If you have been keeping up with my series of articles on all things beer-related, you can attest to the fact that I love Guinness.
I will drink just about any type of ale (lagers are generally not my thing), and Guinness is hands-down my favorite ale of all time.
It’s thick (having what you would call a good “mouth feel”) and robustly flavorful and creamy, and leaves you with a hint of chocolate or toffee in your mouth.
It is downright divine, and such is my love for the brew that of course I cook with it, too!
Many people are familiar with cooking with wine, of course. (Remind me to share my red wine marinara recipe with you guys soon.) Some of you may also be used to using beer for marinades and such as well.
However, I bet only a few of you have ever thought to use beer in your baking. Of course, not just any beer will work as a baking ingredient.
Guinness has that sweet maltiness that cooking just enhances, and it goes particularly well with chocolate, sort of like coffee.
Come to think of it, Guinness has some coffee notes to it as well, so that makes even more sense to me now.
Anyway, I am here today to share with you a couple of hearty main dish ideas using Guinness and a few different dessert ideas as well.
While you might not normally think of these two entrees as summertime fare, one is made in the slow cooker and the other cooks in the oven, so there will be no slaving over a hot stove top when making either of these, and sometimes you just want comfort food, even if it is 100 degrees outside.
As for the desserts, is there ever a wrong time for chocolate? I think not!
Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew
A good beef stew is one of those things that I can eat any time of year, hot or cold, if I am in the mood for something warm and comforting.
Guinness-Braised Pork Loin
This is one of those rare dishes that is pretty enough for company but easy enough for any day.
- 1 2 - pound pork loin
- 1 bottle of Guinness
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 -3 sprigs fresh thyme minced
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary minced
- 2 tablespoons honey
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Season the pork loin liberally on all sides with salt and pepper. Mix garlic, thyme, rosemary, and honey to make a paste and rub all over the pork as well.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and sear the pork on all sides to get a nice, golden crust.
- Remove the pork loin to a roasting pan and pour in the bottle of Guinness. Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for 1 1/2 hours. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before removing from pan to serve.
- You can make a gravy by melting 2 tablespoons of butter, stirring in 2 tablespoons of flour and cooking for 2 minutes. Pour in a little of the pan juices from the roasting pan and whisk well to dissolve the flour. Bring to a low boil to thicken, and you’re done. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired. Also, you can add a pan of potatoes to roast with the pork during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Yum!
That’s it for my non-dessert ideas. Now, on to the good stuff!
Chocolate is my very best friend. We “talk” at least once a day, so of course, I have a couple of yummy recipes for you that use chocolate and Guinness together.
These are all delicious, so please try at least one of them, and don’t even think about waiting until next St. Patrick’s day!
Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Bailey’s Buttercream Frosting
If you have a real chocolate lover in your life who also enjoys a little alcohol every once in a while, this makes a great birthday treat. I know this because I made some for myself on my birthday last year.
Divine!
The cupcakes are dark and decadent and oh-so-rich, and the buttercream is luscious and contrasts with the dark chocolate cake so very nicely. I mean, can you really go wrong with the combination of Guinness and Bailey’s?
This is one special dessert!
Fudgy Guinness Brownies
One of my favorite homemade chocolate treats is a really fudgy brownie, and I most frequently serve mine warm on top of some vanilla ice cream drowning in hot fudge.
There are few desserts more soul-warming and as deeply satisfying to me.
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This good, old-fashioned treat gets a malty remake with the addition of Guinness, which gives it a subtle but noticeable update. They are absolutely fantastic on their own, but they really are over-the-top delicious as brownie a la mode, and you could also serve them with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting.
The tang of the cream cheese cuts the richness of the brownie quite nicely.
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- 1/2 cup Guinness stout
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate finely chopped
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cup granulated Sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease a 9x9 baking pan or line with parchment paper.
- Bring the Guinness to a boil over medium-high heat in a small saucepan, and then continue to boil until it’s reduced to approximately 1/4 cup. This should take about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Using a separate saucepan, bring a little water to a simmer, and place the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl over the top to create a double boiler to melt the ingredients. Stir frequently until the chocolate and butter are melted and smooth. Again, remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sugar, eggs and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Next, whisk in the melted chocolate mixture, and then add the reduced Guinness.
- To the wet ingredients, fold in the flour and salt, mixing well so that no white streaks remain in the batter.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack; cool completely before cutting and serving, or you risk the brownie crumbling on you- not the prettiest presentation.
These are just a few Guinness recipes for you to try, but there are a ton of other great recipes out there. Don’t be afraid to experiment in the kitchen yourself, either.
Stews and soups are both great places to add in beer or wine to give the flavor some oomph.
