Name: Crispy Pork and Zucchini Noodle Coconut Soup
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 4 cups chicken broth; 1 13.5 ounce can full fat coconut milk; 1/4 cup coconut aminos; 2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste. optional; juice of 1 lime; salt, to taste; 2 large zucchini, spiralized (or 4-5 small zucchini) – or about 3 cups of zoodles; 2 teaspoons sesame oil; 2 large shallots, thinly sliced into half moons; 1 pound ground pork; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon fish sauce; 1/4 – 1/2 cup coconut aminos, to taste; juice of 1 lime; salt, to taste; thinly sliced radish; cilantro; green onion; sliced jalapeños; chili oil; lime wedges

Jump to Recipe

This crispy pork and zucchini noodle coconut soup is a warming asian style soup that is flavorful and totally slurp worthy! Made with ground pork, coconut aminos, coconut milk, zucchini noodles, lime, and plenty of fresh garnishes. It is brothy, satisfying, and perfect for dinner any night of the week! Whole30, paleo, and gluten free.

Close up shot of a bowl of zucchini noodle soup with crispy pork and a coconut broth. Topped with thinly sliced radishes, green onions, jalapeno, cilantro, and chili oil.

Soup, especially an asian style soup with a rich coconut-y broth and plenty of lime juice is one of my favorite comfort food meals.

It’s so warming and wholesome – between the broth and the IMMENSE amount of flavor, there’s nothing quite like it!

And today I’m going to show you how to make our current favorite version of this type of soup that is made with crispy pork. It’s so easy to throw together it’s become a fast favorite at our house. I’m sure you’re going to love it, too!

Why you’ll love this soup

It is:

Comforting
Brothy
Flavorful
Wholesome
Savory
Warming
SO tasty!

Overhead shot of a bowl of zucchini noodle soup with crispy pork and a coconut broth. Topped with thinly sliced radishes, green onions, jalapeno, cilantro, and chili oil. In a light colored bowl on a white background.

Super close up image of soup garnishes on a light colored textured plate. Thinly sliced radishes, jalapeno, green onions, and cilantro peeking into the corner of the frame.

Ingredients

This zucchini noodle soup recipe is made in 2 easy parts, plus the garnishes. So to keep things simple I’ve separate ingredients for the crispy pork, the coconut broth, and all the fresh fixings that bring this soup together.

(If you’re already ready to get started, scroll all the way down to the bottom for the full recipe!)

For the crispy pork:

Ground pork – I like the crispiness of ground pork in this asian soup recipe, but you could also substitute another ground meat like ground beef, ground turkey, or even ground chicken.
Sesame oil
Shallots
Garlic powder
Fish sauce
Coconut aminos – Coconut aminos stand in for soy sauce in the crispy pork. They bring a savory and sweet depth of flavor that makes the pork shine!
Lime juice

For the coconut broth:

Chicken broth – Or another type of broth that you prefer
Coconut milk – Full fat coconut milk makes the creamiest broth, but feel free to substitute light coconut milk if that’s all you have or if that’s your preference.
Coconut aminos – Coconut aminos add a savory fullness to the broth. You could substitute soy sauce (not Whole30), but keep in mind that it tends to be more salty and less sweet than coconut minos, so you might want to use less, and possibly add a bit of a natural sweetener like coconut sugar.
Hot sauce – Hot sauce is totally optional, but I love the bright hit of acid and heat that it adds to the broth. One of my favorite brands of hot sauce is Yellow Bird.
Lime juice
Spiralized zucchini noodles – This is the veggie spiralizer that I own and love, but there’s a ton of options out there! And if you want to make this soup and substitute another noodle option you can totally do that. If you’re not Paleo or doing a Whole30 it would also be delicious with rice or rice noodles!

Fresh garnishes:

Because nothing elevates a delicious soup like the right garnishes!

Radish
Cilantro
Green onion
Sliced jalapeno
Chili oil
Lime wedges

Large white ceramic pot with coconut broth, with a hand pouring coconut aminos into the pot.

Overhead shot of a medium sized non stick skillet filled with raw thinly sliced shallots. On a light colored background.

How to make

You’ll make this easy coconut soup is made in two basic parts – the crispy pork, and the broth.

Having your all of your ingredients prepped before you start (including the garnishes) is the simplest way to make the recipe.

(If you’re already ready to get started, scroll all the way down to the bottom for the full recipe!)

Here’s the step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Prep the garnishes

I find it’s easiest to get this step out of the way at the very beginning.

Thinly slice radish, green onion, cut some lime wedges, chop some cilantro, and grab your chili oil. Set everything aside.

Step 2: Make the coconut broth

Add chicken broth, coconut milk, coconut aminos, and hot sauce (if using) to a large soup pot and bring to a simmer.

Add zucchini noodles and simmer until zoodles are tender – about 10 minutes.

Season to taste with lime juice and salt.

Step 3: Make the crispy pork

While zucchini noodles and broth are simmering, heat sesame oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.

Add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until starting to soften and caramelize – about 3-5 minutes.

Add ground pork and cook, breaking up with the spatula into small pieces, until completely browned. If there’s a lot of extra fat in the skillet after the pork is cooked you can spoon some of it out.

Add garlic powder, fish sauce, and coconut aminos, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until sauce has reduced and is clinging to the crispy pork and shallots.

Season with the juice of 1 lime and salt to taste.

Step 4: Assemble & serve the soup

Divide broth and zoodles into 4 bowls. Top with a large scoop of the crispy pork and any desired garnishes.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

How to store, re-heat, and freeze

To store: This crispy pork and zucchini noodle soup can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. I like to keep the broth and zoodles in a separate container from the crispy pork and garnishes, and then assemble a bowl just before serving.

To re-heat: To re-heat this coconut soup, simply warm gently on the stove, stirring frequently, until warm. To keep the crispy pork nice and crispy you may want to re-heat the broth and zoodles separately. Alternatively it can be re-heated in the microwave for a minute or two, until warmed through.

To freeze: I have not tested freezing this soup, but I imagine it would work well. I would recommend freezing the coconut zoodle base with the crispy pork together for the best texture when thawing out.

Love this zoodle soup? Here’s some other yummy soup recipes to try!

If you enjoyed this recipe, we’d love it if you would take 5 seconds to rate and review it below! It’s also super helpful for other readers if you share any modifications you made to the recipe.

Thank you for sharing your kitchen with NK. We’re so grateful you’re here!