Smoky Beer Cheese & Corn Soup

I like to keep things mostly healthy. Eat your veggies, green stuff, etc.

…except for birthdays…and this is a birthday post…for Ryan.

As I mentioned earlier this week, Ryan likes food stuffed inside of food. The bread bowls were the first step, and then I needed to figure out what to put inside the bread bowls.

All of Ryan’s favorite things, of course! This dreamy, cheesy soup contains all of my man’s favorite yums (except meat, because NOPE).

Although Ryan is not super picky when it comes to food, there are certain things he LOVES. These include 1) cheese, 2) hot sauce, 3) corn. His birthday soup includes all of these things, with the addition of smoky chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

Ta daaaaa! Happy 30-year-old birthday boy.

When we sat down to dinner, Ryan ate 3 helpings of the soup out of his over-sized bread bowl. Since I almost always out-eat him at every meal, I’d say that’s a good sign of how tasty this soup is.

I usually cook with whole milk, but I had 2% on hand so I went with it, and it turned out awesome. I can’t even imagine how delicious whole milk would be. If you’re not into smoky flavor, I would recommend decreasing the amount of adobo sauce. I like the smoke, and Ryan LOVES it, but the peppers and additional sauce make for a strong smoky flavor.

As is the case with all soup, you should taste as you go and adjust the salt/seasonings as you like. I love how the dry adobo seasoning works in this soup, but if you cant find it you should be able to get by with a little dry oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder.

I made this soup on the afternoon of his birthday, while he was napping after fishing for a couple hours. He woke up to thick, cheesy soup in chewy, crusty bread bowls.

If that’s not an A+ way to start your 30s, I know nothing about this world.

Print Recipe

Smoky Beer Cheese & Corn Soup

Thick and creamy beer cheese soup with smoky chipotle peppers and corn. Super flavorful and comforting.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 shallots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 medium carrots, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, seeds removed
• 3/4-1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups reduced fat or whole milk, divided
• 1 (15.25-ounce) can organic corn kernels
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer (blonde or pale ale)
• 1/2 tablespoon adobo seasoning
• 1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the can of chipotle peppers)
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegan worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• Whole Wheat Bread Bowls and popcorn, for serving

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Stir in the shallot, carrot, peppers, and half the salt. Cook for 5 minutes, until the shallots and carrots are softened.
2. In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the flour with 1/2 cup of the milk. Set aside.
3. Add the corn, broth, beer, remaining milk, and all seasonings to the soup pot. Whisk in the flour and milk slurry.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Blend the soup until smooth. I used an immersion blender for this, but you could transfer the soup to a regular blender as well.
6. If you transferred the soup to a blender, pour back into the pot. Add the shredded cheese, and whisk until completely smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
7. Serve warm in bread bowls, topped with popcorn.