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    Home » Dinner » Main Dishes

    “Get Well Soup” with Onion and Garlic

    Published: Feb 17, 2017 · Modified: Jun 26, 2020 · 49 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    This vegan sick day Get Well Soup has nourishing ingredients like caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and turmeric.
    This vegan sick day Get Well Soup has nourishing ingredients like caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and turmeric.
    This vegan sick day Get Well Soup has nourishing ingredients like caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and turmeric.
    This vegan sick day Get Well Soup has nourishing ingredients like caramelized onions, roasted garlic, and turmeric.
    This vegan "Get Well Soup" features sweet caramelized onions, roasted garlic, fresh ginger, and turmeric to help you feel better!
    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    This vegan “Get Well Soup” features sweet caramelized onions, roasted garlic, fresh ginger, and turmeric to help you feel better!

    Garlic get well soup in a soup pot with a wooden spoon
    THERE IS NO CURE FOR THE COMMON COLD. THIS RECIPE IS INTENDED TO HELP SOOTHE COLD SYMPTOMS, BUT IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE.

    This winter has been germy.

    It seems like no matter how hard the husband and I ducked and dodged to avoid cold cooties, we caught them.

    If you too have been battling the cold and flu season, here’s a “get well soup” to get you back on the road to health.

    This “Get Well Soup” is made from healing ingredients like sweet caramelized onions and roasted garlic, warming ginger, and a dash of turmeric.

    While it cooks, sip on a little bourbon cough syrup or a mint tea hot toddy. I also recommend snagging some of the Ginger People’s ginger wellness shots!

    How to Caramelize Onions for “Get Well Soup”

    I won’t lie— this soup isn’t a quick dinner.

    But you aren’t in a hurry today anyway, right?  You’re home sick!  

    This Onion and Garlic ‘Get Well Soup,’ takes about two and a half hours to make.  The good news is, though, that for almost the entire cook-time, you can lay on the couch with your tissues and watch a movie.

    Sound good?  

    Okay then— let’s make it!

    Start by slicing up about eight onions.

    If you’re staring at your onions, and only see seven… it’s okay.  You don’t have to go to the store— just use what you’ve got.

    Heat a large pan over medium heat with some olive oil, and add the onions, a little salt, some rosemary, and 2 bay leaves.

    Onions Ready to Caramelize in a pot
    Onions Ready to Caramelize

    Let the onions cook over medium heat with the lid on for a few minutes until they start to look translucent.  Take the lid off, turn the heat to low or medium-low, and let the onions caramelize.

    Plan on this taking anywhere from two to five hours, depending on how high or low your heat is.  

    I usually cook mine over medium-low and they finish in just under two hours.

    You can mostly ignore them during this part— checking on them every 45 minutes or so.

    Caramelized Onions in a pot.
    Caramelized Onions

    What Soup Pot Should I Use?

    I like to use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven, because it helps the onions cook slowly and evenly.

    I use an enameled cast iron Dutch oven from Lodge.

    Stainless steel pots work too– just check on the onions a little more frequently.

    How to Roast Garlic

    Next, take two heads of garlic (yes, two HEADS, not two cloves).

    Remove most of the papery peel, cut off the pointed top, and then set them on a sheet of aluminum foil.  Drizzle them with olive oil, and fold the aluminum foil around them (they should be completely covered.)

    Set the foil packet in the oven, and roast them at 400ºF for 40-50 minutes.

    When they’re done roasting, take them out of the oven, and set them aside to cool until the onions have finished caramelizing.

    garlic get well soup in bowls and a soup pot

    Finish The “Get Well Soup”

    When your onions are almost done caramelizing, pop the garlic cloves out of the heads by pushing on the bottom of the garlic heads.

    Add the garlic cloves to the onions and smash them with the end of a wooden spoon.  Add the ginger, turmeric, and hot water, bring it all to a simmer, and salt to taste.

    Make sure you “salt to taste“— if you’ve got a cold, and are having trouble tasting anything, you might need a little more salt than you would otherwise.

    Dig into a big steaming bowl of this while you recuperate, and we’ll all wait together for springtime!

    Tip: Turmeric does stain if you spill it on… well, on anything.  If you’re so sick that you aren’t confident in your motor skills, skip the turmeric (and maybe go to the doctor.)

