Name: Garlic Cheddar Beer Bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 12 ounces beer; 3 cups flour; 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 2 teaspoons garlic powder; 1 teaspoon paprika; 3 teaspoons sugar; 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons melted butter

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Enjoy the garlicky and herby flavors of this simple Cheddar Garlic Beer Bread. This recipe is done in less than an hour and doesn’t use any yeast!

When's the last time you baked something warm, cozy and savory? I will forever be a sweets fan, but it's good to give some love to the savory and salty snacks in our lives too. This Cheddar Garlic Beer Bread is a fun way to dive into homemade bread without going full down the sourdough bread baking rabbit hole.

Ingredients

This Garlic Cheddar Beer Bread is made from a few simple ingredients + some spices you might already have on hand! Beer, flour and cheddar are the base ingredients for this quick loaf of bread. You'll need:

beer
flour
shredded cheddar
garlic powder
paprika
Italian seasoning
sugar
baking powder
salt
butter

See recipe card below for quantities.

Instructions

Cheddar garlic beer bread loaf uncut on a cutting board

This is a super simple recipe because it's one bowl, no mixer needed, comes together with just a rubber spatula and bakes up in less than an hour!

The flour, cheese and spices are all combined together and then the beer is added. The yeast in the beer is what acts as the primary leavener (the thing that makes bread rise) and the baking powder also helps the bread rise.

Hint: As tempting as it is to have a slice of this garlic cheddar beer bread fresh out of the oven, let it sit for just a little bit before digging in for a slice. I found that reheated slices in my airfryer/toaster gave the bread that crunchy texture on the exterior but still maintained that soft and cheesy interior.

The bread reminds me of a cheddary, garlicky Cheez-It, but with a soft bread texture. With some softened butter slathered on top, this bread is a no-brainer.

A few notes on making beer bread

Don't go crazy trying to find a certain type of beer here. I had a Michelob Ultra in my fridge that was a little past its best by date (don't @ me, I don't drink that often) and it worked perfectly fine in this recipe. I'd suggest picking a beer you like the flavors of which would work with a cheese pairing.

Any "plain" type beers would be fine here. I like to use a Yuengling lager in my No Bean Turkey Chili recipe (which would definitely pair well with this bread!) I've used Miller Lite, Corona, Heineken and most often the Michelob Ultra in my cooking. It gives the beer function and flavor you need without being too overpowering.

I'd steer clear of fruity flavored beers for this recipe. I'm imagining a stout beer might be a fun substitution, but I haven't attempted making this recipe with a stout yet.

Variations

Feel free to use whatever kind of shredded cheese strikes your fancy. If you have a pepper jack and like a spicy cheese, add that! If you like a sharp cheddar, that will work perfectly.

You could also switch up the beer types alongside the cheese for a fun culinary adventure here. Have you tried any fun beer types? Let me know in the comments below or find me on Instagram @citrusanddelicious

Garlic cheddar beer bread slice on a cutting board

Equipment

Trust me on this one, you're going to want to use a metal loaf pan as opposed to a glass loaf pan. (The one I linked is the one I use and it always produces really good loaves when I bake.)

After a lot of trial and error, I found that the metal pans distribute heat more evenly. I have baked several other kinds of loaves in glass alongside the metal loaf pan and the glass pan always comes out underdone in the center and burnt on the edges. This happened when I made zucchini bread and lemon loaf. Do yourself a favor and bake loaf items in this pan.

Garlic cheddar beer bread in a loaf pan, sliced.

Storage

Store the loaf in an airtight container. To prevent staleness, you can also wrap the loaf in plastic wrap before putting into the airtight container. Remove from container to slice. This bread is great warm out of the toaster, but a few seconds in the microwave before adding a small pat of butter would also work well.

These are my favorite glass containers for keeping leftovers or baked goods in. This particular set is a little pricey online but I found my set at Costco and use them every single day.

Top tip

When in doubt, always undercook and set a timer to check on your baked goods. Really, just any cooked foods in general. You can always add a few more minutes on to the cooking time, but you can't take away three minutes from the cooking time. Sure, you can salvage a burnt catastrophe, but isn't it nicer to not have that burning smell in the house?

This loaf of Garlic Cheddar Beer Bread would be perfect to bring to a potluck as a side dish or appetizer. I would bring this to a sports/football type gathering and slice it so it's quick to pick up and toss on your plate next to some buffalo chicken dip.