This Thai chicken curry soup is quick, easy, comforting, and full of fabulous flavor. A great way to use up leftover or rotisserie chicken!
Rotisserie chicken is one of my favorite things to use to make fast, healthy(ish) meals during the week. This leftover chicken soup is one of those meals.
20 minutes for a soup like this? Heck yeah. It's been a while since I've made a Thai-inspired soup, so I figured it was time for another one.
This Thai chicken soup has plenty of complex flavors without being complicated to prepare. Thai red curry paste is an easy, ready-made flavor punch. I always keep some in my fridge.
I always keep fresh ginger in my freezer so I have some on-hand as well. Thanks for teaching me that trick, Meghan! I also find I waste way less ginger that way. Ever buy it for a recipe then find the rest of it rotting in the depths of your fridge a few months later?
Yeah. Another benefit of keeping fresh ginger in your freezer is that it's extra easy to grate as well. Try it.
My easy Thai coconut curry soup has the perfect balance between spices and freshness. It's not particularly spicy, but ginger and garlic and the lemongrass in the Thai curry paste do provide a bit of heat.
The lime juice, cilantro, and basil counter the heat and make that coconut broth even more delicious.
Pro tip: In order to make this in 20 minutes, I do a bunch of the prep work while the soup is already cooking (like when the onion is sautéing).
I wish I had a bowl of this right now.
Writing up recipes days after I've made them is hard sometimes. 😛
If you like the look of this soup, you may also like my Thai lemongrass coconut soup, my Thai shrimp curry, or my Thai sweet potato coconut red curry.
Hope you try this delicious Thai coconut curry chicken soup recipe!
Let me know in the comments below if you have.
Do you enjoy Thai flavors as much as I do?
20 Minute Thai Chicken Curry Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped finely
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 heaping tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth (or stock)
- 2 cups water
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3.5 ounces rice noodles (see note)
- 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk (I used full-fat)
- 2 cups cooked chicken (I used rotisserie)
- Generous handful fresh basil torn
- Handful fresh cilantro chopped
- Scallions chopped, to taste
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Lime wedges for serving
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 vegetable 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.
- Test to ensure the noodles are ready (it may vary depending on brand, but most rice noodles will be cooked by now). I recommend the Thai Kitchen brand.
- 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 veg broth if you need to add more liquid (e.g. the next day).
Notes
- I used half a package of Thai Kitchen stir fry rice noodles (not the super thin ones) for this soup. You could add the whole package, but keep in mind it'll soak up the soup broth faster, so you may need to add more broth, especially if you reheat it.
- I used Thai Kitchen red curry paste.
- I always keep fresh ginger in a sealed container in my freezer. It makes it much easier to grate that way, and I am never without ginger. I used my handy Microplane grater/zester to easily grate it.
Victoria says
It was good but I would rather pair it with rice instead of noodles if I made it again.
Natasha says
Sure, you can definitely do that.
Meriliis says
Thank you for the recipe! So easy to make but sooo much flavors, will definitely make some more soon 😋
Natasha says
You're welcome! 😀
Amanda Schoemer says
The rice noodles in my turned out very mushy is there a different noodle I could use or rice maybe?
Natasha says
Hi Amanda! You could try adding cooked rice or a different kind of noodle/pasta, yes. I haven't tested it with anything else, though. Did you use the kind of rice noodles I suggested or that very thin vermicelli? I am wondering if maybe that's the issue. Vermicelli cooks practically instantly, so I would not use that kind for this particular recipe.
Amanda Schoemer says
Can you use light coconut milk?
Natasha says
Hi! I think that should be fine. The broth will be a bit lighter/less rich.
Molly says
Yummy and easy! Definitely add fish sauce as well!
Natasha says
Absolutely! So glad you liked it!
Melissa Borowy says
Delicious! We didn’t have chicken so we just had it with some cabbage. Added some fish sauce for some extra flavor. It’s light and savory and I love it!
Natasha says
I'm so glad you were able to improvise! I love fish sauce... great addition!
Julie says
I only have red curry powder....will that work?
Natasha says
I've never cooked with it, so I don't have any suggestions on how much to use, but you could give it a try... especially if you've used it successfully in other Thai-inspired recipes. Let me know if you try!
Kitty says
Absolutely delicious! I can't wait for leftovers!
Natasha says
Wonderful! XO
Lindsey says
This was so delicious! Thank you 😊 It is a new favorite.
