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Basic Beer Cheese

Basic beer cheese is an easy beer cheese recipe that needs only a few ingredients and barely any prep. The result is a cheesy dipping sauce appetizer perfect for dunking chips, fries, or soft pretzels into or even using as a sauce for mac and cheese. 

Basic Beer Cheese
That cheese pull though
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Don’t let the name of this post deceive you. While this basic beer cheese recipe is super easy, the taste is anything but basic. Unless you count basic deliciousness.

And not in the way that pumpkin everything is basic deliciousness. That’s a whole other ballgame.

This version of beer cheese is like your favorite pair of jeans. It goes with almost anything, and you can dress it up or down depending on the occasion.

Ingredients and Kitchen Tools

Basic Beer Cheese Ingredients
Basic Beer Cheese Ingredients

In this master version, you only need 4 ingredients and you are on your way to a molten pan full of cheese goodness that would make even cardboard taste out of the world amazing.

To make this you’ll need:

  • Cheese- For this version I used a cheddar blend. I buy the preshredded stuff to save time, but you can grate your own. And you could use any version of cheddar or Jack cheese you like.
  • Garlic- Fresh pressed garlic cloves. Do not substitute garlic powder here.
  • Olive oil– Just a touch of olive oil to saute the garlic in.
  • Beer- You can’t make beer cheese without beer. I’ve used Corona in this and darker beer like Guinness. I suggest using whatever your favorite beer is and whatever you have on hand.

That’s it and you get a delicious molten pan full of cheese goodness that would make even cardboard taste out of this world amazing.

You don’t need any fancy kitchen gear either. All you need is:

  • A pan– I love cast iron for this.
  • Garlic press
  • Bottle opener- if you use a bottle of beer instead of a can

Beer Cheese Recipe- How to Make

1. Heat olive oil in a small skillet.
Coat small skillet with olive oil over medium heat.

2. Melt the cheese.
Add the beer, pressed garlic and cheddar cheese to the . Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted.

3. Enjoy!
Serve hot with your favorite dippers.

Dipping Ideas for Beer Cheese

Basic Beer Cheese
Basic Beer Cheese

Some of my favorite dippers for this beer cheese are:

Other Ways to Use Beer Cheese

basic beer cheese uses
All the delicious beer cheese possibilities

And it’s not just a dipper. I also love putting this on top of or into other things like:

Variations

Basic Beer Cheese
Basic Beer Cheese

Of course, you can fancy this up if you want or customize it to your taste kind of like I did with this beer cheese queso.

You want it to have a kick? Cool. Add some diced jalapenos.

You want to use a different kind of cheese besides cheddar or jack? Have at it.

Like things extra garlicky? Add more garlic.

See. This beer cheese gives you options.

Tips and Tricks

Basic Beer Cheese
Basic Beer Cheese
  • This is one of those recipes that you need to be on top of. It’s not hard to make but it comes together so quick that you don’t want to turn your back while making it.
  • It’s best served hot as soon as it’s made.
  • To keep it warm while serving, keep over a burner set to low heat.

What is beer cheese made of?

This recipe uses 4 ingredients: cheese, beer, garlic, and olive oil. Some versions include other ingredients like cayenne pepper or hot sauce and some versions are served cold.

Does it have alcohol?

The alcohol in the beer cooks off while you are making the beer cheese. If you are opposed to cooking with alcohol, you could use nonalcoholic beer.

Can you get drunk from beer cheese?

Nope. The alcohol cooks off and leaves behind the flavor of the beer but not the actual alcohol itself.

Is beer cheese Southern?

Sort of in the way that buffalo wings are a New York thing. By that, I mean that beer cheese was invented in Kentucky but there it is commonly served cold more like Trader Joe’s pub cheese.

Other Cheese Dip Recipes

Looking for other cheesy dip recipes? Try these:

Did you make this dip recipe or any other recipe on my site? Leave me a comment below and let me know how you liked it. And make sure you follow along with me on FacebookPinterest and Instagram to see everything we’ve got going on.

Basic Beer Cheese

Basic Beer Cheese

Yield: about 3 cups of beer cheese
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Easy recipe for basic beer cheese dip served warm

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs of olive oil
  • 4 tbs beer
  • 2 cups of cheddar cheese
  • 6 cloves of garlic, pressed
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Coat small skillet with olive oil. Over medium heat, add the beer, pressed garlic and cheddar cheese. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted. Serve with your favorite dippers. I like tortilla chips, veggies, and apple slices.

Did you make this recipe?

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Beer Mac and Cheese - Seasoned Sprinkles

Tuesday 25th of February 2020

[…] Nope! You can use any beer you like. I used Guinness in this for 2 reasons. I was trying to doing something for St. Patrick’s Day and also I wanted the heavier bodied beer as a background for this in the cold weather. That said, you can absolutely make this with any beer you have on hand including lighter beers instead of heavier lagers like I do for this beer cheese queso. If you want more tips on beer cheese, check out this post on how to make basic beer cheese. […]

Leah

Sunday 15th of July 2018

With football season around the corner this is the perfect dish!!

Corinne

Sunday 15th of July 2018

This looks incredible - I bet my hubs would love it!

Amber @ xoxo, Am

Saturday 14th of July 2018

The cheese looks so good on that burger! I'll definitely have to try this soon!

Marlynn | UrbanBlissLife

Friday 13th of July 2018

This looks so amazing! I want to put it on everything!

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