14 Clever Ways To Use Beer Cheese
If you've ever visited a pub, there's a good chance you've seen beer cheese on the menu in some respect. We often see it accompanying pretzels as a dip or even creatively slathered on sandwiches for a nice kick. In whatever manner it appears, it's a good bet that the dish is delicious.
Beer cheese has many applications, and you can create and serve delicious offerings right from the comfort of your home kitchen. While authentic beer cheese should be a bit on the stiff side when it is cold, most of our favorite cheese recipes have it as more of a sauce. You'll notice that beer cheese sauces often combine flour, butter, and milk to establish more of a runny consistency. In other cases, however, you do need to have more of a sturdy, stiff beer cheese. In either case, the taste is just as delicious and purely a difference in appearance. All told, this is truly a cheese fit for royalty; after all, Queen Elizabeth II supposedly loved the stuff.
Create nachos with it
You may already be familiar with using beer cheese as a dip, so it may not be a far cry to imagine nachos made with beer cheese. Prepare these tasty nachos with the cheese you already have on hand or whip up a new batch for that fresh beer cheese taste.
To prepare beer cheese for nachos, combine milk, flour, butter, and beer in a pan. You will add your cheese when the mixture is bubbly, and the floury taste is no more. We recommend adding cheddar and American cheese for the perfect complement of different flavors. However, if either one of those cheeses is not your preference, feel free not to use it. Also, you may include different cheeses in the cheese mixture. For example, mozzarella or pepper jack would add a delectable flavor to these nachos. To assemble them, warm up the chips in the oven for a few minutes. When they come out all toasty, pour warm beer cheese all over the chips. To finish it off, add whatever you want on top of the chips, but we love pickled jalapenos, black olives, salsa, and chopped tomatoes.
For a different spin on these nachos, replace queso with beer cheese as a dip for tortilla chips. Warm up your chips in the same way you would with nachos, but rather than putting the cheese over the top, simply serve it on the side for dipping.
Smother your grilled cheese with it
Beer cheese also takes your average grilled cheese from good to remarkable. Again, leftover beer cheese will work well here, but preparing fresh cheese is always an option.
For this beer cheese, use your choice of Monterey Jack, American, or cheddar cheese. Alternatively, incorporate a combination of all three for something truly extraordinary. First, melt butter, add flour, and stir for a few minutes. Next, you'll pour in your milk and beer to add in the cheese. When it comes to choosing a beer for beer cheese, this is going to depend entirely on your taste. For something bright and a little floral, an IPA would be great. After adding any cheese, allow it to melt for a few minutes before buttering your bread, slathering the beer cheese on top, and cooking it on a skillet. After all that work preparing your beer cheese, be sure to pay close attention to the bread so it does not burn.
Incorporate into mac and cheese
We love an elevated childhood favorite, and no target seems to get as much attention as macaroni and cheese. We see adult macaroni and cheese on the fanciest of menus, full of lobster and other delicious crustaceans. However, a beer cheese mac and cheese may become your new favorite way to elevate this kiddie classic.
Preparing fresh beer cheese will be similar here to other dishes. In a pan, combine flour, beer, and milk. Then, you'll add your cheese, whisking well so that it all blends together. When choosing your cheese, consider something that would be perfect for noodles. We went for cheddar more often than anything else here. We also like to add in some paprika and crumbled-up bacon to give our macaroni and cheese a slight smokiness and spiciness. To assemble, toss this cheese together with your macaroni. If you're looking to make it ultra-presentable, consider adding some bread crumbs on top and popping it into your oven for roughly 25 minutes. Otherwise, it's ready to devour as soon as you mix the noodles and cheese.
Melt it for fondue
For us, one of the best ways to enjoy dinner is by including appetizers shared with friends. And when it comes to great appetizers, you can do no better than a delicious fondue. The best thing about fondue is that it goes with so many different dipping items, and altering the recipe to suit your tastes is quite simple. So for your next fondue night, you can't go wrong a beer cheese fondue.
This one will require a substantial amount of quality melting cheese like cheddar, Gruyere, or whatever your heart desires. Since the cheese is the star of the show here, don't go cheap, and don't buy your cheese shredded. Instead, in a pot, you'll add in beer, seasoning, and your cheese will go in last. We recommend stirring it in batches so it has enough time to melt before adding more. Then, it's ready to be enjoyed. Gather 'round and dip whatever kinds of items you wish. We're always fans of the classic sourdough bread cubes, but even something like apple slices would taste delicious here.
