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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!
First time for Coconut soup and it was very good. I did use half of the coconut milk in light coconut milk We will probably add chicken the next time for some extra protein.
This the first time I have eaten this type of Soup. The coconut thai Soup had a nice flavor and the “toppings” added to the texture. Mild and gentle, I would make again.
This is abundantly flavorful! It is a favorite! So easy to make! Delicious!
I made this soup last night and, quite honestly, was a little disappointed that it wasn’t more flavorful. Fast forward to today when I remembered the suggestion to add green onion, Serrano peppers and cashews as toppings. I wanted this to be an entree soup so I added some power greens and tah dah, it is delicious. I like things pretty spicy so I would add more curry paste next time.
Love your add-ins! Upping the flavors in a way you love is always a win with us!
I absolutely LOVE this soup! My grandson liked it but my son says he didn’t. He never likes anything.
Delicious and full of flavor. I added some diced avocado and next time I’ll add some chicken as well :-).
I love curry and I truly enjoyed this soup! I served it over rice and it was delicious. I did add a little seasoning to it because it was a little bland, but other than that I really liked it. The cashews, green onions, Serrano peppers, and lime are a very nice touch.
Toppings for the win!
Sooo delicious and simple! Excellent introduction to plant based foods for those who are hesitant.
This soup was amazing!! So flavorful and satisfying. It will be going on regular rotation in my house. I cut the fat a little by using only 2 cans of coconut milk and the rest of the liquid was vegetable broth. It was still very rich and comforting. We already have plans for other vegetables that could be used, like snow peas or bamboo shoots.
Yum, creamy and filling. I never would of imagined making a hearty soup could be this easy!
I did not get to do justice to this soap. It needed the toppings.
Sorry forgot to rate yesterday.
I loved this soup even before I started to make it. I’m an island girl and the fact that it has coconut it in, I knew I would love it. It did not disappoint.
My tolerance level for spicy dishes is pretty low, so I used quarter of the amount of curry paste and used yellow bell pepper. This will be my go to soup from now on-bonus, it’s so quick and easy to put everything together..
Love this smooth & delicious creamy soup & hubby approved too!
Loved this one! spicy, crunchy, this is delicious over thai noodles also. The lime give it the extra citrus taste. One extra alternative is to use some rotisserie chicken for the ones that want that.
I decided to use a bit of creative license on this recipes because I love Tom Kha Kai, and I don’t like maple syrup for anything but my waffles (Nope! Not even on my flapjacks!). So I lowered the curry paste to 2 tsp. and made a sort of stock with roughly chopped onions and jalapeño, crushed and chopped lemongrass, and about 4 tbs. of a garlic-ginger paste I made from scratch. I cook this all in some veggie stock for about 30 minutes and then strain, discarding the solids. That’s when I go back to this recipe and add my coconut milk, and veggies and bring to a simmer. I also added tofu because everything is better with tofu! There you have it – a super veggie forward Tom Kha Kai. It was absolutely wonderful with the heat and the lime/lemon flavors. I’ll definitely work with this recipe as it is so versatile in what you can add to it.
And your cooking show airs on which streaming service and at what day/time…??? LOL.
LOVE your add-ins and creativity Jennifer. Thanks for sharing!
Did not care for this soup. Don’t like spicy so did not want to buy thai curry paste with no future plans for its use so I used a combination of curry and turmeric powder. Tasted like veggies in warm thin milk. Husband took one taste and said no. I ate some of the vegetable out of it and tossed the rest. Not a keeper for us.