Obatzda Recipe (German Beer Cheese Dip) (2024)

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Obatzda, a flavorful German Beer Cheese Dip, is a beer garden classic made with camembert cheese, butter, and beer! This easy cheese dip can be made ahead and makes a delicious appetizer or snack with pretzels or rustic bread. Perfect for your next Oktoberfest party!

Obatzda Recipe (German Beer Cheese Dip) (1)

Obatzda is a classic Bavarian dish that you can get in every beer garden, supermarket in Bavaria, or traditional Bavarian restaurant. But it’s super easy to make at home with ingredients you can get at your local supermarket! This easy recipe is perfect for making ahead.

There are many different ways to make this beer cheese spread but one thing they all have in common are the main ingredients: aged soft cheese like Camembert or Brie, good quality butter, and a small amount of wheat beer.

Obatzda or Gerupfter(Franconian name) is traditionally seasoned with paprika, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. You can add chopped onions to the dip but I recommend adding them just before serving otherwise they could develop a bitter or soapy taste when you make the dip in advance.

I’ve tried many different variations of this beer cheese dip and the recipe below is my favorite way to make it!

Obatzda Recipe (German Beer Cheese Dip) (2)

Tips and Trick for How to make Obatzda

  • If you can’t have alcohol you can omit the beer or use a non-alcoholic beer.
  • Instead of wheat beer, you can also use any other German beer.
  • Using your hands works best to mix the ingredients together.
  • Take out all the ingredients from the fridge half an hour before starting to make this recipe. Cut the butter into small cubes, it will come faster to room temperature. Using room temperature ingredients makes it easier to mix everything together.
  • To make my beer cheese dipeasily spreadable even after sitting in the fridge overnight I add a spreadable cheese likeLaughing Cow Cheeseto the camembert cheese. A common problem with Obatzda, made only with cheese and butter, is that it gets quite firm in the fridge. Don’t use cream cheese instead of spreadable cheese wedges. The cream cheese flavor is not the right choice for this dip.
  • Add the sliced onions just before serving this way you can store the cheese dip longer.
  • Serve this beer cheese dip with pretzels, pretzel bread, or a rustic sourdough bread. MyBavarian Pretzelsare perfect to make with this recipe!
  • This recipe is perfect for your Oktoberfest party but also makes a great addition to every holiday appetizer buffet!

Obatzda Recipe (German Beer Cheese Dip) (3)

Looking for more German recipes? Try out these authentic recipes:

  • German Pork Hock (Schweinshaxe Recipe)
  • German Apple Cake (Versunkener Apfelkuchen)
  • German Cucumber Salad Recipe
  • Authentic German Potato Salad
  • Easy German Spaetzle Recipe

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Obatzda Recipe (German Beer Cheese Dip) (4)

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5 from 20 votes

Bavarian Beer Cheese Spread (Obatzda)

By: Julia Foerster

Obatzda, a flavorful German Beer Cheese Spread, is a beer garden classic made with camembert cheese, butter, and beer! This easy cheese dip can be made ahead and makes a delicious appetizer or snack with pretzels or rustic bread. Perfect for your next Oktoberfest party!

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 6 oz Spreadable cheese, like Laughing Cow Creamy Swiss
  • 7 oz Brie , or Camembert Cheese
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 4 tbsp wheat beer
  • 1/2 tsp caraway, ground
  • 1 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • 1/4 cup chives, finely chopped
  • 1 white onion, finely sliced

Cups - Metric

Instructions

  • Cut the Brie (or Camembert) Cheese into small cubes and add it to a medium bowl.

  • Add Laughing cow cheese, butter, wheat beer, ground caraway, ground paprika, salt, and freshly ground pepper and mix with a fork until combined and smooth.

  • Cover airtight and let it sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.

  • Take it out of the fridge and let come to room temperature before serving. Garnish with chives and finely sliced onion rings. This dip keeps fresh in the fridge for about 3 days (without onions).

Nutrition

Calories: 211kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 423mg | Potassium: 65mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 615IU | Vitamin C: 1.7mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 0.2mg

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Categorized as:
Appetizer Recipes, German Recipes

About Julia Foerster

Hi, I'm Julia! Born in Germany, I call Canada now my home and love to share my favorite dishes with you! Here you'll find hundreds of recipes, all made from scratch, with lots of tips and detailed step-by-step instructions.

