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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!
Instructions
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!
You'll Love This
- 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!
Make Ahead
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
- 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!
Easy Soups
- Vegan Curry Ramen Soup
- Easy Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Vegan Tomato Soup
- Tuscan Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Vegan Curry Lentil Soup
- Creamy Roasted Carrot Soup
Beer Cheese Potato Soup with Sausage
This hearty soup combines the well known flavors of sausage and potato soup with the very classic Wisconsin beer cheese soup.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 19.5 oz. spicy turkey sausage
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 5 tablespoons flour
- 3 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
- 12 oz. can of your favorite beer
- 2 lbs. russet potatoes, diced in ½" pieces
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Garnish:
- sliced green onion
- shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add turkey sausage and brown, crumbling with a spatula until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Heat butter in the same large pot (no need to wipe it out) over medium high heat.
- Add onion, carrots, celery and a large pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for 10-12 minutes.
- Turn heat to medium and add garlic, oregano and thyme and cook for another minute.
- Then add flour and stir to coat veggies. Cook for one more minute, stirring frequently.
- Stir in beer, chicken broth, and diced potatoes along with another pinch of salt and pepper.
- Cover, turn heat up to medium high and bring to a simmer.
- Once it begins to simmer, turn heat to low, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Stir occasionally to prevent potatoes from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Remove soup from heat. Transfer half of the soup mixture to a high speed blend. Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour back into pot.
- Stir in heavy cream and shredded cheese. Then add white balsamic vinegar.
- Add cooked sausage back into the pot. Heat the soup over medium heat for a couple minutes, until sausage is heated through.
- Garnish with green onions and shredded cheddar cheese and enjoy!
Notes
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.
Keywords: sausage potato soup, beer cheese soup, cheesy potato soup
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!
Sheila
I made this soup yesterday and it is delicious!!! It easily ranks as the top one or two that I have ever made. I am 56 years old and have made a lot of soup in my life so that is saying a lot. Thank you for sharing this recipe, I will be making it again and again. I followed the recipe exactly.
★★★★★
Midwest Foodie
I am SO glad that you liked it! Thank you so much for sharing!! 🙂 This is definitely one of my favorites too!
Midwest Foodie
The perfect combination of hearty veggies and spicy sausage - this soup is the best way to snuggle in and enjoy the winter weather!
★★★★★
Luke
Wow, now this is a beer cheese soup!! Being from the Wisco myself, I've had a lot of beer cheese soups, and I have to say this one takes the cake! Or should I say cheese!! And beer!!! Beer and cheese!!!!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Spoken like a true Wisconsinite!
Lisa J
The sausage, can I use Owens, or a Jimmy Dean hot breakfast sausage?
Kylie Lato
I feel like the breakfast sausage might throw the flavor off a bit. But it's worth a shot if that's all you have on hand! I'd recommend an Italian or spicy sausage!
Katie
Can you do this in a crockpot instead and if so how would I do it that way?
Kylie Lato
I am not sure that this would be an ideal crock pot recipe unfortunately 🙁 Just with the browning of the sausage, then boiling potatoes, blending part of the soup, melting the cheese, etc. I'm not sure that it'd be easily do-able in a crock pot. HOWEVER, you could totally make this soup up to a week in advance, keep it in the fridge and then warm it up in the crock pot!! If you do end up doing that, just make sure you season to taste with salt and pepper after reheating. Great question Katie!
Chelsea
I made this In the crockpot and it was amazing!! I followed the recipe up until the potatoes and added vegetables, chicken broth, and IPA to crockpot with raw potatoes and let it slow cook until potatoes were tender then continue receipt. It was great!
Kylie Lato
I am so glad to hear that this worked well in the crock pot, Chelsea - thank you for sharing that!! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review!!
Jennifer
Does this soup freeze well?
Kylie Lato
I have not frozen it before, but I wouldn't see why not!
Kathy Etter
This soup is amazing. I used Founders IPA and it gave just the right bitterness to compliment the spicy sausage and richness of the cream. I did end up using Bob Evan's spicy sausage in the tube because my grocery didn't have spicy turkey sausage. I also used an immersion blender and it worked fine. This is going in my favorites and I will make it again.
