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Beer Cheese Dip is a ranch-flavored pub-style dip made with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and of course, beer! It’s a popular Midwestern recipe for game days and party days, and it’s ready in just a few minutes with 6 ingredients.
Meggan’s notes
If you’re expecting a hot, gooey, nacho-cheese style dip here, you’re probably confused. But this is what we make in the Midwest! We love a cold dip with cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, and sharp cheddar cheese. And of course beer! Wisconsinites love their beer and they add it whenever they think they can get away with it, especially on Game Day.
This recipe makes a fairly large amount. Break the recipe in half, if you need to, or you could just invite some extra people over. Divide the dip into two bowls; when one bowl is is ready for the sidelines, you can switch it out for a fresh one.
What is absolutely necessary, however, is having something great to dip: pretzels, potato chips, tortilla chips, crackers, celery sticks, or even baby carrots. Pick something sturdy that can stand up to the dip and watch the whole bowl disappear.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Cream cheese: Three, yes three whole blocks, because the recipe makes a lot of dip. Let them come to room temperature before you start.
- Ranch dressing mix: You can certainly buy a packet at the supermarket. To make homemade ranch dressing mix, whisk together 2 tbsp. powdered buttermilk, 2 ½ tsp. dried parsley, 1 tsp. dried minced onion, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder, ½ tsp. dill weed, and salt (I like ¼ teaspoon).
- Beer: You don’t even need a whole bottle, so use your favorite. Lager, ales, pilsners, and lighter beers make a slightly sweet, mild dip. Heartier beers like stout, dark lagers, porters, or schwarzbiers will make the cheese dip a little more fully-flavored. Prefer no beer? Just leave it out; the dip is still delicious without it.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large bowl, add cream cheese, cheddar cheese, ranch mix, beer, chives, and garlic powder (start with ½ teaspoon and add more to taste if desired).
- Stir the mixture to combine.
- Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes or until serving time. Garnish with more chives if desired and serve with chips, pretzels, or crackers.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 4 cups of dip, enough for 16 servings, ¼ cup each. Yes, it’s a big batch!
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Whip up the cold dip and stash it in the fridge up to two days before you need it.
- What to dip: Homemade Soft Pretzels taste incredible, but so do pretzel sticks, potato chips, tortilla chips, Melba toasts, rye crisps, carrot sticks, celery sticks, and the list goes on.
- Make jalapeño poppers: Stuff the cold dip in half of a jalapeño pepper (scoop the seeds out first) and roast in the oven until tender at 425 degrees for 15 to 18 minutes.
- Toasted bread: Add 8 ounces of chopped sliced salami to the dip, then slather it on a baguette loaf that’s been sliced in half lengthwise. Bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cut into slices and eat.
- Leftover dip sandwiches: Spread any leftover beer cheese dip on rye bread with deli ham and some lettuce. Perfect weekday sandwich, coming right up!
- Cheese Fondue: Hot, cheesy fondue is made in a fondue pot (or in a medium saucepan) with gruyere, Swiss cheese, or other alpine-style cheeses. You can even serve it right from a crockpot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lager, ales, pilsners, and lighter beers make a slightly sweet, mild dip. Heartier beers like stout, dark lagers, porters, or schwarzbiers will make the cheese dip a little more fully-flavored. Avoid hoppy IPA beers as they tend to be bitter, floral, earthy, citrusy, piney, and fruity. Prefer no beer? Just leave it out; the dip is still delicious without it.
Customize your dip with a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, onion powder, or Dijon mustard.
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Beer Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 24 ounces cream cheese softened (see note 1)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 (1 ounce) packet ranch dressing mix (see note 2)
- 6 ounces beer (see note 3)
- 4 chives or 1 scallion, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish if desired
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or more to taste
- Potato chips pretzels, or crackers, for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add cream cheese, cheddar cheese, ranch mix, beer, chives, and garlic powder (start with ½ teaspoon and add more to taste if desired). Stir to combine.
- Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or until serving time. Garnish with more chives if desired and serve with chips, pretzels, or crackers.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Cream cheese: Three, yes three whole blocks, because the recipe makes a lot of dip. Let them come to room temperature before you start.
- Ranch dressing mix: Use a store-bought packet or make homemade ranch dressing mix.
- Beer: Lager, pilsners, and lighter beers make a slightly sweet, mild dip. Heartier beers like stout, dark lagers, porters, or schwarzbiers will make the cheese dip a little more fully-flavored. Prefer no beer? Just leave it out; the dip is still delicious without it.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 4 cups of dip, enough for 16 servings, ¼ cup each. Yes, it’s a big batch!
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and beer. What could possibly go wrong? For me, I’d add a little medium and extra sharp cheese to the mix. I wonder how this mix would go as a holiday cheese ball?
I think it would be delicious, Dave! ๐ – Meggan
When I need to shred a block of mozzarella and just after a few strokes, it starts to get chunky. You know these moments. I always end up wasting a ton of cheese in an effort to finish the dish before my boys become cranky.
You are totally feeling my vibe with beer dip and taco dip having an illegitimate love child. I want to keep the texture and consistency of the beer dip, but give it a Mexican spin. I thought about maybe asking taco seasoning and taco sauce or a smooth salsa?
I make this delicious dip for all my parties and my guests love it. they always come in and scope out where the beer dip is.
Has anyone ever tried a Mexican spin on this? My next party is tacos and tequila themed, but if there’s not beer dip, there might be a riot. ๐
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Hi, Haley! Like maybe taco dip and beer dip had a baby? Or do you want something with a layer of refried beans (or corn), or guacamole? Happy to experiment, there is NO WAY this could end badly! Just hoping to give you what you want. Please let me know if you get a chance! I feel like adding some taco seasoning to this recipe as-is would be delicious, but I’m not sure if that’s what you had in mind.
Does it matter what kind of beer you use?
I just threw this together to go with our bacon bombs. I didn’t have any chives so I subbed onion powder. Super delicious. I can’t stay out of it.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much, Mira! I hope you love it as much as I do.