Creamy Garlic Soup

Garlic Soup: Warm, comforting, and packed with bold flavors, this creamy garlic soup is the ultimate bowl of coziness. Smooth blend of potatoes, fragrant garlic, and a velvety touch of cream, every spoonful is pure comfort. Topped with crispy Spam, crunchy croutons, and melty cheese, it’s a hearty meal that’s easy to make and impossible to resist!

This garlic soup was inspired by the country French garlic soup and of course the garlic that was piled up in my fridge. It almost remind me of French Onion Soup, If you ever have excess garlic like I did myself then this recipe is a perfect way to put that garlic to a good use. It is so simple and straightforward and doesn’t call for complicated hard to get ingredients, I used what I already had in my pantry and fridge.

Make your garlic soup five star worth by adding the toppings that I did, they are totally optional but I promise you you will love it more with the toppings and beside it is so filling with the toppings.

Ingredients

• Garlic 
• Onion 
• Potatoes 
• Vegetable broth or stock
• Olive oil
• Cream
• Fresh coriander

Optional toppings

• Shredded cheese
• Croutons
• Fried spam or bacon

Detailed quantities are on the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make Creamy Garlic Soup

Prepare the Vegetables

1. Peel the garlic cloves and slice them thinly, don’t make a fuss cause we are going to blend the soup any way.
2. Peel the potatoes and chop them into small chunks.
3. Peel the onion and chop it into small pieces.

Cook the Soup

4. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large deep pot over medium-high heat.
5. Add the chopped onions and cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring often, until they look soft and clear (this is called “translucent”).
6. Add the sliced garlic to the pot and stir for about 1 minute, just until you can smell the garlic. Be careful not to let it burn!
7. Add the chopped potatoes and pour in your vegetable broth.
8. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Let it cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft enough to easily pierce with a fork.
9. Remove the pot from the heat. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully transfer the soup to a regular blender in batches, then return it to the pot.
10. Stir in the cream, then taste the soup. Add salt if needed.
11. Chop the fresh coriander (cilantro) finely and stir it into the soup. Your garlic soup is ready to serve!

Prepare the Toppings While the Soup Cooks

1. Fry the Spam: You can use bacon, I don’t eat pork hence i used spam.
   • Slice the Spam into thin pieces. Heat a frying pan over medium heat (no oil needed) and cook the slices on both sides until crispy.
   • Once done, chop the Spam into small tiny sized pieces.
2. Toast the Bread:
   • Use the same pan you cooked the Spam/bacon in to toast slices of bread. The leftover fat from the Spam adds extra flavor! You can toast your croutons in the oven as well.
3. Grate the Cheese:
   • If using a block of cheese, grate it now. If you bought shredded cheese, you’re ready to go!

Assemble and Serve

• Ladle the soup into bowls.
• Top each bowl with toasted croutons, crispy Spam or crispy bacon, and a sprinkle of grated cheese.

Enjoy your creamy garlic soup with all the yummy toppings!

Tips and mistakes to avoid as a beginner cook

1. If you decide to use store-bought broth like me, please do a taste test before you add seasoning that contains salt because broths are salty on their own unless you bought a low-sodium one.
2. Don’t mince the garlic as it burns quickly, the slices are preferred cause anyway we are going to make everything smooth with a blender.
3. If you are making this recipe and decide to go with my toppings but use bacon instead of spam. You can start with browning the bacon and use the same pot and fat to cook the soup so that it can inherit those bacon flavors you love so much.
4. If your garlic soup turns out to be watery don’t worry, you can thicken it using cornstarch slurry or flour. Depending how watery it is, start with a tablespoon of cornstarch with tablespoon of water or 2 in a small bowl then wix the two before adding it to the soup and please make sure to stir continuously on medium heat until it thickens. If it still doesn’t cut it for you then you can repeat until you reach your desired consistency.

More easy soup recipes to add to your rotation

How to store leftover garlic and potato soup

Always allow your soup to cool down to room temperature. Transfer the garlic soup into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To freeze for a longer period you can store it in an airtight container or ziplock bags, ziplock bags save space in your freezer. It can be stored for up to 3 months.

How to reheat it

From the fridge, you can warm it in the microwave or on a stove. In a small saucepan, heat it over medium heat until it’s warm, if the soup is watery, just let it simmer on medium heat with the pot uncovered for the excess liquid to evaporate. If its some how hard then you can add water or broth to achieve your ideal consistency.
From the freezer, thaw it in the fridge or over the counter then use the methods mentioned above to reheat.