Obatzda is a craveable German cheese dip enhanced with beer, onion, and spices. Serve it with glorious warm, soft pretzels or rustic bread to dip or spread and enjoy. Whether you’re celebrating Oktoberfest, the big game, or simply your love of cheese, this easy recipe is sure to please.

Obatzda beer cheese dip in a blue bowl surrounded by hard and soft pretzels.

Obatzda (pronounced “o-bats-duh”), also known as Obatzder or Obazda, is a biergarten classic hailing from the state of Bavaria in southeastern Germany. Munich, the capital of Bavaria, hosts Oktoberfest which is a celebration of Bavarian culture with German beer, food, and dance. It runs from mid-to-late-September to the first Sunday in October.

You simply can’t celebrate Oktoberfest without some delicious bites to serve with your Bavarian beer, and obatzda and pretzels are the perfect pairing. Obatzda is a classic element on beer garden menus. It’s also perfect for serving as a snack between meals, known as brotzeit, which literally translates to “bread time.”

Think of a brotzeit spread as a German charcuterie board which could include obatzda and/or other cheeses, bread, pretzels, meat (ham or sausage), kartoffelkäse (a potato spread), hard-boiled eggs, pickles, onions, and radishes.

You may already be familiar with another cheese spread from Central Europe, liptauer. This paprika-infused cheese spread is popular throughout Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. Although both dips have some overlapping ingredients, I think they're quite different.

Liptauer is much milder in cheese flavor whereas obatzda is more full-flavored and intense. Each one stands on its own and deserves its own spot in your entertaining repertoire.

A bowl of German beer cheese dip garnished with sliced red onion and chopped chives.

A full-flavored snack

Obatzda is the ultimate cheesy dip to serve on game day or game night with friends. It’s a crowd-pleasing, easy-to-make, addictive treat for any cheese-lover in your life.

It features roughly mashed camembert cheese, which is similar to brie but is stronger and more robust-tasting. If that's not your style, stick with a milder brie. This cheese dip can be a bit assertive if you're not used to some of these stinkier, full-flavored, mold-ripened cheeses. Some folks even add Limburger cheese which is much stronger tasting, so to each their own.

Unlike American beer cheese, which is served warm, obatzda is served cold or at room temperature (in other words, not heated up). A bit of cream cheese and soft butter add creaminess and a more dip or spread-like consistency.

Seasonings such as paprika, caraway seeds, onion, and chives add more flavor, texture, and color. Finally, beer also makes an appearance and helps thin out the texture to get it just right! It also provides a unique wheaty and malty flavor that sets this German beer cheese dip apart from others.

Ingredient notes

Ingredients for obatzda beer cheese dip on a light grey background.

Camembert cheese: Small wheels of camembert typically come in either 7-ounce or 8-ounce sizes. The 1-ounce disparity won’t make a huge difference in the recipe, so just plan to use the entire wheel regardless of which size you get. Leave the rind on, but roughly cube up the cheese to make it easier to mash. Camembert has a stronger and more pungent flavor than brie. If you are concerned about the "funkiness" of the cheese, you can opt for a milder brie instead.
Cream cheese: In Germany, they use frischkäse which is kind of similar to cream cheese. Use either full fat or reduced fat cream cheese (aka Neufchâtel cheese). The flavor is similar but the latter is usually a bit softer and creamier.
Butter: Some recipes use a lot more butter, which adds a nice creaminess to the finished dip but dilutes the cheese. I like the cheese flavor to shine a bit more, so I use a smaller ratio of butter to cheese.
Beer: For the most authentic experience, aim to use a German-made wheat beer or hefeweizen. Bonus points if it comes from Bavaria. You’ll only need a small amount in the recipe so plan to drink the rest while enjoying your obatzda! If you need to avoid alcohol or gluten, use non-alcoholic or gluten-free beer respectively.
Onion and chives: These will provide color, flavor, and texture to the dip. I recommend red onion for its color and milder flavor, but any onion will work.
Paprika: Use sweet paprika rather than hot or smoked paprika. It will provide both color and flavor to your German beer cheese dip.
Caraway seeds: Although caraway seeds are a common additional addition to obatzda, they are purely optional. Some people don’t like caraway seeds, so it’s easy to leave them out. If you include them, grind them up in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle first.

A bowl of obatzda next to a board covered with soft and crunchy pretzels.

How to make it

In a medium mixing bowl mash together the camembert cheese, cream cheese, and butter with a fork. Mashing against the sides of the bowl helps.

Cubes of camembert, cream cheese, and butter in a glass mixing bowl.

Mashing together soft cheeses and butter with a fork in a glass mixing bowl.

It should retain a bit of chunky texture rather than being completely smooth.

Roughly mashed soft cheeses and butter in a glass mixing bowl.

Stir in chopped red onion, chopped chives, paprika, ground caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. It will be very thick, but do your best to get it fairly homogenous.

Chopped red onion, chives, and spices added to a bowl of mashed soft cheeses.

A mixture of mashed soft cheeses with paprika, chives, red onion, and other spices.

Finally stir in the beer, starting with 2 tablespoons but then adding more until you achieve your desired texture. It's easier to incorporate the beer by pressing down with the back of a large spoon as you mix.

In these photos I've added 4 tablespoons of beer for a runnier dip texture, but stick with 2 tablespoons if you want a thicker version you could scoop.

Beer added to a bowl of mashed cheeses combined with seasonings.

German beer cheese dip in a glass mixing bowl.

Cover and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes (or longer) to allow the flavors to meld and the mixture to firm up a bit.

Garnish with sliced onion, chopped chives, and/or paprika if desired. Serve with warm soft pretzels, crunchy pretzels, pretzel crisps, rustic bread, crackers, or vegetables.

Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.

A bowl of obatzda, a bottle of beer, and soft and crunchy pretzels.

Expert tips

Store leftover obatzda in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Note that after a few days the flavor of the onion will intensify, so it’s preferable to eat it within the first couple days if possible.

Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before you start. I recommend taking the ingredients out of the fridge at least 1 hour in advance. You can also cut the cheeses and butter into cubes so they soften faster.

To reduce the sharpness of the onion, you can rinse it with cold water in a fine mesh sieve and then thoroughly dry it with paper towels before adding to the mixture.

Although you could use a food processor to blitz together the ingredients, it’s not only more traditional to mash and mix by hand, but it’s better for retaining the usual chunky texture of this beloved beer cheese dip.

You can easily adjust the ratios of camembert cheese, cream cheese, and butter to suit your tastes or what you have on hand.

In addition to serving obatza in a bowl for easy dipping and spreading, alternatively you could use an ice cream scoop to scoop it directly onto a serving board or platter. If that's your intention, make sure you add less beer so it's firm enough to scoop.

A piece of soft pretzel dipped in German beer cheese dip.

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Obatzda (German Beer Cheese Dip)

A full-flavored snack

Ingredient notes

How to make it

Expert tips

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