The Store-Bought Addition For Creamier, Cheesier Mashed Potatoes

While you may have dressed up a plate of mashed potatoes with grated cheese, there's an even better way to invite the cheesy addition to your recipe. A creamy garlic mashed potatoes dish can be made even more decadent with tangy beer cheese. Stirring beer cheese directly into a pot of spuds is a clever way to use the complex ingredient and builds the kind of side dish that can easily pair with any protein — or simply be enjoyed by the spoonful as a snack.

For this easy upgrade, stir a few tablespoons of pre-made beer cheese directly into a warm pot of potatoes. The addition plays well with butter and sour cream, and beer cheese-enhanced potatoes can be further gussied up with chopped scallions, a sprinkle of fresh garden herbs, or candied bacon. For extra decadence, add a final garnish of cheese to send this cozy recipe to new heights of comfort food. You may want to make more than what you think you'll need for dinner, as this is a side dish that disappears quickly. 

If you can't find any at the market, you can make your own beer cheese in minutes. Melt butter, whisk in a spoonful of flour, then slowly add your choice of beer and a splash of milk before stirring in shredded cheese. The mixture should be smooth. Customize flavors with black pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Try using different kinds of cheese like cheddar, gouda, or pepper Jack to coax out different flavor profiles in your recipe. Beer can also be adjusted: IPAs can result in a sharper-tasting beer cheese, while a lager can offer a milder-tasting mix. Use a stout for an even deeper flavor.

For those reluctant to tamper with their go-to recipe to make mashed potatoes, serve prepared spuds with beer cheese on the side. Guests can adjust their plates according to their own preferences, adding more or less of either store-bought or homemade beer cheese before reaching for seconds to drown veggies or pieces of chicken taken hot off the grill.