Creamy White Bean and Garlic Soup (5-Ingredient)
from https://www.seriouseats.com/

Toasted garlic, canned white beans, and good olive oil come together in this silky, deeply savory soup that tastes far more complex than it has any right to be.

Why It Works: Toasting unpeeled garlic cloves directly in the pot quickly develops a mellow roasted garlic flavor without turning on the oven. Simmering beans with their canning liquid adds body and natural starches, creating a creamy texture without dairy. A final hit of lemon juice and fresh herbs brightens the soup and balances its rich base.

The problem with most quick, minimalist soups is that they're polite to a fault: perfectly fine, but flat, one-note, and not too memorable. This is because when you strip a recipe down to just a handful of ingredients, there's nowhere to hide—no layers of flavor built from long cooking times, no sneaky umami, no parade of garnishes doing damage control at the end. If it's going to taste good, the technique has to pull its weight.

This soup does just that. The key to its rich flavor is the garlic. Instead of starting with chopped raw garlic sautéed in oil (which can easily turn sharp or bitter if cooked too quickly and aggressively), the flavor foundation comes from whole, unpeeled garlic cloves toasted directly in a dry saucepan. It's a fast, slightly unconventional move that pays off. In just a few minutes, the skins blister and brown, and the cloves inside turn fragrant and mellow, with a sweetness that reads as slow-roasted rather than last-minute. Once peeled, roughly chopped, and gently warmed in olive oil, that garlic becomes the flavor base for the entire soup.

Like most five-ingredient recipes, this one is best viewed as a technique launching pad. Add shredded cooked chicken if you've got it. Finish with a dollop of yogurt or a drizzle of chili oil. A teaspoon of minced rosemary or sage plays especially well with the garlic and beans. But even in its simplest form, this soup delivers exactly what I want on a low-effort day.

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 (15-ounce) can white beans, such as cannelini
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) homemade chicken stock or vegetable stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, plus extra as needed
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley, tarragon, or chives
1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

In an empty medium saucepan, toast whole unpeeled garlic cloves over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and skins are just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer garlic to a cutting board and let cool in skins until cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes.

Once cool enough to handle, peel garlic and roughly chop. In now-empty saucepan, heat oil and chopped garlic over medium heat until edges of garlic bubble and just begin to turn golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Add beans with their liquid, along with chicken or vegetable stock/broth. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until beans begin to break down, 5 to 7 minutes.

Use a potato masher or immersion blender to mash soup until mostly smooth. (Alternatively, process soup in a traditional blender until mostly smooth, about 2 minutes, then return to saucepan.) Adjust consistency with additional broth as needed. Off heat, stir in parsley and lemon juice, and season with kosher salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

One reviewer served this with a slice of sourdough that she toasted in olive oil. And the next night with grilled cheese, which she said was even better.

Servings: 2 to 4