Cheddar Beer Potato Soup
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Looking for a delicious soup to enjoy on a cold evening? Try our filling and comforting Cheddar Beer Potato Soup loaded with vegetables, cheddar cheese, and bacon.
Brrrr it’s getting chilly outside! I was hoping it would stay warm through October but that doesn’t seem to be happening. When I arrived home from work on Friday I had soup on the brain. I didn’t know what I was going to make but when I walked into the kitchen I saw the produce from my CSA.
I had a ton of potatoes, a few onions, yellow squash, and some other vegetables. I was excited to see those potatoes because I immediately wanted potato soup. I’ve made many potato soups over the years so I wanted something a little different.
During the holidays I like using leftover ham in Ham and Potato Soup. My everyday version is the classic Easy Potato Soup with crispy bacon on top. When I’m looking for more vegetables than just potatoes I make Broccoli Cheddar Soup with Potatoes.
Since I had so many different vegetables I wanted to add as many as I could to the soup. However, you have to make sure that the vegetables work together before you combine them into a soup.
What are some good vegetable pairings?
- Broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, and onions
- Carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes
- Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and onions
- Celery, onions, potatoes, and mushrooms
- Potato, corn, spinach, and onion
The base of many of my soup recipes start with onions, celery, and carrots so that’s what I did here. Then I added the potatoes, a yellow squash, and a poblano pepper for a little bit of heat.
I liked the combination of vegetables but I felt like something was missing. I decided to throw caution to the wind and I added in both cheddar cheese and beer which gave the soup a wonderful depth of flavors that just can’t be beat!
Can I substitute something for the beer?
If you are looking for an alcoholic substitute the best thing to use is white wine. When you want a non-alcoholic substitute use apple juice or ginger ale. If you don’t want to add anything extra you can simply increase the amount of chicken broth in the soup.
Ingredients:
- bacon
- onion (I like sweet onions but use your favorite type)
- carrots
- celery
- yellow squash
- poblano pepper
- garlic cloves
- all purpose flour
- chicken broth
- whole milk (you can use a plant based milk but may need to add additional flour)
- beer (use your favorite kind)
- potatoes
- cheddar cheese
- hot sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper
To make the soup heat a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has browned. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
Add the onions, carrots, celery, squash, pepper, and garlic to the bacon grease in the pot. Saute for 5 minutes.
Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour in the chicken broth, milk, and beer and mix well. Add in the potatoes and bring the soup to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Before eating add in the cheddar cheese, a little at a time, stirring after each addition until the cheese is melted. Stir in the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle the top with bacon.
How do you store the soup?
Store the soup in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. When ready to eat either heat in a pot over medium heat on the stove and cook in the microwave.
The resulting soup is so flavorful and delicious. It’s hearty enough to be a meal on it’s own and I simply served it with some fresh rolls.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 onion minced
- 3 carrots chopped
- 3 ribs celery chopped
- 1 squash seeded and chopped
- 1 poblano pepper minced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 c. flour
- 5 c. chicken broth
- 2 c. milk
- 8 oz. beer
- 2 lb. potatoes chopped
- 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 Tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- In a large stockpot over medium heat, add the chopped bacon. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until browned. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
- Add the onion, carrots, celery, squash, pepper, and garlic to the pot. Saute in the bacon grease for 5 minutes.
- Add the flour to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Pour in the chicken broth, milk, and beer and mix well. Add in the potatoes and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.
- Add in the cheddar cheese a little at a time, stirring after each addition until the cheese is melted.
- Stir in the hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Taste the soup and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve with crumbled bacon on top.
Notes