This slow cooker Thai soup with chicken is packed with flavor thanks to the combination of curry paste, coconut milk, fresh ginger, and lime.
Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup Recipe
Here’s the thing about cooking with slow cookers. It’s convenient. But only if you’re creating a recipe where you don’t have to dirty more than the slow cooker. Like this slow cooker Thai chicken soup.
I’m all about time management. I eat breakfast while I do the dishes, I brush my teeth while I tie on my running shoes. In other words, I’m a multi-tasker who isn’t terribly efficient at getting much of any of my laundry list of daily to-dos completed because my mind thinks I have to do more than six things at at time. Why? Oh why?
So these days, unless its a lazy day weekend, my to-do list doesn’t always necessitate spending an hour and a half making dinner. I don’t mean letting it cook, I mean MAKING dinner.
Enter the genius invention that has been on every wedding registry since 1973: The slow cooker. And this slow cooker Thai coconut chicken soup. If I’m going to use a slow cooker, I want to make a recipe where I don’t have to brown this, sauté that, and dirty one single other pan to make my dream dinner come true.
Prepare yourself, you will need to dirty a cutting board and a knife to make this Thai coconut chicken soup. And maybe a whisk or big spoon. But other than that? You can put that fancy dish washing scrubbie away my friend, this is a one stop shop recipe I’m happy to make. Just so long as someone else does the dishes dish.
What’s in This Thai Soup?
In the spirit of no-fuss cooking, I tried to keep the ingredients list for this Thai coconut chicken soup as minimal as the prep work. Here’s what I used in this Thai chicken soup:
- Red curry paste
- Coconut milk
- Chicken Broth
- Fish sauce
- Brown sugar
- Peanut butter
- Chicken breasts
- Red bell pepper
- Onion
- Fresh ginger
- Frozen peas
- Lime juice
- Cooked white rice
- Fresh cilantro
How to Make Slow Cooker Thai Soup
Add all the ingredients but the lime juice, cilantro, rice, and peas to your slow cooker. Pop the lid on, turn the slow cooker to High, and let the Thai soup cook for 4 hours.
After 4 hours, stir in the peas and let the crockpot chicken soup cook for another 30 minutes.
I like serving this Thai coconut chicken soup over white rice with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro on top.
Can I Omit the Fish Sauce?
Technically, yes. But that small amount of fish sauce adds so much umami flavor to this Thai soup. There’s really no substitute for fish sauce, so I highly recommend using it in this recipe. You should be able to find it in the Asian section of your grocery store or online.
Can I Make Thai Soup in an Instant Pot?
You likely can. However, I’ve only ever made this Thai coconut curry soup in a regular slow cooker so I can’t give any tips on adapting this recipe for the Instant Pot.
Tips for Making Slow Cooker Thai Soup
This Thai chicken soup recipe is easily adaptable when it comes to the veggies. Sub in or add carrots, potatoes, or leeks. Or for a purely veg version, change up the chicken broth for vegetable broth and omit the chicken. Just be sure to keep the lime and the peanut buttery taste to complement the spiciness of the curry and you’re in business.
For the best flavor, I recommend using freshly grated ginger and freshly squeezed lime juice. Ground ginger won’t give you the same flavor as fresh, and pre-bottled lime juice doesn’t compare to freshly squeezed limes.
A few readers have said their soup has split near the end of the cook time. That’s just the coconut milk and broth separating from each other — your Thai soup hasn’t gone bad. Just give the soup a stir to bring everything back together. To avoid this separation, I recommend using full-fat coconut milk in this recipe.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Bookmark this recipe and leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Slow Cooker Chicken Thai Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2-12 ounce cans of coconut milk
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts , cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
- 1 red bell pepper , seeded and sliced into ¼ inch slices
- 1 onion , thinly sliced
- 1 heaping tablespoon fresh ginger , minced
- 1 cup frozen peas , thawed
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- cilantro , (for garnish)
- cooked white rice
Instructions
- Mix the curry paste, coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, brown sugar and peanut butter in a 4-½ to 6-quart slow-cooker bowl. Then, place the chicken breast, red bell pepper, onion and ginger in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
- Add in the peas and cook for 30 minutes longer.
- Stir in lime juice and serve with cilantro and white rice.
Nutrition
More Crockpot Soups to Try
- Vegetarian Crockpot Lasagna Soup
- Slow Cooker Corn Chowder
- Slow Cooker Hatch Green Chili Verde
- Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Kale
- Slow Cooker Healthy Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili with Quinoa
- Slow Cooker Turkey Meatball Soup
More Thai-Inspired Recipes You’ll Love
- Thai Quinoa Salad
- Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Krapow Gai)
- Shrimp in Thai Coconut Sauce
- Thai Coconut Chicken and Rice
- Thai Coconut Noodle Salad
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Michelle
Would subbing shrimp for the chicken work with this recipe?
