Stove top – Slow Cooker – Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Instructions
This Beer Cheese Soup will remind you of a cold and snowy winter day in front of a fireplace. So bring on the cold weather and enjoy this delightful silky and creamy soup. This soup is also considered a classic Midwestern recipe that is especially popular in Wisconsin. Beer adds a wonderful tang to this delicious cheesy soup. For this recipe I have included cooking instructions for the stove top, slow cooker and Instant Pot pressure cooker.
History of Beer Cheese Soup:
In the state of Wisconsin, Beer Cheese soup is on the menu at every pub and restaurant across the state. Made from their two favorite ingredients the state is best known: beer and cheddar cheese! Wisconsin was settled by mostly German immigrants who brought with them the tradition of beer cheese soup. Besides Germany, a beer soup cooked with egg yolk was a common breakfast staple in European countries to serve with bread during medieval times. Eventually over the years, beer soup was livened up with more spices, onions, and cheese evolving into a more hearty meal. The essential ingredients to a good beer cheese soup is butter, flour, chicken stock, lager beer, and sharp cheddar cheese. The butter and flour is cooked together to form the roux base, which serves as a thickener for the soup.
The tradition in Wisconsin is to top your bowl of soup with popcorn. It is unclear on when or why it became a tradition to top this soup with popcorn. Perhaps since most pubs and bars offered free bowls of popcorn, it was handy for patrons to sprinkle popcorn on their soup to enjoy a nice crunchy topping. That could be one theory. I have also been able to find references to Native Americans making popcorn soup in the 17th Century and in the country of Ecaudor, topping soup with popcorn is also traditional. Learn more about the History of Popcorn.
More of Linda’s delicious Soup, Stew, and Chili Recipes.
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1 cup celery, finely chopped
- 1 cup carrots, finely chopped
- 1 cup flour (all-purpose)
- 8 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 (12-ounce) can beer (preferably flat)
- 2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3 tablespoons Parmesan Cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano), freshly grated
- Parsley, fresh, chopped
- Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
- Popcorn or croutons
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In a 6-quart Dutch oven over medium heat, add butter. Let the butter melt; add the onions. Sauté for 2 minutes until onions appear translucent. Next add the carrots and celery. Stir into the onion mixture and sauté for 2 more minutes to soften the vegetables. Gradually add in the flour and stir into the vegetable mix until combined (the roux should appear to be a paste-like texture). Cook the roux for an additional couple minutes, stirring constantly. You should hear the roux bubble and sizzle in the pot. Note: Do not let the roux brown. If this happens, then it can have a burnt taste. You would need to discard the roux and start again . Learn How to Make Perfect White Sauce Roux.
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Add the chicken stock to the roux one cup at a time. Make sure the cup of chicken stock is completely blended into the roux before adding the next cup. Repeat this process until all the chicken stock has been added and blended with the roux. Stir constantly to keep from sticking to the bottom of the Dutch oven (up to 10 minutes or until the soup base come to a boil). Turn the heat down to medium-low, then add mustard and stir to blend into soup. Salt and pepper to taste.
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Stovetop Instructions:
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Reduce heat to low. Add beer and stir to combine. Simmer another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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Remove the soup pot from the heat. Add the soup to blender, in small batches, and blend to purée vegetables to a nice smooth consistently. Note: fill the blender halfway with soup mixture to puree . Remove the small cap from blender lid to allow heat to escape and cover lid with dish towel. Hold lid down while blending. Pour each blended batch into a separate large bowl. When all the soup has been blended, return to the Dutch oven. Turn heat on to medium low and add the grated cheddar cheese. Stir the cheese into the soup until melted and blended with the soup.
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Serve in soup bowls topped with parmesan cheese and parsley. Also great topped with popcorn or croutons.
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Makes 4-6 servings.
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Preheat Slow Cooker on high heat.
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Pour the contents of the soup base from the Dutch oven into the slow cooker. Next add the beer (make sure the carbonation from the beer is gone before adding to soup base). Stir everything together. Cover with a lid and cook on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 8 hours.
