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This Thai chicken curry soup is quick, simple, comforting, and full of fabulous flavor. It’s a great way to use up leftover or rotisserie chicken!
If you enjoy soups with bold flavors, try my 15 Minute Thai Green Curry Soup next.
Why you’ll love it
This chicken curry soup has gorgeous Thai-inspired flavors. We’ve got freshly grated ginger, lime juice, red curry paste, coconut milk, and fresh herbs among other irresistible ingredients. All of them are readily available for this quick Thai soup that’s bursting with flavor.
By now, you know I love using rotisserie chicken as a shortcut to get dinner on the table faster. This Thai chicken soup has plenty of complex flavors without being complicated to prepare. If you’re anything like me, any Thai-inspired recipes are hard to resist, much like my Easy Thai Chicken Curry!
What you’ll need
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Onion and garlic – I like sweet (Vidalia) onions best here, and feel free to use even more garlic than suggested if you’re a big fan
- Ginger – for a zesty kick
- Red curry paste – it’s an easy, ready-made paste with spices and lemongrass. I used Thai Kitchen brand. It has a gentle heat and is not very spicy like others I’ve tried. Be sure to give yours a taste first, though.
- Broth and water – use either chicken or veggie broth for another layer of flavor
- Lime – always use freshly squeezed lime juice. It adds brightness and a touch of acidity.
- Rice noodles – they’re the translucent ones that come in a variety of sizes. I prefer thicker as pictured compared to angel hair/vermicelli.
- Coconut milk – it makes a rich, tasty, and creamy counterpoint
- Chicken – for convenience I used rotisserie chicken
- Basil, cilantro, and scallions – classic fresh garnishes to tie this recipe together
Pro tips
- I always keep fresh ginger in my freezer so I have some on hand. My friend Meghan from Fox and Briar taught me this trick! I also find I waste way less ginger that way. It keeps way longer than in the fridge and is also extra easy to grate it while frozen.
- You can definitely make this Thai soup in just 20 minutes if you like to chop herbs and prep other ingredients (like I do) as the onions are sautéing and the soup is simmering away.
How to make Thai chicken soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
In a soup pot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil and onions. Sauté until softened, stirring every so often. Add in the ginger, garlic, and curry paste, and cook until fragrant. Pour in the chicken broth, water, and lime juice. Add the noodles, and bring to a boil.
Stir in the coconut milk and chicken. Reduce the heat, and let it simmer. Just before serving, add in the cilantro, basil, and scallions. If needed, add salt & pepper. Serve right away with lime wedges if desired.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I often make soups in my 5.5 quart Dutch oven, and this ladle is great at pouring soup into bowls without spilling it all over the place.
- Mincing garlic is effortless with a garlic press. You don’t even need to peel the cloves first.
- Grating ginger is simple with my Microplane zester.
Substitutions and variations
- If you don’t like some of the fresh herbs (e.g. cilantro), feel free to leave them out, but the combo does really add a lot of fresh flavor. They’re staples of Thai cooking.
- Try adding a dash of fish sauce if you happen to have some for even more depth of flavor.
- As written, this soup isn’t particularly spicy. To make it spicy, use a spicy red curry paste or add in some chopped Thai chilis or crushed red pepper flakes. You can definitely serve it with a squeeze of sriracha sauce too.
What to serve with Thai chicken soup
- It’s a filling soup, so just serve it with a slice of fresh crusty bread for a satisfying and complete meal.
- Bean sprouts add a delicious crispy and fresh topping to Asian-inspired soups.
- If you’re really into Thai flavors, make this Thai Quinoa Salad as a pairing and have enough left over for lunch the next day to take to work.
Leftovers and storage
- You can store leftovers of this Thai curry soup in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Keep in mind that with any soup with noodles, they will absorb the broth over time.
- Reheat in a saucepan over a low heat until warmed through. Add more liquid if necessary.
- You could freeze this soup, but it wouldn’t be my preference as the chicken will get more dry and the texture of noodles may change. But it’ll still taste good!
If you’ve tried this delicious Thai coconut curry soup recipe or the post didn’t answer your questions, talk to me in the comments below. I’d love if you left me a review. You can always find me on Instagram!
Easy Thai Chicken Curry Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 heaping tablespoons Thai red curry paste see note
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cups water
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3.5 ounces uncooked rice noodles see note
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can full fat coconut milk
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (I used rotisserie)
- Generous handful fresh basil torn
- Handful fresh cilantro chopped
- Chopped scallions to taste
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Lime wedges for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and onion to a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the ginger, garlic, and curry paste, and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the broth, water, lime juice, and noodles. Increase heat to high and bring to a gentle boil.
- Stir in the coconut milk and chicken. Reduce heat to medium-low and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the basil, cilantro, and scallions. Season with salt & pepper as needed.
