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Great soup with the soft pretzels. I made half a recipe for the pretzels but the entire soup recipe. Great dinner for our cold and snowy day.
Alright alright alright. Beer cheese soup, she says.
Beer cheese soup and soft pretzels is gonna change your dinner game this month. And lunch game. And snack game? I don’t know, it’s basically the same as soft pretzels dipped in queso, and that sounds pretty standard for snackage if you ask me.
This Beer Cheese Soup recipe is:
- velvety smooth
- low-key
- just the right amount of spicy
- ultra-cozy
- smoky like it has bacon, but with no bacon (thank u paprika!)
- not a total nutritional wash, because celery and bell peppers and stuff, right mom?
- but also kind of an awesome splurge – it’s beer cheese soup, for crying out loud.
How To Make Our Beer Cheese Soup:
This soup itself comes together fairly quickly. But I feel it’s my job to be honest with you and the honest truth is that if I were still a teacher instead of a professional food eater, and if I were still getting home from work at 5pm, and if I were still recovering from the woes of the workday, I definitely would not have the energy to make soft pretzels from scratch AND casually whip up a pot of beer cheese soup.
I would suggest one of the following if you’re hoping to enjoy both pretzels and beer cheese soup, but you happen to be strapped for time:
- Make semi-homemade pretzels (directions in the recipe).
- Make the soup the day before.
- Make your pretzels the day before.
- Make both on the weekend. You’ll just have more time. ā”
- Quit your job! WORTH IT.
No, don’t quit your job, okay?
But do try to make your pretzels from scratch. Doesn’t have to be the first time around – maybe make some beer cheese soup a few times first to get comfy with it (no one will ever complain about beer cheese soup as homework) and then, when you’re ready, whip up a batch of soft pretzels as your beer cheese soup side-hustle. I have full faith that you can make this happen and that you will not regret spending a little extra time in the kitchen for these. It is a borderline crime to enjoy one without the other.
But is it even worth talking about or did you just want to dive in headfirst to a luscious bowl of creamy cheese soup? OKAY THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT.
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Beer Cheese Soup with Soft Pretzels
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings (makes 6-ish cups) 1x
Description
This beer cheese soup is creamy, smokey, and velvety smooth – the perfect dunking situation for your soft pretzels.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- half an onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3–4 stalks of celery, minced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (adds a bacon-like flavor)
- 1 bottle of beer (I used Blue Moon – you can also use a NA beer)
- 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup whole milk (high fat milk is better)
- 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
- 4 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot (see notes) over medium high heat. Add the vegetables (onion, garlic, celery, jalapeno, red pepper, smoked paprika). Saute for a few minutes until soft.
- Add half of the beer and all of the broth. Bring to a low simmer.
- In a separate saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour. Cook for 5-ish minutes, stirring regularly.
- Add this butter-and-flour mixture to the simmering soup pot. Let the soup simmer for a few minutes. It should start to thicken. Slowly whisk in the milk and remaining beer. Simmer again for 5-10 minutes until creamy and slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat and wait for a few minutes for the soup to cool down slightly. Stir in the cheese until evenly melted. Season with salt and pepper. Grab your spoonssss!
Notes
Soft Pretzel Options:
- Homemade (recipe here)
- Semi-homemade (recipe here)
- Store-bought pretzel rolls. No judgement.
We recommend using a heavy pot for best results, like a enamel coated Dutch oven (affiliate link).Ā We made this many times in a stainless steel pot and it always gave us chunky results (the cheese didn’t melt smoothly).
Cheese Clump Warning: Don’t add the cheese to your soup when it’s piping hot. The cheese will not melt smoothly – it will clump up and get gritty. You just have to be gentle with the heat / cheese in order to get it perfectly smooth.
Instant Pot:Ā Cook vegetables, beer, and broth for 10-15 minutes on high pressure. Release steam, turn off heat, and allow the soup to cool for 30 minutes (otherwise you’re gonna get gritty, clumpy cheese). Make your roux on the stovetop. Whisk the roux into the Instant Pot and add the milk and cheese. (This has a differently, slightly less thick texture than the stovetop version. I found when I made this in the Instant Pot that it didn’t really simmer to thicken the base of the soup, so therefore it didn’t need as much liquid. I chose to just omit the other half of the beer, but you could omit some of the broth or milk as well.)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: beer cheese soup, soup recipe, beer cheese, pretzel recipe
This beer cheese soup looks absolutely delicious! I can’t wait to try it with the soft pretzels. Perfect comfort food for chilly eveningsāthanks for sharing such a cozy recipe!
Thank you for this recipe it sounds sooooo good.
Do you by any chance have a gluten free pretzel recipe so I could make it for my daughter.
Thank you
Eve
Hi Eve! We don’t have a gluten free pretzel recipe. Sorry about that! You could try using gluten free flour in our pretzel recipe but we haven’t tested a gluten free version!
An interesting soup. I’ll have to try this for sure, sounds delicious.
I’ve done Beer Cheese before but only as a dip.
We hope you enjoy it, Bill!
Ok, normally I am not a commenty type person but I felt compelled to just write you and some let you know all the way from Chile you are getting a mega slow clap. This is glorious and just made my cuarentine sohoho much better. Big virtual only hug! Keep on making the awesomeness it puts som big joy into this world you clever lady!
