Beer cheese dip? Yes, please! Skip the queso and make this dip for your next party. Warm cheddar and Gruyere infused with your favorite malted beverage and spicy seasonings makes short work of soft pretzels.
This dip is so deeply flavored, thick, and velvety smooth, it’s truly beyond delicious and shoves any thoughts of moderation out the window.
“Beer cheese” is apparently a Kentucky thing, a dish created by a crafty restaurateur who concocted a spicy snack that would encourage his patrons to order more food and drinks.
The recipe combines shredded cheddar, garlic, mustard, and other seasonings with a bit of (flat) beer in a food processor until everything’s creamy and spreadable. The plan of attack is to use your favorite cracker, pretzel, or other beer-cheese-transportation devices.
I think the best beer cheese recipe, though, is a warm, dippable version that imparts the same cheesy, malted flavors with the creamy texture that only melted cheese can offer. This is my recipe for beer cheese dip, and I think you’ll agree it’s what you’ve been missing all your life that’ll make Oktoberfest a proper party!
Beer cheese dip serves as popular football fare all across the country, and there are lots of versions of this recipe to choose from: Applebee’s beer cheese dip recipe, which starts with a roux to yield a nice thick bowl of yum; a Velveeta beer cheese dip that uses every cheesy dip’s friend (though typically not any other cheeses); and even a 3 ingredient beer cheese dip with just the basics of cream cheese, cheddar, and beer.
If you love hot, ooey-gooey, cheesy dips as much as I do, please try my amazing crack dip, cowboy queso, Rotel dip (only 3 ingredients!!), Mississippi sin dip. I promise you’ll love them all! ♥
Best Beer For Beer Cheese Dip
I used a pale ale in this dip because it’s my favorite and it’s on hand in my house. It produces a deep, robust flavor profile in the dip. Other beers that work well in this recipes are:
- Ales
- Dark Beers
- Lagers
- Stouts
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Butter
- Flour
- Beer
- Half and Half
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Hot Sauce
- Dried Mustard
- Garlic Powder
- Paprika
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- Gruyere Cheese
Optional Toppings:
- Cheddar
- Chives
- Bacon
Tips
- Roux: After the flour has been added to the melted butter, it needs to be cooked for at least 1 minute. This cooks out the “flour’ taste. If you cook it longer the roux will develop a deeper flavor. Remember to whisk constantly so the roux doesn’t burn. If it does burn, throw it out and start over!
- Adding Cheese: When adding the cheese to the sauce, keep the heat on low. If you add and heat it too quickly, the cheese dip can break and be ruined.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Place this in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Can You Freeze This? No, dips made with dairy don’t freeze well.
- Make-Ahead Tips: Make the completed dip, cover, and refrigerate. To reheat leftovers, place in a saucepan and reheat slowly, over the lowest heat (so as not to break the mixture), stirring often enough that the bottom doesn’t burn, until warmed through
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Serving Recommendations
Serve this dip is perfect to serve with soft pretzels, pretzel bites, crostinis, bread chunks, or tortilla chips. I love this served over baked potatoes or roasted broccoli, cauliflower, or Brussels sprouts. The dip may need to be thinned with a little bit of milk to thin it to be more pourable for the veggies!
This Family Loves Dip Recipes
- Knorr Spinach Dip
- Crab Rangoon Dip
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Million Dollar Dip
- Pimento Cheese
- Shrimp Dip
Beer Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup beer
- 1 1/4 cups half and half
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
Optional Toppings:
- shredded cheddar
- chives
- crumbled bacon
Instructions
- Melt the butter (4 tablespoons) in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour (1/4 cup) and whisk until the flour is completely absorbed. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, for 1 minute.
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until the flour is completely absorbed. Cook, whisking constantly, for one minute or until it begins to toast.
- Remove from heat, slowly add beer (1 cup) and a half and half (1 1/4 cup), whisking constantly.
- Stir in Worcestershire sauce (2 teaspoons), hot sauce (1/2 teaspoon), dried mustard (1/2 teaspoon), garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon), and paprika (1 teaspoon) and mix until combined.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, then immediately reduce heat and gently simmer, whisking frequently, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low, gradually add the cheese, about 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring to incorporate each addition. Wait to add more cheese until each addition is fully melted. Continue until all cheese is added and stir until it is melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Transfer cheese mixture to a serving dish and top, if desired with chives, crumbled bacon, and extra shredded cheese.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Roux: After the flour has been added to the melted butter, it needs to be cooked for at least 1 minute. This cooks out the “flour’ taste. If you cook it longer the roux will develop a deeper flavor. Remember to whisk constantly so the roux doesn’t burn. If it does burn, throw it out and start over!
- Adding Cheese: When adding the cheese to the sauce, keep the heat on low. If you add and heat it too quickly, the cheese dip can break and be ruined.
What are everyone’s favorite things have with this? I’ve been dying to make this for a long time but I’m not ambitious enough to make my own soft pretzels.
Hi Marianne. You can buy soft pretzels in the freezer section. This is also delicious with pretzel bites from the market or chunks of sour dough bread.
Thank you, Kathleen. I just discovered that a store near me has soft pretzels in their bakery. Yes! 👍
Enjoy, Marianne! 🙂
I made this last new year’s eve. And we made a second batch! It was a hit!
Yay! Thank you, Vicky!
I love it!
Yay!!