Soupe à la Bière (Beer Soup)
Soupe à la Bière (Beer Soup), also known as Soupe à la Bière du Nord or Potage à la Bière, is a delicious vegetarian soup made with potatoes and leeks, enriched with Belgian beer. Rustic, hearty, and comforting, it’s a perfect European, medieval-inspired soup to cozy up with on chilly evenings.
There are many variations of this soup, including German and French versions – often made with beer from the Alsace region in northeast France, which has strong German roots. Some recipes add cream, cheese, egg yolks, or even stale bread. This version is one of my favorites and uses Belgian beer instead, since Alsace beer can be hard to find. I think you’ll love it too. Doesn’t this look like the perfect bite with a crispy crouton?
If you’ve ever had potato and leek soup, this version is similar, with the addition of beer for amazing depth of flavor. If beer isn’t for you – or you’re serving children – you can replace with vegetable broth.
As mentioned, this soup contains no milk or cream. Its creaminess comes from blending the potatoes, which, in my opinion, creates a beautifully smooth, velvety texture.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Butter
- Potatoes
- Leek
- Onion
- Garlic
- Light tasting beer
- Water
- Rosemary
- Salt
- Ground Black pepper
- Croutons
Let’s toast to the weekend and stay warm at the same time with this delicious European medieval inspired soup.
Beer in soup
Now, in case you’re wondering how good soup with beer can really taste – it’s pretty darn good. And while it may sound very European, beer-based soups aren’t just a European tradition. In fact, Kentucky has loved beer cheese soup since the 1930s.
Much like adding wine to a dish, the alcohol cooks out as the soup simmers, leaving behind a rich, velvety, deeply flavorful bowl. Top it with crispy croutons, and it’s heaven in a bowl.
Since we’re talking about French soups, I’d be remiss not to share my ever-popular French Onion Soup with Mini Croutons (pictured below) – a true classic that stands the test of time.
The best beer for soup
The beer you choose will influence both the color and flavor of the soup. Keeping with the theme I like a pale Belgian ale, Hoegarden or Stella Artois. Darker beers, such as Newcastle Brown Ale or Guinness, add deeper color and more robust, slightly bitter, malty, or roasted notes. Lighter-colored beers tend to be milder and a touch sweeter, resulting in a more delicate, balanced soup.
Color variation
The soup’s color can vary depending on the beer you use. In the photo on the left, I used Stella Artois , and on the right, Hoegaarden.
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Soupe à la Bière (Beer Soup)
Video
Ingredients
Yields 6 cups/3 pints
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups (120 grams) leek chopped, white and light green parts only
- ¼ cup medium onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 pound (453 grams) potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 16 fluid ounces (473 ml) light tasting beer
- 3 cups (308 ml) water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small sprig of fresh rosemary
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Croutons
Instructions
- To a large saucepan over medium heat, add the butter. When bubbly and melted, add the leek and onion. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften, not brown. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1minute. Add the potatoes, salt and pepper stir to combine.Pour in the beer, water, herbs, salt and pepper. Partially cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the bay leaf and rosemary, beer and water. Partially cover with a lid and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork.
- Remove the herbs and blend (you can use a hand blender or regular blender). Test for seasoning and and more salt and pepper if needed.
- Serve garnished with croutons.
This is a nice recipe. I would also try the version with egg yolks which feels more decadent.
That soup looks astonishingly good! I love the colors and the ingredients too.
This looks wonderful! I make a cheese sauce with beer and I love the way it tastes so I know I am going to love this. Pinning!
Janette, you are a legend! Honestly, I have never seen this before and even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have looked at it. But thank gawd I know you so I saw this! Beer soup – who would have thought??!! Though I did notice that it’s a European soup and I certainly got served up plenty of it when I was in various parts of Europe so possibly I ate it and didn’t realise cause I didn’t understand 🙂 I’ll just have to make this and see if it tastes familiar! If I can’t find the brand of beer you used, is there a suitable substitution you recommend?
Thank you so much Nagi. I would say since it’s easier to find you could use Blue Moon beer.
G’day Your soup looks warm and welcoming as can be Janette!
Cheers! Joanne
Mmmmmm… this looks so good! And since the alcohol cooks out of the beer, I can eat the whole vat even though I’m knocked up, right? 🙂
This looks so fantastic, I love beer soup!!
Thank you Tara.
Looks delicious Janette.
Thank you so much Patty 🙂
I love seeing new soup recipes on your blog! This one looks extremely delicious, and I’m curious to try it, since I’ve never he’d a beer soup! Pictures are amazing as usual! (By the way I have the same towel :))
Thank you so much Mira 🙂