- Serve immediately with an extra wedge of lime on the side if desired. The noodles will soak up more liquid the longer you leave the soup. I suggest adding more chicken broth if you need to add more liquid (e.g. reheating leftovers the next day).
Notes
- To save on initial prep time, I prep while cooking e.g. start sautéing the onion while prepping the next steps, and then chop the herbs while the soup is simmering.
- Rice noodles come in a variety of brands and package sizes, so you don’t have to be super precise with the weight as you may need to use only part of a package. I buy the thicker ones (3 mm) vs. the super fine ones that are almost like angel hair pasta. I like to buy Thai Kitchen’s stir fry noodles when I can find them.
- I used Thai Kitchen red curry paste. I find it to be more flavorful than spicy, but some brands of Thai curry paste are quite hot, so be sure to add less than suggested if that’s the case and you don’t want a spicy soup.
- This soup is also in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on January 15, 2018. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
This is a family favorite. I use yellow curry to cool it down for the kids. I also puree the onions and broth to make it smooth. We have also added peppers for variation. We make this a lot.
I am so pleased your family likes it, Jennifer! 🙂 Love the yellow curry idea.
Can you freeze this soup?
Hi Maggie! I haven’t tried, but I imagine it should be fine.
I would freeze it before adding the noodles.
Or if you cooked the noodles, freeze them separately.
I tend to put the noodles in the bowl ( cooked separately) and add the broth to the bowl. Helps with portion control- haha right! That way if there is leftovers ( only when I make a huge amount) I don’t have to worry about the noodles freezing weirdly or thawing in a mush.
Just an idea!
I absolutely love soup of all kinds and I have made this about 4 times now, my hubby and I LOVE IT! I shared some with a neighbor the last time I made it and she loved it so much that she begged me for the recipe!
Thanks so much for one of my new favorite and easy soup recipes!
That’s wonderful, Karen! I am so happy that it hits the spot. Thanks for passing the recipe onto your neighbor!
Needs about a tablespoon of fish sauce and a half tablespoon of sugar to genuinely bring out a traditional bright flavor. There’s a sweet element to Thai food this recipe is missing.
I love fish sauce so I second that recommendation! I left it out to make this recipe more accessible to the general public – some are put off by it.
Fish Sauce does smell awful. However, once it is stirred in , the fish sauce will work wonders. Therefore, make the recipe and don’t mention it.
Yup!
I am so lazy in the kitchen and don’t like cooking but this recipe was so easy and quick. It looked and tasted amazing and was a hit. I’ll be making this again! Thanks!
So glad to hear it! ❤️
I made this soup last night. It couldn’t be any easier. Thought I had enough curry paste but was wrong. Still delicious and will add more paste to left-overs. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so happy you liked it!
So I bought more curry paste and had left over turkey—–what a fabulous use of left over turkey. Thank you!!!
Excellent.. so happy to hear you liked it!
Omg I made this 3 days ago & I’n still in love with it. I followed the recipe exactly, & it is really good. Ty so much for posting it!
Soo happy to hear that, Lisa!! 🙂
It was very tasty, however next time I will use a little less water to concentrate the flavors more. I also added a few tsp of fish sauce, and some red peppers for color. My husband and I loved it. The prep was much longer than five minutes. Mincing garlic, chopping onion, cilantro, peeling ginger, grating ginger, squeezing limes, cooking chicken and boiling the noodles took a lot longer than five minutes. It wasn’t a fast recipe by any means, but it tasted good.
Hi Colleen, I am glad you liked it! Your additions sound very tasty. Yeah, prep time can definitely vary from person to person. It’s sometimes difficult to calculate. I try to consider that perhaps not everyone is as fast as me (since I cook a LOT haha), but I will explain how I came up with that figure if it helps. I spend a couple of minutes chopping the onion, and then I get on with the rest of the recipe, so I suppose some of the prep is done while the recipe is already cooking, so to me that isn’t really separate prep time since you’re doing multiple things at once. I use frozen ginger (like I mentioned in the recipe), so it takes me only about 30 seconds or so to grate it. I use a garlic press, so mincing the garlic only takes about a minute or so. My chicken was already cooked and portioned out (I used a rotisserie chicken).
Just tried it! It’s really good. I just think I messed up with the metrics (I live in Europe) and put too much curry paste… My whole body is on fire lol!
Yep definitely messed up, I put about 13 tablespoons….
Oh no! 13 tablespoons?! Yes, I can see why your body would feel like it’s on fire!! 🙁
Wow! 13 tbsp! Poor you!!
Making it tonight. Added some vegetables to make it more colorful (red bell peppers, green beans). I’m low carb, so no regular noodles. Unsure if I will use shirataki or just eat as soup. Not in a zoodles mood. Smells fabulous!
Hope you like it, Vicki! 🙂