Whether you believe in garlic’s legendary flu-fighting reputation or simply love its flavour, this creamy French Garlic Soup made with 50 cloves of garlic is pure comfort in a bowl!
Nagi's Notes
I know – 50 cloves of garlic sounds INSANE!!! But you will be so amazed, the garlic flavour in the soup is incredibly mild and mellow, sweetened from sautéing until golden in butter. There is no hint of harsh raw garlic flavour at all. It’s completely addictive and I swear it has worked wonders to cure my cold!!
PS While we don’t always use pre-peeled garlic, if there was ever a recipe where it’s encouraged, it would be this one! 🙂
50 Clove Garlic Soup
French Garlic Soup is a traditional rustic soup made by simmering a generous amount of garlic clove in a broth until it becomes sweet and mellow, without any trace of the harshness of raw garlic. There is no single way to make it, though there are some well known regional styles such as in South West France where garlic soup is finished with egg ribbons (tourin) and in Provence which is heavy on herbs and finished with a dollop of aoili.
The version I’m sharing today is a simple homestyle one that is my take on this French classic. I created it because the cold days are here in Australia and everyone seems to be getting unwell. Garlic is known for its “good-for-you” reputation, and though I can’t promise that a bowl of this soup will cure your cold, I can promise that there is no better way to consume five whole heads of garlic. And it will keep the vampires away!!
What Goes in Garlic Soup
Here is what you need. As Nagi mentioned above, you can use pre-peeled cloves to save time. However, I forbid you to use garlic in jar or tube form for this recipe!
Garlic – The star of the show. Fresh garlic only! This is one recipe where there’s really no substitute. Garlic pastes from jars or tubes have a noticeably different flavour because of the preservatives, often with a slightly sour taste. So don’t even think about it. (That’s the part when you’re supposed to say “Oui chef!”)
Onion – Essential flavour base, don’t skip it!
Potatoes – What makes the soup velvety. As they simmer, they break down and blend into a naturally creamy soup. Use the starchy kind:
– Australia – Sebago (dirty brushed / common washed potatoes), you can get it at any supermarket. Do not use the waxy kind (red potatoes, new potatoes) because they are low in starch and will not break down as much when boiling to create a creamy soup.
– US – Russet, Yukon Gold.
– UK – Maris Piper, King Edward.Vegetable stock / broth – The liquid for the soup. Tastier than water! Use low sodium, though if you’ve only got regular salted stock, just reduce the salt listed in the ingredients 1/2 teaspoon.
If you can make your own homemade vegetable stock, please do! You’ll have to increase the salt quantity by 1/2 teaspoon.
Cream – Thickened cream / heavy cream. Just enough to add richness and round out the flavours.
Butter – Unsalted, for sautéing the vegetables.
Salt – The usual cooking salt / kosher salt, for seasoning.
White pepper – I prefer white pepper here because it blends seamlessly into the soup, keeping the beautiful pale creamy colour free from little black speckles.
How To Make Garlic Soup
This is a very simple soup and if you’ve survived peeling five heads of garlic, you’ve already conquered the hardest part of this recipe. All you have left to do is gently cook the garlic until golden, simmer everything until the potatoes are tender, then blitz until silky smooth. It doesn’t get much easier than this!
Sauté the garlic in butter until light golden, stirring regularly to prevent it catching on the bottom of the pot. At this stage it should smell sweet and fragrant rather than sharp.
Add onion and cook for 2 minutes until softened. By then, the garlic should be golden.
Stir in potato and cook for 1 minute, to coat all pieces in the buttery garlic mixture.
Simmer – Add the stock, water, salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes until the potatoes are soft (check with a knife).
Cream – Add the cream and simmer for another 1 minute.
Blitz and serve – Blitz with a stick blender until completely smooth. Taste, adjust the seasoning and thickness if needed or add more cream if you want a richer finish. Then ladle into bowls and I encourage you to garnish the soup with a crunchy topping – see next section.
Garnish options for Garlic Soup
I always like to garnish creamy soups with something that will bring a bit of texture. Croutons is the obvious choice (see here for recipe), or for an out-of-the-packet options, crispy fried shallots is convenient.
I’ve used panko breadcrumbs that I toasted with olive oil to make it golden and crunchy with a little pinch of salt and finely chopped parsley for a bit of colour. I like the way it can be sprinkled all across the surface of the soup so you get a bit of crunch in every spoonful – because there never seems to be enough croutons!
