Cooking with Guinness: Recipes and Tips

Why Cook with Guinness?

Guinness brings more than colour to your cooking. The roasted barley, bittersweet notes, and complex malt flavours add depth to both savoury and sweet dishes. Plus, the alcohol cooks off, leaving just the flavour.

Cooking Principles

What Guinness Adds

• Umami depth: Enhances savoury, meaty flavours
• Bittersweet notes: Balance to rich dishes
• Colour: Deep, appetising brown
• Complexity: Layers of roasted, malty character

What to Consider

• Bitterness: Can intensify with reduction
• Sweetness: Balance with sugar or root vegetables
• Colour: Will darken everything significantly
• Quantity: A little goes a long way

Savoury Recipes

Classic Guinness Beef Stew

The quintessential Guinness recipe.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1kg beef chuck, cubed
• 500ml Guinness
• 500ml beef stock
• 4 carrots, chunked
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 4 potatoes, cubed
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp flour
• Fresh thyme and bay leaves
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Season beef and brown in batches in a heavy pot
2. Saut onions until soft, add garlic
3. Stir in flour and tomato paste
4. Pour in Guinness and stock, scraping up brown bits
5. Return beef, add vegetables and herbs
6. Simmer 2-3 hours until beef is tender
7. Adjust seasoning, serve with crusty bread

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Guinness Shepherd's Pie

An elevated version of the British classic.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 500g lamb mince
• 330ml Guinness
• 1kg potatoes, peeled
• 100g butter
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Fresh rosemary

Method:

1. Brown mince, drain excess fat
2. Add vegetables, cook until soft
3. Pour in Guinness and Worcestershire sauce
4. Simmer until liquid reduces by half
5. Make mashed potatoes with butter
6. Layer mince in dish, top with mash
7. Bake at 200°C until golden

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Guinness Onion Gravy

Perfect with bangers and mash.

Ingredients:

• 3 large onions, sliced
• 250ml Guinness
• 250ml beef stock
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Slowly caramelise onions in butter (30+ minutes)
2. Sprinkle in flour and sugar
3. Add Guinness and stock
4. Simmer until thickened
5. Season to taste

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Guinness Glazed Ribs

Sticky, sweet, and deeply flavoured.

Ingredients:

• 2kg pork ribs
• 330ml Guinness
• 100g brown sugar
• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Method:

1. Combine Guinness, sugar, honey, soy, vinegar, and paprika
2. Simmer until reduced by half to make glaze
3. Slow-cook ribs at 150°C for 2.5 hours
4. Brush generously with glaze
5. Grill or broil until sticky and caramelised

Sweet Recipes

Guinness Chocolate Cake

The most famous Guinness dessert.

Serves 12

For the cake:

• 250ml Guinness
• 250g butter
• 75g cocoa powder
• 400g caster sugar
• 150ml sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 280g plain flour
• 2.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the frosting:

• 300g cream cheese
• 150g icing sugar
• 125ml double cream

Method:

1. Heat Guinness and butter until melted
2. Whisk in cocoa and sugar
3. Beat sour cream and eggs, add to mixture
4. Fold in flour and bicarb
5. Bake at 180°C for 45-50 minutes
6. Cool completely
7. Beat frosting ingredients until smooth
8. Frost cooled cake

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Guinness Brownies

Fudgy brownies with a malty depth.

Makes 16

Ingredients:

• 200g dark chocolate
• 150g butter
• 100ml Guinness (reduced to 50ml)
• 200g sugar
• 3 eggs
• 100g flour
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Reduce Guinness by half and cool
2. Melt chocolate and butter
3. Whisk in sugar, eggs, and reduced Guinness
4. Fold in flour and salt
5. Bake at 180°C for 25-30 minutes

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Guinness Ice Cream

Creamy with subtle malt notes.

Makes 1 litre

Ingredients:

• 500ml double cream
• 250ml milk
• 150g sugar
• 200ml Guinness (reduced to 100ml)
• 6 egg yolks

Method:

1. Reduce Guinness by half, cool
2. Heat cream, milk, and sugar
3. Temper yolks with hot mixture
4. Cook until thick (73°C)
5. Strain, add reduced Guinness
6. Chill overnight
7. Churn in ice cream maker

Tips for Success

Reducing Guinness

Many recipes call for reduced Guinness. This concentrates flavour and removes raw alcohol taste:

• Simmer gently, don't boil rapidly
• Reduce by half for most applications
• Cool before adding to batters

Balancing Bitterness

If your dish tastes too bitter:

• Add sweetness (sugar, honey, caramelised onions)
• Include umami (soy sauce, Worcestershire)
• Increase fat content
• Add acid (vinegar, tomatoes)

Choosing the Right Guinness

Leftover Guinness

Opened Guinness loses carbonation quickly but is still fine for cooking. Keep opened cans/bottles in the fridge and use within 2-3 days for cooking.

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Explore the different types of Guinness available in our complete guide.