40 Clove Garlic Soup and Parmesan Croutons

They say that sharing is caring. Sharing colds though? Not so caring. In Ben’s and my case, he got sick right after new years, then oh-so-lovingly passed it on to me. And two weeks later that dang cold is still hanging on for dear life. He’s just now coming around to kissing me again. Two weeks without a kiss from your husband – torturous. (Especially when he’s got a full on mountain man beard going. Beards are hot, period.)
But now, thankfully, I have a cure all for any cold out there in the form of this 40 Clove Garlic Soup. It’s also a one-two punch for repelling sparkly brooding vampires from Forks, too.
Finally this wicked cold is making its final exit and I am slurping up this soup not just for its cold curing compounds but because it is –
Just. So. Dayuuumm. Gooood.

Oh, are you still reeling from my mention of 40 cloves of garlic in this soup? Just sit back and let it sink in.
Yes, I did say FORTY cloves. Remember yesterday when I mentioned that you HAD to come back today to see what I was doing with all that roasted garlic I showed you how to make for How To Tuesday, this was it.

The roasted garlic has a mellow and slightly sweetened flavor that is just buttery and incredible – unlike it’s abrupt and pungent raw counterpart.
And with the healing mystical powers of garlic behind this soup , it is just the ticket to clearing up your cold warming you from the inside out.
Let’s just not even get me started on the slightly spicy parmesan crusted croutons on top of this soup. I’m pretty sure the best part of making soup is having a ginormous slice of ultra crusty bread served right next to it – just so you can swirl it around in the soup and clean the bowl in one fell swoop. It’s the classier alternative to just licking the bowl.
These croutons soak up obscene amounts of soup and just melt like buttah. Toss big ol’ hunks of bread in a little olive oil, a whole lotta spice s and a sprinkling of parmesan and toast them crostini style in a saute pan – your life is now officially made.

Enjoy this soup with someone you love – because then if you both suffer from garlic breath it’ll cancel each other out and you can make out all you want without offending one another. Just trying to help here. No? Sorry, I tried.
We are now mid-way through Soup Week – so stop by and visit the rest of the girls for the Soup Week Shenanigans and even catch a great Le Creuset giveaway from Katie of Hill Country Cook!
Katie of Hill Country Cook – 3 Bean and Spinach Soup and LeCreuset Giveaway
Kirsten of Comfortably Domestic: Broccoli Cheddar with Bread Bowls
Haley of Girly Girl Cooks: Hearty Vegetable Mexican Soup and Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
Tuesday:
Madeline of Munching in the Mitten: Garbage Soup
Mads of La Petite Pancake: Gnocci Pesto Soup
Wednesday:
Lauren of Climbing Grier Mountain: Sunchoke Soup with Gorgonzola and Honey Crostini
Megan of Wanna Be A Country Cleaver: 40 Clove Garlic Chicken Soup with Parmesan Croutons
Thursday:
Monica of The GromMom: Coconut Curry with a lot of Aloha
Carrie of Bakeaholic Mama: Beef Bourguignon
Friday:
Kat of Tenaciously Yours: Eat Live Run’s White Chicken Chili
Allison of Decadent Philistines: Arizona Mountain Soup with Cornbread
Saturday:
Anne of My Sweet Heart: Pink Prosecco Soup
Jeanne of Inside NanaBread’s Head: Shrimp Bisque and Mayo Biscuits
Beka of Kvetchin’ Kitchen: Creamy Mushroom Soup
Print
40 Clove Garlic Soup and Parmesan Croutons
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
This soup is the cure-all for any cold out there! Roasted garlic gives the soup mellow, buttery flavor, and the slightly spicy parmesan croutons are the perfect addition on top.
Ingredients
Soup:
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil, divided
- 1 tbsp Thyme, minced
- 4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 30 cloves Garlic, roasted
- 10 cloves Garlic, raw and peeled
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- ¼ cup White Wine
- ½ cup Heavy Cream
- 4 slices of Lemon
- Salt and Pepper
Parmesan Croutons:
- 4 thick slices French Bread
- 2–3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- ½ tsp Italian Seasoning
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded
- ½ tsp Red Pepper Flake
Instructions
Soup:
- To roast garlic – preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice off ½” of top of heads of garlic. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- Roast in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and allow to cool.
- Squeeze cloves of garlic to extract garlic meat from the skin of the cloves. Set roasted garlic aside.
- In large sauce pot or dutch oven, heat over medium high heat. Add in remaining olive oil. When oil is hot add in thinly sliced onion. Add in onion and stir until it becomes translucent about 5-minutes.
- Add in thyme and stir. Pour in chicken broth, roasted garlic and raw garlic. Bring to steady simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes or until raw garlic is very soft.
- In small portions, pour soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour smooth soup into a large bowl and repeat until all soup has been blended.
- Add back into the soup pan and continue to simmer. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Steadily pour in heavy cream and stir to combine.
For Croutons:
- Toss large chunks of bread with olive oil and spices. In a pan over medium high heat toast chunks of bread until they become golden brown.
- Remove from pan and toss with parmesan cheese. Serve over soup.
To Serve:
- Ladle soup into bowl and top with croutons and spritz with lemon juice.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen 44 Clove Garlic Soup

