, stirring until melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in half of the cooked bacon. Serve the soup hot, garnished with remaining bacon, chives, and parsley if using. DEVOUR!