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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!
What's in this post
November 9-13, 2026
Jen’s Free Soup Challenge
I’d love for you to soup it up with me! For 5 days, I’ll send you a daily veggie-packed soup that’s easy enough for a busy weeknight and makes enough to freeze and pull out all winter.
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 Freezer System.
- 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), and these tips work for any of my vegan soup recipes.
Recipe Card
Vegan Thai Coconut Soup
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 6 cups lite coconut milk
- ¼ cup Thai curry paste red
- 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
- 14 oz extra firm tofu pressed and cut into 1" cubes
For Serving
- ¼ cup raw cashews chopped
- ¼ cup green onions chopped
- 1 serrano pepper thinly sliced
- 1 lime cut into wedges
Instructions
- Whisk together the coconut milk and curry paste in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and stir in the maple syrup and salt.
- Add the tofu, carrot and mushrooms and simmer until the carrot is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the zucchini noodles. Taste and add more salt if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with the cashews, green onions, serrano pepper and lime wedges. Serve immediately.
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Recipe Notes
- Noodle Swaps: If zucchini noodles aren’t your thing, use brown rice or millet ramen noodles instead.
- No Spiralizer: Use a vegetable peeler to make long zucchini ribbons.
- Spice Level: For a milder soup, leave out the serrano and use half the curry paste.
- Storing: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The zucchini noodles soften as they sit, so for meal prep store them separately and stir them in when you reheat the soup.
Nutrition
Saturated Fat: 21 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g | Sodium: 626 mg | Potassium: 638 mg | Sugar: 9 g | Vitamin A: 5157 IU | Vitamin C: 26 mg | Calcium: 93 mg | Iron: 3 mg
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!
This soup was one that was out of my comfort zone. I must say, it is Awesome. I did add a little chopped jalapeño to my bowl of soup and loved the little kick of heat from it. So Delicious !!
Very good warming soup that you can put any veggies into. I like loading a soup like this one up with different slightly crunch veg that change it up just slightly, but you still have the same overall good soup!
FANTASTIC RECIPE!!! So easy to make and very delicious. I’ve attempted making a similar soup years ago but did not have the advantage of all the helpful information that Simple Green Smoothies provided us, thank you Jen. What an incredible difference using the right kind of coconut milk makes with this soup; as suggested I used Thai Kitchen’s Coconut Milk unsweetened variety that I easily found in my Publix grocery store’s International Food isle along with their red Thai curry paste.
TIP #1: Before opening up the cans of coconut milk into a pot, shake them up vigorously first for about 10 seconds to mix the coconut with the water inside to avoid a huge dollop of coconut from sliding out suddenly causing splash back – a lesson I learned with the first can.
TIP #2 While simmering the wisked coconut milk and curry paste over medium heat or during a later step in this recipe, please don’t be tempted like I did and place a lid over the pot even one that is vented, otherwise the soup will likely boil over very quickly if using a smaller pot, another lesson I learned that I’m sharing with you all.
TIP #3 When using any kind of spiralizer gadget in creating zucchini ‘noodles’ that are fantastic, I recommend cutting them into smaller sections before placing them into the soup to cook near the end; it just makes ladiling into a soup bowl easier and less messy.
Alterations to the ingredients: I only made one, instead of using 2 tsps of maple syrup I used the same quantity of a favorite of many Vitamix recipes that I already had on hand, 100% pure agave nectar, the light variety.
Asides from using all the other ingredients as listed in this recipe as indicated, I added a little bit of spice heat by sprinkling some crushed red pepper flakes on top. When I heat up one of my leftover portions for a future meal, I am going to put in some fresh ginger root using a microplane grater during the reheat stage prior to putting in fresh zucchini ‘noodles’, its a small modification but changes the taste of the soup enough that its another new soup to enjoy.
Such great tips, Phil! Thanks for sharing so much detail about your experience with this Thai Coconut Soup. Esp. love the idea about adding ‘fresh’ zoodles to the leftovers! 🙂
Love all the soups . Delicious
I don’t like coconut milk so I used Almond. I also left out thee serrano pepper. And I used less curry paste, even so, the soup was good. I probably will not make it again. It just is not for me.