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Remove the lid and add the soup to a blender in small batches and blend to purée vegetables to a nice smooth consistently. Note: fill the blender halfway with soup mixture to puree. Remove the small cap from blender lid to allow heat to escape and cover lid with dish towel. Hold lid down while blending. Pour each blended batch of soup into a separate large bowl.
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When all the soup has been blended, return the soup to the slow cooker. Add the grated cheese. Stir the cheese into the soup until melted and blended with the soup. The soup should be heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve in bowls and garnish with shredded cheese, parsley and (popcorn or croutons).
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Serves 4-6
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Prepare the roux: Select the Saute button on the Instant Pot and adjust the setting to the highest heat option. When the Instant Pot registers "hot", add butter. Let the butter melt; add the onions, carrots and celery. Stir together and sauté for a few minutes until the onions appear translucent and the vegetables are softened. Gradually add in the flour and stir into the vegetable mix until combined (the roux should appear to be a paste-like texture). Cook the roux for an additional couple minutes, stirring constantly. You should hear the roux bubble and sizzle in the pot. Note: Do not let the roux brown. If this happens, then it can have a burnt taste. You would need to discard the roux and start again . Learn How to Make Perfect White Sauce Roux. Next add the mustard and stir to combine.
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Add the chicken stock to the roux one cup at a time. Make sure the cup of chicken stock is completely blended into the roux before adding the next cup. Repeat this process until all the chicken stock has been added and blended with the roux. Stir constantly to keep from sticking to the bottom of the Instant Pot (up to 10 minutes or until the soup base come to a boil). Salt and pepper to taste. Add the beer and stir to combine and mixture starts to boil. Press the Keep Warm/Cancel button to turn off the Saute mode.
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Cover with lid and close the lid to seal closed. Make sure the pressure valve is turned to Sealing to ensure the pressure is sealed in while cooking. Select the Manual button and set to High Pressure. Adjust the cooking time to 5 minutes. When the cooking time is done, Quick Release the pressure by opening the pressure valve and turning the handle to Venting.
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Open the pressure cooker lid and set aside. Add the soup to blender, in small batches, and blend to purée vegetables to a nice smooth consistently. Note: fill the blender halfway with soup mixture to puree . Remove the small cap from blender lid to allow heat to escape and cover lid with dish towel. Hold lid down while blending. Pour each blended batch into a separate large bowl. When all the soup has been blended, return to the Instant Pot. Select the Saute button and adjust the heat setting to medium. Add the grated cheddar cheese. Stir the cheese into the soup until melted and blended with the soup.
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Serve in soup bowls topped with Parmesan or cheddar cheese and parsley. Also great topped with popcorn or croutons.
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Serves 4-6
This is the type of pressure cooker that I prefer to use in my cooking: I get readers asking which electric pressure cooker brand I prefer to use for cooking. I personally use the Instant Pot Multi-Use Pressure Cooker. I love having 7 cooking functions in one space saving appliance – Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Saute Pan, Steamer, Yogurt Maker and Warmer.
Learn more tips on How to Use an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.
References:
The Wisconsin Cheeseman, Beer Cheese Soup: A Wisconsin Classic
Food Timeline FAQs: Soups & Stews
Categories:
Cheese Midwest - Plains Pressure Cooker Soup Recipes Soup, Stew, Chili & Chowder Recipes Soups & Stews History
One Response to “Beer Cheese Soup Recipe”
Michael
I followed this recipe down to the letter using the Instant Pot except I forgot to add the prepared mustard. I don’t think it was a deal breaker — the resultant soup was comparable to what I love at the local brewery — but I will be sure to include it next time. For butter, I used two sticks of Kerry Gold unsalted. I shredded Tillamook sharp cheddar for the cheese and shredded parm I had on hand, though it is easy to imagine the extra bite from using the good stuff (Reggiano). I only had (non flat) Miller Light on hand but, in the future, I think it will be fun to experiment with different kinds of beer. Great recipe!