Potato Cheddar Guinness Soup

Sharp cheese adds a ton of flavor to this soup made with russet potatoes and Guinness Stout. It's all puréed for maximum creaminess.

By
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise Bauer
Elise founded Simply Recipes in 2003 and led the site until 2019. She has an MA in Food Research from Stanford University.
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Updated September 09, 2022
Elise Bauer
Potato Cheddar Guinness Soup
Elise Bauer

St. Pat's is around the corner and in anticipation we're serving up a warm bowl of potato cheddar soup, flavored with a bit of Irish Guinness extra stout. Do you ever cook with Guinness stout? It has a wonderfully deep taste from roasted barley and malt, perfect to accent this potato cheddar soup.

I've made several batches of this soup. Leftovers are dangerous, I tend to eat them all!

Now, one of the things I've learned over the years is that either you are a Guinness fan or not. If you are not, then you likely will not like this soup. But if you are, I think you will love it.

Potato Cheddar Guinness Soup
Elise Bauer

Ireland produces some of the best sharp cheddar cheeses out there. So if you have access to Irish sharp cheddar, by all means use it! You might not need to use as much as is called for in this recipe. Maybe 4 ounces instead of 6. But experiment to find the balance you like.

Potato Cheddar Guinness Soup

Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 50 mins
Total Time 65 mins
Servings 4 servings

Sharp cheddar cheeses vary with intensity of flavor. For this recipe we assume a standard grocery store label extra sharp cheddar.

If you are using a specialty sharp cheddar (some of the Irish cheddars are lovely), you may be able to accomplish the same amount of flavor with less cheese than is called for in this recipe.

Some people are much more sensitive to bitter flavors than others. It’s genetic. So if that’s you, I would use only a quarter of a cup or skip the beer entirely, and just add more stock.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

  • 1 celery rib, chopped or sliced (about 1/2 cup)

  • 1 1/2 pounds (680 g) russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

  • 3 cups (750 ml) chicken stock (add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt if using unsalted stock)

  • 1 cup (250 ml) Guinness extra stout (do not use draught)

  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh or 1/4 teaspoon of dried thyme

  • 6 ounces (170 g) grated extra sharp cheddar cheese

  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

  • 1/8 teaspoon paprika

  • Chopped chives for garnish

Method

  1. Sauté the onions and celery:

    Melt butter on medium heat in a large, thick-bottomed pot. Add the onions and cook until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the celery and cook 5 minutes more.

    Elise Bauer
    Elise Bauer
  2. Add the sliced potatoes, stock, stout, and thyme:

    Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, partially cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender and easily fall apart, about 15 to 20 minutes.

    Elise Bauer
  3. Purée the soup, adding grated cheddar:

    When the potatoes are tender, remove the pot from the heat. Pour potato mixture into a bowl and let cool for a few minutes.

    Working in batches, ladle the soup into a blender, filling the blender bowl only a third full at a time.

    Add a portion of the grated cheddar to the blender bowl as well. (If it takes 3 batches to purée the soup, divide the cheese into 3 portions.)

    Holding the lid of the blender down (to keep the hot liquid from erupting out of the blender), pulse until smooth. Return the smooth purée to the soup pot.

    Elise Bauer
  4. Stir in the Worcestershire and paprika, check for seasoning:

    Taste for salt and add more if necessary. If the soup is too sour or bitter to your taste, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to the soup.

    Elise Bauer

    Garnish with chopped chives.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
502 Calories
23g Fat
48g Carbs
20g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 502
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 23g 29%
Saturated Fat 13g 63%
Cholesterol 63mg 21%
Sodium 627mg 27%
Total Carbohydrate 48g 17%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 20g
Vitamin C 17mg 85%
Calcium 356mg 27%
Iron 3mg 14%
Potassium 1254mg 27%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.