Creamy German Instant Pot beer cheese soup recipe is a delicious meal that’s sure to be a hit in your house too. Like our popular broccoli beer cheese soup served with pretzel rolls, it’s our favorite dinner ever.
Have you tried this at your local restaurant and fell in love? I have and OH MY, I had to figure out how to make it at home. With a little experimenting I figured out how you too can make it as an easy Instant Pot recipe in one pot meal with ground spicy sausage.
Yes I have made and shared a ton of Instant Pot soup recipes here on The Typical Mom blog. Some are healthy and others are just pure comfort food (don’t count the calories, just enjoy it). This is one of those. Grab some pretzel rolls and just dig in y’all.
You can make this in any electric pressure cooker you have including a Crockpot Express or Ninja Foodi works well too. A quick way to make homemade meals in no time at all with the same rich flavors of cooking all day long.
Ingredient Notes
I prefer to use Jimmy Dean spicy ground sausage. Ground beef works too but man does the other make it so much more delicious with just a touch of heat. You can saute this with some diced onions with olive oil to start this journey.
Beer of course is the liquid we are going to use, use any favorite lager but I prefer a light ale personally so it doesn’t take over the rest of the flavors.
And since I am half German everything I make has lots of cheese, shredded so it melts well, I like sharp cheddar for this.
Dijon mustard is what gives it that kick of tang in the bowl. You can add more or less at the end to your liking, I like more than my hubby
As for the creamy element you will add whole or 2% Milk or dairy free alternative is fine too. Pair that with half and half and you’re set.
What type of beer is best for soup?
As far as what beer to use, I light a lighter version. For more of a German soup you may want a darker style like Guinness. Believe me, even with this lighter version like Coors or something you can definitely taste it.
Substitutions and Variations
You could cook any type of protein you wanted to add into this but sausage is my choice. Milder would be beef whereas lower in fat would use ground turkey or chicken (that has less flavor though). This is what you’re going to need to make this ultra comfort food:
with Broccoli
You could add small frozen broccoli florets in there too. An option. Not all people want meat in it either. If you’d rather have a vegetarian version you can definitely leave the sausage out. I love the spicy nature of the Jimmy Dean style I buy and think it adds a lot of flavor.
How to Thicken
Then for a thickener at the end you can make a sort of roux by mixing cornstarch or flour with a bit of liquid. Take note though that the longer it sits the thicker it will become. Leftovers will likely need more broth stirred in before warming.
Since there’s not really any pressure cooking going on to cook this, you could easily make it on the stovetop too. You’re only using the saute function to brown the meat, warm ingredients and thicken at the end.
Tips for Success
Of course always remember when you saute meat that you should deglaze at the end. That means to scrape off the pieces stuck to the bottom of the pot. If not you may trigger the burn notice.
And the amount of shredded cheese will vary quite a bit depending on your taste buds, we like a lot. Sharp cheddar is what we like but you could use a mild cheddar cheese too.
You should adjust the amount of mustard you add as well. I like a lot more and stronger flavor than my husband. Dijon is best. Some have used mustard powder in their recipes but I just don’t think that’s the same. There is no high pressure timing required for this. Here’s a quick rundown, you can print recipe below
It doesn’t take long to make this at all. Serve as a light lunch, appetizer or dinner served with pull apart bread.
Instant Pot Beer Cheese Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lb ground sausage, spicy, Jimmy dean roll
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 16 oz beer
- 1.5 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 c cheese, sharp cheddar, shredded
- 1 c milk, 2% or whole
- 1 c half and half
- 1/4 c flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch, optional to thicken further
Instructions
- Set pot to saute and add olive oil, ground sausage and diced onions. Brown until sausage is no longer pink and onions have softened. Add garlic and cook 1 more minute together. Turn pot off now.
- Pour some of your beer into the pot. Use wood spatula to deglaze and scrape any stuck on meat off bottom of the pot.
- Pour in rest of beer. Set to saute again. When it bubbles add mustard and shredded cheese. Stir until it is melted. In a bowl whisk together milk and flour until smooth.
- Wait until it bubbles again, then add flour/milk mixture. Stir so it doesn't clump up in soup.
- Then add half and half and stir. Allow to bubble. If you like it this texture turn pot off and serve. If you want it thicker add some of your hot liquid from pot into a bowl with cornstarch. Whisk until smooth and add that back in. Allow to bubble and thicken and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
FAQ
Yep! I mean I guess you could substitute broth but then it wouldn’t really called BEER soup now would it. The heat will make the alcohol content less but there will still be some left in the meal.
Absolutely. Once it is cool, pour it into an airtight container. Store it in the freezer for up to 3 months, it’s best reheated and consumed by then.
Absolutely. I have done this with our beer soup explained here as well as brats which are killer. The heat burns off most of the alcohol but is much more flavorful than cooking with just water. Highly recommended for corned beef, sausages and this meal!
How to serve
I think you really only need some bread in air fryer with this to make it a complete meal everyone will love. The most popular is this 3 ingredient beer bread of course!
Whether you choose frozen rolls in air fryer, simple easy dinner rolls or just throw some refrigerated biscuits in the oven. They all work well for a quick meal.
How to store leftovers
Once it has cooled down to room temperature you should store in airtight containers and store in the fridge. Then reheat in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals stirring in between cook times. This is how to freeze soup if you need to save it longer too.
We have also made beer cheese dip that is fantastic and always a hit with a crowd. Store this covered with plastic wrap covering the top entirely so it doesn’t dry out exposed to the air when cooled down.
How do I convert this for a crock pot slow cooker
Ok so I haven’t done this but this is what I would do. Precook meat and add with onions, garlic beer and mustard. Cook on low for 4 hours or so and then fold in cheese and dairy for last hour. To thicken whisk in flour/cornstarch with some cool water until smooth and fold that in for 30 minutes longer or until thickened.
OMG! So good I made it vegetarian with beyond meat sausage but this is a make again.
Oh good to know it’s great with that too!!