This easy Cheese Beer Bread recipe creates a golden loaf with a buttery, cobbled crust. Even the most inexperienced baker will have a great result with this no-yeast bread recipe.
Savory quick bread recipes like this one and my Mexican Cornbread are so easy to make and yield a delicious result!
The magic of beer bread never fails to impress me. It is one of the first homemade bread recipes I attempted way back in time and it brings back the best memories. It was super popular at the time because it’s so easy and regardless of your experience in the kitchen, it always turns out great.
There’s just something so satisfying about pulling a warm loaf of bread from the oven. And with this Cheese Beer Bread recipe, you’ll be slicing into that loaf in about one hour!
This recipe does not dissapoint. It bakes a hearty, rustic loaf with a slightly crunchy, buttery crust. The blend of two varieties of cheese is complemented by the flavor of the beer.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- One bowl: All the ingredients are combined in one bowl with a spoon. No mixer is required and cleanup is a breeze.
- Quick bread recipe: The yeast from the beer combined with baking powder is all that’s needed to give beer bread it’s hefty rise. If the prospect of baking with yeast is daunting to you, this recipe is for you!
- Easy to customize: You can use different types of beer and so many varieties of cheese to change the flavor profile. See my suggestions for variations below.
- Cold weather comfort: A slice of Cheese Beer Bread is delicious served with soups, stews, and chilis.
Ingredient Notes
Dry ingredients: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and baking powder.
Seasoning: Dried thyme, salt, and freshly ground black pepper
Beer: I like to use a light colored, pilsner style beer like Modelo Especial. You can use any type of beer that you enjoy. A dark beer will result in a slightly darker loaf.
Cheese: I use a combination of two types of shredded cheese. Jarlsberg is a semi-soft cheese with holes similar to Swiss. It has a mild, sweet and nutty taste and I love it for snacking and this recipe. You can substitute it with either Gruyere cheese or Swiss cheese, if you’d like. I also add a little sharp cheddar cheese for additional flavor.
Buttery topping: Melted butter and garlic salt.
How to Make Cheese Beer Bread
- Dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, thyme, salt and pepper.
- Beer: Add the beer to the dry ingredients, all at once.
- Combine: Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer into the dry ingredients, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients, just until moistened. As soon as you don’t see any clumps of dry ingredients, stop mixing.
- Cheese: Gently fold the cheese into the batter.
Flour Measuring Tip
Don’t scoop the flour with your measuring cup or it will be compacted and you may not get the desired soft interior texture for your bread. Instead, use a spoon to fill your measuring cup then level it off with a butter knife.
- Buttery topping: Transfer the batter to a greased loaf pan, patting it down across the bottom of the pan (the top will appear lumpy and that’s fine). Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the batter and sprinkle the garlic salt over the top.
- Bake: Bake at 375 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly more before slicing.
Variations
Bacon Cheddar Beer Bread: Add crispy bacon bits and sharp cheddar cheese for a savory and smoky twist.
Green Chile Cheese Beer Bread: For a Mexican-inspired twist, mix a small can of well drained diced green chiles into the batter and use a combination of pepper Jack cheese and sharp cheddar cheese.
Rosemary Parmesan Beer Bread: Substitute ½ cup of the cheese with shredded Parmesan and dried rosemary for the thyme. This flavor combination would delicious served with Italian food.
Blue Cheese and Walnut Beer Bread: Replace the cheddar with crumbled blue cheese and scatter some toasted walnuts over the top for a delightful texture contrast.
Storage Tips
Room Temperature: Allow the cheese beer bread to cool completely before storing. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Refrigerate: For longer storage, wrap it in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge. Refrigerated Cheese Beer Bread will stay fresh for up to a week.
Freezer: Slice the bread, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap, and then place them in a freezer bag. If wrapped well, the bread can stay fresh in the freezer for up to three months. Allow it to thaw at room temperature or gently reheat in a toaster or oven.
Serving Suggestions
A slice of Cheese Beer Bread is delicious warm from the oven or toasted and slathered with butter. It’s delicious on its own or serve it with a bowl of soup, stew, or chili for a hearty cold weather meal. Here are some of my favorites!
- Creamy Southwest Chicken Soup
- Classic Stovetop Beef Stew
- Halftime Chili
- White Chicken Chili
- Chicken Minestrone Soup
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Cheese Beer Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bottle, 12 ounces beer (I prefer a light colored, pilsner style beer)
- ¾ cup shredded Jarlsberg cheese, Gruyere cheese, or Swiss cheese
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon garlic salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9- x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, thyme, salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer into the dry ingredients, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to incorporate all the ingredients, just until moistened. As soon as you don’t see any clumps of dry ingredients, stop mixing. Fold in the shredded cheese.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, patting it down across the bottom of the pan (the top will appear lumpy and that’s fine). Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the batter and sprinkle the garlic salt over the top.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to a wire rack.
- Delicious served warm or toasted with butter.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
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I made this with fresh rosemary and sharp cheddar, toasted it in slices and served with pub cheese spread for my husband’s whiskey tasting club. It was a big hit, not a crumb left.
That sounds wonderful! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it. 🙂
I made this to have with our minestrone tonight. It is exceptionally delicious. I made it exact except I changed the herbs to 1/4 tsp thyme, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 dill. Used the cheese that I had in the fridge (asiago and cheddar). I’ve printed the recipe and put it in my favourites binder! Thank you so much!
This bread was amazing. I will never go back to my old beer bread recipe and the addition of thyme was excellent. Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic! Now you have me wanting to bake a loaf. 🙂 Thanks, Nina!