Česnečka – Czech Garlic Soup

This recipe for Czech garlic soup is light yet rich in taste. It's often used as a fortifying soup while being sick or as a hangover cure. In the Czech Republic, we call the garlic soup česnečka or česneková polévka.

My husband always asks for homemade česnečka when he feels sick. And I’m happy to cook it for him because I know this wholesome garlic soup will ever get him back on his feet.

Try it too: If you feel you’re getting ill, try the Czech česneková polévka. Nothing beats a steaming soup in those cases!

What Is Czech Česnečka?

Česnečka is a clear garlic soup with potatoes made from chicken stock, loaded with fresh garlic. Dried marjoram and some bay leaves are added as well. A handful of rye bread croutons are thrown in a soup as the last step.

Pronunciation

I recorded a short audio clip on how to pronounce the Czech word česnečka. The first word in the audio is "česnečka", the last is "česneková polévka", which means garlic soup.

Ingredients

You don’t need any fad ingredients, just basic ones that we probably can find in our pantries.

• Fresh garlic; peeled cloves, cut into little pieces
• Brown potatoes; peeled and diced
• Chicken stock; for more flavor and rich taste
• Dried marjoram
• Black pepper; ideally fresh ground
• Bay leaves
• A sprig of parsley; to garnish the soup
• Pork lard; or vegetable oil

For bread croutons, you’ll need one or two slices of stale rye bread. If you don’t have rye bread, white bread will work as well.

MY TIP: Don’t miss Květáková polévka, Czech white cauliflower soup

Making Česnečka from Scratch

I've heard many people calling the Czech česnečka one of the best garlic soups globally gastronomy.

I have to say that it is true, but you need to know how to make it right. If you just boiled the garlic and potatoes in water, the soup wouldn’t taste as rich as it tastes when well prepared.

The secret of a hearty and rich česnečka soup? You have to sauté diced potatoes and sliced garlic before adding the chicken stock.

Making Česnečka:

STEP 1: Peel the garlic cloves and cut them into thin slices. Peel the potatoes, dice them into cubes about ½ inch thick.

STEP 2: In a soup pot, melt the lard over medium heat. Add the potato cubes and sauté them until lightly golden brown. Stir frequently.

STEP 3: Add the slices of garlic, bay leaves, and sauté for 1 minute (no longer!).

STEP 4: Pour in chicken stock, bring to a boil.

SETP 5: Reduce temperature, add salt, pepper, and marjoram, cook for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.

Serving

Serve hot with rye bread croutons, garnish with chopped parsley leaves. For an even more intensive taste, add some freshly crushed raw garlic into the soup at the end!

Cook’s Tips

• Sauté the garlic for 1 minute at most. If it went brown, the soup would be very bitter.
• Before you add the dried marjoram, slightly press it between your fingers, it will smell better.
• If you don’t have any chicken stock, you can prepare the garlic soup from water. It will acquire the less rich taste of potatoes and garlic.

🥣 More traditional Czech soups:

• Zelňačka – sauerkraut soup with klobása
• Bramboračka – potato soup with mushrooms
• Gulášová polévka – goulash soup with beef

Rye Bread Croutons

Crunchy roasted bread croutons belong into the česnečka. They’re added right before you eat it.

After you throw the croutons into the česnečka, they soak up some water and stop being crispy. Thus, the croutons are usually made of rye bread, which is harder, and it remains crispy for longer.

If you only have white bread, you can use it, but the croutons made out of white bread soak up the soup earlier.

How to make rye bread croutons in a few simply steps:

1. Grab 1-2 slices of stale rye bread. Cut it in cubes about ½ inch in size.
2. Grease a baking dish with a little bit of butter.
3. Add bread cubes and place the dish into an oven preheated to 340 °F (170 °C)
4. Bake for 10 minutes. Halfway through, mix the bread cubes to get crispy from all sides.

Place the bread croutons into the soup just before you eat it.

🔎 Want you more delicious soups? Browse the category with all Czech soup recipes!

Optional Ingredients / Garnishes

There are several česnečka recipe variants. This recipe describes the traditional one, but if you visit Prague and order the soup in a restaurant, it can contain extra ingredients.

Here’s some of the more common extra ingredients or garnishes:

• Hard cheese; grated or cubed, usually served separately in a small bowl
• Diced ham; similar to cheese, served separately in a bowl
• Whisked Egg; drizzled in a soup
• Onion; some recipes call for onion; however, the basic recipe for česnečka doesn’t contain any
• Caraway seeds; typical Czech spice added into many soups