Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
This Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup is the ultimate cozy comfort, packed with rich curry flavor, tender chicken, and fresh veggies. Creamy coconut milk and a kick of red curry paste make this recipe totally unforgettable.
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❤️ Why You’ll Love This Thai Coconut Curry Soup
- Simple, easy-to-find ingredients
- Rich, silky, and super satisfying broth
- Hearty, tender an juicy shredded chicken for extra protein
- Easy to customize with extra veggies
- Low carb, Keto-friendly
When it comes to a bowl of pure comfort, nothing beats this Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup. It is packed with bold, cozy flavors from coconut milk, red curry paste, and juicy shredded chicken. Every spoonful hits that perfect balance of creamy, savory, and just a little bit spicy.
What I love the most is how fast it comes together with simple ingredients, perfect for any night of the week. The broth gets this beautiful creamy finish from full-fat coconut milk, while the veggies keep it feeling fresh and vibrant. Trust me, once you taste it, this easy coconut curry chicken soup will instantly be a new favorite.
If you love the bold flavors in this Thai-inspired soup, you may also like my Thai Red Curry Coconut Pork, Thai Chicken Satay and Thai Red Curry Coconut Grilled Chicken.
🛒 Ingredients for Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
- Chicken
- Chicken stock
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Unsweetened full fat coconut milk
- Zucchini
- Red pepper
- Fish sauce
- Lemongrass
- Red curry paste
- Scallions
- Fresh ginger
- Garlic
- Lime
- Cilantro
- Butter
- Olive oil
*Exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.
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🔪 How to Make Keto Thai Coconut Curry Soup
You’ll start by poaching 2 chicken breasts in chicken stock until tender.
Continue by shredding the cooked chicken breasts.
You can certainly use shredded rotisserie chicken instead, if you’d like.
When selecting rotisserie chicken, be sure and look at the label for added sugar or other ingredients that aren’t recommended for those on Keto or low carb diets.
Take the piece of lemongrass and hit it a few times with the back of your knife. This will release the flavor into the soup, which really adds so much!
Heat a large pot to medium, add in the butter and oil and sauté the mushrooms and red pepper for a few minutes.
Add in the ginger and garlic, sauté for about 20 seconds, then stir in the curry paste and allow to toast for 10 seconds.
Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock (I used the remaining poaching stock, along with more chicken stock). Add in the coconut milk, chicken, lime juice/zest, fish sauce, lemongrass and scallions. Simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered.
Add in the zucchini and allow to cook 5 more minutes or until tender.
Discard the lemongrass, garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with a squeeze of lime!
Store leftovers in the fridge for a few days.
☑️ Storage Instructions
Store leftover curry chicken soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days. You can also freeze the cooled soup in freezer-safe containers for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
🍴 What to Serve with Chicken Curry Soup
This soup is delicious as a complete meal, but you can make it stretch a little further by serving it with Coconut Cauliflower Rice for a low-carb side that soaks up the broth. You
You can also serve it with this Thai Cucumber Salad for a cool, crunchy side that balances the soup’s richness.
💡 Tips
- Use full-fat coconut milk instead of lite coconut milk for the creamiest, richest broth.
- Sauté the curry paste for a few seconds to bring out even more flavor.
- Slice vegetables evenly so they cook at the same time and stay tender-crisp.
- Taste the broth before serving and add an extra squeeze of fresh lime juice if you want it a little brighter.
- Keep the heat at a gentle simmer once you add the coconut milk to prevent it from separating.
- Add the zucchini at the end so it stays vibrant and does not get overcooked.
🔄 Substitutions and Additions
- Zoodles: Add zoodles right before serving for a Thai chicken noodle soup vibe.
- Greens: Stir in a handful of spinach or baby bok choy for an extra pop of greens.
- Curry: Swap the red curry paste for green curry if you want a slightly different Thai curry soup flavor.
- Chili: Add a teaspoon of chili garlic sauce if you want to spice up your red curry soup.
- Protein: Toss in cooked shrimp instead of chicken for a seafood twist on Thai coconut curry.
- Herbs: Sprinkle in a few fresh Thai basil leaves before serving for a fresh herbal note.
What If I Cannot Find Lemongrass?
You can leave it out, but adding a little extra lime zest can help keep that fresh citrus flavor.
