Have you ever heard of this cheese dip? Do you know what Obatzda cheese exactly is? Well it is a super creamy beer cheese dip from Bavaria in Germany that contains surprising ingredients such as camembert, butter, beer and fresh chives!
What?
Are you serious?
Now who on earth first came up with this Obatzda dip idea!
I mean, camembert and butter!
Well I agree, it might sound a bit funny in the beginning. But I can guarantee you that this boozy cheese dip is to die for. Here at home we loooove this Obatzda cheese dip!
And it is about time you tried it out as well.
Believe me, you will not be disappointed.
Best German Obatzda Cheese & Beer Dip
Funny name right?
Obatzda is German, let me tell you that first.
More specifically, it comes from the lovely region of Bavaria. I set my teeth in this cheesy goodie the very first in Munich. In one of these Biergarten style German pubs that you can find all over this lovely city.
I think it was at a popular pub or café called Augustiner Stammhaus. Some locals avoid it because it tends to be packed with tourists.
But we like it.
Brotzeit
So there you can order Brotzeit, which a plate of cold cuts pickled vegetables, butter and bread. And on one of those plates was a scoop of that fantastic looking Obatzda cheese dip.
I thought at first that it would be more like a cream cheese.
But wow, that sticky creamy texture will blow you away.
It is addictive, especially in the company of a good crisp Kölsch beer!
But let’s get to the point here, what goes exactly into this Obatzda recipe?
Camembert Cheese
Let me warn you first.
If you are counting calories, then you better cover your eyes and ears now. Or click away. Because this Obatzda is not a cheese dip for the faint of heart.
And here is why.
Traditional Obatzda cheese (or Obazda, its spelling can differ quite a bit) contains ⅔ of soft cheese (mainly camembert, brie is fine too) and ⅓ of soft unsalted butter.
Some recipes also add ricotta or mascarpone.
I bet that your calorie counter just went through the roof.
Beer
I changed the ratio a little bit here in my recipe below.
And yep, sure this would not be a German recipe if it didn’t contain any beer.
Another important ingredient that goes into it is a pinch of spicy ground paprika which makes this lush cheese dip turn into a light orange color. I also add spring onion, chives or red onions to give it some extra freshness and crunch.
Pretzels
This Obatzda recipe has a great number of versions.
I sometimes even add horseradish. Serve the cheese dip with… pretzel bread or salted pretzel snacks of course.
One tip: make sure that the camembert cheese is very ripe and pungent but put it in the fridge for a few hours before you prepare this dip. The cold cheese will be much easier to peel. If it is too soft and gooey you will struggle to peel the sticky cheese properly.
Liptauer
My niece Els told me that this cheese dip is actually quite similar to the Austrian Liptauer cheese dip!
Hey, one more thing. Have you noticed that I spell Obatzda with a capital throughout this blog post?
Well that is because all German nouns start with a capital.
Just saying!
Do you love cooking with beer?
Then you should also take a look at my lush beer and cheese soup from scratch! Now that I come to think of it, my beer and cheese soup actually tastes like a liquid Obatzda cheese dip!
Enjoy!
Best German Obatzda Recipe (Beer & Cheese Dip)
Do you know Obatzda? It's a super creamy cheese dip from Bavaria (Germany) containing camembert, butter, beer and fresh chives!
- 9 oz camembert cheese (250 g), very ripe
- 3 oz unsalted butter (85 g), very soft
- ½ tsp paprika powder
- a handful fresh chives chopped
- 1 spring onion
- 2 tbsp Belgian dark ale
- salt
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1. Peel the camembert cheese: put it in the fridge for a couple of hours until it is firm and easier to peel. Then transfer the peeled chunks to a blender and let the cheese reach room temperature again.
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2. Blend for a few seconds. Then also add the soft butter.
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3. Blend again until you get a very soft and creamy mixture. Add the spicy paprika.
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4. Then blend again. The soft cheese mixture should turn orange now. Also add the chopped chives and beer.
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5. Blend again. Then transfer the creamy obatzda mixture to a plate or bowl. Add the sliced spring onion (optional: this will make the obatzda very strong, if you have trouble digesting raw onion then I suggest you leave it out).
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6. Stir well. Check the seasoning of the obatzda and add extra spicy paprika or salt to taste. Then transfer the obatzda cheese dip to a clean cup and serve with pretzels snacks or bread.
Dat ga ik zeker proberen! En vermits ik in Duitsland woon, heb ik al direct een goed testpubliek 🙂
Looks delicious!