Skillet Cheddar-Bacon Beer Bread is a savory quick bread with smoky bacon, sharp cheddar, and green onions. Golden and crisp on the outside and moist and fluffy on the inside, it’s the perfect pair to your favorite hearty soup or homemade chili.
As much as I love the inviting aroma and satisfying taste of homemade bread, I find working with yeast a little too tedious for my blood. Blooming of the yeast, kneading the dough, and waiting for it to rise are a bit too much for my inner child who wants instant gratification.
So on days when I crave the warmth and comfort of a fresh loaf straight out of the oven, I depend on this skillet cheddar-bacon beer bread to make it happen. With simple easy steps, basic pantry ingredients, and about 5 minutes prep time, it’s virtually foolproof!
In its most basic form, beer bread is a simple mixture of flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and beer but I love to throw in crisp bacon, shredded cheddar, and green onions to kick things up a notch. The flavor is unbelievable! You get a golden, crisp crust and a moist, buttery inner loaf interspersed with smoky bacon and sharp cheddar that’s sure to win raves!
You’ll definitely enjoy dunking this hearty beer bread in your favorite soup or pairing it with homemade chili. Try drenching thick slices with sausage gravy to go with your breakfast eggs in the morning (one of my guilty pleasures).
Here are a few quick tips on how to pull together this scrumptious skillet cheddar-bacon beer bread deliciously every time:
- As most quick bread, beer bread uses baking powder as the leavening agent instead of yeast. Check the expiration of your baking powder and make sure it’s fresh to ensure a full rise.
- Preheat your oven before you start preparing the batter. You don’t want the batter to stand too long before it goes into the oven as it may cause the middle of the bread to sink.
- Do NOT overmix the batter. Once you add the beer to the flour mixture, stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Overmixing the batter will result in peaks, tunnels, and tough texture. A few lumps here and there are GOOD. The batter for this beer bread is very thick so please don’t be tempted to add more liquid.
- Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture instead of pouring the beer all over. This will help you combine the wet and dry ingredients uniformly, preventing overmixing.
- You can use any of your favorite beer, I find the subtle flavors of a lager-style such as Stella Artois complement this skillet cheddar-bacon beer bread best.
- The melted butter poured on the batter before baking helps the crust crisp and brown beautifully.
- If the top is browning way before the inside is cooked through, loosely tent with foil.
I like to bake this beer bread in my trusty cast iron skillet as I love how rustic it looks and how I can bring the skillet to the dinner table to help keep the bread warm while we eat. You can, of course, use a loaf pan, if you like, and adjust the cooking time to about 1 hour. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 3 cups flour
- 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 bottle (12 ounces) lager-style beer
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons green onions, chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- In a skillet over medium heat, add bacon and cook until brown and crisp. With a slotted spoon, remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
- In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Stir to combine. Add bacon, cheese, and green onions. Stir to combine. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add beer. Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.
- Spray a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer batter to skillet and with a spatula spread evenly. Pour melted butter over batter.
- Bake in preheated for about 50 to 55 minutes or until top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from heat and allow to slightly cool before slicing. Serve warm.
Nutrition Information
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Maggie says
Five minutes prep time? !! Seriously? The first step alone – cooking the bacon – will take at least 15 minutes. Exactly when does your five minute timer for “Prep Time” start?
Lalaine says
Cooking the bacon is calculated in the cooking time. Prep time is getting your ingredients ready for cooking.
Ann Santini says
I have made this recipe twice now. We love it as simple thing for lunch has everything in it as a meal in one. Even nice the next day put in the sandwich press lightly toasted to warm back up. Thank you for the recipe.
Phil H. says
So, rather than comment on how pretty the photograph is (as many commenters have), I made this bread.
I used Elephunk IPA by Odell brewery, a hoppy beer with lots of flavor. First taste from this bread is sweet and hits the tongue fast, then I get the flavor from the green onions. The bacon and cheese are lost in the sweetness and onion flavor. In our household two people liked it, two people didn’t.
I’ll sample this bread again tomorrow and see if it mellows. Sugary onions didn’t appeal to me on the first tasting.
The texture is nice, soft and moist in the middle with a great crusty top.
I will try making this bread again sometime and use much less sugar, I may also leave out the onions.
Will Pierson says
Perfect! I have made a few different beer breads, and this is a keeper! The addition of green onions is the game changer. BTW, I used Sierra Nevada cerveza, and recommended a semi-hoppy lager. Thanks for posting!