Sipping a fantastic beer is great, but using it as an ingredient in a dish is a treat that is guaranteed to make your recipe that much better. Discover 39 unique ways to use beer in both sweet and savory dishes.
Chocolate Stout Chocolate Chip Muffins
Give a classic muffin recipe a kick by adding in some of your favorite chocolate stout. The sweet yet malty flavor of the beer will mix well with the flavor of the muffins.
Brown Sugar and Bacon Beer Waffles
What's that saying — bacon makes everything better? The same can be said for beer, and this savory recipe combines both into a fluffy, satisfying brunch treat.
Carrot Cake Ale Pancakes
The brown ale in these oh-so-sweet pancakes does more than add a biscuity flavor — it acts as a leavening agent that gives these pancakes a light and fluffy texture.
Make-Ahead Beer and Sausage Breakfast Bake
When hosting a breakfast get-together, anything "make-ahead" is worth adding to your menu. This beer and sausage strata takes just 10 minutes to prep the night before and will be ready to bake and enjoy right as your guests arrive.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Beer Bread
As the temperatures start to drop, everyone looks forward to pumpkin-flavored snacks and sips. Most pumpkin beers are seasonal, but if you're able to find one on the shelves at your grocery store, be sure to try baking pumpkin chocolate chip beer bread.
Slow Cooker Beer Mac and Cheese
This classic recipe with a boozy twist can be served as a side at your next lunch party or as an easy weeknight dinner. When choosing a beer, stick to saisons or lagers; the former will give you a more rustic flavor, while the latter will produce a more biscuity flavor.
Beer Cheese Sauce
Serve it with soft pretzels, on a hot dog, or drizzled over nachos. This beer cheese sauce is easy, adaptable, and is sure to stand out among other appetizers.
Jalapeño Popper Beer Cheese Dip
Football season may have just come to an end, but this favorite game-day snack is well received any time of year (March Madness, anyone?). The panko bread crumb topping perfectly complements the IPA mixed into the spicy dip.
Super Soft Beer-Infused Garlic Butter Pretzels
Few things pair better with beer than pretzels, so it only makes sense that this delectable soft pretzel recipe is made with a wheat beer. Serve these pretzels with any of the savory dips you see here!
Slow Cooker Jalapeño Beer Cheese Dip
Looking for an appetizer you can prep in five minutes flat? Grab your slow cooker, a few simple ingredients, and a wheat beer and try a no-brainer jalapeño beer cheese dip recipe.
Honey Stout Chicken Wings
Whether you choose a smokey or sweet stout, it's sure to pair well with the honey in this recipe. Grill up these chicken wings in a honey stout marinade by the dozen on game day or at a barbecue.
Slow Cooker Chipotle Beer Chicken Sliders
If your food preferences fall into the category of "the spicier, the better," this recipe is for you! The combo of spicy chipotle peppers and a pale ale brings the heat to an easy slow cooker meal.
Twice-Baked Beer Cheese Red Potatoes
Just like a mini version of the classic twice-baked potatoes, these savory red potatoes are filled with sour cream, bacon and green onions and smothered in beer cheese sauce.
Hoisin Stout Chicken Wings
Traditional wings with barbecue sauce are delicious, but chicken wings baked with tangy hoisin and stout sauce will make them extra juicy and tender.
Flakey Biscuits
The first unexpected secret for fluffy, flakey biscuits is (you guessed it!) wheat beer. Read on for the second secret that will make your biscuits undeniably delicious.
Honey Beer Skillet Cornbread
There's something about the combination of honey and cornbread that's just so right. Add a bit of pale ale to a batch of sweet skillet cornbread and you'll have a match made in heaven.
Chorizo, Hatch Chile and Smoked Porter Chili
Stone Brewing and Alaskan Brewing Company both make a delicious smoked porter that would work well in this chili recipe. Chorizo and hatch chiles make this a great recipe when the weather gets chilly (no pun intended!).
Slow Cooker White Bean, Beer and Ham Soup
One of the best things about cooking a ham is that there's almost always guaranteed to be leftovers. Think beyond ham sandwiches and making a belly-warming batch of white bean, beer, and ham soup.
Beer-Battered Fish
When I see fish and chips on a menu I end up ordering it more often than not. Of the best ones I've had, the crispy, flaky golden batter is the most memorable part of the meal. If you too are a fish and chips fan, click the link for a recipe you can make at home.