Likewise, sauces are a great place for the addition of alcohol to add some depth of flavor.
In baking, pretty much any chocolate recipe can be updated with Guinness in place of some other liquid ingredient, such as coffee.
Of course, Guinness isn’t the only beer you can cook with; there are plenty of other beers that are great for cooking with as well. I particularly love using lighter beers like Corona and Dos Equis for marinating steaks for grilling.
Hopefully these recipes will be a good jumping-off point for you.
About Ashley Martell
Ashley has enjoyed creative writing since she was six years old, when she wrote her first short story. She majored in English literature at the University of Montevallo. After years of professional work, she is now a stay-at-home mom of three, who uses her craft to write about her life and adventures in and out of the kitchen.
In the past I have eaten beer battered fish. It was OK but I’m not eating it anytime soon. I also tried chocolates filled with things like champagne. Now that is something I look forward to from time to time. Cooking with alcoholic beverages is cool if you know how to bring out the flavors.
Oooh! These look like great ideas. I think the cupcakes will go over well at my BIL’s birthday. It makes sense to mix beer and chocolate when you hear it, but it’s not a thought that naturally occurs, you know?
My favourite beer recipe is for beer pancakes. Like these, it’s one of those things you’d never even think about trying, but they’re surprisingly fantastic. Good for camping trips, too.
I have to confess; I have never heard of anything that’s been cooked with beer. I have only heard of wine. In fact, it has never crossed my mind to add beer to any recipe. Which is funny because I always have a bottle next to me when I’m cooking.
I’ll experiment with the baking for starters to see how good it tastes. It looks very promising from the photos.
I love these genius Guinness recipes! Guinness is my beer of choice also (to drink – and to took with). I’ve cooked with IPA’s, which is also amazing, but there’s just nothing like a cup of Guinness in a stew. Especially in desserts – those fudge brownies look awesome. I made a chocolate Guinness espresso cake with Guinness mascarpone frosting. Great idea to add the Baileys Irish Cream in the cupcake butter cream; I may try that one!
Where the cupcakes and brownies are, I’ll be there in a heartbeat. I had no clue one can use Guinness or any other type of lager/ale in a cooking recipe, but as the saying goes, “anything and everything is possible”…I’ll be trying out these recipes some time soon. Page bookmarked. 🙂
Whoa. That stew had me craving some right now! It looks very comforting, and I can practically taste it! Pair that with the (heavenly) brownies after, and I think I may have my next birthday’s dinner present for myself! Thank you for sharing these awesome recipes! I am most certainly going to save these and try them in the VERY near future.
Bookmarked! These look great. I’ve always found Guinness to taste quite a bit different depending on how you buy it (tap, can, etc), but I still enjoy it. I’ve heard the factory tour is quite fun.
I have heard stouts, stilettos, and porters are great for marinading meat in because they help reduce some of the cancer causing particles that are brought out by grilling.
I’ve seen that cupcake recipe somewhere before. Meant to try it, but I live alone and don’t want to cook a whole bunch of cupcakes for myself.
Hmmmm… I never would have dreamed of adding ale to the chocolaty goodness of baked goods, but yeah, I can totally see it. I like that kind of rich taste, or aftertaste. I get a little hint of a coffee flavor from Guinness as well, which would definitely work.
In fact, all these ideas sound good to me, and I happen to have some of this beverage in my refrigerator as we speak. Now, I just have to figure out which item I should try first. The pork sounds lovely, but then again, desserts are my downfall. Dinner? Dessert? Tough choice!
Now I have an excuse as to why I will be filling up my fridge with Guinness. I mean, who would have thought that all this amazing recipes that you shared could actually ever exist. You are just awesome. The best part; it works with beef too? Genius!!!
Absolutely wonderful selection of recipes! I hope these brownies are travel-friendly! My best friend’s birthday was on the 23 of this month, and he is a huge fan of Guiness. I will have to send them to him, providing I don’t finish them all first!
I have to agree with you, this is one of my favorite beers, but I had never thought about using it in the kitchen.
That slow-cooked beef stew looks absolutely delicious, I’m a huge fan of beef stews, and like you, I have them in every season of the year. Besides, I love slow-cooked melt-in-your-mouth meat and I’m sure the beer will enhance its flavor. That Pork loin looks like something I’d want to try out too!
But if I was already drooling over your main dishes, the desserts left me open-mouthed. Those chocolate cupcakes looks to die for, I can almost feel the delicous contrast between the dark chocolate and the sweet frosting. Bailey’s is one of my favorite liqueurs. The brownies look divine too, there’s not a single recipe in this post that I haven’t saved. Thank you so much!