What do you think about adding broccoli?
The soup was ehhhh. It wasnāt terrible, but it really wasnāt great either. Prepping took longer than expected as the vegetables had to be minced instead of just chopped. I ate it, but I wonāt ever make it again. My boyfriend said he liked it, but I think he was just being nice because he didnāt eat it all either. The pretzels though were PERFECT!
On another note, I donāt think people should rate a recipe they havenāt tried. I saw it a lot in these reviews and I see it often on other sites. Itās misleading. Recipes get higher reviews because people are giving great ratings and they havenāt even attempted the recipe, let alone actually tasted it. I think itās nice that people are so encouraging, but you are allowed to comment on a recipe without rating it. I have a picture, but thereās no way to attach it to my comment and I donāt have social media in order to tag @pinchofyum. Though I didnāt particularly like the soup, I loved the pretzels, so I will certainly check this site out for more recipes. Thank you pinchofyum š.
This is not Wisconsin cheese soup. It was okay, I usually love veg in every dish. However in this soup? No. Iām an avid cook, been to school. Remember to add cheese slowly – itās a timing thing. This type of recipe can be grainy if heated too high and fast. Like Mac n cheese. My kids loved it. Guess I was really looking for a Wisconsin type soup but wanted to try this out. Thanks!
This soup is ah-mazing. A staple I will be making for years to come š
This looks amazing! Question for you – could one hypothetically make the roux in the veggie pan before adding the first round of liquids? Iām curious if you tried and it was a fail before experimenting with it.
Yes I had the same thought, I don’t see why the roux can’t be done with the veg rather than dirtying another pan. And then add in all the liquid rather than splitting it in two batches. I’ve never seen an instruction like that for roux.
First of all, I LOVE your your blog. Your writings always make me smile. But many times you’ve also made me cry, hug my dog, hug my kid and husband – your parents must be proud of raising you to be such a good person. Sounds weird, right – but someone had to say it!!!
I came here to ask you what type of Cheddar cheese you used in addition to the smoked cheese. I’ve used the wrong one before and ruined recipes!
Keep it up girl – your fans love what you do!
To evenly melt rje cheese we used a double broiler method Afters softening/cooking vegetables and broth with roux.
Txs for sharing lovely recipe
I made this soup with the soft pretzels! It was so delish and very easy. The soup was not as thick as I would have liked it, and I did put in some extra cheese thinking that would help. It didn’t do much though, any suggestions on that? Otherwise, SO YUMMY!
Hi Anna! I think you could maybe try making a roux with some butter/flour/milk and then add that to the soup to thicken it up.
Have you tried freezing this? Wondering how it holds up. Thanks!!
We haven’t! Sometimes soups high in dairy can separate a lot when frozen, so it might not freeze super well. We’d love to hear how it goes if you give it a try!
Just made this today and it was pretty tasty! I used a little heavier ale and was a little put off by the heaviness of it, but that can be EASILY remedied. Made the biscuit pretzels yesterday….simply genius. Those will be standard! Thanks.
Glad to hear that, Naomi!
This is so great.. One of the best beer and cheese recipes I have ever seen. Photographs are incredible too..
Can you use a crockpot? I don’t have a Dutch oven.
Superb recipe
any tips for fixing the texture if you make the mistake of adding the cheese when it’s too hot? my turned out gritty and I tried adding a little more milk to try and smooth it out but that didn’t seem to help
Unfortunately we weren’t able to find a good solution for it once it’s become gritty. :/ just a good tip for next time!
I was blessed to stop drinking beer almost 6 years ago.
Wow I would really love to try this!
Can you tell me the difference between the cheddar and smoked cheddar? I live in The Netherlands and we have plenty of cheese to choose from but not the cheddar kinds.
Gouda works well. Edamer would also work well or even a Munster.
The smoked cheddar has had additional curing in a smokehouse. Again, if you can get a smoked Gouda, that’s an excellent replacement. In fact, that’s what I used tonight when I tried the recipe because it’s what I found in the store that was smoked. I’m guessing you also can’t get a product called liquid smoke that adds a smoky flavor.
It’s no wonder Europeans think so poorly of cheddar when the only cheddar you have available pales in comparison to a good cheddar from the US. Choose a good, rich cheese that you like and don’t worry about cheddar.
I was thinking I’d replace the regular cheddar with some gruyere. I’ll let you know how that turns out.
Thanks for the tip on not adding the cheese to quickly, I think that is my downfall when making mac & cheese. I add it too quickly and it gets gritty. I am going to have to give both of these a try. Love that they both don’t take too much time to make. I am hoping to find a smoked cheddar at the store today. plus I love that you include the nutrition info.
My husband took one bite and said, āThis is the best beer cheese soup Iāve ever had, and it doesnāt make you feel unhealthy.ā Thanks for a great recipe!
Glad you both enjoyed it, Brittany! š
Great soup with the soft pretzels. I made half a recipe for the pretzels but the entire soup recipe. Great dinner for our cold and snowy day.
Glad to hear that!
Definitely making this tonight. Our local Fred Meyer has yummy pretzels in the bakery section you can just bake in the oven. Not as good as homemade, but will be an easier alternative for this teacher, and perfect for dipping while watching the Men’s Snowboarding tonight.
Hope you enjoy it, Elaine! š