Soups & Salads
Minnesota-Style Beer Cheese Soup with Rye Croutons
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Servings: 8
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Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
45 min
Servings
8
This delicious gourmet soup features robust and creamy notes from hoppy pale ale, a combination of cheeses including Sargento® Shredded 4 State Cheddar® Cheese, hearty Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce for added tang. For great dippers, garnish each bowl with thick slices of rye.
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp. butter, divided
- 1 to 1-1/2 cups diced sweet onion
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into small dice
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp. finely minced garlic
- 2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 4 Tbsp. flour
- 1 qt. chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 cups beer, a hoppy pale ale works really well
- 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tbsp. mustard, grainy, brown or Dijon
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 1-3/4 cups (7 oz.) Sargento® Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 1-7/8 cups (7.5 oz) Sargento® Shredded 4 State Cheddar® Cheese
- 1 pkg. (7 oz) Sargento® Sliced Gouda Cheese
- 6 thick slices rye bread
- 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. finely ground black pepper
Directions
- In 4 qt saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and red pepper. After the vegetables have begun to give off some of their juice, add salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, cumin and cayenne. Cook until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes. Add remaining butter and stir until melted. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir. Continue stirring and cooking the vegetable mixture approximately 5-7 minutes.
- Turn heat to medium and add stock to the pot a couple of cups at a time, stirring to avoid any lumps. Add beer, Worcestershire and mustard to the mixture and stir to combine. Allow mixture to come to a slow boil in order to ensure that the flour is cooked and that the mixture thickens. Note: It’s a good idea at this point to taste and adjust seasonings to your taste. Add more of whatever seasoning you like at this point. Cook over low to medium heat for at least 20 minutes.
- Take off the heat and stir in the half-and-half. Begin adding cheeses in small batches, stirring constantly. Be sure that each addition of cheese melts into the soup as you add it. When all the cheese has been incorporated into the soup. Return the pan to stove over a LOW heat. At this point, it is very important to only allow the soup to heat through and NOT let it come to a boil. Boiling the soup will curdle the half-and-half and the soup will become grainy. Low heat and frequent stirring will yield a creamy textured soup.
- For the croutons: Cut bread into 1" cubes. Toss with oil, salt and pepper. Bake 15 minutes in 350 degree oven, tossing once during baking. Top soup with croutons to serve.
