Pumpkin Beer Cheddar Soup With Spicy Maple Chex

Heat a large dutch oven over medium heat on the stove top until warm, about 3-4 minutes. Add the diced pancetta to the dutch oven. Stir the pancetta every 1-2 minutes and cook until they’re browned and cooked through, about 7-9 minutes. 

Remove the pancetta from the dutch oven and transfer to a bowl. Leave any grease released from the pancetta in the dutch oven.

Add the yellow onion, carrots, and celery into the dutch oven. Toss to coat in the remaining pancetta grease. Cook the vegetables, stirring every 1-2 minutes until they are very soft. About 10 minutes. Add the garlic, ground yellow mustard, kosher salt, and black pepper to the onion mixture. Stir to incorporate and cook everything for 1 minute more.

Add the unsalted butter to the dutch oven and allow it to melt. Once melted, sprinkle in the all purpose flour. Stir the flour into the melted butter. Stir continuously, scraping any flour stuck to the bottom of the pan, until the flour turns a golden color, about 3-4 minutes.

Pour in the chicken broth and stir to combine. Add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin beer, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer the soup for about 20 minutes on low heat.

While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 300°F and set out a large baking sheet. Add the Chex cereal, melted butter, chili powder, sweet paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper to the baking sheet. Toss to coat the Chex in the butter and spices.

Toast the Chex in the oven for 20 minutes. Once the toasted Chex cereal is out of the oven, immediately drizzle them with maple syrup. Toss to coat in the syrup and set aside.

When you’re ready to serve this pumpkin beer cheese soup, stir in the heavy cream and add the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir to combine the ingredients together, and continue to stir until the cheddar cheese is melted in. Add the browned pancetta back into the soup and stir to combine.

Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a handful of the chili maple Chex. Enjoy!