Here’s Our Copycat for Applebee’s Beer Cheese

Updated: Jan. 22, 2024

Featuring two flavorful cheeses and your preferred Belgian beer, this dip is sure to curb your craving for the beloved restaurant appetizer!

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If you love re-creating restaurant favorites at home as much as we do, you’ll want to add this recipe to your repertoire. Our copycat Applebee’s Beer Cheese recipe is creamy, packed with flavor and perfect for sharing.

The Applebee’s cheese dip uses Blue Moon, which is a Belgian-style witbier. For this version, you can use any kind of Belgian beer. I recommend blonde ales to add a crisp, light flavor. You can also use dark ales for a toasty, malty flavor and just a touch of bitterness.

Editor’s Tip: With a few simple ingredients, you can also make the best-ever homemade Applebee’s spinach artichoke dip.

First: Choose the Right Kind of Cheese

Using the right kind of cheese is key in creating a silky-smooth beer cheese dip. You don’t want to use whatever’s lingering in your cheese drawer! When choosing the best cheeses to use, look for these characteristics: flavor and meltability. Pick a cheese that you would enjoy alongside a beer. Skip the pre-shredded stuff because it doesn’t melt well.

The best cheeses for an Applebee’s-style beer cheese dip are:

American (offers great texture, but not a lot of flavor)
Cheddar
Emmental (aka Emmentaler)
Gouda
Gruyère (it’s a cheese worth keeping on hand—here’s why)
Young cheddar

Just like Applebee’s, I used plenty white cheddar in the recipe below, but you can definitely try different combinations.

How to Make Applebee’s Beer Cheese Dip

This recipe takes 20 minutes to make and yields about 2½ cups.

Ingredients

2 cups Gouda, shredded
2 cups white cheddar, shredded
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1¼ cups Belgian beer of choice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
¼ teaspoon cayenne

Step 1: Prep the Cheese

In a large bowl, toss cheeses and cornstarch together. (The cornstarch will thicken the dip and keep it from separating into a greasy puddle. See what other magic you can work with cornstarch.)

Step 2: Melt and Stir

In a saucepan, heat your beer, garlic, mustard and pepper over medium heat until simmering. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add a handful of the cheese mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until completely melted.

Continue adding cheese a handful at a time, allowing cheese to melt completely between additions.

Saucepan with beer cheese dip on napkin; Shutterstock ID 612893342; Job (TFH, TOH, RD, BNB, CWM, CM): Taste of Home Africa Studio/Shutterstock

Step 3: Finish and Garnish

Once all of the cheese has been added and melted, stir in cayenne and season with salt. Serve with warm Soft Giant Pretzels or Soft Beer Pretzel Nuggets.

But we couldn’t stop there…we also re-created Applebee’s unique Blond Brownies a la Mode and their out-of-this-world Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes, among others. Enjoy!

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Fajita Burger WrapsThis combo gives you a tender burger, crisp veggies and a crunchy shell, plus fajita flavor. Kids love it. —Antonio Smith, Canal Winchester, Ohio