Our easy Coconut Curry Soup is a delicious homemade soup recipe that is packed with so much great flavor! Made with real, simple ingredients like, fresh vegetables, rice noodles, flavorful curry paste, and tender shrimp. It all comes together so quickly that you could even make it for a busy weeknight dinner!
The Best Coconut Curry Soup
Table of Contents
On those chilly Fall and Winter days, there is simply nothing better than a big pot of this flavorful soup simmering on the stovetop! This coconut curry soup with coconut milk is dairy-free and will definitely wake-up your tastebuds. With options to switch up the protein from shrimp to chicken or adjust the flavors by increasing the heat to really make it spicy or squeeze in more lime juice. Our whole family always loves a versatile recipe that can easily be adjusted for your own personal preferences.
If you love those curry flavors, you would also love our Beef Curry!
What You Will Need
- butter – great to sauté the garlic to maximize its flavor!
- garlic & yellow onion – everything is always better with some fresh garlic & onion in the mix.
- chicken broth – option to buy store-bought chicken stock at your local grocery store or make homemade chicken broth.
- full-fat coconut milk – adds to that amazing creamy texture & adds so much flavor!
- red curry paste – our favorite curry paste is Thai Red Curry Paste, but feel free to use what you love and adjust the amount to your preferred taste.
- fresh lime – a combination of zest and juice for that wonderful acidity that really lightens and brightens!
- red bell peppers, russet potato, & mushrooms – all the fresh veggies that we love enjoying in a traditional coconut curry soup.
- fresh ginger & lemongrass – we always have both ginger paste and lemongrass paste in our fridge for recipes just like this!
- chili garlic sauce & fish sauce – these bring lots of flavor and some heat.
- kosher salt & ground black pepper – simple seasonings that are always a must!
- raw shrimp – a delicious protein that cooks quickly. We like to remove the shell and tail before tossing them in to make eating a bit easier.
- fresh basil – a fresh herb that goes so well with all the curry flavors!
- rice noodles – option to serve the soup over cooked rice noodles or add them to the pot to cook in the soup.
How To Make Coconut Curry Soup
The first steps to making this easy recipe are to bring a large pot to a medium heat, add the butter to melt, and then sauté the garlic and onion for 1-2 minutes.
Next, make the soup base by adding the chicken broth, coconut milk, lime juice, lime zest, garlic chili sauce, ginger, lemongrass, red curry paste, fish sauce, salt, pepper, and stir to combine it all together.
Now add the bell pepper strips, mushrooms, and carrots to the hot pot. Bring it to a gentle simmer, cover, and let it all cook for about 10-15 minutes.
Then add the raw shrimp and fresh basil. Give it a big stir and let it cook until the shrimp are fully cooked, about 3-5 minutes. Taste and make any flavor adjustments you want.
Best Ways to Serve Coconut Curry Soup
Every soup recipe is better with a little garnish on top and on this cozy soup we love some added fresh basil, green onions, and lime wedges for a freeze squeeze of lime juice. You could also bring up the spice level with some red pepper flakes. On the side, we highly recommend some crusty bread, grilled bread, or big piece of buttered sourdough to help soak up all that delicious brothy goodness!
Recipe FAQ
- Vegetables: feel free to change up the fresh produce and use what you prefer or what you have on hand. You could even use your favorite frozen vegetables if you’re in a pinch!
- Protein: in the recipe card we used shrimp, but you could make this into a chicken curry soup so we included that info in the notes section below.
- Vegetarian Coconut Curry Soup: if you want to omit the protein and make this vegetarian, you could add some cubes of butternut squash when you toss in the potatoes and just make sure they are all fork tender before serving.
- Freezing: this soup freezes really well! Simply let it cool and then place it in a freezer bag or freezer safe container (leaving room to expand) and then store for up to 1 month. We highly suggest that you do this before adding the noodles. Just keep the box of noodles in the cupboard until you are ready to reheat and serve.
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Other Soup Recipes You Might Like
Coconut Curry Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Asian-Inspired
Description
Coconut Curry Soup – a seriously flavorful, homemade coconut curry soup recipe that can be made with shrimp OR chicken! So good!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter (sub extra virgin olive oil)
- 3–4 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1/2 sweet yellow onion, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 cans full fat coconut milk
- 1 4oz jar + 2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
- zest of 1 lime
- juice of 1/2 lime (more as-desired)
- 1 bell pepper, cut into strips
- 1 large russet potato, cubed
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 1 pint mushrooms, sliced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 2 teaspoons lemongrass, grated
- 1–2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound medium/large raw shrimp
- 1/4 cup packed fresh basil, roughly chopped (more for serving)
- 8oz rice noodles, cooked al dente per package instructions
- toppings: additional fresh basil and lime wedges
Instructions
- Bring a large Dutch Oven to medium-high heat. Add butter and let melt; swirl to coat the pan. Add garlic & onion and move around the pan until garlic is fragrant and onion has softened, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, coconut milk, red curry paste, lime zest, lime juice, bell pepper, potato, carrots, mushrooms, ginger, lemongrass, garlic chili paste, fish sauce, kosher salt and ground black pepper. Stir to combine. Let simmer 10-15 minutes or until veggies are firm, but soft.
- Add shrimp and basil. Stir and cover; let cook 3-5 minutes or until shrimp are fully cooked.
- Meanwhile, cook rice noodles to al dente according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Taste the soup and add additional salt, lime juice or basil – as desired.
- Add rice noodles to a bowl and ladle the coconut curry soup over top. Garnish with additional basil and lime wedges.
Notes
- Red Curry Paste: I used the Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste because it really doesn’t carry much heat with it – SO if you use another brand I would recommend adding it a little at a time so you can reach your desired flavor/heat level.
- Chicken: you can easily sub in approx. 1 lb of cubed boneless, skinless chicken breast for the shrimp. I would actually cook the chicken first in some olive oil or butter (season with salt and pepper). Cook it pretty much all the way through (or use rotisserie chicken) and then transfer to plate and set aside. Add it back to the pot in step 3 with the mushrooms.
- Shrimp: feel free to leave the tails on to add more flavor OR remove them beforehand for easier eating – up to you! Just be sure not to over-cook!
- Rice Noodles: I like to cook my noodles separately – if you prefer to cook them in the soup, then go for it! Do what works best for you.
- Storage: store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 185
- Sugar: 1.4 g
- Sodium: 411.9 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 19 g
- Protein: 7.5 g
- Cholesterol: 50.4 mg
Diana says
Delicious! This curry soup was extremely flavorful and perfect for the cold snowy night we had last night. I only used the 4oz jar of curry paste (different brand than Thai Kitchen) and it brought just the right amount of heat…any more would have been too much for us. There was a lot more prep than 10 mins (lots of chopping) for this slow cook, but I planned for that after reading through the recipe and it was worth it!
Margaret says
This dish was so great and very easy! I will probably omit the addition tablespoons of curry paste next time as it was a bit spicy. I did use another brand so it could’ve just been that.
Erin says
So glad you enjoyed this one, Margaret! And yes, totally, curry paste can vary so much between brands!