This Coconut Curry Chicken Soup recipe is fresh and flavorful, light yet filling. Serve over rice or rice noodles for added heartiness!
Coconut Curry Chicken Soup is a Riff on a Restaurant Favorite
This Coconut Curry Chicken Soup recipe is my own take on a favorite soup that Noodles & Company once had on their menu; it was called “Thai Hot Pot”. I couldn’t stand to live without it…so I made my own recipe! This soup is lightly creamy with coconut milk and loaded with fresh goodness and warm curry flavor. Enjoy it as a light yet filling lunch, or serve it over rice or rice noodles for a heartier meal!
“Consistent winner regardless of season. Also tasty with shrimp/prawns or meaty fish like grouper or snapper. Thanks so much.”
KT
Hungry for more soup? Try these family and reader favorites! The most-made soup recipe on this site, people LOVE this Lasagna Soup. This Broccoli Cheddar Soup is loaded with vegetables and so much flavor – and there’s bacon! Homemade Ginger Chicken Soup is comfort in a bowl. And have you tried my Slow Cooker Chili? It’s awesome!
Here’s What You’ll Need
If you’re not familiar with some of the ingredients, well I was too at one time – and now we always have them on hand. Look for these items in the Asian section of your grocery store, your local Asian grocer, and Amazon.
- Vegetable oil & butter: For sautéeing the vegetables and toasting the curry paste. I like the richness that the butter adds to the soup!
- Coconut milk: Fragrant and creamy, coconut milk adds just the perfect touch of delicious comfort to this soup. I prefer regular coconut milk over light, for its added creaminess and flavor, but feel free to substitute with light.
- Green curry paste: I use both green and yellow curry pastes in this recipe, for added depth. But if you want to use just one, the soup will still be great. I use Thai Kitchen brand green curry paste, packed with flavor from a blend of green chilis, ginger, and cumin.
- Yellow curry paste: Mae Ploy brand is what I use for the yellow curry paste – it has turmeric and lemongrass, quite wonderful!
- Fish sauce: An essential ingredient in many Asian curries and sauces, fish sauce lends a subtle salty flavor that is hard to duplicate. Feel free to reduce the quantity if you like. I use Red Boat brand.
- Fresh produce: Garlic, ginger, red bell pepper, mushrooms, green onions, limes, cilantro.
- Chicken: Use shredded chicken, chicken breasts, or rotisserie chicken.
- Pantry items: Chicken broth, brown sugar, crushed red pepper flakes (as little or as much as you like!), salt & pepper.
What is Curry Paste?
There are many kinds of curry paste and you’ll find them named by color. The most common traditional curry pastes are red, green, and yellow.
Curry pastes are made from blends of fresh ingredients – think chiles, ginger, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, citrus zest – that are ground together to a make a thick purée. The paste is sizzled in hot oil to bring out their aromatic qualities, and then thinned with liquids like coconut milk and broths to create a sauce or soup base.
Other recipes using curry paste:
- Coconut Beef Satay with peanut sauce
- Grilled Chicken Skewers with green curry yogurt sauce
- Chopped Salad with coconut green curry dressing
How to Make Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
Because this soup is loaded with fresh produce, chopping is obviously involved. But it’s an easy soup to make. And your house smells absolutely amazing while you’re making it!
Here’s how to make the soup!
- Sautée the vegetables & curry pastes: In a large heavy pot over medium heat, heat the oil and butter. Add onion and sauté until softened. Stir in the green curry paste and the yellow curry paste, followed by the garlic, ginger, red bell pepper, and mushrooms. Cook until vegetables are softened.
- Add liquids & chicken: Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, and chicken. Season with a little brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Cook until thoroughly warmed.
- Finish & serve: Stir in lime juice, green onions, and cilantro. Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste. Offer additional lime wedges to squeeze over the top of individual bowls, if desired.
My Best Tips
- Prep. I recommend that you first prepare and measure out all the ingredients. Get all the chopping, slicing, and juicing done before you get started, so that you can just quickly add ingredients per the directions.
