Spicy Cheddar Pub Cheese
Spicy Cheddar Pub Cheese is an easy beer cheese dip that’s soft and creamy with big cheddar cheese flavor! It’s the perfect snack for Game Day!
**This post was originally published in January 2015. The photos, text and recipe have been updated.
Super Bowl Sunday is only days away, and I’m pretty excited about it. I think the 49ers and Chiefs will be a great match up, but the real excitement is this Pub Cheese!
It doesn’t get a lot better than watching the Super Bowl while eating cheesy dip spiked with beer, does it?
I already know the answer to that. 🙂
Years ago my husband brought home a tub of Trader Joe’s pub cheese. I’d never tried anything like it before, and I fell for it after one bite.
I got right to work creating my own version to share with you, and had a lot of fun customizing it to suit my tastes.
What is pub cheese?
Pub cheese is a soft, cheesy dip spiked with beer or ale. It’s typically made with cheddar cheese, but some versions include processed cheese.
It’s thought that this dip originated in Kentucky in the 1940’s. It surprised me that it originated in the United States.
I was thinking England maybe? 🙂
Recipe ingredients
There are only a few simple ingredients in this pub cheese recipe as shown below.
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Cream cheese
- Beer or ale (your favorite!)
- Garlic
- Worcestershire sauce
- Smoked paprika
- Cayenne pepper
What type of cheese is best for this recipe?
I prefer sharp cheddar cheese for this recipe as it isn’t overpowered by the beer flavor, but you can certainly use mild or even white cheddar.
How to make this recipe
This is one of the easiest dip recipes you’ll ever come across. Pro tip: Leave the cheddar cheese and cream cheese out at room temperature as it becomes smoother much more quickly when it’s softened.
- Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
- Serve with your favorite pretzels, crackers, breadsticks or veggies!
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: This beer cheese dip will become smooth faster if the grated cheese and cream cheese are left out a room temperature to soften.
- Store pub cheese in an air tight container until ready to use, and serve with your favorite pretzels, crackers, breadsticks and veggies.
- Dip is best served at room temperature. If it’s cold, leave at room temp to soften or microwave for 10 seconds or so.
- Lighten this dip by substituting all or part of the cream cheese with Greek yogurt.
- Use gluten free beer to make this dip gluten free!
More game day snacks you’ll love:
- Baked jalapeño poppers by Cookie + Kate
- Beer bread
- Buffalo chicken wings
- Homemade guacamole
- Mini cheese balls
- Roasted nuts
- Tailgating snacks
If you make this recipe I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment and rating below, or tag me @flavorthemoments on Instagram!
Spicy Cheddar Pub Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces grated cheddar
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 6 tablespoons beer or ale
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
- Serve with your favorite pretzels crackers, breadsticks or veggies!
Equipment
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, and process until smooth, scraping the bowl of the food processor down as necessary. Adjust the seasoning as necessary, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Pro tip: The dip will become smooth faster if the grated cheese and cream cheese are left out a room temperature to soften.
- Store pub cheese in an air tight container until ready to use, and serve with your favorite pretzels, crackers, breadsticks and veggies.
- Dip is best served at room temperature. If it's cold, leave at room temp to soften or microwave for 10 seconds or so.
- Lighten this dip by substituting all or part of the cream cheese with Greek yogurt.
- Use gluten free beer to make this dip gluten free!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
38 Comments on “Spicy Cheddar Pub Cheese”
I’ve never had pub cheese before, but I think I need to make this asap! This looks amazing, Marcie! My husband and I are pretty serious about Super Bowl snacks, too. For me, it’s all about the food! I love how creamy this spread is! Sounds perfect to add to my snack collection for next Sunday. Pinned!
The only pub cheese I’ve ever tried was a pre-made one that I bought at Whole Foods (I’ve since seen it at Trader Joe’s and many other stores). It was SO good, so I had to try it at home. Thanks for the pin, Gayle! 🙂
I LOVE how you lightened this pub cheese up but still kept the flavor intact.
Thank you, Jocelyn! Pub cheese has to have big cheese flavor, so there’s no skimping on the cheese portion of the recipe! 🙂
After all the recipe testing I did for the blog super bowl posts I could definitely use something a tad lighter for the actual game!! haha This dip looks so so good! Hope you are having a great weekend Marcie!
