A hearty bowl of rich, creamy, fragrant Coconut Curry Soup is the perfect meal any time of day.
A rich flavorful coconut curry broth is filled with fresh veggies, rice noodles, and either shrimp or chicken for a meal as pretty as it is delicious!
This recipe showcases some of our favorite flavors with fresh ginger, garlic, and curry in a coconut milk broth. Easy to make, nutritious, and delicious.
A Favorite Coconut Curry Soup
- Extra rich and flavorful, this is a delicious change from the usual.
- This cozy soup is great with almost any kind of meat or vegetables, chicken and shrimp are our favorites.
- The whole thing is made in just one-pot.
- Meat, veggies, aromatic herbs are all simmered in a creamy coconut broth infused with amazing flavor.
- To make this dish low carb, skip the rice noodles (add in some cauliflower florets in place).
Ingredients and Variations
While this isn’t a Thai coconut curry soup, the flavors in this recipe come from some of my favorite Thai ingredients.
BROTH: Red curry paste and fish sauce stirred into the broth and coconut milk give this soup its signature color and flavor. If you have never had fish sauce before it adds the most wonderful savory flavor to soups, sauces (like pad Thai sauce), and stir-fries. You can find all of these items at almost any grocery store or online (red curry paste here and fish sauce here).
Ensure you choose unsweetened coconut milk (full fat gives the best results). Fresh garlic and ginger are a must in this recipe and add so much flavor. Spice it up with a few dashes of Sriracha or Sambal or serve it on the side.
SHRIMP OR CHICKEN: Choose peeled, deveined shrimp with the tails removed. Or use cooked chicken (leftover or rotisserie chicken is perfect here!).
VEGETABLES: Any kind of veggies can go in coconut curry soup! Aside from what’s in the recipe, experiment with broccoli, cabbage, diced carrots, or sweet potatoes.
RICE NOODLES: Rice noodles come in various widths, I prefer noodles that are a little bit thicker (and often labeled for pad Thai or stir fry). Rice noodles are sometimes soaked in boiling water and not simmered but in this soup recipe, they are simmered for a few minutes and continue to cook through as the soup rests. If you plan on leftovers, the noodles can be soaked or simmered per the package directions and added to each serving individually.
VARIATIONS: Omit the meat altogether and stir in roasted butternut squash or sweet potato cubes. A drained can of lentils will add color, texture, and a healthy pop of protein!
How to Make Coconut Curry Soup
It’s easy to make a restaurant-worthy soup:
- Soften the onion in oil. Add red curry paste, ginger, & garlic (per the recipe below).
- Stir in broth ingredients and scrape bits from the bottom of the pot. Simmer.
- Add bell pepper, then shrimp or chicken. Remove from heat, cover, & rest.
- Garnish with lime wedges & fresh herbs!
The noodles are simmered for a few minutes and will be undercooked. As you add the shrimp or chicken to the soup and let it rest, the noodles will continue to soften and cook through. The package I use suggests a 10 minute soaking time, if your noodles call for more or less time you may need to adjust when they are added to the broth.
What to Serve with Coconut Curry Soup?
This bright and bold soup is a meal within itself.
Garnishes: Fresh herbs like cilantro and Thai basil (regular basil will work if it is all you have). Fresh mint.
Salad: Cucumber Onion Salad, Tossed Salad with a light vinaigrette dressing.
Leftovers
Keep leftover coconut curry soup in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat soup on the stove. Freeze portions in zippered bags with the date labeled on the outside for up to one month.
More Favorite Ways With Noodles
- Creamy Peanut Noodles
- Chicken Pad Thai – ready in 20 minutes
- Easy Beef Stir Fry
- Shrimp Lo Mein – jam-packed with flavor
- Sesame Ramen Noodles
- Chicken Udon Stir Fry – perfect weeknight dinner
Did you make this Coconut Curry Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Coconut Curry Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 lime divided
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 14 ounces coconut milk do not use light or low fat
- 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
- ¾ cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 8 ounces medium shrimp peeled and deveined, or 2 cups cooked chicken
- 4 ounces medium rice noodles cooked
- fresh herbs for serving, cilantro, Thai basil, fresh mint
Instructions
- Zest 1 teaspoon of lime zest and set aside. Juice half of the lime (about 1 tablespoon of juice) and reserve the rest for serving.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add sliced onion to the pan and cook until it begins to soften, about 4 minutes.
- Add curry paste, ginger, and garlic and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth, coconut milk, and fish sauce, scraping up any brown bits. Add mushrooms and lime zest, simmer 15 minutes.
- Add bell pepper and rice noodles* (see note), simmer for 3 minutes more.
- Stir in raw shrimp or cooked chicken, turn off the heat, and cover. Let rest 5-6 minutes or until shrimp is cooked through or chicken is heated through and the noodles have softened.
- Stir in the juiced lime. Serve with fresh herbs and additional lime wedges.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Seafood, Soup
Cuisine American, Asian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
My family says to make again. I did do minor modifications appropriate to our taste buds.
Thank you for a great foundation recipe!
How many cups does this meal make? I see the nutrition info gives calories for a 1.5 cup serving… I supposed I can measure it out when I serve it. I’ve made this recipe several times now and it is great! Just curious about portions.
This recipe makes 4 – 1 ½ cup servings. I hope that helps, Brianna!
Thanks for the response! Good to know!
Beautifully balanced as is. I’ve tried a few other recipes and they haven’t hit the mark like this one!
Gave us the sniffles with the perfect amount of spiciness. First time I’ve gone back for seconds in a long time. SO GOOD!
This came out amazing. A great recipe and new addition to our regular meals. I added broccoli, carrots, and a jalapeño for heat.
So glad you enjoyed it, Lauren!
This sounds delicious! I make a version of this that is almost identical. Adding the acorn or butternut squash and fresh green beans – even broccoli elevates the dish as well. you can serve this over rice which was always my favorite way to eat it. I can no longer eat rice or pasta so i will be treating this as a delicious soup, or finding a plant based noodle.
We would love to hear what you think of this dish, Annette!
This looks awesome, my husband is allergic to seafood. What can I sub the fish sauce with?
Hi Raina, I have only made this recipe as listed but you could try substituting the fish sauce for soy sauce or Tamari. Since fish sauce is a big part of the flavor it will change it slightly but should still be delicious. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Holy moly this is delicious! I’m vegetarian so used tofu instead of shrimp, added some carrots and green beans and used simple truth “no chicken” broth. I also added a bit of brown sugar at the end. It was absolutely perfect and will replace our go to curry soup recipe we’ve been using for years. Thank you!!
I’m so happy you loved this soup, thank you so much for leaving a comment! ❤️
Holy moly! I’ve had it just as written with shrimp (loved it!) and tonight I tweaked it a bit. I used 1/2 the curry (I have a 9yo!), I omitted the broth and used 1T of chicken bouillon, I used palm heart “linguine” instead of rice noodles, added 1lb roasted tofu. Heaven!!
This soup is so delicious and not difficult to make. I added more rice noddles. My husband raved over it. I prefer using shrimp.
Family loved this. Restaurant quality meal. Made a few minor adjustments (added more veg – cauliflower and zucchini, more curry paste and broth, used chicken thighs – 2lbs) and it was delicious. Will absolutely make again.
Love this. Made it as per recipe and really enjoyed it. Made it with coconut milk and curry powder and it was excellent.