Warming Spanish Garlic Soup Recipe – Sopa de Ajo

How to make Spanish Garlic soup – an easy Spanish soup recipe

In this article, you will learn how to make Spanish Garlic Soup, or Sopa de Ajo as it is called in Spanish, and get an inside to one of the most famous Spanish soup recipes.

Along with the Spanish lentil soup and the tasty garbanzo bean soup from Spain, the Spanish Garlic soup is one of the most popular things to eat in Andalusia during winter.

This Spanish soup recipe is very easy to make and you should definitely do it this fall and winter season.  

You, dear reader, support this blog. If you purchase through a link, we earn a small commission. As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Background of the dish

This dish was created during the Middle Age in Southern Spain, and it was eaten at dawn because it gave people enough energy to go through the cold winter days.

And in fact, the garlic soup does work as an energy boost, thanks to the amount of garlic and its beneficial properties. 

For these same reasons on the present day it is taken as a healing soup for when you get those winter colds.

This winter season makes sure to have garlic in your pantry to prepare this Andalusian food and get the strength that you need for the cold days.   

Pin for later!

Things You’ll Need

Given the fact that this recipe was originally developed by Spanish lower classes, you won’t need any equipment or fancy ingredients, it is a fast forward and delicious dish to make. 

Just using a large pot as the equipment and garlic, bread, and chicken stock as the main ingredients, you will be able to make a cheap yet outstanding Spanish garlic soup.

Ingredients

• 400g bread
• 7 garlic cloves
• 2 Lts chicken stock (can be a vegan alternative)
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 250g ham (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt

How to make Spanish Garlic Soup – Step by Step Guide

1. The first thing you need to do is peel every single garlic clove and chop it into small pieces. Also, grab the bread and cut it into small or medium size cubes.
2. Start heating olive oil in a large pot, add garlic, and cook it at low heat for 2 minutes or until they get a golden tone.
3. Add the bread cubes and toast it for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Make sure to shake the pot once in a while so they get an even color. This way the bread will absorb the olive oil and garlic flavors.
4. After that, add the ham. You can either put the whole slices or chop it into small pieces, both ways are fine. Let it cook for 3 minutes.
5. Now is time to pour the chicken stock, paprika, and salt into the pot. Make sure that the spices get dissolved by mixing the soup just a little bit.
6. Cook it for 20 minutes at medium heat.
7. When 10 minutes of the cooking time went by, crack the eggs and keep cooking until they set, for about 10 more minutes.
8. Serve warm and enjoy!     

Substitution of ingredients

Thankfully, this is a pretty standard soup recipe, so you will be able to play with the ingredients and spices depending on your personal taste.

For example, you can add some chicken breast, cut it into cubes, and season with salt and parsley, this way you will get a delicious garlic chicken soup from Spain. 

If you ever find yourself looking for what to eat in Granada, you might find that in some restaurants they use other types of garlic soup recipes.

Some of them contain fish, so you can also add that to your dish if you want to incorporate seafood into your diet. If you love seafood, have a look at our Spanish seafood soup recipe and our Spanish fish soup.

Besides that, there are other variations of this dish, such as adding chopped onions while you are cooking the garlic, as a result, you’ll get a garlic onion soup. You can also change the seasoning, by removing the paprika and replacing it with a different spice.

When it comes to the bread, you can use any of your choices, such as sourdough bread, baguette, and others. If you can’t eat gluten you can use any type of gluten-free bread or just completely remove it from the recipe.  

Remember that soup in Spain is very popular. And if you enjoy making them at home, have a  look at our other Spanish soups such as the Spanish garbanzo bean soup or Spanish vegetable soup.

Tips on Serving

Given the fact that this soup is considered a healing soup, you can use the garlic soup for colds and eat it during the winter or fall days. This garlic soup is commonly eaten at lunch or dinner as an entree or main course.

Indeed, it can get very cold in Southern Spain during the winter.

It is very important that no matter the amount of soup that you serve, each plate should get one or two eggs, but you can add more or less depending on the preferences of your guests.

You can also serve it alongside toasted bread, to add more texture to your dish. And why not, add some smoked paprika powder on top.

You can serve it on different clay bowls and heat it in the oven, this way a delicious crust will form on top. Besides that, you can pour some shredded parmesan cheese on top to add a different flavor to your soup.      

If you’re trying to reap the benefits of eating garlic or you just love its strong flavor, check out our creamy Spanish garlic sauce recipe with your favorite dish.

Tips on Storage

If you follow this exact garlic soup recipe, you can either save it for a couple of days in the fridge or freeze it, but there are some tips that you need to know first.

For example, if you choose to store it in the fridge, you should make the soup first, and make the eggs the day that you’ll eat it. This soup can last from one to three days on the fridge.

Meanwhile, if you want to freeze the soup, you should also make the eggs the day that you’ll eat the soup because it is not recommended to freeze cooked eggs.

Also, don’t freeze it in the same pot where you cooked the soup, instead of doing it in a large bowl. 

The night before consuming the soup you should take it to the fridge to defreeze. This soup can last up to a whole month in the freezer.

You can’t get enough of Spanish garlic soup? Have a look at my Sopa de Ajo webstory.  

Recipe Card: How to make Spanish Garlic Soup

---

---