Beer Cheese Soup with Pretzel Croutons

Beer Cheese Soup with pretzel Croutons is a fast comfort food fix that your whole family will love. Save extra croutons to use atop salads and soups!

It's football time in Packerland again. The leaves are just past the peak of their autumn gorgeousness.

It's still unseasonably warm outside, but a distinct chill begins permeating the air early the evening. The stillness is punctuated by the occasional cacophony of squawking Sandhill Cranes migrating from the soon-to-be-frozen Wisconsin hinterlands.

Times like these usually find me on a soup and comfort food bender.

What could be better than a soup that is also the most comforting of comfort foods? Beer cheese soup fits that bill.

A couple of years ago, I ordered some at a pub in Northern Wisconsin. It was meh. I knew that I could do better, but it took me until last week to actually attempt it.

Beer Cheese Soup

This soup has tons of flavor built in by virtue of onions, celery, and garlic that get slowly sautéed until completely soft (the soup gets buzzed later with an immersion blender so it's smooth).

There's a shot of mustard and hot sauce, neither of which is detectable, but rather act to punch up the cheese flavor even more. A subtle hint of thyme knocks the flavor out of the park.

Although I used an amber ale for this first whack at beer cheese soup, I'd recommend a very mild ale or lager.

You cook down some of the beer before whisking in the roux and adding cheese. This really accentuates the yeasty, rich beer flavor while removing the alcohol taste.

I used a mix of mild and extra-sharp Wisconsin cheese (it was actually labeled "Super Super Super Sharp Cheddar), though you can certainly opt for a smoky flavor by using a small amount of smoked cheddar.

The topping

The cool kids float popped popcorn on their beer cheese soup. I get the concept: oooh, popcorn on soup, how UNEXPECTED! The complexity of the texture and flavor is so SUBLIME! Blech.

I've never been a fan of this practice, most likely because I was turned off by the slightly burned, acrid popcorn that topped the beer cheese soup offering in Northern Wisconsin. But even under normal circumstances, popcorn on soup to me is just...weird.

Instead, I arrived at pretzel croutons: a nod to Wisconsin's heavily German heritage, yes, but mostly because pretzels and cheese sauce are among Phil's favorite things on the planet.

So, I cut pretzel buns into cubes and tossed them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme, and then baked them in the oven until crispy. You can also make these on a stovetop. They are done much quicker.

Oyster crackers are another topping possibility, though the croutons are our favorite.

This soup is great for football parties. You can make it the night before (recommended, actually, because the flavors deepen overnight) and then gently reheat it, stirring frequently (we don't want scorching!) before gametime.

Serve it buffet-style out of the crockpot, letting your guests add the croutons to the soup.

And there you have it. This beer cheese soup recipe is a Wisconsin-inspired, decadence-in-a-bowl soup experience, from a cheesehead-at-heart football fan who wouldn't be caught dead wearing an actual cheesehead as a fashion accessory. Enjoy!

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Beer Cheese Soup with Pretzel Croutons

Yield: 4 -6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

This easy recipe for beer cheese soup will satisfy your naughtiest comfort food craving. The pretzel crouton topping is a nod to the soft pretzels with cheese sauce you might find in a German pub. This soup can be made ahead and gently reheated—perfect for parties when it's set out buffet-style in a crockpot.

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Ingredients

FOR THE PRETZEL CROUTONS

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cups of pretzel buns sliced into ½" cubes
• 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 1 tsp. yellow mustard
• ½ tsp. hot sauce, (I used Sri Racha; this is optional)
• ½ tsp. salt
• several grinds of black pepper

FOR THE SOUP

• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
• ½ tbsp. dried thyme
• One 12-ounce bottle lager or pilsner
• 2 to 2 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth, (See Recipe Note #1)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ½ lb. extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded (see Recipe Note #2)
• 4 oz. mild cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded (see Recipe Note #2)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

FOR THE CROUTONS

1. For the croutons, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix all crouton ingredients and spread the bread cubes on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, giving the cubes a stir halfway through, until golden and crunchy (see Recipe Note #3).

FOR THE SOUP

1. Heat 1 tbsp. of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, and garlic; sweat the vegetables until completely softened, 10-15 minutes. Add in the thyme and cook for an additional minute. Pour in half of the beer; cook until reduced by half, about 5 minutes (I sometimes take a picture of the liquid level at the beginning of this cook time so I can compare). Add 2 cups of chicken broth, the mustard, and the hot sauce; stir to combine. Purée with an immersion blender and bring to a simmer.
2. Meanwhile, make a roux by melting the remaining butter in a small skillet. Add in the flour and stir, cooking over moderate heat, until a light blonde color develops, ~2 minutes. Add the mixture into the soup, whisking like crazy, until completely incorporated. Bring the soup to a simmer.
3. Continue simmering until thickened, ~8 minutes. Add in the cream and the remaining beer. Turn heat to low and add in the mild cheddar cheese, stirring until melted. Remove soup from the heat and stir in the extra sharp cheddar cheese. Serve the soup topped with the pretzel croutons.
4. Enjoy!

Notes

1.  If the soup is too thick, stir in ¼ cup of either chicken broth or milk.
2. Do not, under any circumstances, use pre-shredded cheese. These always include cornstarch to keep the individual strands from sticking together—this is 100% guaranteed to ruin the texture of the soup.
3. Place any extra croutons in an airtight container and either keep in your pantry for up to a week or in your freezer for up to 2 months. Use them up on salads or soups.
4. To reheat the soup, microwave on 50% power, stirring every 2 minutes, until heated through.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g