This Beer Cheese Soup recipe is quick and easy to make with cheddar cheese and Cheez whiz and unbelievably delicious! I've tried quite a few beer soups in my life, but this is the best beer cheese soup recipe ever! And you don't even have to like beer (or Cheez whiz) to love this meatless creamy soup!
This was adapted from a copycat of the Grainery Beer Cheese Soup (in North Dakota) and lightened up a lot to make it Weight Watchers friendly. It pairs well with these Bread Machine Italian Breadsticks or Everything Bagel Cloud Bread Recipe (0 WW points). This recipe is great any time of the year, but ideal for Father's Day!
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🥘Ingredients
You don't need heavy cream for this beer and cheese soup, as you can simply thicken it up with a roux. For this Beer Cheese Soup recipe, you'll need:
- chicken stock
- Cheez whiz *I use light
- milk * I use 1%
- sharp cheddar cheese * I use low-fat
- beer * I use Genuine draft
- Worcestershire sauce
- Mushrooms ( sautéed with unsalted butter and seasoning salt * I use Lawry's seasoning salt)
- flour
- olive oil
- chopped chives
*See recipe card for quantities.
🔪Instructions
How to make beer cheese soup:
Sauté mushrooms in butter and seasoning salt under mushrooms are tender but still firm.
Add chicken broth, milk, Cheez whiz, cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce and beer. Whisk over medium high stirring until melted and smooth.
Mix flour and oil until paste forms.
Add to soup broth and cook until it starts to thicken.
Add chives. Continue to cook on medium high, whisking frequently until it thickens even more. then reduce to simmer
Simmer about 10 additional minutes. Texture should be like heavy cream but consistency should be thick like gravy. *If not thick enough, add a little more roux and simmer until it reaches desired consistency.
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Beer - you can use any kind of beer you prefer, but I like Miller draft, as it's a cold filter draft beer that's light and exceptionally smooth tasting. Generally, this soup is best with whatever beer you already enjoy!
- Cheese- you can use regular cheese (not low-fat) if you prefer and if you don't have sharp/old cheddar cheese, you can use medium (although it won't taste quite the same) or you could use white cheddar instead.
- WW friendlier - use a light beer (I recommend Coor's light), light Cheez Whiz, and light margarine/butter replacement
- Chives - you can substitute green onions
- Vegetarian beer cheese soup - you can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make this soup vegetarian
- Spicy - add a little of your favorite hot sauce or a bit of cayenne pepper to spice this up!
- Bacon - you can add some crispy bacon if you desire
🥗 Side Dishes
The Cheddar Beer soup can be served as a side or a main course and goes well with bread, soft pretzels and/or salad. Try it with:
- Bread Machine Onion & Olive Bread
- Bread Machine Italian Breadsticks
- Everything Bagel Cloud Bread Recipe
- Spinach salad
- You can also serve this in a fun and delicious bread bowl - see how to make bread bowls here!
🍽Equipment
You really only need a soup pot and a whisk (affiliate links) for this soup! No immersion blender required.
🌡️Storage
Store this easy beer cheese soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It freezes well in a sealed container for up to 3 months.
👪 Serving Size
This beer cheddar soup recipe makes 8 servings. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
Cheesy soup is comfort food at its finest. And this recipe is lighter than most beer cheese soups @ 8 WW points on my plan. You can calculate the recipe in the app to see how many points it is on your plan. And you can further reduce the points by using non-fat milk, light beer and light butter, as well as non-fat cheddar cheese if you can find it.
❔ Frequently Asked Questions
It's best to stick with smoother beers and avoid hoppy beers, such as IPA's, which tend to have a bit more of a bitter flavor.
Beer adds a rich, earthy flavor to soups that makes it taste like it's been simmering for hours. Like salt, beer brings out the flavor of food and adds more complexity to the dish. And most of the alcohol evaporates during the cooking process.
If you are looking for a delicious recipe for Dad on Father's Day or any day, this Beer Cheese Soup is going to hit the spot!
And if you love cheesy soup, try my Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup as well!
📋 Beer Cheese Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup Cheez Whiz (half of a 16 ounce jar)
- 1 ½ cups milk * I use 1%
- 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese (low-fat)
- 1 cup beer
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
- ⅛ teaspoon Lawry's seasoning salt
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup chopped chives
Garnish
- additional chopped chives, if desired
Instructions
- Sauté mushrooms in butter and seasoning salt under mushrooms are tender but still firm.
- Add broth, milk Cheez whiz, cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce and beer. Whisk over medium high stirring until melted and smooth.
- Mix flour and oil until paste forms.
- Add to broth and cook until it starts to thicken.
- Add chives. Continue to cook on medium high, whisking frequently until it thickens even more. then reduce to simmer.
- Simmer for about 10 additional minutes over medium-low heat. Texture should be like heavy cream but consistency will be thick like gravy.
- if not thickened enough, add more roux, then simmer for about 10 more minutes until desired thickness is reached minutes.
Garnish
- Garnish with additional chives
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