Lauren
I'm a southern girl and I shine when making southern/cajun food but my husband is from WI so I've been dabbling with the Midwestern tastes and recipes. This soup is amazing! Even my young girls loved it. A must try for sure! We live in CO and used Colorado Native Amber Ale as our beer, and drank a couple while cooking the soup.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Lauren - I'm so glad to hear that! I wish I had some more experience with southern flavors - it's so fun to try traditional foods from other areas!! Thanks so much for the great review. I'm so glad your family liked this one! I always like to enjoy a beer or two while I'm making this one too 😉
Susan
I’ve made this twice and my two sons love it... me too! I left mine chunky because I burnt the cord in my immersion blender lol!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
OH no!! What a bummer about the immersion blender. I need to get one of those...so darn handy! So glad that your kiddos enjoyed this one - they are the true taste testers! Thanks for leaving a review, Susan. I really appreciate it!
Linda
I followed this recipe exactly as written. It is amazing. The best soup I have ever eaten.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Linda - I'm so glad you enjoyed it! This is definitely very high on my list of my favorites too! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review; I really appreciate it!
Julie
Wow! This soup was amazing able perfect for a cold day!
I'm putting it in the family favorites section to make again and again!
Thank you for sharing 😁
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Julie - I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!! We are having some frigid weather here in Wisconsin right now and this soup would be a welcomed reprieve!! Thanks for leaving a review!! 🙂
Tracy
It’s delicious. I have it simmering right now. I think I need to be a bit more cheesy tasting. What would you say? Just add more cheese or maybe just not enough salt/pepper to bring out flavors? I’m just always so critical of my end product. .
Thanks much!! 👍🏻👍🏻
★★★★
Kylie Lato
I would definitely try adding a few pinches of salt first. Salt is always my first instinct when it comes to boosting flavors. I think most folks use far less salt and they should since it's gotten a bit of a bad rap over the years 😉 I also just realized that I omitted the vinegar in the recipe card! I just added it in and that will definitely go a long way in boosting the flavors of everything. Great question Tracy!
Breanna
This was fantastic! A perfect winter soup. I used Spotted Cow and it was great, and I don’t even like beer. A+ from this Wisconsin girl!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
This is an A+ review! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed this recipe Breanna!! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review - I really appreciate it!
Becky
Could I use my KitchenAid instead of a blender when mixing half of the soup?
Kylie Lato
I haven't tried it, but I think the mixer would likely just mash up the ingredients rather than blend them. It'd be worth a shot if you're not worried about getting a smooth, creamy texture though!
Suzanne Bader
Easy and delicious!!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review Suzanne - I really appreciate it 🙂
Sahitya
Love it love it love it!!!
My husband and I can't get enough of this soup. So hearty and comforting.
Thank you so much for the recipe.
We altered the ingredients a bit (used a different sausage, and we didn't have celery and thyme), but this soup is just amazing.
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad you and your husband enjoyed this one Sahitya! And I'm glad that you were able to adapt the recipe to what you had on hand!! Thanks so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate it 🙂
Jo
Very good. A little thinner than expected, but that may have been my fault as I used less flour than called for. I will try again.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
So glad you enjoyed it Jo! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
Sarah
Made this with homemade pretzels the other night and It was one of the best soups I’ve ever made! Being from Wisconsin, this definitely tasted like home. Will be making it again in the future. Thanks!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
That's pretty much the best compliment ever when something "tastes like home"!!! That is my goal with every recipe 🙂 I'm so glad that you enjoyed this recipe and thank you so much for leaving a review Sarah!
Wendy
Excellent flavor for a very simple dish. Definitely in my soup rotation.
The only change I would make would be to double the potatoes. Otherwise literally perfect.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I can't argue with more potatoes!! So glad you enjoyed this recipe Wendy - thanks so much for your feedback 🙂
Tana
This soup is FANTASTIC! We're vegetarians so I left out the sausage and subbed veggie broth for the chicken, and added a bit more potatoes to bulk it up. The flavors are heavenly and our large family loved it. I'm making it again this week!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
That sounds amazing - I love the vegetarian substitutes!! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for leaving a review Tana! 🙂
Jacinda Palmer
Sausage-potato-beer-cheese soup...Incredible!! A delicious, warm, hearty, flavorful masterpiece of a meal!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
What a review!!! I am so glad that you enjoyed this one Jacinda! Thanks for leaving your feedback 🙂
Liz
Delicious, simple and perfect for multiple occasions! I'll be doing this again!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I couldn't have said it better myself Liz! Thanks so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate 🙂
Cassidy
Delicious!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
WOOHOO! So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Cassidy. Thanks so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate it! 🙂
Joanne
I want to make this but don’t have heavy cream can I use half n half instead
Kylie Lato
Yes - you can use half and half. The soup will just end up a bit less creamy than if you'd used heavy cream. Great question, Joanne!
