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Ever heard the saying “A bowl of garlic soup a day keeps the doctor away”? Ok, maybe that’s not exactly how the saying goes, but in my book, this garlic soup is one case where good health and good taste unite!
Garlic is a wonderful herb and culinary ingredient that I always keep in the kitchen in some form. Cultures across the globe have prized garlic for thousands of years both for its flavor and its powerful medicinal properties. I often reach for garlic when illness strikes and even take it raw by the spoonful when I feel an illness coming on.
Swallowing raw garlic might not always sound the best, so I set out to come up with a hearty and healing garlic soup that was pleasing to the palate also.
Tasty and Healthy Garlic Soup in a Snap
Garlic soup is a traditional recipe found in several different cultures (Spanish, French, Polish, and Mexican). It’s prized for its ability to ward off sickness. Knowing the health benefits, I wanted to recreate a garlic soup I had in a restaurant (probably with not the healthiest ingredients) for the upcoming cold and flu season. I based this adaptation on a recipe I found in an old French cookbook.
What surprised me most is the delicious and savory flavor of this soup. I expected an overpowering garlic taste, but the added step of roasting the garlic creates a rich and almost slightly sweet flavor. I roast several heads of garlic at a time, so I frequently have roasted garlic in my fridge, which makes this recipe even easier. It’s a simple recipe to make though if you don’t have any on hand.
I’m a pretty practical cook and not a fan of complicated recipes (hence the low prep, one-pan recipes in my cookbook). This blended soup fits the bill. Roast garlic cloves (I do mine ahead in batches and freeze) and add chicken broth, herbs, and a little canned coconut milk (or regular milk if that’s an option) for creaminess. Blend in the pot with an immersion blender (this is one tool I couldn’t live without) and serve.
Serve with a side salad and you have a super healthy lunch or dinner, done!
Immune-Boosting Benefits of Garlic
It turns out using garlic to ward off illness isn’t just in folklore (or in the mind of a crunchy mama). Science backs up garlic’s claims to fame!
This soup is a great way to consume more garlic especially in cold and flu season, but here are some other great ways to get the benefits of garlic:
- Add dried garlic powder or granules to soup, sauces, dips, or dressings.
- Roast garlic cloves, mash, and mix into butter or ghee mixed with herbs. Serve on roasted veggies or cauliflower rice.
- Mince 2-4 cloves of raw garlic and let sit for 5-10 minutes for best benefits. Consume by taking a small spoonful at a time and washing it down with water.
- For kids, mix finely minced garlic into a little raw honey to “help the medicine go down.”
- Don’t like garlic? (Hard for me to imagine!) I like these garlic capsules and take them occasionally when I need an extra boost (although not when pregnant or nursing).
Here’s how to make a healthy garlic soup the whole family will enjoy:
Garlic Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 TBSP butter (or ghee)
- 2 medium onions (sliced)
- 1 tsp thyme (or 2 tsp fresh)
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ batch roasted garlic (equivalent of 4-5 bulbs of roasted garlic)
- 1 quart chicken broth
- 2 cups canned coconut milk (or other milk of choice)
For Garnish (optional):
- 2 TBSP fresh parsley (minced)
- ¼ cup fresh chives (chopped)
- 1 fresh lemon (cut into wedges)
Instructions
- In a large pot, melt the butter.
- Add the sliced onions.
- Saute over medium heat, stirring constantly until onions are translucent and golden.
- Add the herbs and spices and saute for an additional 2 minutes
- Add the roasted garlic and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and add the coconut milk.
- Using a stainless steel immersion blender, carefully blend the soup until smooth.
- If desired, garnish with fresh parsley and chives and squeeze a lemon wedge over each bowl. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Other Healthy Soups to Enjoy
- Creamy Spring Greens Soup – A combination of leeks, onion, garlic, asparagus, and healthy fats from cream make a deliciously comforting healthy soup!
- Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup) – My go-to soup when we’re in a dinner rut. The exotic flavors are never boring!
- Easy Miso Soup Recipe (With Veggies) – We always have a jar of miso in the fridge. I’ve even had this for breakfast!
- Asian Inspired Zoodle Soup – Not mine, but right up my alley.
Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!
Do you use garlic when you’re feeling under the weather? Have you tried garlic soup? Please share your favorite garlic remedies and recipes!
