Obatzda is a delicious German beer cheese dip made with just a couple of ingredients. It’s so good it’s really hard to stop eating it! Serve it with soft pretzels, soft pretzel bites, or crunchy fresh veggies. This dip would be perfect for an Oktoberfest party!
What is Obatzda
Obatzda is a popular German recipe but it’s especially popular in Southern Germany (Bavaria). It can be called Obatzda, Obazda, or Obatzter. In Germany, it’s served more as a spread than a dip, with pretzels or just bread. It’s a classic appetizer that you can get in a German Biergarten (beer garden) or in a restaurant.
This is an authentic German recipe but this Americanized beer cheese dip is also delicious! Obatzda is much thicker than American beer cheese dip and the flavor is also completely different. Obatzda is also similar in flavor to Austrian Liptauer spread/dip.
How to pronounce Obatzda? It’s pronounced “O-bats-duh”.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this delicious dip:
- Camembert cheese – adds a characteristic sharp flavor to the dip. There’s no way you can omit it, but even if you’re not a fan of Camembert cheese on its own you will still like this dip! The sharp flavor of Camembert is softened with spreadable cheese and butter. If you don’t know that Camembert is in this dip, you won’t guess it! You can substitute Brie cheese.
- Spreadable cheese – spreadable cheese wedges. You can also use regular cream cheese but it tastes a little bit better with spreadable cheese. In Germany, a cheese similar to cream cheese is used, called ‘Frischkäse’.
- Butter
- Beer – just a small amount. It’s used to dilute the dip so it’s less thick. You can also use non-alcoholic beer or milk. Use any kind of beer that you like to drink.
- Spices – caraway seeds and paprika are traditional for this dip. Caraway seeds are really needed for this dip, don’t omit them. Cayenne pepper adds just a tiny amount of heat.
- Onion – is traditionally added to this dip (but not always). I like to add red onion for its milder flavor. I also rinse it after chopping and thanks to that its flavor is more mild and less ‘oniony’. I’m also adding chives for flavor, you could also use thinly sliced green onions but I like it better with chives. Rinsing the onions also prevents them from getting bitter with time. You can omit the onions completely if you don’t like them.
How to make it step by step
Make sure to take the cheeses and butter out of the fridge to soften at least 1 hour before preparing the dip.
Grind the caraway seeds in a food processor / coffee grinder / using a mortar and pestle. Finely chop chives and onion. Rinse the onion in a sieve.
Cut Camembert into cubes and add to a large bowl. Add melting cheese, butter, paprika, ground caraway seeds, and cayenne.
Mash the mixture with a fork (pastry cutter also works well) until just slightly chunky but mostly smooth.
Add chopped chives, chopped and rinsed onion, and beer. Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir until combined.
Enjoy!
Storage
This dip keeps well in the fridge for up to a day. You can keep it longer, for 3-4 days, but add the onion and chives just before serving. Keep it in the fridge. Take out of the fridge about 1 hour before serving to warm up and soften (it will thicken in the fridge).
What to serve it with
- soft pretzels
- soft pretzel bites
- crunchy baguette or sourdough bread – you can serve it as a spread
- crackers / hard pretzels
- serve it as a part of charcuterie board
- fresh vegetables such as radishes or red bell pepper
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Obatzda (German Cheese Dip)
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (170g) Camembert ripe and soft
- 4 ounces (115g) spreadable cheese (wedges) or cream cheese soft
- 3 tablespoons (45g) soft butter
- 1 1/4 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
- 1/4 medium red onion
- 2 tablespoons beer can be non-alcoholic
- salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Make sure to take the cheeses and butter out of the fridge to soften at least 1 hour before preparing the dip.
- Grind the caraway seeds in a food processor / coffee grinder / using a mortar and pestle. Finely chop chives and onion. Rinse the onion in a sieve.
- Cut Camembert into cubes and add to a large bowl. Add melting cheese, butter, paprika, ground caraway seeds, and cayenne. Mash the mixture with a fork (pastry cutter also works well) until just slightly chunky but mostly smooth.
- Add chopped chives, chopped and rinsed onion, and beer. Season to taste with salt and pepper, stir until combined.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- You can serve this with pretzels, pretzels bites, sourdough bread, or vegetables such as radishes or red bell pepper.
- Onion can be omitted. Instead of beer, you can also use milk.
- If you’re not planning to serve it right away, add the chives and onion just before serving (optional, but the dip tastes better if they are added just before serving).
- Calories = whole recipe. This is only an estimate!
2 Comments
Jj Mauer
26 September 2022 at 20:34This recipe is probably fine for people who like camembert cheese. Unfortunately, I can taste it. I was really looking forward to enjoying it. But all is not lost, I know people who will love it!
Aleksandra
27 September 2022 at 13:06I’m actually not a big fan of camembert and still liked the dip! But this may be a good comment for people that really don’t like it. Thank you for trying out the recipe!