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Craving something warm, creamy, and full of flavor but don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen? This 30-minute vegan Thai coconut soup is my gift to you. It’s a quick and cozy take on the classic Tom Kha, made with tender mushrooms, sweet carrots, and creamy cashews for a satisfying, plant-based soup.
The rich coconut broth is infused with bright notes of lime, lemongrass, and a hint of heat—comfort food with a Thai-inspired twist. I’ve made this soup more times than I can count and I never get tired of it. I love it so much that I included it in my cookbook, Simple Green Meals.
Thailand Origins
Thai Coconut Soup, often called Tom Kha Gai, traditionally includes chicken and hails from northern Thailand, usually served with rice. My plant-based version swaps the meat for cashews and keeps it grain-free with zucchini noodles. Classic ingredients like ginger, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves add bold, aromatic flavor—feel free to include them!
Why This Thai Coconut Soup Rawks
- It’s a one-pot wonder. Simmer fresh veggies right in creamy coconut milk, soaking up every drop of Thai-inspired flavor. It’s got a cozy, spicy kick—just enough to warm you up without setting your mouth on fire. Not into heat? No problem. Simply dial back the curry paste and skip the serrano peppers to keep things milder.
- This soup actually gets better with time. Make it a day ahead and let those bold flavors mingle overnight. Just hold off on adding the zucchini noodles until you reheat—it keeps them from getting mushy and makes the whole bowl taste fresh and vibrant.
- It’s packed with plant-based nutrients. Between the mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, and creamy coconut milk, you’re getting fiber, antioxidants, and healthy fats in every spoonful—aka fuel that tastes amazing.
- It’s ridiculously fast. This soup comes together in about 20 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights when you want something warm, nourishing, and not boring.
Storage Tips (Without the Mess)
One of my favorite things about soup? You can make a big batch and enjoy it all week—or freeze it for future “I-don’t-want-to-cook” nights. Thai coconut soup stores beautifully, but here’s a few pro tips:
- Skip adding the zucchini noodles if you plan to freeze it. Zoodles tend to turn mushy and slimy after thawing, and they’re super quick to toss in fresh when you reheat.
- Store your soup in a freezer-safe container or bag. I love Souper Cubes (use code Jen10 to get 10% off!)
- If you’re using glass jars, leave some space at the top for the soup to expand as it freezes (learned this the hard way with a shattered mason jar—zero stars, do not recommend).
Vegan Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha)
Ingredients
- 7 cups coconut milk light or full-fat canned
- ¼ cup Thai curry paste red or green
- 2 tsp pure maple syrup
- ½ tsp sea salt, unrefined
- 1 carrot very thinly sliced
- 1 cup baby bella mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 zucchini spiralized
For Serving
- ¼ cup raw cashews chopped
- ¼ cup green onions chopped
- 1 serrano pepper thinly sliced
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk and curry paste.
- Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the maple syrup and salt.
- Add the carrots and mushrooms and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
- Add the zucchini noodles. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
- Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with cashews, scallions, chile pepper, and lime wedges.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- If zucchini ‘noodles’ aren’t your thing, then swap for brown rice or millet ramen
- You can use a vegetable peeler to create zucchini strips if you don’t have a spiralizer.
- Use full fat canned coconut milk for the richest flavor, use light canned coconut milk for less fat
- The nutrition facts are based on full-fat canned coconut milk. Use light canned coconut milk for fewer calories and fat.
- Omit the chili pepper and halve the amount of Thai curry paste for a less spicy meal
Nutrition
More Vegan Soup Recipes You’ll Love
After making this Thai coconut soup, try my other vegan soups —you won’t miss the meat for a second.
- My light and creamy celery soup takes 30 minutes and it’s easy to prepare a big batch and enjoy throughout the week to get in lots of fiber, nutrients and plant-based protein.
- This spicy black bean soup is bold, hearty, and bursting with flavor thanks to the smoky chili powder, warm cumin, and fragrant oregano.
- Experience the rich, smoky flavors of fire-roasted tomato soup. This hearty blend of roasted tomatoes, herbs, and spices delivers warmth and comfort in every spoonful.
Food shouldn’t be boring, and it should be easily shared. Grab one of these recipes today and help your family try something new!
Delicious!
I scaled this down to one quarter recipe because it said, “Serve immediately” and heard from others that zucchini does not freeze well. I used just one can of coconut milk which is labelled “220 calories per serving, about 3 servings per can.” Yikes! In my opinion this recipe serves 12! Exotic flavorings (don’t forget the toppings!) meld together to make this a special one bowl meal.
I wanted to love this one, but it was not our favorite. Taste was really nice, and it was easy to make, and it looked beautiful!!! However, the consistency was not great for us. Everything turned out kind of wet, soft, and slimy. My husband did not like the doodles, so he suggested that we put the leftovers over a bed of rice. I wouldn’t make it again, but I am still happy that I tried it!
We’re happy you tried it too. And love your guy’s suggestion of putting it on a bed of rice to make it something you love more. Soup-er idea! 😉
This soup had a lot of flavor despite having no broth. It’s loaded with vegetables. It I did add rotisserie chicken which was delicious
This is yummy. I pureed the carrot and zucchini and had just some zoodles whole. Also added red pepper.
I decided to buy lite coconut milk, since I am not a vegan at heart. Even with half the fat, I feel this soup is still really creamy, almost a buttery texture. I enjoyed tasting the red spicy curry paste, which I have never used until this recipe, which was good, not too spicy. Overall, I enjoyed the creamy, sweet and spiciness, but I would serve this earlier in the day because of the amount of fat.
In the future I may do half lite coconut milk and half almond milk for even less fat.
I did serve this with jasmine rice and almost reminded me of a spicy dessert. Yum.
Doubled the carrots and mushrooms and took full advantage of the serrano pepper + the other toppings. It was good!
This soup is so flavorful and creamy. I subbed the mushrooms out for some red bell peppers as we have a mushroom allergy in our house. It was very yummy!
I really wanted to like this one, because I do love the ingredients (minus the fungus). It was just really bland and “meh”. I think it’s redeemable, though. I will add more veggies and spice the next time to see if I like it more. (I do love that it’s super easy, so that’s why I think I’ll try it again with the added items.)
Love your plan to try it again, Allyson!
oh my my, oh yes! I didn’t do full on coconut milk with this one, as I am on WW. I substituted cashew milk for all but 1 can of full fat. It must be amazing with all the fat! lovely soup. I can’t wait to have leftover and make again.
Delicious!! I didn’t have cashews so I added the cashew cream. It was such a hit I have NO leftovers. My husband ate his with some salmon and left over rice. We all walked away from the table very satisfied. This will be made again!
Cashew Cream?! Rawk.Star.Move!
My husband and I really enjoyed this soup. I follow a low FODMAP diet, so made a couple changes. I used lite coconut milk and Penzey’s Sweet Curry Powder, instead of the Thai curry paste. It was flavorful and tasty!
Very tasty, my husband like it a lot
I love anything with coconut milk/cream. This soup was delicious though the next time I will add shrimp for a little seafood flavor. I did add ginger and left out the Serrano pepper since I’m susceptible to peptic ulcers. I’m still learning how to post pictures in a blog, so sorry, I’ll keep trying.
I also made the tomato soup but just enough for two, it’s gone. The only change I made was adding sun dried tomatoes which added an extra flavor. I did not use cashew cream, need to practice that one a bit more.
I make soups constantly with my own stocks.
I give both soups five stars.
Easy to make. Taste very good.
This was easy to make but we did not like this one