Why Did My Coconut Milk Separate?
If you boil the soup too hard after adding the coconut milk, it can split. Keep it at a low simmer instead.
Can I Make This Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup in Advance?
Yes, it tastes even better the next day once the flavors have had time to meld.
Can I Use Rotisserie Chicken Instead of Poaching my Own?
Definitely! Shredded rotisserie chicken works great for this coconut curry chicken soup.
What is Curry? Is Curry Spicy?
Curry is basically a term used to describe Asian cuisine seasoned with a mixture of spices along with curry powder or curry paste. Curry typically has a bit of a bite because of the red peppers and chilies used to make the curry paste or powder.
If you don’t like too much spice, you can reduce the red curry down in this Keto Curry Soup to just 1 tablespoon. It’ll still have tremendous flavor, but will be a bit milder.
Are There Carbs in Keto Chicken Curry Soup?
So many assume you can’t enjoy the traditional Asian flavors of Curry Coconut Soup. That’s not the case with this Keto version, because there’re only 6 net carbs per serving! How great is that?
Are Mushrooms Keto?
There are only about 4 net carbs per 1/2 cup serving of shiitake mushrooms. But, it’s not just the low carbs that make them great for Keto, they are nutritious too!
Mushrooms are mild in flavor and take on the flavor of whatever you season them with and can be a wonderful vessel for healthy fats, such as olive oil, cheeses, even butter.
🍽️ More Keto Asian Recipes
- Lime Cilantro Cauliflower Rice
- Thai Red Coconut Curry Pork
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Easy Stir Fry Pork
- Pork Fried Cauliflower Rice
- Bang Bang Salmon Cakes
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Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 12 ounces chicken breast, shredded
- 13.5 ounce can unsweetened full fat coconut milk
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 small zucchini, sliced into half moons
- 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- zest and juice of 1 lime
- 2″ piece lemongrass
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon scallions, chopped
- 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Keto friendly mild flavored oil
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken by shredding cooked chicken breast. I poached 2 chicken breasts in chicken stock, then shredded. You can certainly use shredded rotisserie chicken instead, if you’d like.
- Take the piece of lemongrass and hit it a few times with the back of your knife. This will release the flavor into the soup, which really adds so much!
- Heat a large pot to medium, add in the butter and oil and sauté the mushrooms and red pepper for a few minutes. Add in the ginger and garlic, sauté for about 20 seconds, then stir in the curry paste and allow to toast for 10 seconds.
- Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock (I used the remaining poaching stock, along with more chicken stock). Add in the coconut milk, chicken, lime juice/zest, fish sauce, lemongrass and scallions.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered. Add in the zucchini and allow to cook 5 more minutes or until tender. Discard the lemongrass, garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with a squeeze of lime! Store leftovers in the fridge for a few days or freeze.
Recipe Notes
*Make sure to scroll up and read the post for substitutions, additions and helpful tips for making this recipe.
*Nutritional data is provided as a courtesy and is accurate to the best of my knowledge. You can verify it using the nutrition calculator of your choice. All data is based on net carbs, without sugar alcohol: Swerve, Erythritol, Monk Fruit or Allulose.
© Copyright for Keto Cooking Christian LLC. Please use the share buttons to share on social media, but please do not copy/paste the recipe.
Rate this Recipe*Originally published on April 4, 2019, updated on May 20, 2025 with improvements to the recipe, new photos, new recipe information and helpful tips.
Making this right now, is lemongrass powder a good sub for fresh and was thinking of adding rice noodles!
Yes, you can substitute lemongrass powder for fresh lemongrass, but the flavor won’t be exactly the same. Keep in mind that lemongrass powder is more concentrated, so you’ll need less of it.
so good, tastes like soup at the Thai restaurant; couldn’t find lemongrass and don’t appreciate cilantro so left those out, brought to work to share and was asked for the recipe!!!
That’s awesome to hear. When you can’t find lemongrass, you can use a little lemon zest instead.
This soup is delicious!! I love all the spice and fresh flavors. I didn’t have mushrooms so I subbed cauliflower and fresh green beans. We loved it!!
Awesome substitutions! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
MEGA DELICIOUS! JUST LIKE THAT OR MAKE SOME CHANGES
Thanks so much.
