Garlic Bread Soup

Do you love garlic bread? This creamy and delicious garlic bread soup tastes like garlic bread but in a bowl! It's seasoned to taste like garlic bread and thickened with puréed cubes of French bread, cream, and Parmesan cheese. Serve it with homemade croutons or grilled cheese.

Hello, garlic lovers! If this is your first time making this soup, it’s a delicious meal with lots of garlic that you’ll want to make again and again.

I love sautéing aromatics like onions and garlic to develop flavor. It’s one of those that you can dip anything into – a sandwich, grilled cheese, or croutons!

This creamy garlic soup is a real treat around our house. My in-laws introduced me to garlic bread soup several years ago. Somehow, my soup always tasted different than theirs, so I tweaked it a bit to make it perfect, and we love it!

Sopa de Ajo vs Garlic Bread Soup

I have to point out that this is not sopa de ajo, a popular Spanish garlic soup. Sopa de ajo is made with a chicken stock base and smoked paprika, which gives it a rich red color.

The bread is also not blended into the soup, and the addition of eggs or egg whites is dropped in, so the texture is less smooth by comparison.

My garlic bread soup has a smooth texture, and the bread blended in is undetectable. It’s used as a thickener to make the soup less runny.

This recipe is made with a seasoned broth base like sopa de ajo, but heavy cream is added as well.

Ingredients

Garlic Bread Soup

• Day-old French Bread (other types of stale bread work, too)
• Chicken Broth
• Bay Leaves
• Thyme
• Olive Oil
• Minced Garlic
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Yellow Onion
• Heavy Cream
• Parmesan

Homemade Croutons

• French Bread
• Butter
• Minced Garlic
• Basil
• Salt

How to Make Garlic Bread Soup

Homemade Croutons

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Cut French bread into 1″ cubes.
• Melt butter and minced garlic in a small bowl. Drizzle bread cubes with garlic butter, then sprinkle with chopped basil and a pinch of salt. Toss the bread cubes to coat, then place them on a baking pan in a single layer.

• Cook for 15 minutes, stirring halfway, until the croutons are golden brown. Set aside.

Garlic Bread Soup

• Add olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onions, thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper, and cook for 7-8 minutes until the onions begin to brown. Add garlic and cook until it becomes aromatic, about 30-60 seconds.

• Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves.

• Whisk French bread cubes and heavy whipping cream into the broth. Allow the bread cubes to absorb the liquid for about 5 minutes at a simmer.

• Using an immersion blender, blend the onion and bread cubes in the soup.
• Whisk in grated Parmesan cheese. Serve in soup bowls with homemade croutons on top of the soup. It’s also delicious in a bread bowl.

Thickening Garlic Bread Soup

Creamy garlic bread soup is a comforting and indulgent type of soup known for its smooth, velvety texture.

I’m always interested in learning new ways to thicken soups with foods instead of with cornstarch or flour. To make the creamy texture in this soup, it’s thickened with heavy whipping cream and bread, which is perfect since it is garlic bread soup.

Not to worry, it’s not a soup of soggy bread. The bread is blended into the cream with an immersion blender. You won’t have pieces of soggy bread floating in the soup.

Blending the Soup

You will need an immersion blender or food processor/blender for this garlic bread soup to be blended properly.

Note: If you have a nonstick pot, be careful using a metal immersion blender in the pan! It will scratch the nonstick coating off the bottom of your pot.

How to avoid scratches in your pot:

1. Use a pot without a nonstick surface that scratches easily.
2. Use an immersion blender with a plastic base.
3. Transfer the soup to another container, such as a large mixing bowl or Tupperware, that won’t be scratched.
4. If you use your food processor or blender, there’s no worry of scratches.

Storage

Refrigeration

If you plan to consume the soup within 3-4 days, store it in the refrigerator. Ensure the soup is completely cooled, then cover it with an airtight lid or plastic wrap.

Freezing

Allow the creamy soup to cool to room temperature before freezing. Use airtight, freezer-safe containers or resealable plastic freezer bags. Make sure they are designed for freezer use to prevent freezer burn and maintain the soup’s quality.

If using containers, leave some space at the top (about an inch or so) to allow the soup to expand as it freezes.

Thawing

When you’re ready to use the frozen creamy soup, you can either thaw it in the refrigerator overnight or, in some cases, reheat it from frozen (if it’s in a bag).

To thaw in the refrigerator, transfer the soup from the freezer to the fridge the night before you plan to use it. Slow thawing helps maintain the soup’s texture.

To reheat from frozen (for soups in bags), place the frozen bag in a large bowl of cold water for quicker thawing. Once it’s partially thawed, you can transfer it to a pot or microwave for reheating.

How to Reheat Soup

Reheat the soup gently on the stove over medium-low heat or in the microwave, stirring occasionally to prevent burning or separation. Heat it until it’s hot but not boiling.

Some creamy soups may separate or change in texture after freezing and reheating. To restore the creamy consistency, you can use an immersion blender or a regular blender to blend the soup after reheating.

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