Amanda
Everyone who’s coconut milk is curdling makes me think they bought the kind of the milk cartons, not cans.
Carly
I added a tablespoon of lemongrass as some others have suggested and added cauliflower for the last hour (then turned down to low). I also used half of the chicken as I used cauliflower to give it a crunch and omitted the peas. In addition to the cilantro garnish I added some chopped peanuts. SO GOOD! Thanks so much for this recipe. I didn’t have any problem with the coconut milk, but I did stir it about every hour.
Vicky
Made this earlier this week and am making it again already! Absolutely delicious. I substituted carrots for the peas and shredded the chicken breast after 3 hours. This recipe’s a keeper. Thank you!
Julia
Just went back for a second bowl of this. I can’t comment on the original recipe, as I modified it according to a lot of the comments. What came out was outstanding.
Of all the comments, I decided to ignore the ones about the curdling coconut milk. I used the full fat kind though and can say said curdling was very minimal and definitely did not impact the taste in any way.
My fiance and I are huge fans of heat so I put in a generous amount of sriracha, as well as cayenne and a chopped up chili pepper. I didn’t throw the red pepper in until two hours in so as to prevent it from getting mushy. I also turned the soup down to low after these two hours as I find having chicken on high for any longer than that makes it far too dry. I did 3 cups stock and 1 can coconut milk so as to not have it come out too sweet and lastly, I replaced the rice with al dente rice noodles.
I will definitely be making this again and again. Probably with shrimp next time :). Thank you!
(Also didn’t have any fish sauce on hand so did 1TB worcestershire and 1TB soy sauce!)
Nancy
I originally found this recipe in a GF magazine. This soup was delicious and healthy. I tweaked this recipe by omitting peanut butter due to family allergy and added lemon grass. Also, I used 1 can of full fat coconut milk from Trader Joe’s. I did not have a problem with milk curdling.
Kristy
I first made this soup early this year and have since made it about 5 times …. and plan on making it again this week! I love love loveeeee it. I make it for just me and I’ve made it for friends. I’ve finally found it again just so I can let you know how amazing it is.
Tabitha Nelson
This looks amazing! I have everything in the crockpot and it already smells wonderful! Any suggestions for making it thicker so that I can enjoy, similar to a red coconut chicken curry with rice, instead of a soup? Also, I really enjoy spicy things. Would you suggest doubling the red curry paste? By the time I thought of tasting the sauce I had already mixed in the chicken :-/ Any suggestions would be awesome!
Hi Tabitha, because this is a soup it’s meant to be thinner than a curry. Sure, you could add more curry paste to your liking.
Lindsay
This is SO good, I’m actually letting it simmer a bit to thicken up to serve over chicken that was already cooked. The flavour it just A+. Thank you!
Nikki
I made this recipe for the first time and followed it as described (minus the rice). I always have a problem with slow cookers making the meat dry and this time was no exception for my chicken. I probably could have cooked it much less time than suggested especially since the chicken is already diced into fairly small chunks.
Now for the taste. It was good! But I did feel it was missing something. I added a little salt and Siracha to my bowl of soup…just to taste. This really got it going.
Many comments here ask if this soup freezes well. It does. I made this about 2 weeks ago now and had some leftover frozen soup last night and it was just as good as day one. We have a Food Saver, so I did vacuum seal it in a bag and then put the bag into simmering/boiling water to get it warm again. I’m sure you can freeze it in another type of container too though if you don’t have the Food Saver.
Thanks for the heads up on freezing Nikki! I dont’ have a Food Saver but they sure seem efficient.
Nadine
I’ll add a USEFUL comment here because I actually made this recipe.
I followed it without ingredient changes and it tastes pretty good. I did double the batch. I probably could have added a little more lime juice. So test taste it.
Also, I dunno if my chicken was dry because I screwed up and cooked it on low for 6 hours vs high for 4 hours…but it’s dry….just like so many meats prepared in a slow cooker. That part is disappointing because the rest of the soup is definitely a keeper. I will try it again.
:) Thanks for you comment Nadine. If your chicken was dry, try using chicken thighs next time and see how it turns out.