    Onion and Garlic 'Get Well Soup' in soup bowls and a soup pot.
    Onion and Garlic ‘Get Well Soup’
    Onion and Garlic 'Get Well Soup'
    Print Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 27 votes

    “Get Well Soup” with Onion and Garlic

    This vegan “Get Well Soup” features sweet caramelized onions, roasted garlic, fresh ginger, and turmeric to help you feel better!
    Author: Sarah Trenalone
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time3 hrs
    Total Time3 hrs 15 mins
    Course: Soup
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
    Servings: 4 people
    Calories: 157kcal
    Freezer Friendly?
    Yes
    Will It Keep?
    4 Days (Fridge), 3 Months (Freezer)
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 8 yellow onions, thinly sliced
    • 2 teaspoons sea salt, plus more to taste
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 sprigs rosemary (destemmed)
    • 2 whole heads of garlic
    • 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger OR ginger paste
    • 1 teaspoon turmeric

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 400ºF.  
      In a large heavy bottom pot, heat oil over medium heat. When oil begins to shimmer, add onions, 2 teaspoons salt, rosemary, and bay leaves.  Cover pot, and cook over medium-high for 4-5 minutes, until they begin to look translucent and start releasing water.
      Onions Ready to Caramelize in a pot
    • Remove lid, and cook onions over low (or medium-low) until they caramelize. This will take 2-5 hours, depending on the size of your pot and the temperature used. The onions can be left alone and checked on about once an hour, except at the beginning and end of the caramelizing process. 
      Caramelized Onions in a pot.
    • While onions cook, peel most of the papery skin off the garlic.  Cut about ¼ inch off the top of the garlic head (the side that comes to a point, not the side where the roots were).  
      Set garlic heads on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, and fold foil over garlic. Place in oven for about 40-50 minutes.  Garlic is ready when the center cloves are softened.  (If the cloves feel soft, but are still pale, you can leave them in for another 10 minutes to allow them to caramelize more.)  
      roasted garlic
    • Let garlic cool for a few minutes, and then push on the bottom of the garlic head to release the cloves.  Set cloves aside.
    • When onions have reduced and are an amber color, you're ready.  Add the garlic cloves, and mash them with the end of a wooden spoon.  Add ginger, turmeric, and 5 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer.
      Taste soup– if you prefer a milder flavor, add another cup of hot water. Add additional salt to taste if desired.  Remove the bay leaves.
    • Ladle soup into bowls, and serve immediately.  Alternatively, store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

    Notes

    Cook Time: Soup takes 2 ½ – 5 hours to prepare, depending on how long the onions are caramelized.  Most of the time is inactive, while the onions caramelize unattended.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 157kcal (8%) | Carbohydrates: 22g (7%) | Protein: 3g (6%) | Fat: 7g (11%) | Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 1173mg (51%) | Potassium: 355mg (10%) | Fiber: 4g (17%) | Sugar: 9g (10%) | Vitamin A: 9IU | Vitamin C: 17mg (21%) | Calcium: 57mg (6%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)
    Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
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    About Sarah Trenalone

    Sarah is the primary creator at Champagne Tastes. She's a photographer, food writer and traveler, and is certified in Backcountry Kitchen and Backcountry Navigation from the Colorado Outward Bound School and Identifying Wild Plants from Backpacker.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    All commentsI made thisQuestions
    1. Esther

      March 01, 2017 at 6:31 pm

      5 stars
      Made it today and we Love it !
      I added cayane pepper to mine and a bit more fresh garlic, it’s DELICIOUS !!! 🙂

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        March 01, 2017 at 6:56 pm

        Oh yay! And wow cayenne is a brilliant idea- I’ll have to add that next time! (And if you’re sick I hope you feel better soon!)

        Reply
    2. Christina Kimbrel

      August 16, 2017 at 4:39 pm

      Can you freeze this soup?

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        August 16, 2017 at 5:51 pm

        Yup! I’ve added freezer directions to the last step in the recipe.

        Reply
        • Melody

          August 06, 2022 at 8:32 am

          So you think this would be a good soup to preserve in jars for canning? I was thinking of preserving longer on the shelf than taking up limited freezer room.

          Reply
          • Alisha Trenalone

            August 06, 2022 at 2:50 pm

            Hi Melody! We haven’t tested this for canning, sorry, so we’re not sure how it would do! We’ve only preserved it in the freezer so far.

            -Alisha at Champagne Tastes

            Reply
    3. Kris

      September 03, 2017 at 7:40 pm

      How much water do you add, did I miss it in your instructions?

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        September 03, 2017 at 7:42 pm

        Hi Kris! It’s in step 7- use 5 cups of water, and then you can add another cup if it’s too strong for your taste. (And if you’re sick, feel better!!)

        Reply
        • Kris

          September 03, 2017 at 9:38 pm

          5 stars
          Good lord, how did I miss tha??? ????????‍♀️, thank you so much, you’re a sweetie. I am not sick but I will definitely make this the next time I feel a cold/flu coming on.

