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.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 341
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 427.2 mg
- Fat: 23.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 18.9 g
- Fiber: 1.4 g
- Protein: 13.2 g
- Cholesterol: 76.8 mg
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!
Stephanie
I've made this so many times now, and I've found that changing the broth, kind of sausage (we used spicy brats one night, and beef broth, I've tried Italian sausages and regular breakfast sausage too) kind of beer, heavy or light beer, lager, ale, Porter....doesn't really change it much..... It's always wonderful, so you can use whatever you have in hand really.
Kylie
I LOVE TO HEAR THAT, Stephanie! Thank you so much for sharing and for leaving a review. I really appreciate it 🙂
Jen B
This soup is fabulous! I added Worcestershire instead of balsamic vinegar. Well written recipe, easy to follow. My hubby loved it too! Will try it with smoked sausage next time. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Kylie
Smoked sausage would be delicious in this beer cheese soup, Jen! Great idea! So glad you enjoyed this - thanks for leaving a review!
Stephanie
This is my favorite soup! I've made it so many times now. I've been trying different beers, and I'm giving Guinness a try tonight. I can't wait!
★★★★★
Kylie
I am so glad to hear that you're enjoying this soup, Stephanie! Can't wait to hear how it turns out with Guinness 🙂
Sue
Hey, Kylie!
I made your potato beer cheese soup today…it went really well! This stuff is waaay tasty!!
I used turkey bacon and white wine and a Stella.
Thank you for making this recipe and most of all, for sharing with all of us😁😁
★★★★★
Mel
Could this be made in the crockpot?
★★★★★
Kylie
I have tried it before but I definitely think that you could! I'd assume that 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low would do the trick - just be sure to check the potatoes so that they don't overcook!
Marilyn Wandersee
This is my first time making this soup, but it won’t be the last. It’s cold and snowy today, and this is the perfect satisfyingly flavorful soup. I used my immersion blender instead of transferring the soup into a blender. Thanks for a yummy recipe!
★★★★★
Hannah Mazzuto
Just a heads up… the part where you add the beer is not in the written directions, so I was all done and then realized I didn’t add any beer anywhere, had to scroll up to see the picture directions, and saw it was way early in the recipe 🤦🏽♀️
Kylie
Did you drink some of that beer before you read the recipe?! ONLY KIDDING!!!!!!! 🙂 #6 in the instructions section of the recipe card says "STIR IN BEER, chicken broth, and diced potatoes along with another pinch of salt and pepper." I'm glad that you were able to scroll up and see it in the process shots as well though. Hope you enjoyed it!
Meg
This was such a delicious and easy make! Made it exactly as recipe called and it definitely didn’t disappoint…at all! Thank you for sharing.
Next time, I’m going to swap the sausage out for bacon. 🖤
★★★★★
Kylie
Bacon would be delicious in this soup! I am going to try that next time I make it 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review, Meg!
Tracey
YUM! Thanks for sharing this hearty and delicious soup recipe. Perfect for a cold winter night. My husband is already asking when can I make this one again. He ate 3 bowls at dinner! I didn’t have white balsamic vinegar but I will pick some up for next batch.
★★★★★
Heather
Definitely a keeper, so delicious and easy to make. I read the reviews and tried it with andouille and mild Italian sausage. I also used Fosters lager. Will be making again. Does this freeze well?
★★★★★
Kylie
I think you could definitely freeze the leftovers!! Just thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating!
John
Honestly.. great recipe! Soup is delicious. But its extremely difficult to review this site! Can't even get a print of the recipe as the advertisements kill the experience.
★★★★★
Kylie
Hi John! My ads are actually quite minimal compared to many other food and recipe sites. Do you turn off the TV when commercials come on? What about the radio? Do you notice how every third post you see on IG is an ad? What about Facebook or Pinterest? If you use any electronic device, you are being served ads all day. Do you leave comments on Food & Wine or Martha Stewart's site about their ads? And most of those ads are making millions of dollars for large corporations!! The minimal amount of ads that you see on my site help put food on the table for my family, donate to causes that are near and dear to my heart, and a huge chunk goes to running this business and paying taxes. Use the jump to recipe button and check your print settings - my recipe card is set to print without ads, so if you're seeing them in the print version that's an issue with your computer settings. Glad you enjoyed the soup and this FREE recipe that I spent hundreds of dollars and 30+ hours testing, shooting, editing, and writing for you to enjoy.
Debbie Green
Didn’t know if you knew you can click the X box and get rid of those pesky ads:) still good recipe:)
Kim
Excellent recipe! I doubled the recipe and swapped the Turkey sausage for smoked sausage, kielbasa and andouille sausages. It turned out sooo good and it wasn’t difficult to make at all. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Meg
Best beer cheese soup I ever made! I will make it again.
★★★★★
Gwen
This recipe is fantastic! Very forgiving, also. I had to stop a couple of times mid-recipe and it still turned out great! I
★★★★★