Roasted Garlic Soup is easy and delicious. Serve with garnishes of russet potato chunks, toasted croutons, extra sautéed garlic and Parmesan Crisps.
For some of us, there is an actual Soup Season- one of my best friends wonders why I bother to post soup recipes in the summer, “out of season”. I know I’m not alone in being someone who loves soup all year-long, but the soup I love has to have variety, unique flavors and ease of prep in the kitchen. Roasted Garlic Soup has all of those requirements, and for you traditionalists, this is a great soup for “soup season” as well.
Roasted Garlic Soup is something I’ve wanted to accomplish for a long time and I’m glad I finally took the plunge. This recipe starts with a creamy garlic soup base (since it uses very little cream in the recipe, almond milk works great for a vegan option), and builds into whatever your particular taste might be by adding options like russet potato chunks, Parmesan Crips, or toasted crostini croutons… or all of these options.
Over 40 cloves of garlic are used in this recipe, however Roasted Garlic Soup is not overpowering, but really smooth and earthy. For those of you who REALLY want your garlic fix, I suggest topping everything with additional quick-sauteed minced garlic.
Adding both roasted and uncooked garlic to this soup-
When garlic is cooked until soft, it loses some of the sharp, almost spicy flavor of the raw cloves. Plus the slight browning of the roasted cloves adds a bit of nutty flavor to the soup. Using roasted and raw cloves in the soup creates a complex flavor that adds to the success of this recipe.
As mentioned before, there are so many variations for garnish and added ingredients for this soup and I recommend them all. If you’re looking for a chunky soup, the potatoes are delicious and hearty. The rustic croutons soak up the yumminess plus they add a nice crunch. But if you want a simple creamy soup, the creamy garlic soup base stands on its own and we eat it that way often.
…and the Parmesan Crisps add a look of impressive adornment, and they couldn’t be easier to make!
So, whether you make the creamy, light soup option or load it up with lots of texture and additional flavor, it’s sure to please… In or out of ‘Soup Season’.
Roasted Garlic Soup
Ingredients
- 26 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 medium onions, sliced (about 2 generous cups)
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or ½ teaspoon dried
- 18 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
- 4 cups chicken broth, low-sodium or vegetable broth
- ½ cup whipping cream, half and half, oat or almond milk work well
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 large russet potato, not peeled, cut into large chunks (optional)
- 4 lemon wedges
Optional variations and other garnishes- see instructions for how to incorporate:
- Toasted croutons, drizzled in oil, salt and pepper then baked at 350F degrees until golden
- 8 cloves fresh garlic, minced and sauteed just until fragrant in olive oil, dashed with pepper
- Parmesan Crisps, *recipe below
Instructions
- Make the roasted garlic, this can be done a day ahead:
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Cut the bottom portion off where the garlic attaches to the base. To make peeling the garlic easy, you can smash them a bit then the peel will come right off. Place garlic in small glass baking dish. Drizzle with 2 Tablespoons olive oil and add a dash each of salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Cover baking dish tightly with a lid or foil and bake until garlic is golden brown and tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer cloves to small bowl. If making the day before, place cooled garlic in a plastic bag or covered dish and refrigerate until needed. By the way, this roasted garlic is fabulous anytime for a garlic paste or just for snacking on the roasted garlic cloves. The oil, salt and pepper, and roasting method create a fabulous treat.
Make the soup:
- Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a heavy, large saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add 2 onions and 2 teaspoons thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add roasted garlic and 18 raw garlic cloves and cook a couple of minutes to release some of the raw garlic oils.
- If you're adding the russet potato chunks, add now as well.
- Add 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth; cover and simmer until garlic is very tender, about 20 minutes. If you're making the Parmesan Cheese Crisps, make them now while the soup is simmering.
- If you added the russet potato chunks, remove them after the 20 minute simmer and place in a small bowl or on a plate while you puree the rest of the ingredients. Working in batches, puree soup in a blender until smooth or puree with an immersion blender. Return potato chunks to the creamed soup.
