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    Home » Recipes » Main Dishes

    Creamy Garlic Bread Soup with Homemade Croutons

    Published: Nov 19, 2019 · Modified: Jun 15, 2023 by Tiffany · As an Amazon Associate, I earn referral fees from products I love and recommend at no extra cost to you.

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    Do you love garlic bread? This creamy and delicious garlic bread soup tastes like garlic bread but in a bowl! It’s seasoned just like garlic bread and thickened with blended cubes of French bread, cream, and parmesan cheese. Serve it with homemade croutons or it is also a perfect pairing to dip grilled cheese into.

    Garlic bread soup with croutons on top in a white bowl

    Hello, garlic lovers! If this is your first time making this soup, it’s a delicious meal 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 and we love it!

    Ingredients for Garlic Bread Soup

    Cutting board with diced onion, grated parmesan, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, heavy whipping cream in a measuring cup, and minced onion
    • Day Old French Bread (other stale bread works too)
    • Chicken Broth
    • Bay Leaves
    • Thyme
    • Olive Oil
    • Minced Garlic
    • Salt
    • Black Pepper
    • Yellow Onion
    • Heavy Cream
    • Parmesan

    Ingredients for Homemade Croutons

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

    How to Make Garlic Bread Soup

    Homemade Croutons

    Unbaked diced bread on a cooking sheet
    Pouring a bowl of garlic butter on diced bread
    • 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, and sprinkle with chopped basil and salt. Toss bread cubes to coat and place on a baking pan in a single layer.
    Unbaked diced bread on a cooking sheet
    Baked diced bread on a cooking sheet
    • Cook for 15 minutes, stirring halfway. Set aside.

    Garlic Bread Soup

    Sautéing diced onion and spices in a large pot
    Adding minced garlic to the pot of diced onion and spices
    • Add olive oil to a large pot over medium 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.
    Pouring chicken broth into a pot of spices and diced onion
    A pot of chicken broth, onion, and spices
    • Add chicken broth and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
    Pouring diced bread in a pot of chicken broth
    A measuring cup pouring cream into a pot of diced bread and chicken broth
    • 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.
    An immersion blender blending bread into the soup in a large pot
    Grated parmesan in pot of soup
    • Using an immersion blender, blend the onion and bread cubes in the soup.
    • Whisk in grated parmesan cheese. Serve with homemade croutons.

    Thickening Garlic Bread Soup

    Creamy 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 food (especially vegetables!) 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.

    Garlic bread soup with croutons on top in a white bowl

    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.
    Garlic bread soup in two white bowls with a cutting board holding croutons and thyme

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    Creamy garlic bread soup in a white bowl with croutons on top and thyme sprigs next to the bowl

    Creamy Garlic Bread Soup with Homemade Croutons

    Do you love garlic bread? This creamy and delicious garlic bread soup tastes like garlic bread but in a bowl! It’s seasoned just like garlic bread and thickened with blended cubes of French bread, cream, and parmesan cheese. Serve it with homemade croutons or it is also a perfect pairing to dip grilled cheese into.
    4.60 from 164 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Dishes
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 46 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 56 minutes minutes
    Servings: 5 Servings
    Author: Tiffany
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    Garlic Bread Soup

    • 14 ounces Day Old French Bread, cubed
    • 8 cups Chicken Broth, reduced-sodium
    • 1 Medium-Sized Yellow Onion, Diced
    • 2 Bay Leaves
    • 1 teaspoon Thyme
    • 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
    • 2 tablespoons Minced Garlic
    • 1 teaspoon Salt
    • Dash of Pepper
    • ½ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
    • ½ cup Grated Parmesan

    Homemade Croutons

    • 2 cups French Bread, cut into 1″ cubes
    • 3 tablespoons Butter, melted
    • 1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
    • 1 teaspoon Basil
    • ½ teaspoon Salt

    Instructions
     

    Homemade Croutons

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Cut French bread into 1″ cubes.
    • Melt butter and minced garlic in a small dish. Drizzle bread cubes with garlic butter, and sprinkle with basil and salt. Toss bread cubes to coat and place on a baking pan in a single layer.
    • Bake for 15 minutes, stirring halfway. Set aside.

    Garlic Bread Soup

    • Add olive oil to a large pot over medium-sized heat. Once hot, add onions, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper, and cook for 7-8 minutes until 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 for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves.
    • Whisk French bread cubes and heavy whipping cream into 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 with homemade croutons.

    Recommended Products

    9-Speed Immersion Blender
    Hamilton Beach 10-Cup Food Processor
    Garlic Press

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn referral fees from products I love and recommend at no extra cost to you.

    Notes

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

    Nutrition

    Calories: 387 kcalCarbohydrates: 50.5 gProtein: 20.2 gFat: 11.4 gSaturated Fat: 5.8 gCholesterol: 28 mgSodium: 2038 mgPotassium: 159 mgFiber: 2.6 gSugar: 4.1 gCalcium: 209 mgIron: 3 mg

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Roxanne

      November 15, 2022 at 4:55 pm

      5 stars
      Made this tonite. It was awesome. And easy

      Reply
    2. Wendy

      November 13, 2022 at 8:08 pm

      4 stars
      Better than the recipe sounds! The pic with the croutons, parsley, and Parm is more representative of this soup. Do follow through with the croutons, for sure. It is worth the investment of your time. I made homemade bread for this soup and croutons and am eager to see if it is as good with bought bread. I loved the creamy soup. I could not think of a single thing to add to it. It is a wonderful soup to serve in a chunky cup as an appetizer on a cold day. I will definitely make it again.

      Reply
    3. Tanya

      October 17, 2022 at 9:46 am

      Can u use store bought croutons in the soup?

      Reply
      • Tiffany

        October 19, 2022 at 9:30 am

        You can, but they will be harder than the homemade version. I find homemade croutons have a certain crisp yet chewiness that works well in soups.

        Reply
    4. Beth

      October 15, 2022 at 9:13 am

      5 stars
      This is an amazing meal!! Loved it!

      Reply
    5. Kris

      September 02, 2022 at 12:50 pm

      Hello, I am going to make this next week as part of a birthday dinner, but would you please let me know if the 16 oz of bread cubes are for both the soup & croutons? Just want to make sure I don’t need an additional 2 cups of bread cubes for the croutons? Hope my question makes sense. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Tiffany

        September 02, 2022 at 2:00 pm

        Hi Kris,

        The 14 to 16 ounces of French bread is just for the soup itself and the 2 cups of cubed bread for the croutons is additionally needed.
        I hope that answers your question. Let me know if you have any more questions.
        -Tiffany

        Reply
    6. Sarah Martin

      August 20, 2022 at 2:54 am

      This sounds really delicious!

      Reply

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    My love for cooking began in the kitchen with my grandmother at the age of 5. Some of the recipes have been passed down to me and others I create as I go. I feature recipes that use all of your kitchen appliances - air fryer, Instant Pot, Crock Pot, smoker, grill, you name it! Read More…

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