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Cesnaková Polievka (Slovak Garlic and Potato Soup)
A clear, garlicky Slovak soup of potatoes simmered with paprika, caraway and marjoram, ladled over toasted bread and finished with grated cheese.
Slovak · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 25 min
~266 cal · 9g protein · 30g carbs · 13g fat · 4g fiber · 1g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Cesnaková polievka, garlic soup, known to everyone as cesnačka, is one of the most common soups in Slovakia, served at home and in restaurants as the first course before the main dish. There is a creamy version, but the clear one is far more usual: a thin broth of potatoes, garlic and spices, eaten piping hot.
It is quick and cheap. Garlic is warmed for a moment in butter or lard, water goes in with sweet paprika and caraway, then diced potatoes, and the pot until the potatoes are soft. Marjoram, a favourite herb of Czech and Slovak soups, often goes in too. The bread matters as much as the soup: toasted or fried bread is cut into cubes and put in the bottom of the bowl, the soup is poured over it, and a handful of grated cheese melts on top.
Slovaks call it a poor man's soup and swear by it as a cure for a cold or a hangover. How strong to make it is a matter of taste, and some cooks rub the toast with a raw clove as well.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 2 tbsp butter, or lard
- 8 to 10 cloves garlic, crushed or very finely chopped
- 2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1.5 litres water
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 4 medium (about 600 g) floury potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
- 4 slices of bread
- 80 g hard cheese such as Edam or Gouda, grated
- 1 tbsp parsley, chopped
Instructions
- 1Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat, add the garlic and fry for a few seconds, just until fragrant, then stir in the paprika.✎ Chef’s noteGarlic and paprika both burn in moments. Have the water ready and pour it in as soon as the paprika is stirred through.
- 2Pour in the water, add the caraway, the potatoes and a good pinch of salt and bring to the boil.
- 3Simmer for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Stir in the marjoram, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 2 minutes more.
- 4While the soup cooks, toast the bread, or fry it in a little butter in a dry pan for about 5 minutes, turning once, until golden. Cut it into cubes.
- 5Put the bread cubes in warm bowls, ladle the hot soup over them, top with the grated cheese and parsley and serve at once.
Slovak home and restaurant tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bratislava. Bryndzove halusky is highland food that the capital adopted. It belongs to the shepherds' huts of central Slovakia, while Bratislava is lowland wine country, and the cheese, slovenska bryndza, holds EU protected status. The village of Turecka runs an annual world championship for making it.
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Slovakia. Bryndzove halusky is highland food, from the salas and koliba of the sheep-grazing centre of the country rather than from the cities. Slovenska bryndza, the soft sheep's cheese it depends on, holds EU protected status; the traditional drink beside it is zincica, the whey left from making that cheese; and the village of Turecka hosts an annual world championship in eating it.
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Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Slovakia
Bryndzové HaluškySoft potato dumplings tossed with sharp sheep’s-milk bryndza cheese and crowned with crispy bacon, Slovakia’s national dish.
Zemiakové Placky (Potato Pancakes)Crisp, garlicky griddled pancakes of grated raw potato scented with marjoram, fried until lacy and golden.
Segedínsky GulášA tangy pork and sauerkraut goulash enriched with paprika and sour cream, served with bread dumplings.
Browse all Slovakia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Cesnaková Polievka (Slovak Garlic and Potato Soup)?
A clear, garlicky Slovak soup of potatoes simmered with paprika, caraway and marjoram, ladled over toasted bread and finished with grated cheese.
Where does Cesnaková Polievka (Slovak Garlic and Potato Soup) come from?
Cesnaková Polievka (Slovak Garlic and Potato Soup) is a Slovak dish from Bratislava, Slovakia.
Can Cesnaková Polievka (Slovak Garlic and Potato Soup) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Cesnaková Polievka (Slovak Garlic and Potato Soup) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Cesnaková Polievka (Slovak Garlic and Potato Soup) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Cesnaková Polievka (Slovak Garlic and Potato Soup) take to make?
About 40 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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