Creamy Garlic Soup
Healthy garlic soup recipe that comes very handy on cold autumn and winter evenings. This delicious soup is easy to make and with homemade croutons is very filling! Roasted garlic gives this soup a very different flavour to what you might expect, so why not to try it?
Czech people love garlic soup. You can find it in majority of restaurants, my grandma makes it frequently. It is different to this one though - the Czech version is not blended and it is not made with roasted garlic. Also there are whole caraway seeds which is something I don’t particularly like.
What I like though is a good creamy soup. Especially now when the days are shorter and colder. I crave all these warm meals, what about you? Anyway, this garlic potato soup fits this bill amazingly - it is warm, filling (definitely make those croutons as well) and healthy as well - garlic is a natural remedy for colds and coughs which is something we really need when the weather changes. So it is always good to have some garlic recipes in your pocket (or a recipe book).
How to roast garlic?
Very easily - it doesn’t require almost any of your attention. Heat up your oven, cut about 1 cm off of garlic bulbs, spread olive oil over exposed garlic cloves with a pastry brush and let it roast in the oven for about 50 minutes. Meanwhile you can prepare all the rest ingredients (like those delish croutons that you’re going to serve the soup with) and enjoy that lovely smell from roasting garlic.
The reason why I decided to use roasted garlic in this soup recipe is that it is milder and sweeter than raw garlic. If you ever tried roasted garlic, you’ll know and if you haven’t I strongly recommend you to try. Do you want some inspiration for other roasted garlic recipes? Well apart from this soup you can make roasted garlic pizza, roasted garlic spread (imagine hummus), roasted garlic mashed potatoes (yum! I need to make that) or add it into pasta.
How to make croutons?
Ideally with older bread. You can obviously use freshly bought (or baked) bread as well. All you need to do is cut bread into similar size pieces, mix with a bit of olive oil (and a pinch of salt if you fancy) and bake them for about 15 minutes. You can put them in the oven as you’re roasting the garlic bulbs.
I was thinking about making garlic croutons as well but it seemed a bit too much of garlic. However if you have garlic powder, you can use some. Or you could use some fresh herbs - parsley, marjoram,… you’ll get the best homemade croutons!
How to store croutons? In an airtight box (or a zip closure bag) in a room temperature. Use in two weeks.
haha, it seems like this blog is turning into a soup recipe blog.
What ingredients do you need for roasted garlic soup?
GARLIC - lots and lots of it! You will need 5 heads which might seem too excessive, I know. If you are worried that nobody will want to talk to you after eating this soup, don’t be. Roasted garlic isn’t like raw garlic - it has a very subtle garlicky taste, but it is much sweeter and kind of mellower than raw garlic.
SHALLOTS - they are a bit milder than a regular yellow onion so I use them when I really want another ingredient to shine. However the difference is not that radical so feel free to use yellow onion.
POTATOES - are here to make this soup more filling but also a bit creamier (especially if you don’t want to use cream at all) - that’s what that starch does.
WHITE PEPPER - a slightly different to black pepper and I am here for that. It is less spicy. But try it with freshly ground black pepper if you don’t have white pepper, it is going to be delicious no matter what.
VEGAN CREAM - I am not the biggest fan of adding cream into soups. In my opinion majority of soups don’t need it. I usually use just a tiny bit or just as decoration when serving. So feel free to omit cream or use tahini instead (delicious!)
For more vegan soup recipes be sure to check out:
If you make this soup, and take photos of it, you can tag me on instagram - @bigbakesmanifesto and use hashtag #bigbakesmanifesto too! I love to see people making my recipes. Or follow me on Pinterest, where you can comment and rate my recipes.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Roasted Garlic
5 bulbs of garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
Croutons
200 g stale bread - cut into 1 cm cubes*
1 tbps olive oil
Soup
1 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots (or 1 large yellow onion) - diced
1/4 tsp white pepper (or more - adjust to your taste)
1/2 tsp salt
4 medium potatoes (around 400 g) - peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
1 l vegetable stock
1 tbsp lemon juice
optional: 100 ml vegan cream*
Method
Roasted Garlic
Preheat the oven to 175C.
With a sharp knife cut around 1 cm from the top of garlic bulbs. Place bulbs on a baking sheet (cut side up).
Drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil over exposed garlic cloves - I like to use a silicone pastry brush for this, it goes easier.
Bake for 50-55 mins until brown on top and soft inside (you can try it with a toothpick but be careful, it is very hot). Once baked set aside and let it cool down.
Croutons
Mix bread with 1 tbsp oil, place on a baking sheet lined with a baking parchment and bake in the oven for about 15 mins (together with the garlic).
Soup
Pull (or squeeze) all the garlic out of their skin. Mash it with a fork.
Heat up 1 tbsp oil in a large pot and add diced shallots. Cook for 5 mins (occasionally stir), then add mashed garlic, white pepper and salt. Cook for 1 minute, add potatoes and vegetable stock, bring to boil and cook for 20 mins.
Blend with a hand blender (or in a stand mixer), add lemon juice and optionally cream, mix it, season to your taste and serve with croutons!
Notes:
Croutons: You can obviously make the croutons the size you want - just adjust the baking time according to it.
Vegan cream: I only used cream as a decoration, potatoes makes this soup creamy enough so you don’t have to use cream if you don’t want to.