          Reply
          • champagne-tastes

            September 03, 2017 at 9:39 pm

            No worries at all!!! And I hope you stay well and don’t need it 😀

            Reply
    4. Donna S

      September 15, 2017 at 3:01 am

      Would chicken broth work. Chicken noodle soup was my sick soup. I love roasted garlic I can eat it as is. May need a third just to snack while waiting

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        September 15, 2017 at 8:42 am

        Hi Donna! I’ve never made this soup with broth added, only water, so I can’t tell you exactly what it would taste like. BUT I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t work! (And yes! Snack on some roasted garlic- it’s delicious!)

        Reply
    5. Betsy Pedersen

      September 19, 2017 at 7:58 am

      Have you tried making this in an Instant Pot ?

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        September 19, 2017 at 8:00 am

        I haven’t!! Sorry! And the main thing you’d want to be able to do is caramelize the onions.. I’m not sure if an instant pot can do that or not. (My gut says no, but I could be totally wrong!)

        Reply
        • Michelle M.

          October 03, 2018 at 6:09 pm

          5 stars
          I insta potted this recipe and it worked like a Champ! Took about 30 mins to carmelize the onions on the sauté setting. I then put all other ingredients in the pot, put the lid on and cooked for 20 mins with the vent closed. Worked perfectly! I also used 4 cups vegetable broth and 1 cup water. Great flavor! Thank you so much!

          Reply
          • champagne-tastes

            October 03, 2018 at 6:10 pm

            Wahoo!! I’m so glad that worked for you!!! 💕💕💕

            Reply
    6. Camille

      September 22, 2017 at 5:25 pm

      5 stars
      I am going to make a double batch of this and freeze it for the upcoming cold and flu season. Think I’ll substitute vegetable broth for the water….looks amazing!

      Reply
    7. Alisha

      January 16, 2018 at 7:56 pm

      5 stars
      We made this when my dad had the flu this week, and he really liked it! I think it did help him feel better too…I don’t want to say it had miraculous properties, but one day he was zonked out as sick as could be and a couple days later he was up and plowing snow on our street. 🙂 Anyway, the onions and garlic are a great choice for someone who is feeling all stopped up and generally germy. I didn’t get to try it this time (we only had enough ingredients for half a batch, which was about three small-ish servings for him), but he liked the taste quite well. All I know is it smelled good while we were cooking. Would try again. And even though the recipe takes a while to cook, it’s not really any hard work. The only problem we had was the garlic didn’t come out of the cloves as well as it should have, so we didn’t get quite enough for the recipe and had to throw in some minced garlic out of a squeeze bottle from the grocery store.

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        January 24, 2018 at 9:34 pm

        Yay! I’m glad he’s feeling better and that the soup maybe/possibly helped 😀

        Reply
    8. Ann

      March 07, 2018 at 8:54 am

      5 stars
      I made it for my husband on Monday when he got sick. By Tuesday night he was cleaning the apartment! Thanks 🙂

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        March 21, 2018 at 9:37 am

        Hooray for the onion soup! I’m glad he’s feeling better 🙂

        Reply
    9. Amy

      March 26, 2018 at 10:02 am

      5 stars
      In combination with excessive hand washing, going to bed early, and taking vitamins this winter… I feel as though this soup had a hand in keeping me healthy.

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        March 26, 2018 at 10:03 am

        I’m so glad it was helpful Amy!

        Reply
    10. Cynthia

      April 03, 2018 at 10:27 pm

      5 stars
      I started feeling bad and running a fever so I decided to make this Get Well Soup. It was pretty simple. I did feel better the next morning after eating it. The soup tastes even better the second day!
      It turns out I had type B flu but I really think the soup kept my fever down. Usually when I get the flu, my fever gets super high and it gets in my chest. This time it didn’t. I think all those onions and garlic really helped

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        April 04, 2018 at 2:42 pm

        I hope you’re feeling better now! And I’m glad you liked the soup 😀

        Reply
    11. Ann

      August 13, 2018 at 11:27 am

      5 stars
      OMG that was a lot of onion. But I was pleasantly surprised how sweet the soup actually became 🙂

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        August 13, 2018 at 11:28 am

        Lol yessss it’s a lot! I’m glad you loved!

        Reply
    12. Frida Eiane

      August 24, 2018 at 6:48 am

      5 stars
      I made this! Me and my sister both love this soup so much – and always make it when we´re sick/feel we´re starting to get sick. It´s the remedy to feel better- I swear. Thank you!!

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        August 24, 2018 at 6:51 am

        I’m so glad that you both love it! And I hope you stay healthy and don’t need it super often 💕💕💕

        Reply
    13. Cassandra

      September 05, 2018 at 10:59 am

      Is it weird that I want to make this just to make it?!?! Onions, garlic and soup?!?! Yes please! YUM!

