Elevate your next party with this homemade pretzel ring beer cheese dip. It's a creamy, cheesy dip that’s both tangy and flavourful. Made with cheddar, mozzarella, cream cheese, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chives, garlic powder, and pale ale beer, it pairs perfectly with homemade pretzel bites. The pretzel bites are baked with the sauce to make an easy, cheesy dip that is sure to impress!
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🥨A Hot Cheesy Beer Dip
I'm a huge fan of serving hot dips (see Nashville hot chicken dip and football bread bowl dip!). While cold dips are fun (this recipe is super fun), hot dips are definitely my favourites when they are fresh out of the oven.
This homemade pretzel ring beer cheese dip is so good! The pretzels are baked right with the dip to make an easy appetizer, and guests will be so impressed with it. This recipe creates a handful of extra pretzels, so bake them on a baking sheet at the same time as the dip, and serve in a bowl alongside it.
The beer cheese dip has, of course, beer in it. It has 3 types of cheese in it as well - cream cheese, cheddar, and mozzarella. The dip also has Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and some seasoning in it. You can even make this dip alone and serve with breadsticks, bagel crisps, or chips - it's that good!
To save time, you can easily substitute homemade pretzels with store bought dough. You can also make the pretzel beer cheese dip the day before you plan on serving it!
🥘Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Yeast - I used active dried yeast. Use whichever type of yeast you are used to.
- Pale Ale Beer - Any type of light beer will work in this recipe.
- Cream cheese - Use block cream cheese only, which is meant for baking and cooking.
- Unsalted butter - Salted butter can be used as a substitute. Change the extra salt amount in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.
🔪Instructions
Beer Cheese Dip
To make the dip, beat cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add cheeses, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and beer. Mix together until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
Pretzel Bites
To make pretzel dough, combine yeast, sugar, and milk in a large bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and let it sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
Add 2 cups of flour, salt, and melted butter. Mix it together, adding ¼ cup more flour at a time, as needed. Knead until dough comes together and isn't sticky. Be careful to not add too much flour. Knead for another 5 minutes until dough slowly bounces back after poking it with your finger. Cover with a towel while you prepare the baking soda bath.
Baking Soda Bath
Line one baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine baking soda and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Transfer pretzel dough to a lightly floured work surface. With a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut dough into roughly 3 equal pieces.
Roll each piece of dough into a long thick rope. To make it easier, roll onto a non floured work surface. Cut rope into 1.5"-2" bites. Transfer bites to the boiling baking soda bath for 15 seconds at a time. You may have to do this in a few batches. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bites onto prepared baking sheet.
Assembly
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease the bottom and halfway up the sides of an oven proof baking pan or cast iron skillet.
Line pretzel bites around inside edges of a baking pan or cast iron skillet, to form a ring. Leave space between each pretzel bite so they have room to rise while baking. Leave any remaining pretzel bites on their parchment lined baking tray. Make sure none are touching each other.
Place prepared beer cheese dip into the center of the pretzel ring in the baking pan or cast iron skillet. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until pretzels are golden brown. If you have extra pretzels, bake them on their parchment lined baking tray alongside the dip. Bake them for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
Remove from oven, garnish with chopped chives. Serve immediately alongside a bowl of your extra pretzel bites. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
✔️Expert Tips
- Pretzel roll dough doesn't need to rise like other breads, so it's quick to get into the oven.
- Don't add too much flour to the pretzel roll dough. I listed the amount of flour between 2.5 cups to 3 cups. The amount of flour you will need is very dependent on humidity in your house. Start with a lower amount of flour and increase a bit at a time.
- Make sure the cream cheese is mixed well until smooth. We don't want chunks of cream cheese in this dip.
- If you have extra pretzels, they will bake a lot faster on their baking try than the ones in the dip. Keep an eye on them and take them out when they are ready.
💭FAQs
You don't want to use your favourite hoppy beer here. Something light, like Molson, Bud, and Coors Light are better options.
You can make the pretzel beer cheese dip the day before. Store in the refrigerator.
Absolutely! This dip is delicious served cold as well as hot.
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Homemade Pretzel Ring Beer Cheese Dip
Ingredients
Beer Cheese Dip
- 8 ouces cream cheese room temperature
- 1¾ cup cheddar cheese grated
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese grated
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ cup pale ale beer
- salt & pepper to taste
- chives chopped, for garnish
Pretzel Bites
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1½ teaspoons granulated sugar
- ¾ cup milk warmed to 100°F-115°F
- 2 ½-3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more for sprinkling on top of pretzels
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Baking Soda Bath
- ¼ cup baking soda
- 4 cups water
Instructions
Beer Cheese Dip
- In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add cheeses, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and beer. Mix together until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Store in the refrigerator until needed.
Pretzel Bites
- To make pretzel dough, combine yeast, sugar, and milk in a large bowl. Cover bowl with a towel and let it sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
- Add 2 cups of flour, salt, and melted butter. Mix it together, adding ¼ cup more flour at a time, as needed. Knead together until dough comes together and isn't sticky. Be careful to not add too much flour. Knead for another 5 minutes until dough slowly bounces back after poking it with your finger.
- Cover with a towel while you prepare the baking soda bath.
Baking Soda Bath
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line one baking sheet with parchment paper. Grease the bottom and halfway up the sides of an oven proof baking pan or cast iron skillet.
- Combine baking soda and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Transfer pretzel dough to a lightly floured work surface. With a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut dough into roughly 3 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough into a long thick rope. Roll onto a non floured work surface. Cut rope into 1.5"-2" bites. Transfer bites to the boiling baking soda bath for 15 seconds. You may have to do this in a few batches. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bites onto prepared baking sheet.
Assembly
- Line pretzel bites around inside edges of baking pan or cast iron skillet, to form a ring. Leave space between each pretzel bite so they have room to rise while baking. Leave any remaining pretzel bites on the parchment lined baking tray. Make sure none are touching each other.
- Place prepared beer cheese dip into the center of the pretzel ring in the baking pan or cast iron skillet. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until pretzels are golden brown. If you have extra pretzels, bake them on their parchment lined baking tray alongside the dip. Bake them for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
- Remove from oven, garnish with chopped chives. Serve immediately alongside a bowl of your extra pretzel bites. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Pretzel roll dough doesn't need to rise like other breads, so it's quick to get into the oven.
- Don't add too much flour to the pretzel roll dough. I listed the amount of flour between 2.5 cups to 3 cups. The amount of flour you will need is very dependent on humidity in your house. Start with a lower amount of flour and increase a bit at a time.
- Make sure the cream cheese is mixed well until smooth. We don't want chunks of cream cheese in this dip.
- If you have extra pretzels, they will bake a lot faster on their baking try than the ones in the dip. Keep an eye on them and take them out when they are ready.
Did you try this recipe? Comment below to let me know ☺️