Beer Cheese Broccoli Cheddar Soup | Plays Well With Butter (2024)

We take soup season pretty seriously here at PWWB, & this particularBeer Cheese Broccoli Cheddar Soup recipe remixes 2 beloved Midwest soups into 1 seriously epic meal!

It’s essentially a pretty classic broccoli cheese soup recipe – loaded with broccoli, carrots, & a little potato to help build creamy texture – but we’ve enhanced its flavor with the best Wisconsin-style flavor booster…beer!

As a born & raised Wisconsinite, beer is one of my favorite secret ingredients for added flavor. It layers this soup with beautiful rich & earthy complexity. You can’t necessarily tell it’s there, but you’ll definitely notice the difference it makes in the overall flavor of the soup! For best results, use a dark & malty beer, which tends to have more complex flavors that lend well to cooking. See the Recipe Notes, below, for more guidance.

Aside from picking the right beer, the other ingredient you’ll want to be a little more selective about is the cheese.As you might imagine, the quality of cheese you use has a pretty big effect on the overall flavor of the broccoli cheddar beer cheese soup. Be sure to grab a block of nice sharp cheddar – yellow or white, whatever you prefer – & shred it yourself. See the Recipe Notes, below, for more guidance.

Happy Soup Season! ♡

Ingredients

Scale

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium head fresh broccoli, florets cut into bite-sized pieces and stems peeled & diced (approx. 4 heaping cups or 1 pound)
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces dark, malty beer (see Recipe Notes)
• 3 cups vegetable stock or broth
• 2 medium carrots, peeled as desired & grated
• 1 medium russet potato, peeled & diced
• 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoonmustard powder (can sub 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard)
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, freshly shredded (approx. 3 cups shredded, see Recipe Notes)
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season

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1. Prep: Gather & prep all ingredients according to Ingredients List, above – once you begin cooking, this beer cheese broccoli cheddar soup comes together pretty quickly so it’s helpful to get any chopping & measuring done ahead of time. Dice 1 yellow onion, break down 1 head of broccoli, peel & dice 1 potato, shred 12 ounces cheese, measure liquid ingredients, etc. Place everything within arm’s reach of the stove.
2. Soften the broccoli: Add 2 tablespoons of the butter to a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Once melted, stir in the onion, seasoning with ½ teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Cook until softened, 3-5 minutes. Add in the broccoli, seasoning with ½ teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired, & cook, stirring occasionally, until vibrantly green & slightly softened, 5-8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cooking until fragrant, about 1 minute longer. Carefully transfer the broccoli mixture to a plate & set aside.
3. Build the roux: Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the same pot, increasing heat to medium-high. Once melted, sprinkle the flour over top, whisking vigorously to eliminate any lumps. Cook the roux for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Slowly pour the beer into the pot, whisking constantly to eliminate any lumps in the roux. Simmer 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beer is fragrant & reduced slightly.
4. Build & simmer the soup: Stir in the vegetable stock, grated carrots, diced potato, Worcestershire, mustard powder, smoked paprika, & about ⅔ of the reserved broccoli mixture from Step 2. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer & simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the veggies are very tender & the soup is thickened some.
5. Blend the soup:Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth & creamy, or to your desired consistency. Alternatively, you can also carefully transfer the soup into a stand blender. If so, remember to blend with caution. Work in batches to ensure the blender jar is never more than ⅔ full & be sure to remove the cap from the center of the lid. Place a thick kitchen towel over the hole & securely hold it in place as you blend the soup. Return the soup to the pot & heat to a gentle simmer.
6. Finishing touches: Remove soup from heat and add the remaining broccoli mixture from Step 2 back into the pot, along with the heavy cream. Working 1 handful at a time, slowly stir the cheese into the soup, allowing it to melt completely before adding the next handful. Stir in the grated nutmeg. Taste & season with additional salt & ground black pepper as desired.
7. Serve immediately, ladling the soup into individual bowls. Garnish with extra shredded cheese & serve alongside some buttered crusty bread as desired. Enjoy!

Jess’ Tips and Tricks:

• Beer:For best results, choose a dark, malty beer for this beer cheese broccoli cheddar soup (e.g. brown ale, dark ale, strong ale, dark lager, bock, porter, etc.), which tend to have earthier & more complex flavor than hoppy beers (e.g. amber, ESB, IPA, pale ale, etc.). This is especially important for cooking – once the beer’s alcohol is cooked off, we really want its flavor to come through. I developed this recipe using Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen, though any other dark, malty beer will work well. Learn more HERE.
• Cheese:The quality of cheese you use to make this beer cheese broccoli cheddar soup has a pretty big effect in the overall flavor of the soup. Be sure to grab a block of nice sharp cheddar – yellow or white, whatever you prefer. The cheese doesn’t have to be extremely premium & high-end, but opt for something on the slightly nicer end of the spectrum. It’s also important to buy a block of cheese & grate it yourself instead of buying a bag of pre-shredded cheese. Store-bought shredded cheeses are often coated in anti-caking agents to prevent them from clumping in the bag – unfortunately, it also prevents them from melting down into a silky-smooth soup.
• Worcestershire sauce: If keeping this broccoli cheddar soup is important to you, be sure to use vegan-friendly Worcestershire sauce. My favorite vegan Worcestershire is Annie’s, which is also certified organic. If you have a hard time finding vegan-friendly Worcestershire, feel free to substitute with an equal amount of soy sauce (or tamari, or coconut aminos).
• Bacon:If you’ve enjoyed our original recipe, you might notice an absence of bacon in this updated version. When I retested the recipe, I noticed the bacon got a little lost in all the other rich flavors happening in the soup, so I’ve opted to eliminate it for more streamlined cooking. If you want to add bacon, feel free! Render thinly sliced bacon in the soup pot before softening the veggies in Step 2. Once it’s crispy, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, then add a little butter to the pot as needed & continue to cook the recipe as directed. To serve, garnish each bowl with crispy bacon bits.
• 15-Minute Meal Prep:Once you’ve got all of the components prepared & ready to go, this beer cheese broccoli cheddar soup comes together with very little hands-on time required. To make this an even faster weeknight dinner, eliminate active prep time by prepping a few things in advance:
  • Prepare the vegetables:Dice 1 yellow onion, break down 1 head of broccoli, & grate 2 medium carrots. Store in individual airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (10 minutes active).
  • Shred 12 ounces cheese. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (<5 minutes active prep).

Storage & Freezing:

• Storage & Reheating:Transfer the cooled soup to an airtight container & store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat the soup on the stovetop or in the microwave until warmed through, adding in an extra splash of vegetable stock or water as needed to help achieve your desired consistency.
• Freezing:Given the amount of dairy & cheese in this beer cheese broccoli cheddar soup, I do not recommend freezing any leftovers. The soup may break as it freezes, making the consistency of the thawed soup less than ideal. If you don’t think you’ll get to all of your leftovers, simply prepare a half batch.