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        September 08, 2018 at 3:09 pm

        Lol.. That’s not weird at all! It’s tasty all the time! 😁 Let me know if you try it!

        Reply
    14. Leslie

      September 10, 2018 at 6:30 pm

      5 stars
      I love this soup! I found it on Pinterest earlier this year and now it’s my go-to for any and all humans under the weather. I initially found it when searching for something to make my roommate when he fell ill. I then made it again for a neighbor when I heard his wife was sick and they loved it. Today, I had to make it for myself and am finally getting to reap the rewards! I couldn’t find any fresh ginger at my main grocer and being sick and all didn’t feel like making extra stops so I used about 5 drops of ginger essential oil! Pretty clever sub if I say so myself lol. Tho I can’t smell anything, the flavor still comes through, and I love how the onions take on an almost noodle like texture. Makes it kinda fun if you ask me. Anywho, GREAT recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!!!

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        September 10, 2018 at 6:39 pm

        Oh I’m so glad you’ve been loving it! And yes!!! That was clever 😁 Thanks for letting me know, and I hope you feel better soon! 💕💕💕

        Reply
    15. Leanne

      September 14, 2018 at 7:54 pm

      Hi this recipe intrigued me and I would love to have this on hand in case we are sick. Do you think I could can the soup? Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
      • champagne-tastes

        September 14, 2018 at 7:55 pm

        Hi Leanne! I don’t have any experience canning so I’m really not sure, I’m sorry! I know for sure it freezes well though!

        Reply
      • Miranda

        March 05, 2020 at 5:13 pm

        5 stars
        Delicious! I did add some black pepper (apparently supposed to enhance the bioavailability of turmeric) and it turned out SO well. Such a simple soup with a lot of flavor.

        Reply
        • Sarah Trenalone

          March 05, 2020 at 9:07 pm

          Yay I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know!

          Reply
    16. Lovey

      October 27, 2018 at 5:18 pm

      5 stars
      I just made this using my Instant Pot and the Saute function. Freezing this for the upcoming colder weather.YUM!

      Reply
      • Sarah

        October 27, 2018 at 5:26 pm

        Oh yay!! I’m so glad you loved it! 💕

        Reply
    17. Laura Ellis

      January 09, 2019 at 4:48 pm

      5 stars
      I made this today using the instant pot. I’m on day 5 of the flu and haven’t been able to stomach much. I added cooked potato at the end. Thank you! I was finally able to eat a real meal (something besides a smoothie!)

      Reply
      • Sarah

        January 09, 2019 at 4:49 pm

        I hope you feel better soon Laura!!! I’m happy I could help 💕💕 Potatoes sound like an awesome addition!!

        Reply
    18. Holly

      February 07, 2019 at 1:28 pm

      5 stars
      I’m not going to wait to be sick to enjoy this soup. I love onion soup but never thought to add roasted garlic and love that idea. Looks great!

      Reply
    19. Kris

      May 01, 2019 at 4:31 pm

      5 stars
      This was delicious. I added a couple potatoes and sautéed shitake mushrooms for more filling and it was a big hit

      Reply
    20. Barbara T

      September 03, 2019 at 12:07 pm

      Can the pot of onions caramelize in the oven while the garlic roasts? It seems a waste of energy to heat a whole oven for 2 heads of garlic.

      Reply
      • Sarah Trenalone

        September 04, 2019 at 5:59 am

        I’ve never tried caramelizing onions in the oven.. I don’t think it would work as well as on the stovetop. If you try it let me know!

        Reply
    21. Andrea Reinstein

      October 09, 2019 at 8:20 pm

      5 stars
      I just made this for my sick, vegan husband. It was very good and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it will make him feel better like others mentioned🤞🏻How come in your photos you don’t have or see the rosemary?

      Reply
      • Sarah Trenalone

        October 09, 2019 at 8:24 pm

        I hope it helps and that he feels better soon!! (And I guess I didn’t style it well enough to let you see the herbs! Oops sorry!)

        Reply
    22. Michelle

      December 30, 2019 at 12:02 am

      5 stars
      Just made this and it’s delicious!! I’m surprised how all of these strong flavors mellow out during the cooking process.

      I carmelized the onions in the instant pot (using a recipe I googled for instant Pot carmelized Onions) and it only took about 15 minutes total. I followed the rest of the recipe (minus the rosemary and plus some cayenne) and it’s the bomb!

      I’ll make sure to always make this whenever I’m sick and have some ready in the freezer. Thank you so much!

      Reply
      • Sarah Trenalone

        December 30, 2019 at 11:36 am

        Yay! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Also I hope you feel better soon 🙂

        Reply

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