The recipe testing will kill ya every time…in a delicious way at least! haha This is lighter, but it sure isn’t diet food. 🙂 No worries, there’s always the gym! Thanks, Ashley, and hope you had a great weekend yourself. 🙂
Marci this is such a great and delicious idea – love this dip!!
Thank you, Jessica! I’m a huge cheese lover and most dips are way too heavy, so I had to try and lighten it up a bit. It’s still not diet food, but hey, I will spend a little less time at the gym! 🙂
Bring on all the Game Day food cuz that’s my favorite part 🙂 This pub cheese looks so creamy and delicious, Marcie! I love that you lightened it up with Greek yogurt without sacrificing on any of the flavor. Sounds perfect for Game Day!
Thanks, Kelly! Lightening this up didn’t make this dip skimpy in any way if that makes sense! I love it when that happens so I don’t have to feel as bad. 🙂
Man, I want to dive right into these bowl of pub cheese! I could probably eat the entire bowl myself. I love that you lightened it up too!
Thanks, Ashley! It’s a good thing I lightened it up, because I certainly did want to eat the whole bowl! I had my fair share for sure. 🙂
I’m a true Wisconsin-girl and we take our cheese VERY seriously up here! That being said, I am ALL over this gorgeous dip! How have I never tried pub cheese before?! It seriously sounds amazing and I love the spicy kick you gave it!
Oh boy — Wisconsin! I’m not going to mess with you when it comes to cheese! haha I’m glad you approve of this, Sarah, that means a lot! 🙂
I love pub cheese! And cheese in general 😉 This sounds like a tasty distraction for when I’m not realllly watching the game and mostly just snacking ;-D
This was a tasty distraction! If the game is the pits come Sunday, at least we will have our cheese! 🙂
The dip looks so good Marcie..I have never tried pub cheese before! I really need to!
Thank you, Manali! 🙂
It may have been lighter, but it still tasted so cheesy! It wouldn’t be pub cheese without big cheese flavor. haha Thanks, Stacy, and happy Monday to you! 🙂
Cheese is the ultimate party food! I’m glad you agree, Dannii! 🙂
I’ve never had pub cheese but yours looks great and I love that it’s lightened up with the Greek yogurt! Cheers to game day food 🙂
Thank you, Medha, and cheers to game day food for sure! 🙂
This sounds awesome!! I love using Greek yogurt in dips!! This is perfect for game day!
Thank you, Jess, and we loved this dip! I’m thinking about making it again Sunday since it’s less guilt and all. haha
I don’t think I have ever had pub cheese before …. but I’m imaging it would be fantastic for game day!!
Pub cheese is so good…I hope you try it, Jamie! 🙂
I love this! This is something I am going to have to try out!
Amazing!!! Spicy cheddar, aka HEAVEN! I would watch football just for some of this.
Haha…if you’re not a football lover, this dip might make you one! 🙂
5 Stars!! I made this yesterday and it is a keeper! Thank you for posting! I’ve been looking for a Pub Cheese recipe ever since Trader Joe’s had an in-store demonstration of a hot dip made from equal parts, by weight, of their Pub Cheese (which is pretty pricy), drained canned black beans, and salsa. Mix, heat, and serve. Your recipe was very easy to make and it was even better the next day. I bought an 8oz bag of preshredded sharp cheddar cheese to make it easy. Everything blended well and I let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes and then blended it again to make it extra creamy.
Nice recipe! Thank you again for posting!
Hi Bobi! Thank you so much for the feedback and I’m very happy to hear that you enjoyed the dip! I think blending it again once it comes to room temperature sounds like a wonderful idea too!
My hubby is heading off to a Super Bowl party on Sunday and now I know what I’ll be sending with him! He will love this dip!
This dip is so quick and easy — it will be the perfect thing to send! Maybe you can keep some for yourself? 🙂
This spicy cheese dip is calling my name! Especially with those veggies. I am not a big football watcher, but I’m definitely showing up for the snacks! Pinning!
The snacks do make the game! Thanks Katherine!
Wow! I used some of our homebrew and it is very tasty. Thank you.
Can this be done in a slow cooker?
I haven’t tried it but probably on low?