Vermont Cheddar Cheese Soup & Beer Bread
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I should just rename my blog “Liza’s Daughter’s Blog.” These days, it seems, I only make dishes that my mother has fed me or told me about. When I was home in CT for my sister’s wedding last month, I was welcomed with a steaming bowl of this Vermont cheddar cheese soup, a slice of spanakopita, warm homemade bread, and yogurt cake for dessert. I devoured every morsel then fell into a several-hour-long food coma. It was heaven.
It’s hard to find fault in lots of extra sharp cheddar cheese, tons of fresh thyme, and vegetables sautéed in rendered pancetta fat, but several unexpected ingredients — beer, mustard, worcestershire and Tabasco — make this soup truly special. Oh, it is just wonderful!
I find the method for making this soup interesting. Now, I have never made a cheesy soup before, so perhaps this method is standard, but in this recipe, the grated cheese is tossed with flour before being stirred into the hot milk. This mixture thickens in its own pot before being added to the pot of sautéed vegetables, beer, stock and sauces. And while I wouldn’t think to err from my mother’s detailed instructions, my auntie Marcy reported that this step cannot be omitted — if the cheese and milk (with or without the four) are added directly to the vegetable stock pot, the soup will never come together — it will just curdle and separate into a mess. So, be warned.
And while any bread would go well with this soup, I have been enjoying beer bread with it for the past week. I used to make beer bread all the time. Not sure why I stopped because it is the SIMPLEST bread to prepare. No kneading or rising is required. If ever you want homemade bread with dinner and fear you have no time, consider this recipe — it literally takes five minutes to assemble and 40 minutes to bake. Simps.
For a light but comforting meal, serve this soup with bread (perhaps beer bread) and a wintery salad of arugula, candied pecans, diced pear and blue cheese. Yum yum.
Vermont Cheddar Cheese Soup
- Yield: 14 cups
Description
Source: Mother Liza and Auntie Marcy
Ingredients
- 4 oz diced pancetta
- 2 to 3 cups diced onions, from 2 to 3 onion
- 1 to 2 cups diced celery, from 4 to 5 stalks
- 2 cups diced carrots, from 4 to 5 carrots
- 2 cups diced red bell pepper, from 1 to 2 peppers
- 2 cups diced, peeled red potato, from 4 to 5
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- A few sprigs of thyme
- 6 cups chicken stock, homemade is best
- 12 ounces beer
- 3.5 cups milk, 2% or whole
- 4 cups grated cheddar cheese, about 1 lb.
- 2/3 cup flour
- dashes Worcestershire
- dashes hot sauce
- Fresh cracked pepper to taste
- Bread for serving
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat pancetta over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until crisp and brown. Remove pancetta with slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
- In the rendered fat, sweat the onions, carrots, celery and pepper over medium heat for 15 minutes until soft. Note: If your pancetta wasn’t very fatty, add some oil to the pot.
- Add thyme, potato and chicken broth and simmer until potato is soft, about 10 minutes. Add beer.
- Heat the milk in a separate pot until it just barely boils. Meanwhile, grate the cheese on the large-holed side of a grater and place it in a large Ziploc bag. Shake with the 2/3 cup flour. Add this cheese-flour mixture to the hot milk and stir until the cheese has melted and the mixture has thickened slightly.
- Add the milk mixture to the pot with veggies and stock. Add mustard, sauces and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk for a few minutes to avoid curdling.
- When serving, sprinkle some reserved pancetta in each bowl. Add more hot sauce to taste. Serve with bread.
Beer Bread
- Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients
butter for greasing the pan3 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon baking powder1½ teaspoon kosher salt1 tablespoon sugar1 beer, I like Magic Hat #9 or any amber ale or Bass or whatever4 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Grease a 9X5X3-inch loaf pan (a standard loaf pan) with softened butter.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add beer, stir until combined and place in prepared pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375ºF and bake for 30 minutes longer (or less) or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack. Let bread sit in pan.
- Meanwhile, melt butter. Pour the butter over bread. Let sit for five minutes then turn bread out onto a cutting board and serve immediately with more softened butter.
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63 Comments on “Vermont Cheddar Cheese Soup & Beer Bread”
I made the soup last night for dinner and it was soooo good and easy to make with two little ones running around. It is a definite make again in my house!
There is nothing that I love more than cheese! Yum.
A wonderful & very inviting soup, alexandra!!
Your cheese beer bread looks fabulous too! MMMMMMM,….and I love that Mark Bittman loves your blog too!
Oh, my favourite condiments/sauces in the world are dijon, worcestershire and tabasco!! This soup is, therefore, bound to be heaven. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
I made this soup yesterday and was very pleased. I am a huge fan of Dijon mustard and could not believe how much flavor such a small amount added to this recipe. Living in a less than cosmopoliton area, however, I had to make do with bacon because I could not find pancetta.