Natasha says
So glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
Penny Lane says
I loved this!!! I added thinly sliced white potatoes and some green beans cut on the diagonal. I also had some lemon grass paste. I had no basil except for 3-4 leaves from a defunct basil plant (which I did add). And, I had no rice noodles so I served the soup in bowls over rice balls. Instead of the 4 Tbsp of Thai red chili paste I used about 3. It certainly needed the 4. We had toppings of cashews, scallion, cilantro, sriracha, and brown sugar. I wanted to thicken it a little bit but couldn't find my corn starch...it was still delicious. Thank you
Natasha says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Laurie says
Delicious recipe. Quick and easy!! I used brown rice instead of noodles and It was perfect. I will definitely make this tasty treat again!!
Natasha says
Excellent! So glad you liked it!
Rachael says
This recipe is amazing!! Thank you! It's so easy and packed with flavor. Love your recipes!
Natasha says
You're very welcome! Thanks, Rachael!
Maria Kleinman says
This is another winner...best soup and so easy!! Will definitely be adding this into rotation and I can't wait to make it again. Considering adding green beans and bean sprouts next time.
Natasha says
I am so glad you liked it, Maria!
Sandi says
Just had this for dinner. Delicious. May add mushrooms and shrimp next time. Fabulous as it is. Made some easy flat bread to go with it. Very nice. Thanks for sharing.
Can this be frozen?
Natasha says
So glad you liked it! I think you could freeze it. I haven't tried personally, but I don't see why not. The noodles may re-heat a little soggy, but I think it's worth trying.
Terri says
Tried for the first time. Family loved it. Should have made a double batch.
Natasha says
Great!! I am so pleased to hear that, Terri! 🙂
Jennifer Hoenig says
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.
Natasha says
I am so pleased your family likes it, Jennifer! 🙂 Love the yellow curry idea.
Maggie says
Can you freeze this soup?
Natasha says
Hi Maggie! I haven't tried, but I imagine it should be fine.
Bobbi says
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!
Karen Lord says
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!
Natasha says
That's wonderful, Karen! I am so happy that it hits the spot. Thanks for passing the recipe onto your neighbor!
Edward McCullough says
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.
Natasha says
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.
John says
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.
Natasha says
Yup!
Edwina says
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!
Natasha says
So glad to hear it! ❤️
Elizabeth says
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!
Natasha says
I’m so happy you liked it!
Elizabeth says
So I bought more curry paste and had left over turkey-----what a fabulous use of left over turkey. Thank you!!!
Natasha says
Excellent.. so happy to hear you liked it!
Lisa says
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!
Natasha says
Soo happy to hear that, Lisa!! 🙂
Colleen Crawford says
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.
Natasha says
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).
Lilly says
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!
Lilly says
Yep definitely messed up, I put about 13 tablespoons....
Natasha says
Oh no! 13 tablespoons?! Yes, I can see why your body would feel like it's on fire!! 🙁
Bobbi says
Wow! 13 tbsp! Poor you!!
Vicki says
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!
Natasha says
Hope you like it, Vicki! 🙂
Terri says
I made this today. So simple, very, very tasty! I used chicken stock and a rotisserie chicken. I added 4 dried Thai red peppers for heat. I'll make this again and again!!!
Natasha says
So glad to hear that, Terri! Thanks for leaving a comment. 🙂
kristine says
Absolutly amazing flavor! I liked more noodles so after we ate all the noodles and still had broth leftover I added more noodles for the second day. Great recipe!!
Natasha says
So happy to hear it, Kristine! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
Matt Kearns says
Love this soup! Looks so fresh and tasty, I will have to try it out!
Natasha says
Thanks! Enjoy!
Karly says
I almost can't believe how easy this is!! Looks too delicious to be true!
Natasha says
Aw thanks!! 🙂
Matt Robinson says
So comforting, love this!
Natasha says
Thank you!
Gina @Running to the Kitchen says
OMG, this looks like it's bursting with flavor! YUMMMM!
Natasha says
Thanks, Gina!!
Leigh Ann says
I wish I had this for dinner!!
Natasha says
Thanks, friend!
Jennifer Farley says
Love those flavors! Beautiful photos!
Natasha says
Thanks so much, Jennifer!
Natasha's Sister says
This looks nice except without the chicken please.
Natasha says
No.
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
This does sound like it's packed with flavor. Great tip for the ginger. Thanks for sharing Natasha!
Natasha says
Thank you!! Yes, it's such a good tip!
Jo says
Can’t wait to make this, but I think it best to boil noodles in chicken broth and strain prior to putting them in the soup so they won’t absorb all the juice.