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!
Alice
I have made this soup about 4 times since Christmas and each time it was a double batch. This soup is savory and hearty and great for a cold night. It takes a little time to cut, chop, shred all the ingredients but so worth the time. My family loves it! Thank you for this delicious recipe!
★★★★★
Jeannette
I just found this today on Pinterest and happened to have most of the ingredients. I had to substitute with Eckrich smoked sausage because I didn't have the turkey sausage. I know nothing about beer, but dug in the fridge and found Shiner Bock left over from my husband's poker group. I'm not sure that was even the right kind. I didn't have the balsamic vinegar (sad). Otherwise, everything else was as written. I was not disappointed! Plus my husband and step-son said the soup was awesome! So this one goes in the "keep" file, for sure. Thank you so much .. this is a great hearty soup for winter. Brrrr!
★★★★★
Kylie
Yesssss - I love to hear that, Jeannette!!! 🙂 So glad your family enjoyed the recipe and that you had everything on hand. Thanks so much for leaving a review - I really appreciate it!
Julie Vick
The first thing out of my husband's mouth was "this is pretty tasty". I used Italian sausage, since my husband doesn't like turkey anything and we live in north Texas Tex-Mex country, so our beer of choice was Modela Especial. This is awesome. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Kylie
Woohoo! I am so glad to hear that you both enjoyed this beer cheese soup! I haven't tried that beer before, but I'll have to keep my eye out for it once I can leisurely browse the aisles of the alcohol department at the grocery store again! Thanks for leaving a review, Julie - I really appreciate it 🙂
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
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!
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
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!
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 🙂
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!
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 🙂
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 🙂