A creamy and gooey combination of spicy brown mustard, robust, flavorful beer, and gooey, melted cheese, Mustard Beer Cheese Dip is perfect for dipping soft pretzels and more.
I love a good soft pretzel. But for me, what really takes it to another level is having a delicious sauce to dip it in. Whether it’s a spicy whole grain mustard or a creamy, gooey cheese sauce, warm soft pretzels were made for dipping.
My inspiration for this Mustard Beer Cheese Dip comes from a local winery that we like to visit. One of our favorite appetizers there is the fresh soft pretzels with mustard cheese dip. While the homemade pretzels are good, the mustard cheese dip is the real star. It is like heaven in a little ramekin – perfectly gooey and creamy with just a tang of mustardy goodness. The dip is so good that the last time we were there with a few friends, we talked every couple into ordering the app for themselves, which ultimately resulted in one friend actually eating the remaining cheese dip with a spoon after all of their pretzels were gone.
Obviously, I had figure out how to make this at home. So when Steve and I started planning our own at home Oktoberfest celebration, pretzels with homemade Mustard Beer Cheese Dip were a required addition to the menu.
How Do You Make Mustard Beer Cheese Dip?
While cheese sauce can seem intimidating to make, this Mustard Beer Cheese Dip is actually pretty easy and quick to make. There are a couple of things you want to keep in mind for the best results.
- Make a Roux: This Mustard Beer Cheese Dip starts, like many sauces do, with a simple roux. Just whisk together equal parts melted butter and flour and cook for a few minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.
- Grate Your Own Cheese: Pre-shredded cheese is loaded with anti caking ingredients, which can mess up your cheese dip. So be sure to grate the cheese fresh yourself. I used a 50/50 combination of sharp cheddar and my favorite white cheddar cheese. You could also try any of your favorite melting cheeses such as gouda, gruyere, or havarti.
- Choose Your Beer: The beer adds some good flavor and richness to the cheese dip, so make sure to choose a beer you like. I used a pretzel beer from a local brewery – it had a subtle bready flavor mixed with a more traditional German Oktoberfest lager. I recommend using some kind of German or Oktoberfest variety, but any rich, flavorful beer should work.
- Watch the Heat: If your heat is too high when you add in the cheese, it can cause the sauce to break and become grainy or gritty. To avoid this, make sure your sauce is hot but not quite bubbling when adding the cheese. Then add the cheese a little at a time, whisking to melt as you stir. Don’t be tempted to turn the heat up, just keep it low and let the cheese melt.
What Can I Dip in Mustard & Beer Cheese Sauce?
This Mustard Beer Cheese Sauce is the perfect consistency for dipping. Not too thick that it is goopy or gloppy, but just thick enough to really coat and stick to your dipper. Obviously, my favorite thing to dip in this cheese sauce is warm, soft pretzels. And while you can make them from scratch (I have a shortcut homemade pretzel recipe to share with you soon, by the way!), you can also totally just heat up some store bought frozen pretzels. This dip is so good, no one will care.
Also, a quick tip, if you want to kick up your store bought pretzels, instead of pretzel salt, try topping them with a little Everything Bagel seasoning before baking. I converted Steve to this trick, and he said he can never eat regular pretzels again.
Other fantastic options for dipping include:
- Crunchy pretzels
- Tortilla chips
- Bagel chips
- Crusty bread
- French fries
- Cut veggies
- Apple slices
Even if you aren’t planning an Oktoberfest celebration of your own, this Mustard Beer Cheese Dip would be awesome as a Football snack, party food, holiday appetizer, or even just a Saturday afternoon or evening treat.
Looking for other appetizers or dips? Try my Creamy Dill Pickle Dip.
Mustard Beer Cheese Dip
Ingredients
- 3 tbs butter
- 3 tbs flour
- 1 clove garlic (grated or finely minced)
- 12 oz beer (room temperature)
- 2 tbs spicy brown mustard
- 4 oz sharp cheddar (grated)
- 4 oz white cheddar cheese (grated)
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute. Stir in garlic and cook an additional minute.
- Whisk in beer and mustard, and cook a few minutes until mixture begins to thicken and nearly reaches a simmer.
- Add grated cheese slowly, whisking to combine and melt cheese.
- Wisk in heavy cream and season with white pepper and salt to taste.
- Serve immediately with warm pretzels or your favorite dipping snacks!
Notes
Mustard: For the mustard I recommend using a grainy mustard, because I love the flecks of mustard grains in the dip. I used my favorite Spicy Sriracha Mustard, which is like spicy brown mustard with a kick. If you don’t like grainy mustard, you can also try a Dijon.
Cheese: For the best results, makes sure to buy blocks of cheese and grate it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking agents which can make the dip thicker and grainy.