Roasted Garlic and Herb Soup (Printable Page)

A velvety soup with deeply roasted garlic and fresh herbs in savory broth

# What You Need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 3 whole heads garlic
02 - 1 large yellow onion, chopped
03 - 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
04 - 2 stalks celery, chopped
05 - 1 medium carrot, chopped

→ Herbs and Seasonings

06 - 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons dried
07 - 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
08 - 1 bay leaf
09 - 1 teaspoon dried oregano
10 - ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
11 - 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

→ Liquids

12 - 6 cups vegetable broth
13 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
14 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, optional

→ Garnish

15 - 2 tablespoons fresh chives or parsley, finely chopped
16 - Crusty bread for serving, optional

# Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Slice the tops off garlic heads, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, wrap in foil, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes until soft and golden.
02 - In a large pot, heat remaining olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrot; sauté for 5 to 7 minutes until softened.
03 - Squeeze roasted garlic cloves from their skins and add to the pot along with potatoes, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir well to combine.
04 - Pour in vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are tender.
05 - Remove bay leaf. Purée the soup using an immersion blender or in batches in a countertop blender until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
06 - Ladle into bowls, garnish with fresh chives or parsley, and serve hot with crusty bread.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The roasted garlic melts into the broth so completely you won't believe how creamy it becomes without any cream.
  • It tastes like you've been simmering this for hours, but honestly it comes together in about an hour total.
  • One batch easily feeds four people and tastes even better the next day when the flavors have had time to deepen.
02 -
  • Don't skip the roasting step—raw garlic soup tastes harsh and one-dimensional, but roasted garlic becomes this sweet, golden thing that's completely different.
  • If your soup tastes too garlicky even after roasting, it means you used smaller garlic heads or your broth was low in salt, which makes flavors taste sharper.
03 -
  • If you don't have an immersion blender, a regular blender works fine—just let the soup cool slightly and blend in batches so you don't have soup exploding everywhere.
  • Taste the soup before you add the full amount of salt because vegetable broths vary wildly in their saltiness, and you can always add more but you can't take it out.
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