Megan this looks amazing! What a great use of all that roasted garlic.
I want a giant bowl of this soup SO MUCH.
This looks and sounds beyond good! I’ll be sharing this with others and making it!
When is the white wine added?
Oh thanks for catching that. Add it in with the broth.
Girl, this looks AMAZING! I feel like I’m starting to come down wtih something too, so this may have to be on my to-make list this weekend!
Gorgeous! What a great way to ward off colds. Glad to hear you’re finally on the mend!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I fell in love with garlic soup when I went to Solvakia 5 years ago, and I haven’t been able to have it since. I can’t wait to make this. Now, I just need to find a good sourdough bread bowl recipe, and I can relive my trip. Thanks!
Oh, yes! Definitely going to need a big ol’ spoon! This looks AH-mazing, Megan!
PERFECT use of your garlic how to! Plus its’ -120842084 degrees out so this is perfect.
Would it be weird if I just saved time snaffing and just took a bath in this soup? Sounds incredible, Megan!
AND I LOVE THAT SPOON!!! I really want to try this! I love garlic and this is a whole ‘nother level!
Awe stinks that your hubby has been sick. This soup looks great and definitely a cure for the common cold and vampire! 😉
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Looks like I”m going to have to make the rounds on the soup circuit. So glad I’m starting with yours. Love garlic. Beards, not so much.
When I was pregnant I got sick once and it was awful. After that I ate roasted garlic almost every day and I swear it work, I never got sick after that. Serious immunity powers. This soup looks like pure perfection.
There’s probably nothing I love more than garlic, except maybe roasted garlic. This soup is soup for the soul. I’m glad Ben’s feeling better! Jonathan has a major cold right now, so we’re going through the same thing.
omg..I love roasted garlic!I bet this soup is so heavenly..im sure it’ll ward off kisses though! 😛 I can’t wait to try it!
I must make this. Immediately. I want it in my face!
I seriously want to dive into this head first because omg I love garlic and those croutons just look flat out amaaaaazing.
Looks delicious! I LOVE garlic. I think I might make this Friday – we are suppose to have freezing rain. This would be the perfect way to warm up.
Looks amazing Megan! I bet it would keep away vampires too!! 🙂 I wish I had a bowl of this right now. It’s fafafafafreezing on this side of the mountains.
i must make this ASAP!! i loooove garlic and 40 cloves of it? dear god, that is heaven!
Oh I love garlic
haha–I didn’t mean to press send…but I guess that was all I wanted to say.
I love garlic.
I do.
And this soup looks amazing. And so comforting! Yes…
thanks! :ALOHA
Yes!! I made a roasted garlic soup last year and it was so good. I can’t imagine how amazing this is!
Oh Megan…I can smell it from here! It looks beautiful! But be sure you eat it at the same time….you know….for kissing’s sake! And those croutons…I’ll eat a bag of those alone…like they were popcorn! Beautiful! : )
40 cloves? BRING IT!
I need to try this ASAP. PS I love the photos!!
40 cloves of garlic? I dont know if this is exactly date night material but it sure is winter night material. Yummy!
I can’t even tell you how much I love this!
This just looks perfect!
Wow, 40 cloves is insane..but good! I tried the beard route but it makes me scratch like a crazy man!! Kudos to the hubby…
Wow, this sounds so good! I’ve heard of 50 Garlic Clove Chicken, and this sounds even yummier. 🙂
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Holy cow girl, that looks amazing! Wow!!
I need to figure out a way for my entire body to fit inside this bowl.
That is one lovely soup, Megan! Absolutely the best antidote for a rough winter cold! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I have to take a moment of silence her and just stare at this deliciousness.
My husband is sick now, and I’m seriously worried that I’ll get it too. Except, at least I have this soup to fall back on just in case 🙂
This soup is amazing especially for a garlic lover like me! This is perfect for the frigid days we have been having here in NY!
Yes yes yes! I have been wanting to try a great garlic soup. Found it!
OMG – I’m in love with this already. I’d definitely have this…in sickness and in health, lol. 🙂 Yum! Glad to hear him feeling better now.
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I’m making this tonight! Question though, when do I add the white wine? I Dont see it in the directions. Maybe Im just supposed to drink it while I’m cooking?
Garlic is easy to grow and can be grown year-round in mild climates. While sexual propagation of garlic is indeed possible, nearly all of the garlic in cultivation is propagated asexually, by planting individual cloves in the ground.;’
<Most recently released short article from our own blog site *-::;"http://www.caramoan.co/
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…yep, this is happening tomorrow.
I just finished making this soup and it’s delicious! But when do you add the white wine?
I have been wanting to try a great garlic soup
im cooking with wine for the first time. hheeh..
where does the wine come into this? did i miss it
Sorry! It goes in when the chicken broth does 🙂