Whip up a loaf of this Garlic Cheddar Beer Bread with NO yeast! No rising time, no special equipment, just mix and bake! Tastes like Cheddar Bay biscuits, in loaf form!
This Garlic Cheddar Beer Bread is one of those recipes we love to bake for us, and for our friends/family. We love other easy bread recipes like my No Knead Bread and Honey Beer Bread. This is one of my Bread Recipes I know you’ll want to keep around!
GARLIC CHEDDAR BEER BREAD RECIPE
During the past month or two I’ve been doing what so many of you have been doing… baking. I decided to tackle bread making, and when I first started I was leery of using yeast. Plus, yeast has been hard to find in the grocery stores as of late.
Helpful hint: If you’re in the Midwest, GFS (Gordon Food Service) has 1 lb. packages of yeast for a verrrry reasonable price, and they always had them in stock when the other grocery stores were out of the little packets.
So quick breads have been a go-to of mine. From banana bread to an over the top glorious cinnamon roll bread (recipe coming soon!), and to beer breads of course.
My honey beer bread has quickly become a favorite for a lot of you, so I wanted to try out some other beer bread flavors.
One of my all time favorite bread products is Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay biscuits. I cannot get enough of them, and I’m just glad they don’t have a location super close to me, or I’d be eating my weight in carbs, and that’s probably not the best thing to do on a regular basis lol.
So I put those cheddar bay flavors into this loaf of beer bread! It’s garlicky, it’s cheesy, it has that delicious slight bitterness, and the garlic butter topping is out of this world.
HOW TO MAKE THIS BEER BREAD
- Preheat oven and prepare loaf pan.
- Add dry ingredients to mixing bowl and stir. The dry ingredients here are flour (regular all-purpose), granulated sugar (for a touch of sweetness), baking powder (helps the bread rise), garlic powder (amazing flavor), and salt (for more flavor).
- Stir in cheese, then pour in wet ingredients. Just give the shredded cheese a toss in the flour mixture, and make a little well in the center. Then pour in your beer (choose your fave).
- Stir until combined. Just use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and stir until all the flour is incorporated.
- Add half the melted butter to the bottom of the pan. This helps release the bread from the pan after baking, as well as adds extra buttery flavor!
- Add the batter and top with remaining butter. This ensures a nice golden brown top, plus, more buttery flavor.
- Bake until golden and cooked through. This always takes about 47-ish minutes for me, but since all ovens are different, make sure you test with a toothpick or knife to check for doneness.
- Brush with garlic butter. The garlic butter mixture is simply butter, dried parsley and garlic powder. Give the top a gooooood bath of that butter mixture, it’s amazing!
- Let cool in the pan for a bit, then turn out to cool on rack. After about 5-7 minutes, brush the bread again with any remaining butter mixture, then let it finish cooling on the rack. It’s SO tempting to dive right into this bread as soon as it comes out – but I think it has the best texture when it’s been cooled for about 30 minutes. Still warm, but not hot.
ADDITIONAL COOKING TIPS
- USE YOUR FAVORITE BEER – I like to use a regular Budweiser or Miller to make this bread because it’s cheap, and produces a very light beer flavor. If you prefer a more robust beer flavor profile, feel free to use an ale, or your favorite brew.
- TEXTURE – don’t expect this beer bread to have the same texture and crumb as a sandwich bread or a loaf from your favorite bakery. This bread is dense and hearty, with a tendency to crumble a bit as you slice it… while still being incredibly moist and tender.
VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE
- NON-ALCOHOLIC – a huge percentage of the alcohol is cooked away when baking this bread, so it won’t give you ANY sort of buzz, but if you’d rather not consume alcohol, my best substitution would be non-alcoholic beer. Maybe a seltzer water would work, but I haven’t tested it.
- MUFFINS – if you’re in a hurry, you can make garlic cheddar beer bread muffins! Just lightly grease a 12 cup muffin tin, add 1/2 tsp of melted butter in the bottom of each muffin cup, fill the cups 2/3 of the way up with batter, and spoon another 1/2 tsp of melted butter over the top of each one. Bake at 375°F for about 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- FLAVOR ADD-INS – you can totally customize this bread! Feel free to add in some of your favorite seasonings, or different cheeses! Bacon and/or chives are great additions as well.
- SELF-RISING FLOUR – if you don’t have any all-purpose flour, self rising flour will work – just omit the baking powder.
- HONEY – You could substitute the sugar with honey if you prefer.
MAKING BEER BREAD AHEAD OF TIME
This bread is definitely best when made fresh, and other than the baking time, it comes together so quickly!
STORAGE
This bread can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days without losing freshness.
FREEZING
Baked beer bread can be frozen for up to 5-6 months! Cool it completely and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then place it into a freezer container.
