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 use
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh ginger minced
- 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 mushrooms thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 8 ounces uncooked peeled medium shrimp or 2 cups cooked chicken
- 4 ounces medium rice noodles cooked
- fresh herbs for serving, optional 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.
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This recipe has excellent flavor! I made a double batch and it was way too spicy though. Next time instead of 4 tablespoons of red curry paste I would use 2 and if I was making a single batch recipe I would use one tablespoon.
everybit looks sounds so good .
Can we opt out the noodles? I have had curry but I dont ask for noodles … also can this be made without the fish sauce?
You can leave out the noodles if you prefer Roxxane. I have only tried this recipe as written, but the fish sauce is a big part of the flavor so I can’t say for sure how it would be without it. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
This is my new, favorite soup. The last two times I have omitted meat and used sweet potatoes instead and it was delicious. It is a little spicy, creamy, and is loaded with veggies. I added a little corn starch to thicken it up, but that is my personal preference.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Delicious! Made it for my wife and I. It did come off a bit more “Soup” than “Curry” which is… well what the name implies. Cooked with sweet potatoes (great) & had the noodles and meat on the side so you could choose your distribution.
I like how versatile it is & will make again! Next time I’ll probably use all the recommended “veggie proteins” you listed and then have the meats, sriracha, rice, noodles on the side and treat it as a “make your own” style!
Increase spices according to taste/heat tolerance
I just made a thrown-together version of this and it came out great. I had no mushrooms or peppers, so I tossed in some yellow squash. I am saving my rice noodles for another dish, so I used Ramen noodles instead. I had half a red onion and half a white, so that’s what went in. I did use shrimp, but only eight large ones because I’m on a budget and they’re very expensive where I am. my Uncle and I devoured the entire pot in one sitting. Will be making this again. Thank you
So good! We used a can of chick peas and a can of lentils instead of meat, and it turned out great.
Your version sounds delicious too, thank you for sharing Andrea!
This coconut curry soup is so comforting and full of flavor. Also very easy to make. I doubled it to eat it for days!
This coconut curry soup was fantastic. We will be making this often. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad to hear you loved it, Michele!
We really enjoyed this curry! I found it to be perfectly hearty, and that broth was so flavorful and delicious.
Glad to hear everyone enjoyed it, Amanda!
I made the coconut curry soup for the family and they LOVED it. I thought it may be a bit too spicy but the coconut milk really smoothed it out. The curry was so flavorful every spoonful was sheer pleasure. This recipe is definitely going to go on our regular menu rotation.
This curry soup was really delicious! I used shrimp and our family thoroughly enjoyed it! I was hoping for leftovers but didn’t end up having any haha
It’s always a great sign when there are no leftovers, luckily it’s an easy recipe to make again!
I absolutely love coconut and curry together! It might be my favorite flavor combination ever!
I couldn’t agree more Leslie!
This packs so much flavor! And loved it with shrimp! My husband and I devoured it.
So glad to hear you loved it!
This was absolutely fantastic! Great for a light lunch and easy to make. I’ll definately be making this again!
Thanks for sharing, Amanda!
I removed the shrimp and added vegan chicken pieces and it was so delicious!
That sounds like a great substitution!
Loved the addition of rice noodles to this coconut curry soup. Would love to make this for weeknight dinners.
Let us know how it turns out!!
I made this soup for my family 3 days ago and it was runner up ,super delicious !
Thanks for sharing the recipe
So happy to hear that, Tara! Glad you enjoyed it.
Followed this recipe with the exception of adding extra veggies (thin slices of carrot, broccoli and cauliflower). The broth needed salt (none listed in the ingredients) and the addition of red pepper flakes for a little kick. I was hoping it would be filling enough for dinner but it was very light and would have been better as an appetizer. I will make it again but would add a teaspoon of salt, the red pepper flakes and possibly another tablespoon of red curry paste.
Thanks for sharing your additions, Curtis. They sound great!