Roasted Garlic Potato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

A creamy and luxurious Roasted Garlic Potato Soup. When you roast garlic it becomes sweet, not harsh at all! We’re adding it to a smooth and silky potato soup and the flavor is just out of this world!

I am so in love with this soup.

This velvety smooth roasted garlic potato soup has got me falling head over heels with every bite I take. Warm and creamy bites of potato soup with hints of roasted garlic, sauteed leeks, and onions, topped with gruyere grilled cheese croutons. It’s so smooth that it feels like you’re sippin’ on silk! It’s the ultimate comfort food!

It’s no secret that soups are some of my all-time favorite food to make. I have an overabundance of soup recipes here on LSJ. But honestly… can you ever have enough soup recipes? 

And if you look at my soups and stews you’ll find one thing in common – almost all of them have one thing in common. They don’t always contain potatoes. *gasp*

I have a strong suspicion that I consumed a lifetime’s worth of potatoes before I turned 5. Because all of a sudden, potatoes became my least favorite food. In my thirties, I’ve learned to love them again so don’t worry cheesy potato recipes like my cheddar mashed potatoes with definitely be coming around more often!

Moving along… One of the key components in this recipe is the roasted garlic. It’s the absolute best part about this roasted garlic potato soup, other than the parmesan, and all the aromatics we use. I love how just a simple 40 minutes in the oven really brings out all the sweeter notes in garlic. It’s not pungent or offensive, but rather mild, sweet, and a more well-rounded flavor. Each sip of this silky-smooth potato soup is like a little dance across your tongue.

It honestly tastes divine! But don’t worry, if you too have an aversion to potatoes, I make a mean roasted cauliflower soup with truffle oil that you can try instead!

Ingredients for roasted garlic potato soup:

• Garlic: Start by slicing the top of a whole head of garlic and exposing the cloves of garlic. We’ll season, wrap this in foil, and roast it for this roasted garlic soup recipe.
• Potatoes: I prefer to use russet potatoes for my leek and potato soup recipe. You can use other types of potatoes, such as Yukon gold potatoes, but the starchiness of russet potatoes really helps make this recipe extra smooth. We’ll boil the potatoes until fork tender before adding them to the soup.
• Butter and Olive Oil: We’ll saute the aromatics in the butter and use the olive oil to drizzle on the garlic before we roast it in the oven.
• Onions and Leeks: These are the aromatics that add tons of flavor to the soup. We’ll saute them in butter to really bring out all that natural flavor as they slightly brown.
• Flour: Helps thicken the soup. In the past, I’ve used a bit more flour than you find in the recipe now. I find a slightly thinner soup is more my preference!
• Chicken Broth: I typically use homemade chicken broth or chicken stock but vegetable broth would also work for this recipe.
• Milk and Heavy Cream: milk and heavy cream add creaminess and a smoother taste and texture to the bowls of warm soup. We’ll add these ingredients at the end and then let them simmer and warm through before we use the immersion blender to blend the soup.
• Thyme and Chives: the thyme adds flavor to the soup and the chives are a nice garnish to this roasted garlic potato soup recipe!
• Parmesan cheese: adds nuttiness that plays up beautifully with roasted garlic and all the other ingredients in this comforting soup.
• Gruyere and bread: These ingredients are entirely optional and really only necessary if you want to make the gruyere grilled cheese croutons to serve on top of your soup recipe. You could even use sharp cheddar cheese or other types if you like something else in your grilled cheese sandwiches.
• Seasonings: You’ll need both kosher salt and black pepper for the seasonings.