- Get the curry paste. Curry paste is essential to this coconut curry soup recipe. Do not omit or substitute for any form of curry powder.
- Taste test. I do not consider this soup to be spicy, as written with the specific ingredients that I use and linked to in this post. But there are many different brands of these ingredients, and they will all be different. So always be sure to taste test and adjust to your own liking.
Can I Use Different Ingredients?
One of this soup’s greatest strengths is its versatility with ingredients. You can easily substitute a bit of this for a bit of that. Mellow out the heat or amp it up. Or make it vegetarian.
It’s all up to you – here are some suggestions:
- Add noodles or rice. For more heartiness, ladle soup over cooked basmati rice or thin rice noodles.
- Change up the protein. Swap out the chicken for shrimp.
- Veggies & other fresh ingredients. If you don’t like any of the vegetables listed in the recipe, simply leave them out. Feel free to add carrots, snow peas, shredded cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, frozen peas, edamame, minced hot red or green chili, spinach, kale, or fresh mint leaves.
- Adjust the creaminess. For full creaminess, use two cans of regular coconut milk. For a medium level, use one can of regular + one can of lite coconut milk. And for a completely light version, use two cans of lite coconut milk – just know that the overall coconut flavor and body of the soup will be significantly reduced.
- Make it Vegetarian. To make it vegetarian, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth.
How to Serve Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
You know me. I love me some fresh lime. So I absolutely recommend having extra lime wedges on hand for squeezing over individual bowls.
Also, if your soup is on the tame side (not spicy), yet there are some people who like heat – do have some options available for those spice lovers. Make available extra dried red pepper flakes and/or slices of green or red chilis.
When I used to enjoy a bowl of Thai Hot Pot soup at Noodles, they served it with a piece of their soft, warm flatbread. It’s really quite wonderful for dipping. I highly recommend.
Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons green curry paste (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
- 3 tablespoons yellow curry paste (I use Mae Ploy brand)
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced and cut into 1″ long pieces
- 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, very thinly sliced
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cans (14 ounces each) full-fat coconut milk
- 1½ tablespoons fish sauce (I use Red Boat brand)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken breasts (or use deli chicken)
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve with finished soup
Instructions
- * I highly recommend getting all the chopping, slicing, and juicing done before you get started.
- In a large heavy pot over medium heat, heat the oil and butter. Add onion and sauté just until the onion is softened, stirring occasionally. Add the green curry paste and the yellow curry paste, and stir to combine. Then add the garlic, ginger, red bell pepper, and mushrooms, and stir to combine. Cook until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, and chicken. Stir to combine and cook until thoroughly warmed.
- Before serving, stir in lime juice, green onions, and cilantro. Season with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste. Offer additional lime wedges to squeeze over the top of individual bowls, if desired.
Notes
- For more heartiness, ladle soup over cooked basmati rice or thin rice noodles.
- Swap out the chicken for shrimp.
- If you don’t like any of the vegetables listed in the recipe, simply leave them out.
- Feel free to add carrots, snow peas, shredded cabbage, cauliflower, zucchini, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, frozen peas, edamame, minced hot red or green chili, spinach, kale, or fresh mint leaves.
- For full creaminess, use two cans of regular coconut milk. For a medium level, use one can of regular + one can of lite coconut milk. And for a completely light version, use two cans of lite coconut milk – just know that the overall coconut flavor and body of the soup will be significantly reduced.
- To make it vegetarian, omit the chicken and use vegetable broth.
Nutrition Information:
I updated this post in 2021, originally published in 2012. I made a small adjustment to the recipe, plus added new photos and text.
This soup looks delicious. Will have to try it when I have all the ingredients assembled. However, I would definitely decrease the amount of chicken broth or increase the amount of coconut milk. Also, I’d serve with jasmine rice, not basmati. Jasmine rice is what is eaten by the Thais and other people of Southeast Asia. Indians and parts of the Middle East tend towards basmati. It sounds weird to eat it with pad Thai noodles. I assume you mean the rice noodles used to make pad Thai. Even then, I can’t recall eating a curry like that over noodles. I think the jasmine rice is the way to go. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
8 cups of chicken broth? Really? That is SO much. The first time I made this I misread it as one 8 ounce can and that was perfect.