Beer Can Chicken
If you haven't tried beer can chicken, what are you waiting for? This classic cooking-with-beer recipe gives you a deliciously juicy bird with evenly browned and crispy skin. Plus, it's a surefire way to impress your guests at your next game day or summer barbecue.
Pale Ale Marinated Steak Tacos
Take Taco Tuesday to the next level with pale ale marinated steak tacos. The beer keeps the meat tender and juicy, making these tacos irresistible. The only embellishment they need is simply cilantro and chopped onions.
Parmesan Mustard Brown Ale Skillet Chicken
This one-pot chicken recipe is perfect for a weeknight meal: It calls for ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen (save for maybe an onion and some cream) and it can be prepared in about 20 minutes.
Perfect Pork Chops
Pork chops can be dry if they're not prepared properly before cooking. Read on for three tips for cooking tender pork chops and a beer-marinated panko-crusted pork chop recipe.
Smokey Porter Molasses Chicken Skewers
Amplify the flavor of an otherwise ordinary hot dog with chipotle stout chili dog sauce. Prepping this sauce for a summer barbecue is a breeze and is sure to make the main course more interesting!
Smokey Porter Molasses Chicken Skewers
Play up the smokey characteristics of these barbecued chicken skewers with a beer that possesses similar flavors. A smoked porter is lighter bodied than a stout so it won't compete with the molasses.
Crispy Lemon Pepper Beer-Brined Drumsticks
When you're eating anything citrusy, a pale ale should be one of the first styles of beer you reach for to drink with it. This recipe for lemon pepper drumsticks uses pale ale in the buttermilk brine.
Beer-Braised Chicken Tacos with IPA Avocado Cream and Beer Corn Tortillas
One of the secret powers I wish I had is the ability to make an avocado ripe with the touch of my hand. That power would come in handy for this recipe, which includes a tangy IPA avocado cream to drizzle over beer-braised chicken tacos.
Oven-Fried Beer and Buttermilk Chicken
Satisfy your fried chicken craving with a healthier yet satisfying version that's baked in the oven. Beer and buttermilk come together in the batter to coat the chicken filets and lock in moisture so you have juicy, delicious chicken.
Chocolate Stout Strawberry Shortcakes
Chocolate and strawberries — what could be a more romantic dessert combination? Add in some stout to make the shortcake extra fluffy, and make chocolate stout strawberry shortcakes for your significant other.
Chocolate Stout and Mixed Berry Galette
Ice-cold pale ale contributes to the flaky goodness of the crust of this chocolate stout and mixed berry galette. Such a rich dessert, thanks to the chocolate filling, is balanced out by the light, airy crust.
Chocolate Stout Pudding with Beer Whipped Cream
When hosting a large gathering, make-ahead desserts are the best kind of desserts. Chocolate stout pudding is one of those recipes you can make the night before and pull out of the refrigerator when it's time to serve.
Beer, Chocolate and Irish Whiskey Mini Pies
What better way to enjoy beer than by baking heavenly chocolate mini pies filled with beer and chocolate.
Blackberry Summer Ale Pie
After foraging for blackberries, it's time to pop a beer and bake this blackberry pie with summer ale.
Strawberry Beer Popsicles
Chopped strawberries contribute to the fresh flavor of these popsicles that are boozed up with just a bottle of ale. Serve these at your next backyard bash when temperatures start to rise.
Chocolate Stout Fudge Sauce
There are so many rich stouts that will work perfectly in this recipe for chocolate stout fudge sauce — keep an eye out for stouts that have vanilla, cacao, hazelnuts or coffee added to them.
Raspberry Lambic Sorbet
The fruity, light characteristics of your typical lambic make it an excellent additive to a sorbet. If you have an ice cream maker you just need a few more ingredients to make this dessert at your leisure.
Beer Poached Apple and Honey Mascarpone Tart
A tart this picturesque looks as though it takes hours to make, when in fact, it can be whipped up in about 30 minutes. The secret for such a quick dessert? Frozen puff pastry.
Hard Apple Cider Skillet Cobbler
Sweeter than beer but still complex in flavor, hard cider has made its way into the world of craft beverages and on the shelves of many bottle shops alongside craft beers. Hard cider and apple cobbler are a match made in heaven in this crowd-pleasing skillet dessert.
Stout Chocolate Fudge
No joke, this is one of the best and easiest batches of fudge you'll ever make. If you're in a pinch for a gift or potluck dish, you have to try this one-pot stout chocolate fudge.
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