I’d love to hear what you think if you give it a try. And if you have any questions, please drop them below – I keep a close eye on questions for the first few days after publishing new recipes so I will be sure to answer them. Bon appétit! – JB
FAQ – 50 Clove Garlic Soup
Not at all! Raw garlic is sharp, but slowly cooking it in butter mellows it dramatically, bringing out its natural sweetness. The finished soup has a rich garlic flavour that’s delicate rather than overpowering.
Yes! Pre-peeled garlic works perfectly well and will save you a lot of peeling. The flavour is usually a little milder than freshly peeled garlic because it’s been washed and exposed to air, but the soup will still be delicious.
I don’t recommend using garlic from jars or squeeze tubes, though. They contain preservatives that give the garlic a slightly sour, artificial flavour, which really stands out in a recipe like this where garlic is the star.
Absolutely. It tastes also great the next day once the flavours have had time to develop. Reheat gently over a medium-low heat stirring regularly until hot.
Yes! Let the soup cool completely before freezing in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat gently on the stove. The panko garnish is best made fresh.
Watch How To Make It
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50 Clove Garlic Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp / 50g unsalted butter
- 1 2/3 cups / 250g (50 – 60 cloves) peeled garlic cloves, roughly chopped (5 medium bulbs ~ 60g / 2oz each before peeling) (Note 1 & 2)
- 1 small brown or yellow onion (or 1/2 large), diced small
- 1.5 kg / 3.3 lbs starchy potato , peeled and cut into 2.5cm / 1" cubes (Note 3)
- 3 cups vegetable stock / broth , salt-reduced (Note 4)
- 3 cups water
- 2 tsp cooking / kosher salt , halve for table salt
- 1/8 tsp white pepper powder
- 1/2 cup thickened cream (heavy cream)
Soup Garnish
- 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (Note 5)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8 tsp cooking / kosher salt , halve for table salt
- 2 tsp finely chopped parsley
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Cook garlic 5 minutes in butter. Onion 2 minutes, potato 1 minute then add stock, water, salt and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes. Add cream, cook 1 minute. Blitz and serve hot with garnish.
FULL RECIPE:
- Sauté – Heat butter in a large heavy base pot over medium high heat until melted. Add garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. The garlic should be nicely golden on the edges. Don't let it brown too deeply or it can become bitter.
- Add onion and cook for 2 minutes until softened.
- Add potato and cook for 1 minute, stirring regularly.
- Simmer 15 minutes – Turn the stove up to high. Pour in stock and water. Season with salt and pepper. Stir, then once it comes to a simmer, lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes (no lid) until the potatoes are soft (check with a knife). (Note 6)
- Stir in cream, simmer for 1 minute.
- Blitz – Remove from the heat and use a stick blender to blitz until fully smooth. Or puree in batches in a blender. Adjust to taste – Add water if it's too thin, salt and pepper if needed, extra cream if you want it richer.
- Serve hot in bowls with toasted panko garnish, a drizzle of olive oil and warm crusty bread. 😋
Garnish (to make while the soup is cooking):
- Mix panko, olive oil and salt in a small bowl until all combined. Heat up a small frying pan over medium high heat. Place the panko into the pan and cook stirring constantly for 3 minutes until nicely golden all over. Remove from stove, toss in the parsley and set aside.
Recipe Notes:
- Australia – Sebago (dirty brushed / common washed potatoes you can get at any supermarket. Do not use red potatoes or new potatoes. The waxy kind that you use for potato salad because they are low in starch so will not break down as much when boiling to create a creamy soup).
- US – Russet, Yukon Gold
- UK – Maris Piper, King Edward
Nutrition Information:
Life Of Jaffle
Winter soups and Jaffle seem to go together very well! He spent the whole shoot sitting patiently in the studio with us, watching every bowl of garlic soup being photographed as if he was supervising the whole operation.
By the end of the shoot, all he wanted was a few pats and a cuddle, which, of course, he got. Life is exhausting when you’re the official RecipeTin Eats taste tester in training… even if you’re not allowed anywhere near the garlic!
would a milk alternative work instead of using cream?
This looks wonderful and will be on my menu as soon as the current 30⁰c heat wave breaks in England. I’d love to eat it now, but I couldn’t fathom spending the time in my kitchen. I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for a long time. About 15+ years ago, I had a bowl of Cream of Garlic soup in a Guy Fierri restaurant. It was so good I could have bathed in that soup. Watching your video, I could taste that memory. 😋
With the heat, I have RTE quick recipes scattered across my menu this week; Orange Chicken, Beef Chow Mein and Chicken Corn Soup. Thanks for all the inspiration !
