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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!
Favorite! I love anything coconut and this soup was spot on. When ordering from restaurants this soups seems intimidating to make, however that is not the case. Veggies, seasoning, and coconut milk boom – ting done! The family also approved so I’m happy all around.
So glad you loved this one!
Super easy and quick to make
Yum! Not as spicy as I thought it would be (used the green curry paste I already had on hand). The lime really kicked up the flavor.
Was a little nervous to add 1/4 cup of curry paste but wasn’t too spicy at all. Great flavor! Can you freeze?
Yay Kassie! So glad you went for it with the curry paste! Yes, you can freeze this soup for sure. Your future self will thank you.
We enjoyed this quick and easy soup. To disguise the mushrooms, I used someone’s suggestion of blending it in a mixer. The family never knew 🙂 Another great recipe that will definitely be in my rotation.
Brilliant with the blender Jema!
I made this soup yesterday, it was delicious! It was light but filling, we really enjoyed it. I added the garnishes of green onions, cashews and lime wedges. Will definitely make again.
I made this soup last night and it was amazing. I usually feel the need to add spices to recipes, but the coconut milk & red curry paste was perfect. *Don’t forget the sea salt. 🙂 We were afraid that the sliced serrano on top would be too hot but it was a nice kick of heat. I used my julienne slicer for the zucchini since I couldn’t find my spiralizer. The recipe turned out well and since we both enjoyed it, I would definitely make it again.
This soup was good, but just missing something for me. This is one i would need to play with a little to get it added into a regular rotation.
This soup is really tasty! I added fresh lemongrass to my soup for an added burst of flavor! I have had this soup with chicken but I enjoyed the soup without any meat. I have leftovers that I’ll freeze for future meals and will definitely make this one again. I am really enjoying the 10-day soup challenge! It’s exposing me to so many new TASTY plant-based options to help me on my wellness journey.
It was ok not my favorite
This is such a delicious soup. Incredibly simple but so flavorful!! I would recommend have a some type of side, because it isn’t super filling. But soooo good, highly recommend!
Super easy to make. I normally don’t like zoodles, but they were great in this soup. Extremely filling. I did half full fat and half low fat to reduce the calories.
Half full and half low fat is a great way to control calories and fat. Nice move Jeff!
Love this soup! I was never a big fan of soups, but these sops are changing my mind. I will definitely make this one again.
I definitely enjoyed the curry though I had to change it a bit because I try to eat low fat/calories, I used one can of full fat coconut milk and 4 cups vegetable of broth I also added Thai seasoning to add a bit more flavor but other than that I really liked the recipe.
Yum!
Very good. I used 2 cans of lite coconut milk and 2 cans of regular coconut milk (full fat). I cooked the carrots a good bit before I added the mushrooms. I didn’t have maple syrup and didn’t want to buy any for only 2 tsp for the recipe (and I don’t use maple syrup for anything else), so I substituted with raw honey. Next time I’ll use more mushrooms and carrots, and less zucchini.