Traditional Welsh Rarebit Recipe
Traditional Welsh Rarebit Recipe is an open-faced grilled cheese or cheese on toast. Toasted bread slices are topped with a savory cheese sauce made from beer, cheese, butter, mustard, then browned in the oven to golden, bubbly perfection. This may just be the tastiest grilled cheese ever!
This easy, comfort food is basically a grown-up grilled cheese made with with beer, mustard and cheese. What’s not to love?
As a kid, cheese on toast, as we Brits call it, was one of my favorites things to eat. It was also a meal when my parents were out that I could make myself. Then I met Welsh rarebit.
Cheese on toast is just that, cheese melted on top of bread. A grilled cheese is cheese melted between 2 slices of bread cooked in a pan. Welsh rarebit is a toasted slice of bread topped with a cheese and beer sauce and broiled/grilled until the top is bubbly.
In Welsh it is called Mochyn Du. The recipe is over 2 centuries old and common in Southern and Western England and the rarebit/rabbit part is the cheese sauce that is poured over toasted bread.
Welsh Rarebit origin is a little sketchy, but it is said the dish was a way to highlight the Welsh wheat bread and cheese. Some say that toasted cheese is so popular in Wales that it spread like rabbits, others say only the wealthiest of people could afford to eat rabbit, so they alternative ‘Welsh rarebit’ was born. A much more appetizing name I think and since there is no rabbit in the dish, a more befitting name.
The best bread for Welsh rarebit
A good, hearty, thick sliced bread is optimal for this recipe. A bread that can hold up to the weight of the cheese sauce and not turn soggy on you. Sourdough or grain bread are all good choices.
Welsh rarebit without beer
If you don’t want to serve beer to your kids, you can substitute the beer for milk.
What do you serve with Welsh Rarebit?
I serve this Welsh Rarebit with a side of Warm Cherry Tomato and Basil Salad. You can also serve with a simple lettuce salad or a vegetable of your choice.
National Welsh Rarebit Day
Yes, it has a National Day and falls on 3rd September every year. I don’t know why, but there seems to be a National holiday for just about any food and dish, so why not.
Welsh Rarebit Cheese
A good sharp white cheddar is best for this recipe. If you can find a Welsh cheddar, even better. A grocery store with a large cheese department will most likely have white Welsh cheddar. I found it at my Kroger store. I have also seen it Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
Leftover cheese sauce
Sometimes when I make this, I have sauce leftover. It keeps well in a sealed container refrigerated for up to 4 days. Then you can enjoy Welsh rarebit for days.
Traditional Welsh Rarebit Recipe – Step by Step
Toast bread slices until browned on both sides.
Melt butter in a saucepan until bubbling.
Whisk flour into the melted butter and cook for 1 minute to cook out the flour taste.
Whisk dark ale, Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder into the flour mix.
Add white sharp cheddar cheese and stir until completely melted and smooth.
Spread the cheese sauce onto the slices of toasted bread. Broil until melted, brown and bubbly.
If you’ve tried this Traditional Welsh Rarebit Recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. I love to hear from my readers!
Traditional Welsh Rarebit Recipe
A thick slice of bread is topped with a savory cheese sauce made from beer, cheese, butter, mustard and broiled to bubbly perfection.
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick bread
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) dark beer/ale, room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 2 cups/8 ounces (226 grams ) aged/mature/sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
Instructions
- Toast the bread on both sides.
- To a saucepan, add the butter over medium heat. When the butter is melted and sizzling, whisk in the flour and cook for a minute. Continue whisking until the flour is well mixed and not lumpy.
- Slowly pour in the ale while whisking, then the Worcestershire sauce and mustard powder. Use a spatula and stir in the cheese until it is completely melted and the sauce is smooth.
- Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to slightly cool and thicken.
- Preheat broiler (oven grill).
- Spread the cheese sauce on all of the slices of bread. Broil until bubbly and browned. Serve immediately
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 409Total Fat 27gSaturated Fat 15gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 76mgSodium 564mgCarbohydrates 21gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 17g
This nutrition calculation is provided by Nutronix that is only a guideline and not intended for any particular diet.
41 Comments on “Traditional Welsh Rarebit Recipe”
Has anyone tried using garlic in it?
I was also wondering if I could use a honey mustard instead of powdered mustard.
I’m sure a little garlic would be delicious. You can substitute honey mustard for the dry mustard, but since it is honey mustard it will add sweetness. Enjoy.
Was wondering what could be substituted for Worcestershire sauce due to allergies.
Soy sauce adds a similar, savory taste as Worcestershire sauce or tamari if you have a wheat allergy.