Stefanie
I made this recipe last night. I almost tossed it out because it looked like the milk was curdled (no, I did not use low-fat coconut milk)… but I read some reviews and I guess that’s just the way it looks? It tasted okay overall, but I was expecting more spice and flavor, which was very mild to say the least. My husband added some sriracha for spice/flavor and said it helped. Also, it is VERY oily (which you can even see in the picture). I don’t think I’ll make this recipe again.
Jessica
I would LOVE t make this for my family, but my daughter is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. Has anyone found a good substitute for that ingredient?
Dori
Have you ever used Sunbutter? It tastes a lot like PB but with an almost sesame like after taste… its great in dishes like these!
Corona Protze
So I made this last night, it turned out great! However I’m wondering if the leftovers can be frozen? The soup is currently in two different Pyrex containers and when I looked into one, it looks like it hardened a bit on top, I’m assuming from the coconut milk? Not sure if and how it can be frozen and for how long?
Katie R
This was SO GOOD! I made it last night, and my hubby and son both loved it! My hubs and I added some siracha to give it extra spice, but so good! Will definitely make this again!
Hi Katie, so glad you liked it. I’m a spice fan too, but some aren’t, so that’s one part of the recipe that can be amped up if you like!
Lauren
This looks fantastic! Just one question. My two cans of coconut milk had totally different consistencies when I opened them– was one super creamy, and the other was separated and chunky, like cottage cheese. I probably just didn’t shake it enough, and the date on the can says it’s good for another year, but I just wanted to know if this was normal. I can’t seem to get the chunks to smooth out even when I stir it. Maybe it will dissolve once it gets warm. Just want to make sure it’s safe to use like that!
Thanks!
Hi Lauren, this happens to me all the time too. I think in general, coconut milk can be a bit tempermental depending on the brand and whether you use light or regular. I always shake it really well but sometimes will still have the solids. It will generally melt into the soup, but I think this might be one of the causes of some people not always having success with coconut milk based recipes. I would assume it’s safe, I think its more of a storage / time on the shelf issue.
disapointed
I made this per the recipe and it looked awesome but tasted like chicken noodle with lime. I was very disappointed. Do your self a favor and find a different recipe that has the lemongrass in it, makes a HUGE difference.
Natalie Marx
Found this recipe on Pinterest and made it the other night – it was tasty! I did add a 4 oz. can of (drained) mushroom stems and pieces as well as 2 cups of sliced carrots, because I love my veggies. The onions were still a bit crunchy after the soup was done, which is sometimes an issue with cooking onions in the slow cooker. I think I’d either sauté or micro-steam the onions a bit before adding them next time. Good recipe. I calculated the nutrition facts, including my additions, and including 1/2 cup cooked Jasmine rice, per serving: 665 Calories, 45 Carbs (11g Sugars), 37g Fat, 35g Protein, and 1,043g Sodium.
Wow Natalie, thanks for doing all of the nutritional work. And I love that you added the veggies to suit your taste.
Deannamer
All I have is yellow curry paste. Think that would work ok?
You could certainly give it a try. Let me know how it works!
Rebecca
Also wondering if anyone has successfully frozen the soup and reheated it? Made a by batch and am crossing my fingers it freezes well!
Katie
I made this soup exactly as the recipe says, and it is SOOOO YUMMY.
I know some people said that it is “bland”, but it is NOT, unless you use too much rice.
I had it really soupy with less rice and it has SO MUCH FLAVOUR, but I also had it more as a sauce over rice, and it was bland. I added more soup and it was delicious and flavourful again.
So I suggest less rice, more soup for tastier results.
It tastes just like panang/phanaeng curry. SO GOOD. Definitely a new favourite.
Katie
Did anyone ever find out if it froze okay?
Ashley
I was so excited to make this recipe but i must have some super concentrate fish sauce! my house smelled terrible and the taste was overwhelming. I added some heavy cream, more chicken stock and more red curry paste. It no longer tastes fishy, but my house smells terrible. A friend helped me save this recipe via text message. I would make it again either using less fish sauce or none at all.
Maybe your fish sauce was past its prime. I know when I’ve used fish sauce that’s sat on the shelf for a while it can get really strong.
Penny
Thank You Heidi for the awesome recipe!
It was sooo Good!
I didn’t have enough Chicken so I used Pork Loin… I also added a couple of carrots and fresh mushroom. Turned out delicious. This recipe is a keeper! :)
So glad you enjoyed it and used what you had on hand to make it your own.
Camille
I just made this after seeing the recipe on the huffpost…aaand it is so stinkin delicious!!! I added about a tablespoon of minced lemongrass and it was a welcome addition. The worst part of this recipe was that I could hardly wait 4 hours to eat it. This recipe is definitely a keeper.