Cheddar-Ale Soup

From EatingWell: December 2006 — Subscribe Now!

Our cheese- and beer-lover's potato soup has only a fraction of the fat and sodium of a traditional recipe. We use low-fat milk and only a little oil and keep the flavor strong with zesty, sharp Cheddar cheese. Precooked diced potatoes, which you can get at many supermarkets, keep this recipe super speedy. Regular diced red potatoes also work—you'll just need to increase the cooking time.

READER'S COMMENT:

"I made this with Maudite Ale & Cabot Cheddar and pureed it for a finer texture. I agree that it was quite bland (I did cook the potatoes in salted water). The red pepper and cheese garnish helped a bit, but in the end we added salt...

Comments

Comment	Posted
I thought this recipe was good, not great, but good. We used a very sharp cheddar, and I felt that the taste while heavy on potato, was similar to that of mac'n'cheese. It's the consistency and creaminess of the soup that blow me away. It felt like a very, rich indulgent soup, only change I would make would be to add some kind of extra spice to give it a little kick and set the flavors off without using salt. I did find that this recipe took much longer to prepare than I anticipated. I did not use precooked potatoes, and by the time I had made my own and prepped all of the other ingredients, it turned out to be quite a lengthy cooking project. Leftovers were great for lunch the next day. Perfect for a wintery, chilly day. I'd definitely make it again, if I had precooked potatoes and the time set aside for it. Kim, New York, NY	7 weeks 6 days ago
I made this with Maudite Ale & Cabot Cheddar and pureed it for a finer texture. I agree that it was quite bland (I did cook the potatoes in salted water). The red pepper and cheese garnish helped a bit, but in the end we added salt and Worchester sauce for more flavor. It was also heavy on the potatoes. Next time, I would probably cut the amount of potatoes in half and use all broth instead of broth + water. Penelope, Burlington, VT	7 weeks 6 days ago
This soup was VILE - absolutely inedible. I have relied on Eating Well for close to 20 years and this is only the second recipe to fall into the "Awful" category. I pureed the soup to give it a smooth consistency but even that did not help. Dana, VA	7 weeks 6 days ago
Cant wait to make it sounds good and i eat anything with potatoes =) yum Dani, Mansfield, OH	7 weeks 6 days ago
Having read the previous comments, and since it was close to Halloween, I used Michelob's Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale, added extra cheese, then seasoned with salt and pepper. I left the soup a little bit chunky and my grown grandson and I enjoyed it with chunks of fresh baked bread as we painted the outside of my house in the nice unusually warm fall weather. We were warmed inside and out. GMT Holladay UT, Holladay, UT	7 weeks 6 days ago
This soup is surprisingly creamy and complex, but it needs salt. If you start with raw potatoes, just parboil them so they can finish cooking with the other ingredients. Chop the onions fine, not coarse, and cook them until they are thoroughly soft, not just somewhat softened, before adding the ale. (You can use the leftover ale in a beef stew.) Tina, Bellingham, WA	7 weeks 6 days ago
This soup is kickin! I did add more cheese to it (full 2 cup package instead of the listed amount). That made it a lot better than my first taste test. Also I grated pepperjack cheese over the top of it with some peppers and it gave it a nice kick. I will SO make this again! My coworkers sampled and loved it as well! Ashley, Alabaster, AL	7 weeks 6 days ago
This was by far the worst soup we have ever eaten (or tried to eat). All we could taste was flour and potatoes. We tried to salvage by adding generous salt, pepper, and another 1.5 cups of cheddar and it was still not edible. We were very disappointed in this soup. Angela, Westland, MI	7 weeks 6 days ago
Wow, this is the first recipe from Eating Well that was not good. I fed it to the possum in the back yard. paige, Dallas, GA	7 weeks 6 days ago
It was pretty good, but needed salt/pepper/cayenne pepper. The mashing in the middle made for longer than 35 minutes, probably closer to 45 minutes. Emily	7 weeks 6 days ago