Thaw in the refrigerator and microwave a slice for 20-25 seconds for a “warm from the oven” flavor!
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Mixing Bowl – no fancy tools here, just a lightweight and economical mixing bowl.
- Rubber Spatula – I like to use spatulas like these that are all one piece, as they seem to hold up better.
BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT OTHER READERS’ COMMENTS FOR TIPS AND REVIEWS.
AND DON’T FORGET, IF YOU’VE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING LETTING ME KNOW HOW YOU ENJOYED IT!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 - 2 tsp garlic powder depends on how garlicky you want it
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 12 oz beer
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
GARLIC BUTTER TOPPING
- 2 1/2 Tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp dried parsley (or around 1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley if you have it)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly spray the sides of a 9x5" loaf pan. Set aside.
- To a mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder and stir to combine. Stir in the shredded cheese. Make a little well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Pour in the beer and stir until no flour streaks remain.
- Add half of the melted butter to the bottom of prepared loaf pan and tilt the pan around so the butter coats the bottom of the pan. Transfer batter to pan, spreading it out into an even layer.
- Pour remaining half of the melted butter over the top of the batter, brushing it around so it evenly coats the top.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Whisk together garlic butter topping ingredients (melted butter, parsley and garlic powder) and brush over the top of the loaf when it comes out of the oven.
- Let bread cool in the pan for 5-7 minutes, brush again with any leftover garlic butter topping, then turn out carefully onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Amanda says
Straight up off the hook delicious. I didn’t have kosher salt so used only 1/2-3/4t but I think it could have handled the whole t.
Erin says
This was incredible!!! I added more like 1 1/2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese and farlic salt instead of kosher salt in addition to the farlic powder. I also sprinkled on 1/4 or so of shredded sharp cheddar on top after brushing with melted butter. 10000 STARS!!!
Erin says
*garlic not farlic LOL
Mandy says
I doubled the recipe and added half a pound of chopped crispy bacon and a caramelized onion to it. Cooked in a 9×9. Turned out really well!! Doesn’t hold up very well as slices, but cut in squares and served like biscuits it works beautifully! We had it for breakfast topped with fried eggs and for dinner smothered with chili. This is the kind of recipe that you can tweak or add things to and really make it your own! I think next time I make it I’m going to use some shaved steak and red peppers. Maybe a pizza version with mozzarella instead of cheddar and add pepperoni and mushrooms! This is a recipe I will definitely be using over and over again!
Christina says
This is the second time making it tonight because my husband requested it with out chilli! It is so delicious, easy to make and addictive. Highly recommend giving this recipe a try!
Rachel Mastay says
This is excellent AND quick to throw together! Serving my bread with some ribs and brussel sprouts tonight for dinner.
Shellee says
Is this a pretty thick batter? Other beer breads I’ve made are a bit more moist or runny. This was very dry & hard to stir. I will say it tastes amazing but hoping I did it right.
The Chunky Chef says
Yep, it’s a fairly thick batter 🙂
Al says
Love this recipe! I even added a bit of extra shredded cheddar on top before baking to give it a bit of a cheesy crust. I’ve already shared it with a few of my friends 🙂
Crispy says
Comment already written w/ recipe modification listed. This recipe is a keeper!
Ann says
Will fresh garlic work just the same?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested the recipe as written, so I can’t say for sure… but I think it would work alright.
Crispy says
Yes, fresh garlic works just fine but remember powdered garlic that is not old is more concentrated typically that fresh. I used minced garlic and loved it!
Rachel Parker says
My family loved this bread! Will definitely be keeping this recipe for the future!
Danielle says
I made this for my family and it was a great hit! Everyone loved it. Thanks for publishing this wonderful recipe.
Leah says
Yum!! Turned out delicious!
Home Arise says
Great recipe!
Tara says
Garlic cheese bread is always one of my favorites! Great idea on swapping out the beer for seltzer water. Definitely adding this to the rotation!
Sara Welch says
Yeast is hard to find these days so I am thankful for a delicious recipe that doesn’t require it! Easily, a new favorite recipe in our home!
Sara S says
I used 4 little banana bread tins for this recipe and it worked great! It only bakes for apx 18 mins. Just absolutely delicious!!
Catalina says
I only can immagine how flavorful this bread is! Sounds so tasty!
Deseree says
Love how simple and delicious this homemade bread is to make at home.
Jacque Hastert says
I love that this requires no yeast! I love that it is a mix and bake recipe! I can’t wait to bake this and enjoy it this weekend.
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
This Garlic Cheddar Beer Bread is seriously making me hungry!
Jen says
It’s like you know exactly what my stomach wants and BOOM, you have a recipe for it. Looks amazing!