Thai Coconut Chicken Soup is healthy, easy, and so delicious! This creamy Thai chicken soup recipe is made with coconut milk, cilantro, mushrooms, chicken, tomato, and chiles. So much flavor in such an easy soup recipe!
What’s in this Tom Kha Gai Recipe?
This creamy coconut chicken soup is great for a change on sick days, but it’s just as good when you’re not sick. If you’re a fan of Thai food, you’ll just love the flavors here. Plus it only takes 30 minutes to make! Easy dinner alert!
- Chicken Stock: I highly recommend using stock, but in a pinch, chicken broth will do.
- Coconut Milk: Whole-fat coconut milk will make it extra creamy, or use a lite version.
- Lemongrass Paste: Lemongrass is great for your immune system and can aid in lowering cholesterol.
- Ginger Paste: Traditional tom kha gai is made with galangal, but that can be hard to find, so we’re using ginger paste instead. Ginger is anti-inflammatory and can help with cardiovascular and digestive health. It’s also a great thing to use to fight the common cold.
- Cilantro: This gets mixed into the soup and used as a garnish (I love cilantro!).
- Lime Juice: This bit of acidic citrus flavor brightens the whole soup.
- Serrano Chilis: If you can find Thai chilis, those work even better! Remove the seeds and chop finely. This adds that bit of spice!
- White Button Mushrooms: Filled with antioxidants!
- Shredded Chicken: Cook before adding to the soup (I just used rotisserie chicken for ease).
- Brown Sugar: Adds the perfect level of sweetness.
Pro Tip: Garnish this soup with halved cherry tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and a few shakes of hot sauce!
Variations on Coconut Chicken Soup
For a vegetarian or vegan version of this Thai coconut soup, swap out the chicken stock for vegetable stock and leave out the shredded chicken. You can add more mushrooms or other veggies to beef up the soup a bit more.
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Tom kha gai is made with coconut milk and chicken, whereas tom yum is made with a seasoned, spicy broth and shrimp.
Yes! This soup is packed with healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and protein!
It sure is! Ginger, lemongrass, and cilantro have particularly high anti-inflammatory effects.
Lemongrass paste is a specialty food item, but you may find it in your local grocery store in the produce aisle near the clamshells of herbs. It usually comes in a tube. I used Gourmet Garden brand, which I have seen at Walmart and Target.
Coconut milk reacts to heat and forms little curds. To help prevent this, you can temper the mixture by adding a ladleful of the hot soup to the coconut milk, stirring well, then adding that mixture back into the hot soup. You can also take the soup off of the heat and let it cool for a few minutes before adding the coconut milk.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover Thai coconut chicken soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a pot set over medium-low heat or in the microwave in 30-second bursts until warmed through.
How to Freeze
Freezing any soup with milk/cream in it can be iffy, even coconut milk Will it ruin it? Maybe not completely. But will it be quite the same? No.
My recommendation is to make the soup as instructed, but leave out the coconut milk. Freeze the soup in an airtight container for up to 3 months, let thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then stir in the coconut milk while it simmers on the stove.
Serving Suggestions
This soup is so light and nourishing. It’s great served with jasmine rice or an Asian cucumber salad. I enjoy dipping naan bread or dinner rolls into mine to soak up all that delicious broth.
Thai Coconut Chicken Soup Recipe (Tom Kha Gai)
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Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken stock
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped, plus more for garnish
- 3 tablespoons lime juice (from 2 limes)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste Gourmet Garden brand recommended
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste Gourmet Garden brand recommended
- 1 serrano chili seeds removed and finely chopped
- 1 cup white button mushrooms sliced
- 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken (I used rotisserie chicken)
- 14 ounces coconut milk (1 can)
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
For Garnish (optional)
- Cherry tomatoes halved
- Fresh cilantro
- Hot sauce
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the chicken stock, cilantro, lime juice, salt, lemongrass, ginger, and chili in a 6-quart dutch oven or large stock pot over medium-high heat. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cooking for 15 minutes8 cups chicken stock, ¼ cup fresh cilantro, 3 tablespoons lime juice, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste, 1 tablespoon ginger paste, 1 serrano chili
- Add the mushrooms and chicken, stirring to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes, or until chicken is fully heated through.1 cup white button mushrooms, 3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
- Stir in the coconut milk and brown sugar, stirring until everything is fully combined and smooth.1 tablespoon brown sugar, 14 ounces coconut milk
- Simmer until ready to serve, topping with cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and hot sauce (optional)Cherry tomatoes, Fresh cilantro, Hot sauce
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- I highly recommend using chicken stock over chicken broth in this recipe.
- If you’re not a fan of cilantro, you can try using parsley instead, but the flavor will be different.
- Add the coconut milk slowly and off the heat to help prevent curdling.
- Nutritional information does not include optional garnishes.
Nutrition Information
Very nice, I added carrots, broccoli and courgettes to the soup and it came out so delicious! Had to bowls at once 😂
No leftovers this time!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. It looks delicious. I guess this is Keto friendly as i am on Keto diet.
Would you recommend any other veggie combo’s to be used in this soup? It looks AMAZING but I’m not a tomato or mushroom fan. Would love to know if you think something else would go well?
I am normally against using light coconut milk, but do you think it would work for this recipe? I’d like to make this a healthy soup by eliminating some of the fat in the coconut milk, but don’t want to mess with the flavor of the soup.
I just made this it’s super good thank you for posting this. Followed recipe to the T, as they say.
I’m looking for something that can be frozen by a new mommy. Does this freeze well?