Depending on the allergens you could try Hendersons relish. It’s a Yorkshire alternative and vegan.
Mochyn du means ‘black pig’
Yes, it does!
The Welsh word for rarebit is “brith”, which really means speckled. Hence the name – when a rarebit is cooked correctly, it will have a “speckled” appearance from where the cheese sauce just barely catches under the grill.
Cymreig brith = Welsh rarebit.
I can’t wait to make this. So upset when Stouffer’s stopped making it. My husband & I just love it for a quick delish meal! Thank you so much.
Well the good news is, homemade is so much better. Enjoy 🙂
I recall having this at a wine bar in Sydney Australia. Your recipe brought back that memory. Thank you!
Aww, thank you for sharing
Im going to try this recipe myself. Im sooo sad that Stouffers has discontinued their frozen version which was delicious and a staple in my house for many years! Yummmmmm!
I hope you enjoy the recipe. Let me know if you have any questions.
Are you sure they discontinued this?, I was told that it was in Costa Mesa where house for Albertsons by the manager in the Santa Ana store. I live by Disneyland and it is not an upscale demographic. I haven’t had a chance to check out the Albertsons stores in maybe Yoruba Linda, Irvine etc… ,I miss it too!
I’m 85 now,, but, 79-80 years ago I remember my Dad making
Kidney beans and cheese to put over toast for Sunday night supper. Delicious, Now, I can try this recipe TO PUT OVER TOAST, COOKED BACCON, SECTIONED HARD BOILED EGG, BITE SIZED GREEN PEPPER, raw,sliced tomato, and garnished with thinly sliced green onion! A very tasty lunch or light supper.
I remember eating Welsh rarebit that had eggs and stirred in with the cheese and it was delicious do you have a recipe for that??kathy
You can mix in an egg with this recipe, it will work perfectly. All the egg does is change the consistency of the sauce. Let me know if you have any more questions and enjoy 🙂
Might you be thinking of Anglesey eggs? This is also a classic Welsh dish, usually served over mashed potatoes, but known to have been served over hearty bread too!
I have used puff pastry and added seafood and then topped with LOTSof the cheesy/yummy sauce. Be still my beating heart
A custom version, I’m intrigued.
This recipe is perfect! Rarebit isn’t something you can really find stateside, but I love it so much. Finally decided to try it at home and it turned out so well. Absolutely delicious.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe, it’s one of my favorites too.
This delicious and sexy lunch or dinner was first introduced to me as a child in the 1960s. It was featured on the Dick Van Dyke Show and that’s where possibly the bad dream scenario began as a comedy plot. It actually made us all want to try it. Turns out we all loved it.
This is great to hear, thank you for sharing. My husband said this was his favorite episode.
My mom would make up Stoffers Welch Rarebit for us. Mmmmmmm, being stuck home because of covid 19, I was watching an old Gomer Pyle rerun. He was eating Welch Rarebit. So I decided to look for a recipe for it! But is it true you can get strange dreams after eating it?
I was just watching that episode too, and it made me want to look up a recipe for Welsh rarebit! But I have never heard anything about it causing bad dreams before.
I think it’s probably an old wives tale 🙂
I think watching Gomer Pile is more likely to give you weird dreams than eating Welsh Rarebit
I made Welsh rarebit years ago. I would add tuna and vegetables to the cheese sauce for a great dinner. Very good flavor and a family favorite.
This is all good to know, thank you for sharing 🙂
This is grown-up open-faced grilled cheese. I had this once in UK and this is very good. I didn’t have mustard powder so I subbed a teaspoon of yellow mustard. A lovely comforting meal served with thick sliced grilled tomatoes.
This sounds like a delicious meal. I love grilled tomatoes.
I’ve always loved the idea of Welsh Rabbit. Cheese and bread and beer, great combo. So simple, yet so good! Thanks Janette. Pinned and Stumbled
You can’t go wrong with cheese, beer and bread 🙂
Sounds so good! Thanks for sharing
I always used to think this was an entree dish with rabbit. I’m glad to know I wasn’t completely off in that crazy kid notion! This sounds amazing. My fiance might even consider this a full meal because of the beer and cheese!
Thank you Luci 🙂
I remember reading about Welsh Rarebit in a book when I was young – and I just had to have it! Great photos – and thanks for triggering a childhood memory!
Awww
oh sounds good! I haven’t had Welsh Rarebit but appreciate the recipe! This will be something I would love to try!!
Thank you, it’s such an easy recipe with so much flavor. Thanks for stopping by.