Make beer cheese brats
Nearly nothing goes better with a great brat than an excellent beer. Combine the two together, and you have a surefire, winning dish. For a delicious spin on your typical beer brat, consider adding some of that tasty melty beer cheese sauce right on top.
Get some beer boiling for your brats with onion and garlic to develop a fabulous flavor. Then, prepare that cheese. Besides the usual suspects of beer, milk, flour, and butter, stick with freshly shredded cheddar for this one. Add a bit of paprika if you are into that, and consider adding some chives to liven up the dish and add some delightful color. If you prefer a nice char on your brats, give them some time on the grill before adding the cheese. After your cheese is all melted, place each brat on a bun and smother it with sauce. We love mustard with our brats, but cheese is just over-the-top tasty. We're willing to bet you'll struggle to have regular brats again anytime soon.
Take a classic snack to the next level
Nothing screams childhood snacks quite like frozen Bagel Bites. And we must admit, there are some evenings where these just sound like the perfect appetizer to enjoy while relaxing in front of the TV. But we can do better, and beer cheese is here to help. So, the next time you have a craving, save yourself from the inevitable burned mouth and make a skillet of homemade beer cheese and bagel bites instead.
Prepare your favorite beer cheese, and be sure to make it with freshly shredded cheddar. Pour this into the bottom of a skillet that will tolerate the heat from your oven. Then, take some flatbread, smear cream cheese all over it, top it with everything but the bagel seasoning or something similar, and add an even coat of mozzarella. Roll this up, place it into bite-size swirls, and flip them around the perimeter of that delicious cheese-filled skillet. To cook it up, put it in your oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for roughly 25 minutes. Pay close attention that it doesn't burn on top, but if you notice it's starting to get too brown, consider adding some foil to help remedy that issue. In no time, you will have dunkable bagel bites that will make you forget those snacks of old.
Mix into mashed potatoes
We are big fans of mashed potatoes. There are a whole bunch of ways to dress up a classic bowl of spuds, but you may not have thought of making mashed potatoes with your cheese. For this recipe, you'll want some leftover beer cheese on hand that has spent a little time in the fridge. Ideally, it wouldn't be super melty at the point when you make your recipe. Use store-bought or homemade beer cheese; that is entirely up to you because the recipe will work great with either.
Begin by preparing your favorite mashed potato recipe, and when you get to the mashing part, add your beer cheese with any butter or sour cream, the classic salt and pepper, and get ready to serve it. We find some cheddar cheese goes nicely on top of these mashed potatoes and does a beautiful job of bringing out that delicious cheddar flavor from the cheese addition you made.
Bake cheddar beer bread
Baking bread is one of those simple pleasures that never seems to get old. You don't need to spend much time preparing ingredients either, which makes baking bread all the more awesome. To take your brand to the next level and impress that upcoming dinner party, prepare a cheddar beer bread instead of the typical dinner bread.
This simple recipe will require flour, baking powder, garlic powder, butter, and, of course, beer. If you do not have a bread maker, you will bake this bread in a 9x5 inch pan after you combine all of your ingredients in a bowl. If you have a bread maker on hand, combine all of the ingredients in your bread pan and cook it according to the recommended setting on your machine. We've noticed that most machines prefer you to put down your liquid, mix-ins, and flour with salt on top. In the end, you will end up with a sweet and savory bread that your guests will be requesting time and time again.
Smear onto buns for sliders
Brats and beer cheese seem like an easy pairing, but other meats are less obvious. Take, for example, sliders. These little burgers are ultra flavorful and satisfying. They're also known for being fairly greasy. To take your sliders to an even new level of juiciness, consider adding beer cheese as a spread for your burgers.
This all begins with your favorite slider recipe. These can be sheet pan sliders or even pretzel roll sliders, but whatever you want to do, keep in mind that you will be adding beer cheese to the burgers, so there's no need to add too many more condiments. This beer cheese will be similar to others and include flour, butter, beer, milk, and cheese. We enjoy a cheddar and mozzarella mix for this one, and we also like including a little bit of Dijon mustard in the cheese to give it that extra kick. Make sure that you have more of a melty texture rather than a smear for this to be the most effective and delicious. After your burgers finish cooking, drizzle the sauce all over your burgers and get ready to run through your entire stockpile of napkins because this is a messy one.