- Return soup to the saucepan, add ½ cup cream, or whatever milk you are using, and bring to a very low simmer just to reheat, being careful not to curdle the milk. Add ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Taste and add more to your liking.
- Divide the grated ½ cup of Parmesan cheese among 4 bowls and ladle soup over. Each bowl will get about 2 tablespoons of cheese.
- Squeeze juice of 1 lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.
- Serve in individual bowls garnished with more grated Parmesan, Parmesan Crips or toasted croutons, or the additional minced sauteed garlic.
How to make the Parmesan Crisp Garnish:
- Heat your oven to 400F degrees, Pour a heaping Tablespoon of grated Parmesan onto a silicone or parchment lined baking sheet and pat down just a bit. For color or extra flavor, you could sprinkle the cheese mound with herbs, black pepper or red pepper flakes. Repeat with as much Parmesan crisps as desired, spacing the spoonfuls about a ½ inch apart. Bake until golden and crisp. Since ovens vary, this time can be anywhere from 3 to 10 minutes (mine finished closer to the 10 minute mark). The cheese will bubble quite a bit, but just keep cooking until the crisps darken. Cool, then using a spatula, carefully scrape the crips off the baking sheet and serve with the soup.
Notes
- The roasted garlic can be made a day ahead of making the soup and this method for roasting garlic creates delicious little garlic nuggets to enjoy for any reason or to make a garlic paste for hearty bread.
- The recipe is doubled easily and can be refrigerated for 2 or 3 days before serving.
Recipe adapted from Epicurious.
So delicious! This is a very comforting soup. My husband was not feeling well so I made this and it made us bird feel great! If you are concerned it is too much garlic, worry not! It is actually pretty subtle!
Thank you, Cindy! I’m so glad you liked it and hope it helped your husband feel better. I appreciate your comment about the garlic flavor being mild. Many don’t realize that garlic’s flavor mellows out a lot during cooking. Thanks again for taking the time to comment.
Has anyone tried cauliflower instead of potatoes for the low carbers? Does it alter the flavor at all?
Hi Necole, sorry for this late reply but I think substituting the potatoes with cauliflower would be delicious. It’s also great if you just leave out the potatoes or any addition other than the garlic. Hope this helps.
Thank you, Sally. I tried this recipe today and it turned out fantastic. It is an especially hot day in Colorado and I believe the soup was so tasty, it’s worth it!
Thanks again, will make again.
Glad you liked it, V!
Can this soup be frozen? I make batches of soups and freeze ahead.
Hi Barbara, I’ve never made enough of this to freeze so I’m just guessing here when I say this- I’ve frozen plenty of soups with similar ingredients with success. But if you ask the experts, it’s warned that potatoes can break down and milk products can separate when frozen. My potatoes usually do fine in freezing and there’s not a lot of cream, plus with the cream mixed with butter I think it will also be fine. I don’t know if this helps, but it’s worth a try. Also, the potatoes in this soup are optional, so if you’re not adding them, then it will definitely be fine.
We have made this before and it was delicious. I pulled it up again because I want to make it and have a question.
Did you add more potato after pureeing/blending? In the photo there are nice straight chopped chunks of potato but the directions have it being blended, with no mention of adding more potato later?
Hi EJ, I’m so glad you liked the soup! Thanks for your question, I realize I left out a key point for keeping the potatoes chunky and went in and corrected my mistake. I hope you make it again soon. 🙂
I made garlic soup for the first time about 2 weeks ago. Omg!!! It was so yummy. I did a twist on mine, because I’ve had it before.
I sautéed 2 bunches of asparagus, and added them in towards the end. We had some shrimp in the fridge that had thawed, so I scampied them. I did not put them in the soup I left them on the side and added the shrimp to the bowls of the soup individually. It was so so very good try it if you like
Wow, Donna! You just decided dinner for my family tonight. I happen to have asparagus in the fridge and shrimp in the freezer right now! Thanks so much for your nice comments and incredible suggestion. I can’t wait!
I’m a garlic fan and this recipe will be my new favorite! I mean, roasted garlic sounds delicious especially when it’s combined with parmesan cheese. So slurping good!
