Recipes with Beer - Cooking Light

Photo: Randy Mayor

24 Recipes with Beer

Well, it turns out beer is not just for drinking at football games and happy hour; it can be a great addition to many recipes and accentuates the flavors of meat, breads, stews, and even desserts.

First up, we have a classic beer-can chicken. "I like any recipe that starts with 'open a can of beer and drink half,'" says recipe developer and chef Steven Raichlen. American ingenuity has produced a variety of beer-can roasters that hold the can in place and stabilize the tipsy chicken. Aluminum cans bend easily under the pressure, so when piercing holes, it's a good idea to use a can-holding gadget.

View Recipe: Beer-Can Chicken with Cola Barbecue Sauce

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Basic Beer-Cheese Bread

Drizzling butter over top of this quick bread twice during baking gives it a wonderfully brown and crisp crust, and a great rich flavor, accentuating the cheese spread throughout the loaf. Experiment with different types of beer and cheese to create a variety of flavor options.

View Recipe: Basic Beer-Cheese Bread

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Belgian Beef and Beer Stew

An amber Belgian beer is ideal in this dish, though most amber beers or brown ales—such as Newcastle—would work just fine. Garnish with fresh thyme.

View Recipe: Belgian Beef and Beer Stew

Photo: Caleb Chancey, Brian Woodcock

Mussels Steamed with Bacon, Beer, and Fennel

This an affordable dish for any casual meal. If you can't find a 16-ounce beer (a "tall boy"), you can use a 12-ounce beer plus ½ cup broth or water. Pick up some crusty bread to dunk into the beer broth.

View Recipe: Mussels Steamed with Bacon, Beer, and Fennel

Photo: Mary Britton Senseney/Wonderful Machine

Chicken with Honey-Beer Sauce

Beer gives tremendous flavor to this chicken. Opt for an inexpensive, full-flavored domestic beer, like Blue Moon wheat ale.

View Recipe: Chicken with Honey-Beer Sauce

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Beer-Battered Fish and Chips

Bubbly beer adds lightness to pre-frying battered fish. Since the beer taste will burn off during frying, look for an inexpensive lager.

View Recipe: Beer-Battered Fish and Chips

Becky Luigart-Stayner

Chicken with Dark Beer (Coq à la Bière)

Similar to southern France's coq au vin, this nothern French recipe simmers chicken in deeply-flavored beer for tenderness and nice caramel flavor. Juniper berries and a little splash of gin enhance the sweetness of the beer while yogurt stirred in at the end adds creamy texture.

View Recipe: Chicken with Dark Beer (Coq à la Bière)

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Beer-Cheddar Soup

Avoid using dark beer, which could make the soup too bitter. Toast the bread cubes a day ahead, cool, and store at room temperature. Serve the soup in a tureen with the toasted bread cubes and chives on the side, and let guests help themselves.

View Recipe: Beer-Cheddar Soup

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Beer-Braised Beef with Onion, Carrot, and Turnips

Use a dark beer that's not too strong and it will balance the sweet root vegetables.

View Recipe: Beer-Braised Beef with Onion, Carrot, and Turnips

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Beef, Beer, and Barley Stew

Think Guinness, or another dark smooth stout, for this recipe. You can use barley groats rather than pearl barley in this stew to give the dish a little more texture. Substitute rutabagas, parsnips, or other root vegetables of your choice for the carrots and turnips.

View Recipe: Beef, Beer, and Barley Stew

Beer-Battered Onion Rings

Using beer to batter sliced onions before cooking is a classic way to prepare onion rings – and for good reason, they turn out absolutely delectable.

View Recipe: Beer-Battered Onion Rings

Photo: John Autry

Beer-Braised Brisket

Grab a six-pack of pale ale, such as Sierra Nevada, for this recipe. Enjoy the other five with your guests and use one to lend delicious flavor to this brisket. Serve this rich beef over mashed potatoes or egg noodles; leftover brisket makes tasty sandwiches.

