One of the best ways to warm up is with a hot bowl of Thai coconut curry chicken soup! Made with wholesome ingredients like chicken breast, a wide variety of colorful vegetables, garlic, ginger, red (or green!) curry paste, and fresh lime juice. An easy-to-make dinner that is so yummy! Whole30, paleo friendly, gluten free, dairy free, vegan option.

Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup in a brown ceramic bowl on a light brown background. Topped with cilantro, lime wedges, and thinly sliced red onion.

The best coconut curry chicken soup

Thai food is one of my favorite types of comfort food. And this Thai style coconut curry chicken soup absolutely counts as comfort food at our house.

It’s made with simple ingredients that come together for the most delicious, slurp worthy, veggie packed bowl of aromatic YUM.

The broth is creamy thanks to the coconut milk, a little spicy from the curry paste, brightened up with a generous squeeze of lime juice, and so totally irresistible.

I made it with a Whole30 and paleo framework in mind, but it could easily be made vegan or vegetarian by using veggie broth and swapping the chicken for tofu. Or just leaving it out altogether.

Whatever way you serve it I hope it warms your home and belly the way it has ours!

Why you’ll love this coconut chicken soup

It is:

Brothy
Umami rich
Zippy
Made with a ton of veggies
Bright and citrusy
Creamy
A little spicy
Seriously crave-able!

Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup in a brown ceramic bowl on a light brown background. Topped with and surrounded by scattered cilantro, lime wedges, and thinly sliced red onion.

Ingredients for Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup in various sized ceramic plates and bowls on a light brown background.

Ingredients and substitutions

This Thai style curry soup is made with a variety of colorful veggies, coconut milk, aromatics, curry paste, and chicken breast. There are a few substitutions you might want to make that I’ll share my recommendations for below!

Here’s what you need

Avocado or sesame oil – Either will work for this soup.
Onion, garlic, and ginger – Onion, garlic, and ginger create an aromatic flavor base. You could substitute chopped shallots for the onion.
Red curry paste – I used red curry paste for this recipe, but you could swap it out for green curry paste.
A variety of veggies – In this recipe I used red bell pepper, carrots, zucchini, and broccoli for the vegetables. You substitute with your favorite veggies! The one thing to keep in mind is that some vegetables will cook faster than others. For example – as the recipe is written the broccoli is added last with the chicken so that it doesn’t overcook.
Chicken broth – Chicken broth or vegetable broth will both work.
Coconut milk – Full fat coconut milk is what I typically use, but you could also use low fat coconut milk or even coconut cream for a creamier broth.
Coconut aminos – Coconut aminos add some umami rich flavor and a bit of sweetness to the broth. If you don’t have them you can leave them out.
Chicken breast – You could also use already cooked and shredded chicken instead of raw, tofu (for a vegan option – though not Whole30 compatible), or shrimp.
Salt – To taste.
Lime juice – Lime juice is, in my opinion, a must. It brightens all the flavors of the soup and ties everything together.

How to make this soup vegan / vegetarian

Making this soup without meat is super easy!

You could either:

Swap the chicken for a plant based protein like cubed tofu, or,
Leave out the chicken for a hearty vegetable soup and add rice or rice noodles just before serving.

Of course you’ll also want to use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth as well.

How spicy is this soup?

The only spicy ingredient in this soup recipe is the curry paste. So how spicy the particular brand you use is will determine how spicy the soup is.

For extra heat, add a chopped spicy chili or a generous pinch of chili flakes with the aromatics.

What kind of curry paste is gluten free?

For this recipe I used Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste because it’s widely available at more grocery stores.

Another great option are these organic curry pastes by Mike’s Organic Curry Love. I’ve tried quite a few of them and they’ve all been delicious! They are sold at Thrive Market and I’ve seen them on the shelf at Whole Foods as well.

How to make

Making Thai style coconut soup at home is actually so easy. Once all your ingredients are prepped it comes together in less than 30 minutes. Faster than it would be to wait for a take out order!

Here’s the step-by-step

Cook aromatics. In a large soup pot heat oil over medium heat. When oil is hot add thinly sliced onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until onions start to soften and garlic and ginger are aromatic. Add curry paste and cook for 1 minute more.
Sauté veggies. Add bell pepper, carrots, and zucchini and stir to coat with the curry paste. Cook, stirring occasionally until veggies have softened slightly.
Add chicken broth, coconut milk, and coconut aminos. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a simmer.
Cook chicken and broccoli. Add chicken breast and broccoli florets and continue to simmer until chicken is cooked through and broccoli is bright green and tender.
Season to taste with salt and juice of one lime.
Garnish and serve! Serve topped with fresh herbs, red or green onion, chili oil, chopped cashews, and extra lime.

Serving suggestions

This soup is a balanced meal all on it’s own!

If you would like to serve it with something additional here’s some ideas:

Whole30 options: With cauliflower rice or spiralized veggie noodles.
Non-Whole30 options: With rice noodles or white or brown rice.

Storage and re-heating

Storing: This coconut soup can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Reheating: To re-heat, gently warm on the stove in a small sauce pan, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Can also be warmed in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, until hot.

Freezing: Because this soup is made without dairy it should freeze well. The vegetables could get a bit softer after defrosting but it will still taste great!

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