My favorite soup recipe is your healthy chicken vegetable soup! The best!
As I have been struggling with everything from conjunctivitis, head aches, congestion, coughing and sneezing for 11 days now (got off protocol during travel) I will be making this garlic soup tonight! Btw, keep plain honey on me for surprise coughing fits. Thanks so much for the suggestion! Works like a charm!
Sounds delicious, I’m definitely going to try it. I’ve recently gotten into making a lot of different soups because if I make a large batch it’s a great meal to warm up when I get home from work. Sometimes, I’ll even warm up some soup in the morning, blend it to make it smooth and have it for a delicious warm breakfast on the go – in my coffee travel mug. 🙂 My favorite recently has been a version of French Onion soup, but I add lots of mushroom and leave out the flour to thicken as well as the cheese on top (due to dairy digestion issues). Coconut oil (or ghee), onions, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper and beef bone broth – super simple to make.
I was craving potato soup a few weeks ago, so I dug out that recipe and replaced the potatoes with cauliflower (I smashed half of it to thicken and substituted canned coconut milk in place of the regular milk and cheese) – it came out so super yummy. Next time I think I’ll add mushroom to it as well. Coconut oil (or ghee) onions, garlic, cauliflower, canned coconut milk, chicken bone broth (and extra water if needed to cover the cauliflower), salt, pepper, dash or two of nutmeg. So delicious and great replacement for potatoes! Sprinkling bacon crumbles on top makes it extra yummy.
Is the coconut milk canned? I’m assuming you don’t use coconut milk from a carton, but just wanted to check. Thanks!
either canned or homemade 🙂
I’ve found the best way to make coconut milk is to dilute coconut cream. When I buy a jar of coconut cream (sometimes called coconut butter) I melt it down and pour into ice cube trays then pop them out after they harden in the fridge. I keep the cubes stored in fridge in a ziplock til needed. Then I just add water to them for a wonderful coconut milk and can do any volume I need. That avoids the BPA cans and the additives in the canned stuff.
All sounds awesome. Will try to try some of these.
great idea! if i can make room in my freezers im going to try this!
I just made your garlic soup, it was good. A little bitter because the garlic roasted too long. Next time I’ll just put the head in foil with OO and not roast as long. And this southern girl will eat a lettuce and tomato sandwich with the soup. Thanks for the recipe ?
And it keeps in the refrigerator.
This sounds delicious!
Your soup sounds terrific on this cold, 12 degree day. Thank you for sharing it.
I’ve heard such terrible things about Olive Oil lately. Where do you get yours?
I get mine from Costco. Google it, there are lots of recommendations for good olive oils!
Wonderful! I’ve been wanting to make something with lots of garlic before it all goes off. Saw a recipe for garlic soup somewhere else but it just had too much junk in it. Definitely going to try this one out! Thanks!
I’m making this right now – my 3.5 year-old son is under the weather and this is just the ticket. Thank you for all that you share, Katie.
I love the idea of garlic soup. My husband and I are planning on going vegetarian again. We had stopped because people are very mean about it and we just couldn’t argue with them anymore. But, it’s for us not anyone else. So, anyway, I’m sure a good vegetable stock should work in place of the chicken broth. I’m definitely going to try this!
And, my favorite soup is an invention of my own. With cabbage and any other veggies we have in the fridge. It’s my “use it before it goes bad” soup. 😉 And I add a wonderfully spicy Chile paste to it for a punch. And, the heat totally opens you up if you have a stuffy nose. It’s awesome.
Don’t let people get you down. Do yourself a favor and just don’t share your eating habitsome and if it comes up, just say it’s a choice I’ve made and leave it at that. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.
Your garlic soup sounds warming and wonderful! I’m looking forward to trying it out! — In answer to your question about our favorite soups? I have several ‘favorite soups’, but the one I’ve most recently ‘developed’ is what I eat when my family is having spaghetti and I need to have a low carb meal. I simply add 1 part beef broth to 2 parts meaty spaghetti sauce along with 2 parts fresh-chopped spinach – heat it through and top it with a bit of parm. Yum! Since I developed that, I find myself reaching for broth often when I need a low carb meal. I simply take my family’s dinner and slip it into the soup. More often than not, that works fine. If it doesn’t, I can usually put the supper on top of a big salad instead.
Love this idea! Thanks 🙂