How to make roasted garlic potato soup:

1. Roast the garlic. Preheat the oven. Slice off the top of the garlic to expose the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Wrap garlic head in foil, place on a baking tray, and roast until garlic is tender. Let the garlic head cool to room temperature before attempting to squeeze it out.
2. Bring to a boil. While the garlic is roasting, bring a large saucepan of water to boiling. Add the whole potatoes and boil them until they’re tender. Allow them to cool, peel, and then dice them to add to the soup later. You can also make the potatoes a day in advance, and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge before peeling them. It’s a great way to speed up total time on the day you make this!
3. Saute the aromatics. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and leeks and saute until the onions and leeks soften and turn translucent.
4. Make the soup. Lower to medium heat, add the flour, and cook until the flour is lightly golden. Add the broth, milk, cream, thyme, salt and pepper. Let the soup reach a boil then simmer until it starts to thicken. Add the potatoes, and squeeze in the roasted garlic, add the parmesan cheese. 
5. Blend the soup. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. You can also do this in a traditional blender by transferring and blending in batches. If the soup is thick for your liking, add more chicken broth according to preference, you might need up to 1 cup. Stir the soup, give it one last taste, and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
6. Serving. Transfer the soup into bowls from the dutch oven. Top with parmesan cheese, chives, crackers, or with Gruyère grilled cheese croutons (recipe in notes.)

If you like this soup, you might also like:

• Harvest Pumpkin Leek Soup
• Easy Cheesy Bean and Rice Enchilada Soup
• Soul-Warming Creamy Hungarian Mushroom Soup
• Hearty Minestrone Soup
• Silky Honeynut Squash Soup

Original recipe posted Feb 2015, updated Oct 2023.

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Yield: 5-6 servings

Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

A creamy and luxurious Roasted Garlic Potato Soup. When you roast garlic it becomes sweet, not harsh at all! We’re adding it to a smooth and silky potato soup and the flavor is just out of this world!

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Ingredients

• 1 head of garlic, whole
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1¾ pounds russet potatoes, peeled
• 4 tablespoons salted butter
• 1 cup white onions, chopped
• 1 leek, cleaned/thinly sliced (whites and light greens)
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 4-5 cups low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable)
• 1 cup whole milk (or 2%)
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon fresh thyme (¼ if dry)
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Salt + pepper to taste
• Chopped chives or grilled cheese croutons for topping (see notes)

Instructions

1. ROAST: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Slice off the top of the garlic to expose the cloves. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Wrap garlic head in foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast for 40-45 minutes or until garlic is tender. Let cool before squeezing.
2. BOIL: While the garlic is roasting, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the peeled potatoes and boil until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and cube.
3. SAUTE: Melt the butter in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and leeks and saute for 6-8 minutes or until the onions and leeks soften and turn translucent.
4. MAKE SOUP: lower the heat to medium, add the flour, and cook for 60-90 seconds or until the flour is lightly golden. Add the 4 cups broth, milk, cream, thyme, a 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper. Let the soup reach a boil then allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes until it starts to thicken. Add the potatoes, squeeze in the roasted garlic, and parmesan cheese.
5. BLEND: Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. You can also do this in a traditional blender by transferring and blending in batches. If the soup is thick for your liking, add more chicken broth according to preference; you might need up to 1 cup. Taste and adjust with seasonings as desired.
6. SERVE: serve in bowls topped with parmesan cheese, chives, crackers, or with Gruyère grilled cheese croutons (recipe in notes.)

Notes

• Grilled Cheese Croutons: Grab 4 slices of white country bread and spread with a couple tablespoons of unsalted butter on both sides. Add grated Gruyère cheese (about ¼ cup to each) to two of the slices. Top with the cheese-less slices and cook the grilled cheese sandwiches in a warm skillet or panini press until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, let rest for several seconds and cut into 1-inch croutons. Top soup and enjoy!
  
• Roasted Garlic Vs. Leeks: If you want this to have a very prominent roasted garlic flavor, I suggest maybe even doubling up on the roasted garlic and using less of the leeks or omitting them entirely. 1 head of garlic with the leeks does give this a balanced flavor where the garlic or leeks work harmoniously. If you want it to be extra garlicky, use more garlic!

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