Beautiful and looks yummy! Love the bright red and dark green garnishes on the light green soup (red pepper strips and…. looks more like spinach than cilantro).
I made this soup last night. My husband, who is not even a soup lover, declared this the best soup I have ever made. He loved it. We all loved it…well 3 out of 5. It was too spicy for the youngest littles, so I made them a simple broth noodle soup instead. It was absolutely fantastic, Brenda. Thank you so much for an amazingly delicious recipe! You truly, truly amaze me with your stunning photos and brilliant recipes.
Ohhhhh…I’m so happy you liked it, yay! Thank you so much for coming back to comment, Natalie! xo
I have the ingredients on the counter and I am ready to chop. I am looking forward to a delicious lunch with my husband. :o) TGIF
oh WOWWOOWOWO!!! I just took my first taste of the soup and it is FABULOUS!!!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe. xo
I’m SO HAPPY you liked it! Yay!! xo
I LOVE Noodles & Company’s Thai Curry Soup! I can’t wait to try your version. The recipe looks great!
Well, I’d love to know what you think of it then! Thanks, Hallie!
Did you know I have never been to Noodles and Co? What is wrong with me?? Well, now I dont have to, I can just make your soup! :)
Looks and sounds delicious Brenda!! thanks for joinging Soupapalooza!
I just got into cooking Thai food at home and this recipe has definitely been added in my “to-make” list. Once you get into cooking certain Asian foods, it becomes so much easier because you already have all the ingredients right in your pantry.
Now this soup looks fabulous, packed with tons of veggies and flavors. This will be perfect for the cold winter days we’re having now. Thanks for sharing :)
Lovely to hear from you, Chung-Ah! You are so right…the more you make it, the easier it is. It takes a bit to build up a few of the ingredients for the pantry, but after that, it’s just YUM.
I made this soup the other night for dinner and it was delicious. My husband and I both loved the flavor! I used red curry paste (we like things a little spicy) and added carrots. Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Your variation sounds awesome, Jessalyn! I wish I could get by with the red curry paste with my kids. Their taste buds are getting more and more daring…some day!! So glad you liked the soup!
Yummmm ! I love curry
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I’ve got about 4 or 5 different versions of this soup hanging around the kitchen; the combination of curry and coconut milk are a favorite of mine as well, and I just love how all these simple ingredients combine together to create such a satisfying soup. A little bit of heat is all it takes to chase the chill away.
I just love using coconut milk in my cooking, it adds such a nice richness to foods.
I really love curry so much. I am sure adding coconut will be good. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
This looks just fabulous. I adore curry, and a coconut curry and chicken soup just sounds fantastic for a snowy day.
Thank you, Shaina. We enjoyed dipping some of Zoe’s warm pitas in this awhile back…so good!!
I’m one of your readers not familiar with a lot of Asian ingredients but I do know a good soup when I see one. Looks wonderful.
Thanks, Paula!
I love love love soup – -and you’re right, one bowl is never enough – – but the leftovers are always so much better :) I’ve never tried mixing coconut milk and curry on my own… I’ve had it dozens of times at Thai restaurants, but I’m always worried my milk will curdle. Hmm… you’re recipe seems so simple, that I may just have to get over my fear – – thanks :)
I live for soup leftovers, it’s always better the next day! Don’t worry about the coconut milk curdling…it works perfectly. :)
Ooh, what a great soup! Love the flavors!
Thank you, Maria. :)
Looks amazeballs! I love a good chicken soup, but with coconut and curry? Sounds fab!
Thanks, Harriet! :)
This soup looks amazing. I have never cooked with some of those Asian ingredients, but the photo of this soup, combined with your descriptions of everything, has definitely inspired me to try….starting with this soup. Yummy!
Go for it, Natalie! I have so much fun learning about new foods/ingredients and stretching my palate. I refuse to eat boring food! :)