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Obatzda Recipe (German Beer Cheese Dip) (2024)

FAQs

What is Obatzda made of? ›

Obatzda, also known as Obatzder or Obazda, is an orange-colored Bavarian cheese spread that's made from combining aged soft cheese (usually camembert) with butter, some Frischkäse (can use quark or cream cheese), onion, and spices. A splash or two of beer is also a popular addition.

What is Obazda in English? ›

Obatzda [ˈoːbatsdɐ] (also spelt Obazda and Obatzter) is a Bavarian cheese spread. It is prepared by mixing two thirds aged soft cheese, usually Camembert (Romadur or similar cheeses may be used as well) and one third butter.

What is the best beer to use for beer cheese? ›

I used Fat Tire because that what I had on hand, but Budweiser, Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller Lite are all good options. No need to use anything fancy! What brands of cheese do you recommend? For the Cheddar, you can use a good supermarket brand, like Cabot or Tillamook.

Does the alcohol cook out of beer cheese dip? ›

Roughly speaking: Beer cheese sauce, bourbon caramel and other sauces brought to a boil and then removed from the heat typically retain about 85 percent of the alcohol. Diane, cherries jubilee and other recipes that flame the alcohol may still have 75 percent of the alcohol.

What is beer cheese dip made of? ›

Beer cheese dip is typically made by heating beer with ingredients like garlic, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce in a saucepan until the beer reduces, mixing in cheese and milk, and continuing to cook until the cheese is melted. The resulting mixture is a cheesy spread that can be served warm or cool.

Is beer cheese a German thing? ›

Obatzda is a traditional Bavarian beer cheese dip or spread. In Munich it is served with fresh pretzels or rye bread (aka Roggenbrot in Germany). It can be made with a variety of soft cheeses but it usually features Camembert.

What is the history of Obatzda? ›

Obatzda History

Obatzda dates back to the 1800s when it was first created by an innkeeper called Katharina Eisenreich. It's thought she made the tasty dish using leftover ingredients, and the dish proved to be wildly popular with the guests at her Bavarian inn. Obatzda was extremely popular during the 1920s.

What to eat with beer cheese dip? ›

Beer Cheese Dip Board
  • Crusty bread, soft pretzels, bread sticks, or garlic knots.
  • Apples or pears.
  • Tortilla chips, croutons, or hard pretzels.
  • Peppers, celery, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, roasted potatoes, or fries.
  • Pepperoni, steak bites, salami, sausage links, or meatballs.
Sep 19, 2023

Can children eat beer cheese dip? ›

Can I serve beer cheese dip to kids? It's a little tricky. Most of the alcohol cooks off, leaving just the beer's flavor behind. While some residual alcohol could remain, it's a very minor amount.

Can beer cheese go bad? ›

Is it safe to eat? Our ice packs keep the temperature cold for 3 days. If the beer cheese arrives within the 3-day window, it is perfectly safe to eat.

How do you thicken beer cheese dip? ›

While the beer heating up, combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of warm water in a small bowl. Add the cornstarch slurry to the boiling beer, whisking constantly to fully incorporate it. Bring the beer back up to a boil, at which point the cornstarch slurry will slightly thicken the beer.

Why is my beer cheese dip grainy? ›

Adjust the cheese-to-liquid ratio: If the sauce is still gritty, it could be due to an imbalance between the cheese and liquid. Try adding a bit more liquid, such as milk or beer, to the sauce and whisking it until smooth. This can help create a better consistency [2].

How do you fix a broken beer cheese dip? ›

There's a way to save gritty cheese sauces, and you likely already have it in your fridge: lemon juice. A squirt of lemon comes to the rescue of ruined sauces in a pinch. All you have to do is cool the broken sauce, add a tablespoon of lemon juice (or white wine, if you don't mind the flavor), and whisk vigorously.

What is German beer made of? ›

As one of the oldest alcohol-based beverages, beer's many stages of development go back to early times. But today's beer production has been perfected in Germany. For over 500 years, the German Purity Law has ensured clearly regulated ingredients: Water, malt, hops, yeast - and nothing else. Anything else is not beer.

What is German mountain cheese? ›

Bergkäse (German for 'mountain cheese') refers to a number of varieties of cheese produced in the Alps. This includes products of mountain farming, the cultivation of alpine pastures as well as the milk processing of local producers in dairies.

What is in Oktoberfest beer? ›

Each beer served at Oktoberfest in Munich must go by the Reinheitsgebot, meaning each beer has a minimum of 13.5% Stammwürze (which translates to approximately 6% alcohol) and must be "pure" - containing only water, barley, hops, yeast, wheat malt and/or cane sugar.

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