Upgrade your favorite stuffing
If stuffing is a regular item on your holiday table, then there is a good chance your family has a favorite stuffing recipe already. The prospect of changing this favorite may not sit well at first, but as soon as you get a load of this cheesy beer bacon stuffing, we're imagining that you'll kick the boxed stuff to the curb.
You'll be baking this stuffing, so get a 350-degree Fahrenheit oven prepared and a good-sized baking sheet. On your stovetop, combine milk, butter, celery, and onions with salt and pepper and other seasonings. Cook that until those veggies hit a doneness you are pleased with. Then, you'll add in the magic: beer. Cook that until half of your liquid is reduced and you get a nice opaque color. To eventually end up with golden stuffing, you'll need some eggs, so combine those with Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth.
Next, French bread, bacon, freshly shredded cheese, and some sage with thyme all go together to form the base of your stuffing. After those three pieces are individually finished, go ahead and combine them onto one baking sheet and smooth out, so everything appears in an even layer. You'll want this to be nice and golden brown, which means it will cook for a total of around 40 minutes, removing the foil with about 20 minutes to go to achieve that golden color.
Replace pizza sauce
Pizza can be a tricky subject. After all, nearly every city in the country has its own opinion of what makes the best pizza. Most of those favorites will include a red tomato-based sauce, but we are suckers for pizza experimentation, so get ready to try something totally different: beer cheese pizza.
The concept for beer cheese pizza is similar to using something like an Alfredo sauce instead of a pizza sauce. After preparing your dough, dole out the cheese over top of your crust and top in whatever ways you like. We love smokey bacon and even Italian sausage for this pizza. But feel free use whatever sounds delicious to you. For the cheese layer, you could even top it with more cheddar or leave it without shredded cheese on top since you already have plenty within your beer cheese spread.
If you've got a hankering for beer cheese pizza in the morning, head on over to Casey's for its new Ultimate Beer Cheese Breakfast Pizza. This pizza is full of delicious cheese and will likely keep you full late into the day.
Whip up beer and cheese soup
Beer cheese soup is a classic standby in many pubs, especially throughout the Midwest. In fact, some people have only experienced beer cheese through soup, and that makes sense because it is absolutely delicious. However, there's no need to rely on your favorite pub to constantly offer delectable, warm offerings — you can make it right in your own kitchen, too.
You'll begin by including all the usual suspects of milk, chicken broth, butter, beer, and cheese, but you'll also add some unexpected guests like carrots, celery, fennel, and even Worcestershire sauce. Beer cheese soup is anything but simple because the way the flavors meld is so perfect. It also requires quite a bit more cheese than you might expect. Prepare to go through a full pound of freshly shredded cheddar for this one. To get the color just right, choose a bright orange Wisconsin cheddar for full cheesy orange brightness.
Wrap up some pigs in a blanket
While we love a good bagel bite, we also enjoy another classic: pigs in a blanket. Like other compliments to beer cheese, this one is the perfect option to serve as an appetizer or even a party snack.
One of the best parts about this snack is that they come together really quickly with Pillsbury crescent rolls and small sausages. But to take your little piggies to new levels, add some beer cheese dipping sauce on the side. In the past, we have often served ours with various mustard, but beer cheese may soon just take its place. Some appetizers are better with cold beer cheese on the side, but pigs in a blanket need this beer cheese to be much more liquidy, so be sure your cheese has all the feel of a thick dip rather than a cold spread. You may even run out of the condiment before you even run out of this tasty treat.
Bring beer to breakfast with eggs benedict
If there's one meal to learn for impressing your significant other, we recommend learning how to make an excellent traditional eggs Benedict. It's just the perfect breakfast. Between the English muffin, Canadian bacon, poached egg, and delicious Hollandaise sauce, this dish is as good as it gets. And while we struggle to say that anything could be better than Hollandaise sauce, beer cheese sauce may do the trick.
To prepare this special eggs Benedict, make your English muffin, Canadian bacon, and poached egg as you normally would. Then, heat some beer in a saucepan as you mix cheese, cornstarch, pepper, and mustard together separately. After you have heated the beer, add the two parts together and allow them to get thick. Be patient, because this may take a moment or two, but the cornstarch will undoubtedly do its job. Once the sauce is done, pour a generous amount over your stacks of eggs Benedict and enjoy this delicious spin on an already delightful breakfast offering.