Beer Cheese Potato Soup with Sausage

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This hearty, comforting beer cheese potato soup combines the best of both worlds – marrying the timeless flavors of sausage and potato soup with the classic Wisconsin beer cheese soup. Real, simple, whole ingredients mean you can feel good about serving this meal to your family, because you know exactly what’s in it!

How to make sausage and potato beer cheese soup:

Brown turkey sausage in a heavy bottom pan or dutch oven.

Then melt butter. Because butter makes everything better, right?

Add the classic combination of my favorite aromatic veggies – onion, carrots and celery.

Saute for 10-12 minutes.

Then add garlic, oregano and thyme and cook for another minute.

Add flour, stir to coat veggies and cook for one more minute.

Add a can of your favorite beer. I recommend an IPA or lager.

Add chicken broth.

Add potatoes and bring to a simmer.

Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Transfer half the soup mixture to a high speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Pour soup back into the pot.

Pour in heavy cream.

Add shredded sharp cheddar and stir until melted.

Add a quick splash of white balsamic vinegar to the pot.

Then add the sausage back into the soup.

Return pot to medium heat and cook for a couple minutes, until sausage is heated through.

Garnish with green onions and shredded cheddar and enjoy!

Why you’re going to love this beer cheese soup:

• It’s loaded with REAL ingredients. Which is what makes it a favorite in our household. You won’t find any condensed soup or processed Velveeta cheese here!
• Beer + cheese + potatoes + sausage. It pretty much doesn’t get better than this winning flavor combination!
• It’s quick and easy which makes it a great weeknight meal! Chopping veggies and brown sausage is all that is required for prep which means you can have this dinner on the table in about 45 minutes. Be sure to check out my tips section below for notes on how to save time on prep in this recipe!

Making beer cheese soup ahead of time:

As with most good things in life, this soup just gets better with time.

• Make this soup as directed below, let it cool for about an hour, then pop it in the fridge for up to a week.
• About an hour before you’re ready to eat, transfer soup to a crock pot and turn it to warm. About 10 minutes before serving, crank it up to high to make sure it was fully heated through and then dig in!
• Alternately, you could reheat this soup in a sauce pan on the stove over medium low heat, stirring frequently for about 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
• Be sure to season to taste with salt and pepper after reheating!

Tips for making the best beer cheese potato soup:

• Prep ingredients as you go. While the sausage is browning, chop your onion, carrots and celery. Then while the onion, carrots and celery are cooking, mince your garlic and dice your potatoes. While the potatoes are simmer, grate your cheddar. This will save you lots of precious prep time!
• Buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself. It’s often cheaper to buy a block of cheese rather than a bag of shredded. Freshly shredded cheese will also melt better as pre-shredded cheese is coated in cellulose to help the shreds not stick together, which can also prevent the cheese from melting evenly.
• Use good quality beer. Skip the Bud Light and find a high quality craft beer with a flavor that you enjoy. No dark beer – stick to lagers, ales, IPAs or the like.
• Use your favorite sausage – if you like it spicy (like me) use that. If you’re more into a mild Italian sausage, that will work great too!
• Salt liberally throughout cooking. The ingredients in this soup are simple, so be sure to salt liberally throughout the cooking process.

Frequently asked questions:

• What kind of cheese should I use to make beer cheese soup?
  • I like to use sharp cheddar for this recipe.
  • Sharp cheddar on it’s own can have a very strong flavor, but when mixed with all the elements of this soup it becomes very mellow and melts nicely into the soup.

• Can my kids eat beer cheese soup?
  • Yes! By the time this soup gets to the dinner table all that’s left is the flavor from the beer – the alcohol is long gone as it’s cooked off during the simmering process.

• What if I don’t like beer?
  • Then you haven’t had the right beer! Check out this post about how to find the right beer for you! This is a good opportunity for you to try a local made beer or something you maybe haven’t had before. Be adventurous, be daring – try new beer!
  • You might find that you actually love beer when you taste the right one!

Other hearty soups you’ll love:

• Vegan Curry Ramen Soup
• Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Vegan Tomato Soup
• Tuscan Tomato Tortellini Soup
• Vegan Curry Lentil Soup
• Creamy Roasted Carrot Soup

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This post was originally published in November 2018. It was updated in September of 2019 to include process shots, step-by-step instructions and tips for making the best beer cheese soup every single time!