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 sautΓ©ing).
I wish I had a bowl of this right now.
Writing up recipes days after I’ve made them is hard sometimes. π
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
This Thai chicken curry soup is quick, easy, comforting, and full of fabulous flavor. A great way to use up leftover or rotisserie chicken!
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 tasteΒ
- Lime wedges for servingΒ
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and onion to a large pot over medium-high heat. SautΓ© 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.Β
- 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.Β
- 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).Β
Recipe 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.
Β
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
January 15, 2018 at 12:25 PMThis does sound like it’s packed with flavor. Great tip for the ginger. Thanks for sharing Natasha!
Natasha says
January 15, 2018 at 12:37 PMThank you!! Yes, it’s such a good tip!
Jo says
January 13, 2019 at 5:19 PMCanβt 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 wonβt absorb all the juice.
Natasha's Sister says
January 15, 2018 at 2:50 PMThis looks nice except without the chicken please.
Natasha says
January 15, 2018 at 2:58 PMNo.
Jennifer Farley says
January 15, 2018 at 5:43 PMLove those flavors! Beautiful photos!
Natasha says
January 15, 2018 at 6:19 PMThanks so much, Jennifer!
Leigh Ann says
January 15, 2018 at 5:59 PMI wish I had this for dinner!!
Natasha says
January 15, 2018 at 6:19 PMThanks, friend!
Gina @Running to the Kitchen says
January 15, 2018 at 7:06 PMOMG, this looks like it’s bursting with flavor! YUMMMM!
Natasha says
January 15, 2018 at 7:07 PMThanks, Gina!!
Matt Robinson says
January 16, 2018 at 10:34 AMSo comforting, love this!
Natasha says
January 16, 2018 at 6:35 PMThank you!
Karly says
January 16, 2018 at 7:10 PMI almost can’t believe how easy this is!! Looks too delicious to be true!
Natasha says
January 16, 2018 at 7:15 PMAw thanks!! π
Matt Kearns says
February 11, 2018 at 5:15 PMLove this soup! Looks so fresh and tasty, I will have to try it out!
Natasha says
February 11, 2018 at 5:35 PMThanks! Enjoy!
kristine says
March 7, 2018 at 8:19 PMAbsolutly 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
March 7, 2018 at 8:23 PMSo happy to hear it, Kristine! Thanks for letting me know. π
Terri says
March 12, 2018 at 11:26 AMI 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
March 12, 2018 at 11:38 AMSo glad to hear that, Terri! Thanks for leaving a comment. π
Vicki says
April 24, 2018 at 5:56 PMMaking 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
April 24, 2018 at 6:49 PMHope you like it, Vicki! π
Lilly says
May 8, 2018 at 4:13 AMJust 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
May 8, 2018 at 4:22 AMYep definitely messed up, I put about 13 tablespoons….
Natasha says
May 8, 2018 at 8:28 AMOh no! 13 tablespoons?! Yes, I can see why your body would feel like it’s on fire!! π
Colleen Crawford says
August 2, 2018 at 5:59 AMIt 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
August 2, 2018 at 9:20 AMHi 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).
Lisa says
October 7, 2018 at 1:37 PMOmg I made this 3 days ago & Iβn still in love with it. I followed the recipe exactly, & it is really good. Ty so much for posting it!
Natasha says
October 7, 2018 at 6:57 PMSoo happy to hear that, Lisa!! π
Elizabeth says
November 11, 2018 at 5:17 AMI 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
November 11, 2018 at 10:08 AMIβm so happy you liked it!
Elizabeth says
November 25, 2018 at 5:05 PMSo I bought more curry paste and had left over turkey—–what a fabulous use of left over turkey. Thank you!!!
Natasha says
November 25, 2018 at 8:10 PMExcellent.. so happy to hear you liked it!
Edwina says
February 7, 2019 at 3:28 PMI 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
February 9, 2019 at 8:28 PMSo glad to hear it! β€οΈ
Edward McCullough says
February 25, 2019 at 8:13 PMNeeds 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
February 25, 2019 at 8:16 PMI 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
April 8, 2019 at 6:04 PMFish 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
April 9, 2019 at 8:33 AMYup!
Karen Lord says
April 1, 2019 at 12:44 PMI 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
April 2, 2019 at 2:03 PMThat’s wonderful, Karen! I am so happy that it hits the spot. Thanks for passing the recipe onto your neighbor!
Maggie says
April 17, 2019 at 1:32 PMCan you freeze this soup?
Natasha says
April 17, 2019 at 1:37 PMHi Maggie! I haven’t tried, but I imagine it should be fine.
Jennifer Hoenig says
May 7, 2019 at 8:54 AMThis 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
May 7, 2019 at 3:35 PMI am so pleased your family likes it, Jennifer! π Love the yellow curry idea.
Terri says
June 4, 2019 at 5:42 PMTried for the first time. Family loved it. Should have made a double batch.
Natasha says
June 6, 2019 at 9:13 AMGreat!! I am so pleased to hear that, Terri! π
Sandi says
June 10, 2019 at 4:19 PMJust 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
June 12, 2019 at 10:02 AMSo 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.