Dotti Higley
Delicious! My husband, who is not a soup fan, is raving about this soup. Thank you so much. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Woohoo! I love when we can convert the non-soup lovers into total soup fans! Isn't that the best?! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Dotti! Thanks so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate it 🙂
Annmarie93@hotmail.com
This soup is so delicious! Since I live in WI, I used Usinger’s Andouille sausage and a local IPA. I can’t wait to make this recipe again for Packer Sunday’s. There’s not a single thing I would change. Thank you so much for sharing!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
OMG that sounds amazing. IPA is my fave to use in this soup too and I can only imagine how much delicious flavor came from the Andouille sausage! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for leaving a review!
Kenzie
I needed a tasty soup for this perfect North Carolina fall day.. I found this recipe and just finished making it! Now it is one of my favorite soup recipes
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Kenzie. It IS perfect for a crisp fall day! Thanks so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate it 🙂
Lauren
Easy, tasty and a great recipe for cooler fall days. Love using hot sausage, and my husband is a home brewer…so it was a perfect combination for us!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I am so glad you both enjoyed this recipe, Lauren. Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it 🙂
Jason T
The soup came out great! I used a package of ground turkey and spiced it up myself.
Serving this with toasted french bread made it a full meal!
Kylie Lato
This sounds amazing, Jason! I am so glad you enjoyed this soup. Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it 🙂
Kathy
Easy to make a a joy to eat!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Woohoo! So glad that you enjoyed this soup, Kathy! Thank you for leaving a review!
Daryl Wagner
I made this soup for dinner this evening. Our picky eater son went back for a third bowl. I'll go on record as saying this soup was delicious and a hit in our house. I followed the recipe as written with the exception of andouille sausage in place of the spicy Italian sausage. My beer was Kona Long Board Lager. Delicious soup...thanks for sharing the recipe.
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Yum - I bet the Andouille was delicious in this soup! Great choice! I'm so glad that your family enjoyed it too, Daryl - especially the picky eater!! 🙂 Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Abby
I am going to make this soup but I have never cooked with beer before! Do you have the top beers that you have tried that make it delicious? I was wondering if an IPA makes the soup bitter? Any tips would help tremendously 🙂
Kylie Lato
Great question, Abby! I'd recommend using a beer that you enjoy drinking! But stick with ales, lagers or IPAs - no dark beers like stouts. My partner and I love IPAs so we like using them for this soup because we enjoy the hoppy flavor that it adds. If you're not into hops I'd recommend using an ale or a lager as those are more mild. I'd recommend taste testing the beer before you add it to make sure that you enjoy the flavor of it! Hope that helps 🙂
Wendy Dawes
I didn’t have celery or beer, but I did have sausage I needed to use up since it was thawed. So I made it anyhow and just replaced the beer with white wine...... omg! Sooo good!! And really really easy. I will definitely add this to my regular rotation. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
Ohhhhh I bet white wine would be delicious in this soup! What a great idea!! I'm glad you were able to use what you had on hand with good results. Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it 🙂
Julian Hudson
I made it today and it turned out excellent. It has lots of flavor.
Kylie Lato
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Julian! I love the flavors of this soup too 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Cindy
Just to be healthy I cut the butter and the cheese amounts in half and it was still absolutely delicious!!!!
Kylie Lato
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Cindy! Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it 🙂
Sarah S.
Hey Kylie! This soup looks absolutely amazing and I definitely plan on trying it this week. One question though, could I sub canned coconut milk for the heavy cream? Or would it be best to keep the heavy cream? Thanks!
Kylie Lato
I think coconut milk could work well in this recipe! I think the other flavors in the soup would work well with coconut milk so I would definitely give it a shot. Great question, Sarah!
Kat
Made this soup today, and it was great! My partner's only suggestion on a change for next time is if it was a bit thicker. What would you recommend doing to make it thicker? He loved the chunks of vegetables in it. We did use italian sausage instead of turkey sausage, but I bet both would be equally good. Thanks!
★★★★★
Kylie Lato
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Kat! I would add an extra 1-2 tablespoons flour and that should thicken it right up! Great question. Thanks for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!