It was a cold, snowy night and this soup really hit the spot. And yes, I did use home-made stock.
Seriously, beer bread? I am so intrigued. Will have to give this a go. Beer bread… hmmmnn….
Made both tonight (of COURSE with homemade stock). I didn’t have quite enough milk and had to substitute some Straus Family cream. A tragedy. 😉
I’m not really sure the loaf needs all that extra butter? I used much less and thought it was great. I plan on using the leftovers for grilled cheese sandwiches, since I only made a 1/3 of the soup recipe.
Thanks!
great soup & bread recipe
Just discovered your blog, and I love it! Made this bread tonight, and it was really easy and delicious. I was a little worried at first because the batter was denser than most quick breads, but it turned out beautifully! We’re taking a hunk to work with cheese and fruit for lunch tomorrow. Can’t wait to try the soup/bread combo.
Amanda C — So glad to hear this. I haven’t made this beer bread recipe in ages, but it is so good and so easy and you’ve reminded me how much I love it. Need to make it again soon. Have a great weekend!
This sounds delightful. 🙂
I’m eating my first bowl of this soup (and the bread!) and it is wonderful and tasty. Not as heavy or cheesy as I imagined, which could be due to my only having skim milk at hand and not letting the milk base thicken enough before adding the cheese. Very enjoyable though. Other than skim milk, the only change I made was to make a rue instead of flouring the cheese shreds (4T butter and 4T). I tempered the cheese sauce with several ladles of soup before adding it in. It went swimmingly and I had no issues with separation. The bread is simple, and goes wonderfully with the soup.
Using a roux is a great idea — I’ve actually thought about doing that. Next time I will! So happy you like the soup and bread. Now, you need to try the peasant bread recipe: you will love it! https://alexandracooks.com/2012/11/07/my-mothers-peasant-bread-the-best-easiest-bread-you-will-ever-make/
Hi there – Silly question, do you use a 12 oz beer for the beer bread? Just one from a six pack? I’m surrounded by different size beers at the store. Sorry!
Hope you got my email! Sorry for the delay here — yes, a 12-oz beer should do it.
Uhg! I wrecked it! I added the beer after the cheese mixture because I had a dizzy moment. Now the soup tastes so strong of beer. Too strong. Dang it! I’m going to have to try this again.
Oh no, can you reduce it a little longer? Or maybe add more stock? I’m sorry 🙁
Thanks! This is a beautiful post. I am so excited I found your blog through a Pinterest post! I am about to check out your Breads section…My weakness!
I found this recipe a few years ago and have made it A LOT since then. It is always a hit, though I have changed way I cook it to get a creamier finished product (got to love texture sensitive people). I like to sweat all the vegetables, cook them in half the stock, then stick it in the blender. I work the rest of the soup up from a roux instead of flouring the cheese and add the veg puree last. Same amazing flavor profile, of course. I may also have a tendency to turn the beer bread into butter fried croutons, because cheese soup isn’t calorific enough…
Thank you for a great recipe, even 5 years later.
You are a genius: why have I never thought to make butter-fried beer bread croutons?! I love the changes you’ve made. Thanks for writing in.
I tried this tonight and it was very thin. I think I’m going to try Anna suggestion and make a roux and half the veg with puree
That should do it. This soup is on the thin side, but should be tailored to how you like it. Hope the flavor is right. Happy Thanksgiving!
i made the beer bread tonight–went from “hmm i want something more fun than storebought sandwich bread to dunk in last night’s soup” to slathering a slice with butter in 45 minutes flat. i used a chocolate milk stout since that’s what i had on hand, and it was really delicious. nicely crusty, too. will definitely make again, and experiment with other brews!
Oh Wow! Wonderful to hear this, Sky! I should highlight this beer bread recipe more for people needing that bread fix but are short on time. Thanks so much for writing!
What a comforting, yummy soup! I like lots of veggies, so I vote for the upper quantity indicated, and might add a bit more of each veggie next time!
So great to hear this, Nancy! I agree: can’t go wrong with more veggies. Thanks for writing!
Hi! I loved how @alexandracooks described the way a bowl of delicious warm soup can bring a family together. More often than not, our memories are made around food. A special bowl of soup once had during a special time with family is instantly remembered the next time you eat it again. You recall how you felt, the memories made, the laughter and so on.
Her story hooked me on trying the recipe, but it is how this soup tasted that will have me chopping up all those veggies again down the road, for another bowl!
I loved the way the cheese melted into that milk and thickened with a steady stir. There is a wholesome feel to this recipe, both in making it and eating it. <3
My only advice would be to taste after each TBS of dijon. We all have different tastes and 3 TBS might be too much for some. Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!
So nice to hear all of this, Shauna 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and for sharing your notes. And great point about the mustard, too. So glad you liked this one 💕💕💕💕💕
Do you use a whole 12 oz bottle in the beer bread?
Yes!
Thanks so much Alexandra!