This Roasted Garlic Soup looks amazing! I made Butternut Squash soup this weekend and I definitely enjoy the warmth of soup these days. Garlic has such great health benefits, so I’m sure that this soup is jam-packed with so many nutrients.
Hi Shanika, Butternut Squash Soup is also a great soup this time of year and also full of great nutrients.
Roasted garlic is maybe one of the more underrated ingredients on the planet. What a genius idea to make it into a soup! This is definitely on my list of soups to make ASAP, and I cannot wait to report back!
Hi Sara, I can’t wait to hear what you think of it.
I absolutely love garlic soup but I’m wondering how “garlicky” it is! It looks perfect in any case.
Hi Nicole, Garlic mellows as it roasts/cooks so it’s not too garlic-y at all. Just right, if you ask me 🙂
I’ve made it, and it doesn’t taste very garlicky. I had some leftover mashed potatoes I stirred in instead of adding a cubed potato. It thickened then soup up nicely.
Looks perfect for a fellow garlic lover <3 and the Parmesan crisps are such a cute addition!
Thanks Jennifer!
I love making soups in the fall and I am always looking for new ones to try. And I love the smell of garlic cooking so I can’t wait to make this!
Your soup looks incredible. What a perfect recipe to have on hand for the start of cold & flu season for sure!
Mmmmmmm …. roasted garlic soup! Your description was so perfect, of how roasted garlic is actually smooth and earthy instead of overpowering. Kinda like that classic recipe for Chicken with 40 Cloves – so surprisingly NOT overpowering! Love the optional ideas of potato for chunky texture, or those pretty parmesan crisps!
I love the tip of roasting the garlic in advance. I so love soup season will be adding this to the menu. Thanks for sharing!
I agree, I can eat soup all year long! Your garlic soup is the best garlic soup I’ve ever had!! I usually roast the garlic the day before, so that I can have this soup on the table in no time!
I had some leftover roasted garlic mashed potatoes I blended in with the soup. It was a nice addition.
This is the best go-to soup when you’re sick. Anyone try it with coconut milk instead of regular milk?
Hi Fabulii, I’ve used almond milk with success. I’m not sure how coconut milk would taste since the coconut might add a sweetness to the soup.
Excellent point. Thanks! Even though I still consume limited dairy, when you’re sick it’s the last thing you need.
Agreed!
So delicious. My husband agrees what a quick easy soup! Will definitely use this recipe again.
Thank you Christy! This is one of my favorites as the weather starts to turn (actually we like it any time of year around my house). I’m so glad you liked it and appreciate you stopping by, taking the time to comment.
This sound like MY kind of soup Sally. You know I can’t resist garlic.
Bonus: I’ve never had a single problem with vampires.
I’m with you friend, bring on the garlic! And about your ability to avoid vampires- having recently discovered that you enjoy and seek out frightful things (scary movies ALL the time, weird), I have a feeling you’d welcome a vampire visit. Thanks Lydia! 🙂
We love roasted garlic (who in their right mind wouldn’t) and the idea of creating a soup it sounds wonderful. This would be perfect for the cold weather that is just around the corner. We love your site and are very happy to have found it; beautiful work you do!
Dan and Scott! I am honored that you’ve stopped by my site. Thanks for your nice comments. I have been a fan of you both and your site for awhile now! Talk about good work. My day is made. 🙂
I see you have a new format on your website. I love it! Great change and very professional looking. Can’t wait to make this for when the cold and flu season hit.
Mamalala, Thanks for your comment about the site. I have an excellent team working on it and it’s still evolving so stay tuned. 😉 And I hope you enjoy the soup. Let me know what you think of it after you try it.
This soup looks heavenly, love roasted garlic. Doesn’t the aroma that permeates the kitchen just make you feel good? It is a wonderful smell and this sounds fantastic, especially with those Parm crisps!
Kevin! I agree, the smell is indicitive of the delicious flavor to come, especially as you’re roasting some of the cloves to add to the soup. And the Parm chips didn’t last long at all. 🙂
This looks awesome!