Thai coconut curry soup is full of delicious Thai curry flavors in a creamy coconut broth. With chickpeas, fresh veggies, cilantro, lime and noodles, it's a filling and delicious meal that will warm you to the tips of your toes.
When it comes to Thai food, nothing beats the flavors of a good red curry: savory, a little bit sweet, spicy, and sour. All together they make a total flavor bomb that will take you to the streets of Bangkok.
Today we are taking the flavors of Thai red curry and bringing them to a delicious coconut curry soup.
The broth is creamy, rich, and full of complex flavors that you are going to love (just like my Thai Curry Sweet Potato Lentil Soup!)
Not only is it simple to make but easily customizable. I loaded my soup up with chickpeas, bean sprouts, lime and fresh cilantro, and you can put your own spin on your soup as well!
Reasons you'll ♡ this coconut curry soup
- it's ready in under 30 minutes
- it's vegan and can be made gluten-free
- it's easy to customize based on what you have in the fridge
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Ingredients you'll need
This Thai curry soup has a long ingredients list, but don't be intimidated! Most ingredients are pantry staples or are easily found at your grocery store.
Here's what you'll need:
- shallots, ginger, garlic- minced or finely grated. You can swap the shallots for a white onion if you have troubles finding them.
- Thai red curry paste- I am a fan of Thai Kitchen brand, but also recommend Cock Brand or Mae Ploy. Note for my vegetarian friends- some brands of curry paste contain seafood (Mae Ploy is one example on this list). Be sure to read the ingredients list before purchasing.
- seasonings- soy sauce or coconut aminos, and some brown or coconut sugar to balance the flavors all out.
- vegetables- I used shredded carrots, finely sliced bell peppers and bean sprouts. You could also add snow peas, zucchini noodles, or other quick-cooking vegetables.
- broth- vegetable or chicken.
- noodles- I have tested with thin egg noodles and soba noodles (pictured). While soba noodles are healthier, we preferred the texture of the egg noodles for sure. You could even swap for spaghetti in a pinch! Just adjust the cook time.
- coconut milk- I used Grace brand which is nice and creamy. Thai Kitchen has never let me down. Go for full fat coconut milk!
- protein- I added chickpeas but chicken would work great in this recipe. I would sautee diced chicken until it is cooked through, remove from the pan, then move on to the shallots. Add the chicken when you add the coconut milk at the end and heat through.
- extra goodies- I garnished with fresh cilantro and lime wedges
Does this soup recipe work for meal prep?
Due to the noodles, this soup does not keep as well as most soup recipes. The noodles held up fine over the course of 24 hours, but after that, they became mushy. If you wish to prep this recipe ahead, you may wish to omit the noodles or keep them separate. I have not tested freezing, but don't believe the noodles would freeze/thaw well.
How do I make this soup recipe vegan?
Make sure that your Thai red curry paste is vegan, and you are good to go!
We have a coconut allergy- can I swap out the coconut milk?
Unfortunately the coconut milk adds a nice flavor as well as creaminess to this soup recipe. You could try adding cream in place of coconut milk but I don't know how the flavor will turn out. Leave us a comment below if you give it a try!
What to serve with Thai curry soup?
This is really a meal in and of itself as it has healthy proteins, carbohydrates and vegetables. With that being said, you could certainly serve it with:
- rice- in Thailand, Tom Yum Soup always comes with a side of rice. Skip the noodles and serve with fresh rice. Here's how to cook perfect, fluffy rice.
- bread- I'm not opposed to dunking a baguette or some toasted naan bread into this creamy coconut curry soup. I would skip the noodles if I served with bread.
- zucchini noodles- skip the noodles and use zucchini noodles for a lower carb option! Here's how to make zucchini noodles. Stir them in at the end with the coconut milk.
- salad- this 10 minute Crunchy Rainbow Thai Salad will give you an extra dose of veggies.
Tips for perfect soup
- organization- make sure you have all your veggies chopped and ready to go because once you start cooking it goes really quickly!
- curry paste- we are sauteeing the curry paste for a few minutes before adding in liquids because this brings out the flavors and helps it dissolve into the stock easier
- ingredients- the Thai ingredients in this recipe should be easy to find in the international foods section of your grocery store
- storage- after cooking, you can store this soup in the fridge for up to 4 days- depends on which noodles you use. Soba noodles do not keep for longer than 2 days.
More soup recipes
- Hearty Lentil Soup
- Crockpot Taco Soup
- Creamy Roasted Cauliflower Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Thai Butternut Squash Soup
Coconut Curry Soup Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this soup. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook
Thai Coconut Curry Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 shallots (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (finely grated)
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste (green also works great)
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar (or coconut sugar)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (I use reduced sodium)
- 1 carrot (shredded)
- 1 bell pepper (thinly sliced)
- 1 bundle thin egg noodles (3-4 oz; soba noodles or whole wheat spaghetti may be subbed; see *)
- 13.5 oz coconut milk
- 15 oz chickpeas (540 mL; drained and rinsed)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
Toppings
- bean sprouts
- cilantro leaves
- lime wedges
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for 5 or so minutes, until soft.
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for one minute.
- Add the Thai curry paste and cook, stirring frequently for one minute.
- Add one cup of stock and stir until the curry paste is dissolved, then add the remaining stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, carrot, bell pepper and soba noodles.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until veggies are soft and noodles are cooked through. Stir 2-3 times during this time to help noodles break up and cook through.
- Stir in the coconut milk, lime juice and chickpeas.
- Serve, topping with bean sprouts and cilantro.
Storage
- This soup can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours after cooking. Reheat, stirring gently so as not to break the noodles.
- If you keep the noodles separate, this soup can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days and the freezer for up to 3 months.