This soup will suit nicely for a cold Winters day! It’s currently 10 degrees in Melbourne! Brrr! BTW, JB, Jaffle, looks at you like his new Dad (or maybe he’s just waiting for a snack)
This is delicious. We made a half recipe for 2 of us, and there’s enough for us to have it again. Yay! The Mr. said it’s like savoury custard 💛
I really had to ask myself….Was I willing to use so much of my homegrown garlic to make this soup? I decided “yes” and it was amazing. So smooth and with a beautiful depth of flavour, sweet from the garlic and onion. Not overpowering and oh-so-satisfying. I used seeded rye bread for dunking into the creaminess. I have frozen the rest to impress my family. I will try it next time with store-bought garlic but I doubt it will match the flavour. Thanks, JB.
How can I make the soup vegan if I cannot use a dairy product?
I would also like to make it dairy free if possible! I have an intolerance, can handle a bit of butter but not the cream. I was thinking to omit altogether? As coconut cream will likely ruin the taste
I’ve gotta try this!
I usually buy the solo garlic. But just 250 gram and then peel? Right?
We are in Summer (US) and I just harvested my garlic, curing now. Can’t wait to try in the Fall. We also make our own stock. Sounds way yummy especially in front of the fireplace with a fire going…
How about using crispy bacon bits as a garnish in this soup chef?
Chef JB, my DIL is allergic to potatoes and all the other nightshades. Do you have any suggestions for a substitute for potatoes? This recipe looks amazing and we would really like to all be able to enjoy it together. Thank you.
The soup looks wonderful, but will we have ‘garlic breath’ for 2 days after eating it? I may need to plan accordingly if we will. 🙂
Do you think this could work in the Instant Pot as long as the garlic etc are sautéed first?
Question: could you use chicken broth, if that’s all you have in the pantry?
Hi Joan, yes chicken stock or broth can be used instead of vegetable. It will gives the soup a more savoury flavour, while vegetable stock lets the garlic shine a little more. But both are delicious. 🙂
possibly I’m a heretic asking this question. I was wondering if yoghurt could be substituted for the cream. Thanks Nagi.
Hi Jon, not a heretic at all haha! You can use yoghurt, I’d recommend full-fat Greek yoghurt for the best result. Stir it in right at the end over a very low heat and don’t let the soup boil afterwards, otherwise it can split. The soup won’t be quite as silky as the cream version, but it will still be lovely, with a little tang.
Absolutely delicious! thank you for yet another amazing recipe!
This might be a bit outside the box, but I feel like this would be great served with charred broccolini and a little chilli crunch…
My partner and I will absolutely be making this again to help keep our immunity up over Winter 🙂
Donc JB, dix gousses de plus que le poulet? Farce à part, j’essaie cette recette sous peu. Merci pour toutes tes recettes. .
Oui, c’est ça! 😂 Merci Patrick, et de rien!
I adore garlic soup! And since everything on your website is fabulous, I can’t wait to make this! And puppy is getting big fast, yes? PS-LOVE the French recipes, Thank you!!!
Thank you so much Lorna for your kind comment. Please make it soon!
OMG 😋 JB you have done it again!
My husband and I just made this – WOW very very tasty. Perfect amount of Garlic. He couldn’t wait to put it into the bowl he kept eating out of the saucepan!!
We absolutely love yours and Nagi’s recipes.
My husband absolutely adores your crepes it’s a Sunday morning ritual!
Thank you so much for sharing. E and K
Wow Elise! I think you are the first person in the world – other than JB and I – to make this!! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it so much Elise. I have had a LOT of this soup in the past week!! Very happily having leftovers day after day! 🙂 – N x
Hi Elise, thank you so much for leaving a message here! I’m so impress that you guys have made it already and so happy that it was a HIT! Thank you again for your kind words ♥️
Where do you rate this soup amongst others you make Nagi? I’m from the UK and Pea &Ham was always my go to until I starting making your Zuppa Toscana. It’s the best ever winter soup in my book!
Hi Wayne, that’s high praise, thank you! Zuppa Toscana is definitely one of those hearty, substantial soups that’s hard to beat on a cold winter’s day. This garlic soup is a little different. It’s much more traditional in the way classic soups are made. It’s lighter and more delicate. If you love garlic, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by just how much flavour such a simple soup can have.
I have to admit… while every recipe posted looks (and turns out!) absolutely AMAZING, the first thing I do on every single post is go straight down to the Jaffle pics!!
Haha, I think you are not the only one Illy! ♥️ 🦮 Thank you for your kind words.
Definitely cheaper if Garlic is already peeled. $6/kg at the fruit and veg shop but imported from China
Your choice Anna.
I live in South East Asia and was there during a cholera outbreak in the 1970’s.
Read on……………..
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67662779