Any subs for zucchini? I am not crazy about it.
You can just omit the zucchini.
THE BEST EVER !!! Nothing more needs to b said
Thanks so much for the glowing review and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
The best coconut curry soup I’ve found. FULL of flavor! I used a little less chicken stock in mine, around 4 cups because that’s how we like it, a bit more curry like than soup. But this is a save and repeat
Thank you so much! I am so happy you enjoyed it.
Absolutely loved this! Definitely added more curry paste, but I like it hot!
Do you think I could you use pork instead of chicken? and replace the chicken broth with vegetables broth?
I tend to like things more spicy too and yes, pork would definitely work, as would vegetable broth!
This recipe is perfect!! Delicious, warming, quick to make, and easy to alter. I left out the mushrooms and added finely diced cauliflower. Increased the garlic and curry paste a bit because I love them. I used diced baked chicken, since I had some already cooked.
Seriously wonderful. I could see adding different veggies depending on what I have in the fridge. This is my new favourite go to.
I’m so happy you loved it!
Very good! I replaced the chicken with shrimp. Added crushed red pepper flakes for even more heat. And I also used lemon grass paste since my grocery store doesn’t carry fresh. It was so amazing!
So glad you liked! It’s one of my favorite soups.
LOVE this recipe and have been making it since I first saw it on your site. Some of the instructions were confusing/missing (like where to put the lemongrass and when to add back all the vegetables and chicken), but I guessed and it still came out so well. Extra curry paste works really well, too. And fresh wedges of lime. Thank you!
I am so happy you have been enjoying. I hate to hear that the instructions confused you. The lemongrass instructions are in the paragraph that states, “Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock (I used the remaining poaching stock, along with more chicken stock). Add in the coconut milk, chicken, lime juice/zest, fish sauce, lemongrass and scallions. Simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered.” The veggies are shown in the photo with the instructions that say,” Heat a large pot to medium, add in the butter and oil and sauté the mushrooms and red peppers for a few minutes.” Please let me know that answers your questions. I agree about the adding extra curry paste sometimes…I love it too! 😊
Great recipe and glad it’s so easy to make! Any ideas how I can get it spicier? Love this soup! ❤️
Thank you for the great review! You could possibly add more red curry paste to make it a little spicier. There are also several types of spicy peppers you could roast and add it this recipe.
May I ask what is a serving size? I do not see that in the nutrition chart. This soup is very yummy. I made it twice already! Thank you.
I don’t have a measurement by cups, sorry.
Ok so what is serving size in whatever measurement you have? It doesn’t say anything about the serving size that I see. Maybe I’m just missing it.
The fish sauce has sugar in it. Is there a keto substitution?
You could just leave it out. The fish sauce has less than one gram of sugar per tablespoon. This entire recipe only uses one tablespoon for 6 servings. It has very minimal carb impact if any.
Can you use green curry paste?
I’ve not tried before, but I think it would still be delicious.
I just made this and added a teaspoon of palm sugar to round out the flavor. I took a cooking class while in Thailand and I’m pretty sure they do in their Tom Kha Gai soup. I really like this recipe as I am currently doing Keto I hope it doesn’t put me out of ketosis lol, it turned out great and easy to make. Thank you.
I am so glad you enjoyed it. If your goal is to stay within 20-30 carbs a day, I would be careful using too much plan sugar, as one tbl has about 15 carbs. Since you only used 1 tsp for the whole recipe, it probably did not knock you out of ketosis.
I’m making this tonight but I couldn’t get red curry paste at the store, can I use curry powder?
It’s actually not the same thing, sorry. I don’t know of anything that would work as well, to be honest.
Where does it say Swerve in this recipe? It’s not in the ingredients…
looks delicious and I’m going to try it today!
That was actually a typo, was supposed to say serve, not swerve. I use Swerve in my recipes so often, so I’m used to typing it out. I’ve corrected it, sorry for the confusion.
This was so good we loved it
Awesome!
we are making this now so excited
Yay, hope you enjoyed it!
If someone in the house is allergic to fish/seafood, can we skip the fish sauce?
Yes, you sure can.
excellent recipe. Very flavorful. My family loved it. Thank you
Awesome, thanks for stopping by to let me know!
Very good! I replaced the chicken with shrimp. It was amazing!
Great substitution!