Soup season is here and I have a great new cozy recipe for you: Beer, Cheese & Potato Soup. This comforting, hearty soup is made with one of my favourite local beers- Hoyne Pilsner. The pilsner adds a nice malty and slight hoppy flavour that really makes this soup extra special, especially for the fall season.
A Warm Soup made with Local Beer
For this Beer, Cheese and Potato Soup, pilsner is my beer of choice as it is a light yet flavourful beer. I used my favourite Hoyne Pilsner from Hoyne Brewing Co. in this recipe since is a classic beer with a malty flavour with very little hoppiness. For this reason, it is the perfect beer to pair with the vegetables, cheese, and potatoes in this soup recipe.
If you can not get a hold of Hoyne Pilsner for the recipe, feel free to substitute with your favourite pilsner. Alternatively, you can also use a lager or pale ale– just make sure that it’s more malty than hoppy!
How to Achieve a Creamy and Smooth Soup
The smooth texture is one of my favourite things about this soup. It is thick, smooth, silky, and is so comforting for the fall and winter seasons.
Making a roux allows the soup to achieve a consistent thick texture. A roux is made with equal parts butter and flour, and is whisked together to create a thick paste. To turn this into a soup, I add beer and chicken stock and cook it with all the vegetables to allow the flour to thicken the soup.
Grated old cheddar cheese and heavy cream help to make this soup super creamy before being blended until completely smooth. The blending is an essential step of this recipe as it gets out every single lump!
I hope that you enjoy this recipe this fall and winter season! If you make this Beer, Cheese and Potato Soup, be sure to comment down below and share your soup to Instagram #SeasonAndServeBlog! 🍂
Get the Recipe!
Beer, Cheese & Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped, about 3/4 cup
- 2 carrots chopped, about 3/4 cup
- 2 stalks celery chopped, about 3/4 cup
- 2 jalapeño peppers chopped
- 2 Yukon gold potoates peeled and chopped, about 2 cups
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 bottle Hoyne Pilsner 355 mL
- 4 cups chicken broth low-soduim
- 1 sprig of thyme fresh
- 2 3/4 cups old cheddar cheese grated
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons chives finely chopped, for garnish
- 1/2 cup sour cream for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the olive oil, followed by the chopped onion, carrots, jalapeños, and celery. Cook the vegetables for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until softened and the onion is translucent.
- Add the butter to the pot. Once melted, sprinkle the flour into the pot and whisk to combine. Cook for 2 minutes or until the flour smells nutty.
- Deglaze the pot with the beer, whisking as the beer is added to avoid lumps in the soup. Add the chicken broth and bring the soup to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the potatoes and the sprig of thyme to the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and let cook for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes have softened.
- Remove the soup from the heat and remove and discard the sprig of thyme.
- Add 2 cups of cheddar cheese 1/2 cup at a time, ensuring that it is melted between each addition. Once all the cheese has been added, add the heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne pepper. Mix to combine.
- Carefully transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Be sure to not overfill the blender and always make sure there is a ventilation hole to allow the steam to escape. Process until all the soup is smooth.
- Return the soup to the pot and heat slightly over medium-high heat. Once hot, scoop the soup into bowls and garnish with the remaining 3/4 cup of cheese, sour cream, and chives. Serve immediately and enjoy!
