I’m no chef but I fully recognize how many love to cook with craft beer almost as much as they like to drink. So why not share some recipes for cooking with craft beer at Christmas.

Adding craft beer to your favorite dishes at the most festive time of the year can only make things better.

So below are some new recipes that I’ve found that make me desire to use beer in more of my cooking; especially this time of year. Take a look and then feel free to share your favorite beer recipe in the comments.

Beverage

Beer is already a drink so it seems a little odd to use beer to make other alcoholic drinks. Until I saw that you can use beer in egg nog – then I was immediately sold on the idea.

Anchor Brewing has a recipe that includes using their Christmas Ale to make egg nog. And I am sure you could substitute a Christmas Ale from other breweries as well.

My only suggestion would be to focus on ales that provide a nice sweet, spiced flavor. Anything that is too hoppy might be a little odd in this traditionally sweet drink.

Try these Christmas Ales in this egg nog recipe:

Related Article: What Is A Christmas Ale?

Breakfast

Beer for breakfast? It’s not something I really think about doing but I know it is quite popular; especially on a Holiday.

So this recipe for crepes made with beer might be just the touch you need to take your breakfast beer to the next level.

The recipe doesn’t specify what style of beer to use but I think that is dependent on how you plan on using them.

For sweet, fruit filled crepes, I would recommend something light without any harsh flavors. For example, a hefeweizen would work well. I also think a heavily fruited beer would be a nice touch. For example, a Kriek (cherry lambic) would do quite well.

If you want to make a savory crepe, then you can consider a much wider variety of craft beers. Try a brown ale or an IPA. Avoid sweet beers in this situation and focus on malt and hop flavors.

It is recommended that the beer is well carbonated as the CO2 helps make the crepes light and airy.

Appetizer

Is there a better way to prepare to eat than to eat?

I don’t think there’s anything better than eating with friends and family around the Holidays.

So I decided to pick an appetizer that would work well as a pre-dinner item as well as a party snack.

This onion dip recipe is made in a crock pot which makes it even easier to prepare.

Slow Cooker Stout Caramelized Onion Dip From The Beeroness

Here are my picks for stouts to use:

Side Dish

I know that most of us are still recovering from Thanksgiving but I couldn’t pass up on sharing this recipe for sweet potatoes.

First off, I am a huge fan of sweet potatoes in any form – baked, fries, mashed, etc. I don’t think there’s a sweet potato that I haven’t enjoyed.

One of the things like like about this food is that you can get away with adding brown sugar to a dish that is served with dinner. And this recipe does that but also adds in beer.

Beer And Brown Sugar Sweet Potatoes Recipe From The Beeroness

The recipe calls for a brown ale; here are some suggestions:

Dinner

Cooking can be intimidating especially when it comes to the main course. You can mess up an appetizer or side dish and people will forgive you.

But mess up the main course on Christmas and the day may be ruined.

So when I came across this receipt for an “easy” pork roast, I thought it would be the perfect addition to my list.

While it takes hours to roast, it only takes minutes to prep. So there isn’t much effort in a recipe like this one.

Easy Beer Pork Roast Recipe

Much like many beer recipes, they are vague when it comes to what beer to use. In many cases, that means they are probably referring to an American domestic beer. But that’s no fun so here are some options to help bring more flavor to this dish.

Desserts

I love bread pudding. Ok, maybe love isn’t a strong enough word for how I feel about it. It is my go-to dessert and I probably should have started a site dedicated to bread pudding instead of craft beer.

Bread pudding is great because it rarely is the same. Based on the type of bread and how stale it is, the bread pudding will be unique each time. In addition, you can add raisins, nuts and other spices that you prefer to change it up.

It’s a dessert that you can really customize to your preferences; including using craft beer.

Beer And Bagel Bread Pudding From nelliebellie

This recipe recommends the use of a dark beer but I think the options are almost limitless. I don’t think I would use a hoppy, bitter beer but many other styles would work. For example, a fruited wheat beer would add a nice touch.

Here are some suggestions to consider:

20 Craft Beer Christmas Gift Ideas

Cooking With Craft Beer At Christmas

So who’s going to try some of these recipes?

One of my goals for the coming year is to be more adventurous with cooking with craft beer. I’ve only tried it a few times and want to make it something I do more often.

Cooking with beer used to mean pouring an American lager into a recipe or making beer can chicken. But craft beer is helping to redefine what it means to cook with beer. So don’t be afraid to take your love of craft beer into the kitchen and get cooking with it.