View Recipe: Beer-Braised Brisket

Photo: Randy Mayor

Pumpkin-Honey Beer Quick Bread

Unlike frying recipes, the type and quality of beer matters when making breads. Stouts or amber-honey beers are great in comforting bread recipes. In the fall months, you can even try a seasonal pumpkin-flavored beer in this bread.

View Recipe: Pumpkin-Honey Beer Quick Bread

Photo: Hannah Whitaker

Maple-Stout Quick Bread

Stout beer—think of Guinness, with its black color and intense richness—gives this bread a slightly bitter background note and gorgeous nut-brown hue.

View Recipe: Maple-Stout Quick Bread

Photo: John Autry

Chicken Fajitas

A marinade of dark Mexican beer (like Negra Modelo), soy sauce, and fresh lime juice gives these Chicken Fajitas a fresh kick of flavor. Serve with flour tortillas, sautéed peppers and onions, and sliced jalapeño pepper.

View Recipe: Chicken Fajitas

Photo: Randy Mayor

Memphis Pork and Coleslaw Sandwich

Beer and barbecue go together like peas and carrots; so, why not use beer to make this barbecue pork sandwich? Start preparing this recipe the day before a grill-out. This recipe is sure to impress even the most experienced grill masters.

View Recipe: Memphis Pork and Coleslaw Sandwich

Photo: Randy Mayor

Jerk Chicken

Beer blends beautifully with this ultra convenient dish. One reviewer had this to say: “This is an excellent recipe and will become a family favorite. It's great to do all the prep work the night before then spend a fast 20 minutes cooking a great meal on a weeknight. I served cob corn and coleslaw with sweet Hawaiian rolls.” -dburge

View Recipe: Jerk Chicken

Photo: Randy Mayor

Smoky Slow-Cooked Chili

This hearty slow cooker pork chili with pinto beans gets its smoky flavor from the combination of chili powder, cumin, oregano, tomatillos, and Mexican-style hot tomato sauce. The beer balances out the spice and helps to blend all of these hot-and-smoky ingredients.

View Recipe: Smoky Slow Cooker Chili

Photo: Kiyoshi Togashi

Pan-Fried Shrimp

Vodka or beer evaporates quickly as food cooks (due to the alcohol), leaving it supercrisp. For a more crunchy mouthfeel, we created a rough panko coating for shrimp, with lots of nooks and crannies.

View Recipe: Pan-Fried Shrimp

Photo: Oxmoor House

Poblano-Jalapeño Chili

Meaty, juicy, moderately spicy, and very delicious. Top with thinly sliced radishes for a bit of crunch. A Corona or Pacífico will work perfectly to add a lime-beer taste to this Mexican-style chili.

View Recipe: Poblano-Jalapeño Chili

Photo: Romulo Yanes

Baja Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

A light beer batter gives the fish a crispy crunch, topped off perfectly by the mango salsa. It's a great dish to serve to guests, or just as a weeknight meal. Light coleslaw, shredded cabbage, and pico de gallo round out the plate.

View Recipe: Baja Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

Photo: John Autry

Guinness Lamb Stew

A robust and dark stew requires a robust and dark beer – Guinness is perfect here.

View Recipe: Guinness Lamb Stew

Photo: Jonny Valiant

Beef and Guinness Stew

This hearty beef stew is made with lean boneless chuck that's cooked with carrots, parsnips, and turnips, and flavored with dark beer. Simmering it in a Dutch oven for about 2 hours makes the meat and vegetables fork tender and delicious.

View Recipe: Beef and Guinness Stew

Photo: Jonny Valiant

Black and Tan Brownies

Historically, the phrase “black and tan” referred to the much-reviled auxiliary force of English soldiers sent to Ireland to suppress the Irish rebels after the 1916 Easter Rising. Eventually, a much-loved drink made with half Guinness Stout and half Harp Lager assumed the name, and now this two-toned brownie (with the addition of Guinness) shares it.

View Recipe: Black and Tan Brownies