16 Best Guinness Recipes That Let You Cook With Beer

Irish Stew and Guinness — StockFood / Getty Images

Guinness is a great beer to drink at the pub, but it's also a fantastic cooking ingredient. Known as "The Black Stuff," Guinness Stout is a very dark beer with an unmistakable taste. When that rich, roasted wheat flavor finds its way into food, it lends a new dimension to the dish.

As you might suspect, Guinness is a favorite ingredient in many Irish dishes. It's also a perfect pairing for chocolate and found in many delicious dessert recipes. Better yet, many of these don't require a full bottle. Go ahead and drink the excess while you cook, we won't tell!

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Beef and Guinness Pie

The Spruce Eats / Elaine Lemm

The signature Guinness food recipe is also an Irish favorite, and it does not get more authentic than a classic beef and Guinness pie. Encased in a homemade pastry, the filling includes beef and vegetables, and the beer brings all the flavors together. It's a well-balanced meal in a single dish and delicious as it sounds.
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Beef and Guinness Stew

The Spruce Eats

The bold flavor of a dark stout is the not-so-secret ingredient to beef and Guinness stew recipe. Beef, bacon, carrots, and potatoes pack this hearty and flavorful stew, and the recipe is easy to follow. Simmered on the stovetop, it's a perfect recipe for a cold day.
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Guinness Beer Brats

The Spruce Eats

Beer brats are delicious, and you can choose any beer you like. Yet, as with many beer food recipes, Guinness is one of your best options because of its dark, robust flavor. Making beer brats at home is incredibly easy because it requires just four ingredients, and you'll simply finish cooking the brats in a beer reduction.
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Guinness Marinade

Gillian Vann/Stocksy United

A good, all-around marinade with a Guinness base can be very useful in the kitchen or on the grill. This flavorful mix celebrates the stout, backing it up with garlic, onion, shallot, Dijon mustard, and fresh herbs. Try it on steak, chicken, pork, and any of your favorite vegetables.

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Cheddar and Beer Fondue

The Spruce Eats / Diana Rattray

Cheese dip with beer is a favorite party appetizer, and it requires minimal effort to make. Nearly any style of beer works in this cheddar fondue recipe, though the caramel flavor of Guinness is especially delicious against sharp cheddar. Use it as a dipper or to top an indulgent plate of nachos.
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Guinness Soda Bread

The Sprue Eats / Elaine Lemm

Soda bread meets Guinness for the ultimate Irish recipe. It's a quick bread, so there's no yeast involved, and it's ready within an hour. The recipe expands on the average Irish soda bread with brown sugar, molasses, and beer, resulting in a deep, dark flavor that is unforgettable.
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Guinness and Cheddar Biscuits

The Spruce Eats / Diana Rattray

Cheddar biscuits are a perfect complement to almost any meal, and they're even better with Guinness. The deep stout flavor plays well off the cheddar and lighter bread. Best of all, these easy biscuits can be prepared and baked in less than 30 minutes.
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Guinness Rarebit

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A classic Irish dish, rarebit is a simple but flavorful recipe. Essentially, it's toast topped with melted cheese, but it's so much more than that. The cheddar is mixed with mustard, Worcestershire sauce, egg, and Guinness, leaving you with a delicious lunch or snack to enjoy.

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09 of 16

Irish Nachos

The Spruce Eats / S&C Design Studios

Bring the taste of an Irish pub home with a plate of Irish nachos. Instead of tortilla chips, this party platter starts with a layer of potato rounds. Canned cheese flavored with Guinness, garlic, and jalapeño makes a quick no-cook beer cheese topping. Add a herbal salt blend, bacon crumbles, green salsa, and sour cream, and a snack is ready for a pint and a few friends.
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Guinness Jelly

The Spruce Eats / Sean Timberlake

Have you thought about preserving Guinness? If you've tried wine jellies, the next logical step is beer jelly, and the stout is the perfect brew for the job. It's as easy as any other canning recipe and surprisingly useful. You'll find it a delight with cheeses and as a glaze for meats.
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Guinness Brownies

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Wonderful things happen when Guinness and chocolate come together. The beer's natural chocolate notes intensify the chocolate flavor, and that makes Guinness brownies the ultimate indulgence. There's little difference from other brownie recipes, though this one uses dark bittersweet, semisweet, and white chocolate chips as well as cocoa powder. It's a chocolate lover's dream!
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Guinness Black and White Chocolate Mousse

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One taste of this black and white mousse will make you a believer in the pairing of Guinness and chocolate. In this recipe, the beer goes into the semisweet chocolate layer, and that's topped with a white chocolate mousse. The result is a tempting, creamy dessert that's fabulous after any meal.

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Beer Cake

Kristina Vanni

Dark beer like Guinness makes a natural pairing for chocolate. They come together to make this delicious, moist beer cake with chopped cherries and walnuts mixed into the batter. A little more beer is added to the creamy chocolate frosting for flavor.
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Chocolate-Orange Guinness Cake

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A hint of orange adds intrigue to the dynamic dessert duo in this luscious Guinness cake recipe. The citrus flavor complements both chocolate and Guinness, so it's a natural fit for the double-layered cake. Finish it off with a rich buttery, citrus-kissed icing that melts in your mouth, and you have a fabulous chocolate dessert.
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Guinness Truffles

The Spruce Eats / Elizabeth LaBau

An ideal nibble for any beer lover, Guinness truffles are a lot of fun to eat and rather easy to make. Guinness and chocolate fill the little treats and the chocolate candy coating traps them inside. These truffles are perfect with something salty like crushed pretzels sprinkled on top.
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Guinness & Green Jello Shot

The Spruce Eats / S&C Design Studios

A tasty treat that is reserved for adults, Guinness makes an excellent addition to spiked gelatin. The stout is combined with Irish whiskey for the bottom layer of the Guinness & Green jello shots. Irish cream and green food coloring make up the top. The taste is surprisingly neutral but distinctly Irish and a lot of fun for a party.