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There’s nothing better than a warm bowl of soup on a cool fall day… or so they tell me! I’m a Florida girl, so I have to pretend it’s a crisp, cool night. What I don’t have to pretend about is my love for this Thai Coconut Soup recipe, which is a vegan version of Tom Kha Gai. It’s warm, comforting, and I like to make a big recipe and share it with my friends.
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 new book, Simple Green Meals. Try this soup and if you love it, then share it with your friends!
Table of Contents
How to Make Thai Coconut Soup
This is a great 1-pot meal as all the veggies cook right in the coconut milk. Because there is a bit of chopping in this recipe, I like to get that out of the way first. Chop the carrots, mushrooms, cashews, green onions and chili peppers as well as spiralize or chop the zucchini.
When heating up the coconut milk + curry paste mixture, don’t heat up too quickly. I use medium low to medium heat so as not to burn the liquid.
Add the carrots and mushrooms before the zucchini, and allow them to cook 20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. It won’t take long for the zucchini to heat up and soften, so no need to keep it on the stove long (it will turn mushy).
Once the carrots are ready, then add in the zucchini and just heat for a minute or two (seriously, the zoodles don’t take long!).
You can make this Tom Kha Gai soup a day ahead of time too, and allow the flavors to meld overnight. If doing this, then add the zucchini during the reheating time to keep it fresh. Once you give this thai coconut soup recipe a go, leave a rating below and tell me how it turned out! My friends and family love this soup so much, I bring it to gatherings all winter long.
Levels of Spice in Tom Kha Gai
I love a spicy kick, so this soup has one. Yet if spice isn’t your thing, then let’s make this Thai coconut soup work for you. First, the curry paste adds a lot of flavor. So instead of eliminating it altogether, try to use half the amount, or even a quarter.
If you like the crunch that peppers bring, but can’t handle chilis, then try first to remove the seeds (those are the hottest parts!). If it’s still too spicy, swap it out for a green bell pepper. All the crunch with none of the punch… see what I did there?
If you’re like me and crave a spicy soup, then go ahead and add in more curry paste! You can also top the soup with red pepper flakes.
Storage Tips
One reason I love soup is the ease of making a big batch then storing the extras for the future. Soups make quick + easy lunches or weeknight meals when you don’t wanna cook.
If you plan on freezing this soup, I recommend leaving out the zucchini noodles. They are super easy to add when you’re ready to reheat, and they often get slimy when frozen. I even freeze the toppings in a separate container, so they are chopped and ready to add when I pull it out again.
Make sure to store your Thai coconut soup in a freezer-safe bag or container. If using glass, leave room for it to expand. I’ve def had some glass mason jars burst in my freezer… and it’s not a fun mess to clean up.
Buying the Right Coconut Milk
Coconut milk is confusing to buy because it comes in many different packages! For this recipe, I recommend using canned coconut milk. The carton kind doesn’t contain the fat needed to make this recipe super silky creamy, which is what takes it over the top. I find the canned variety typically in the international section of the grocery store.
When choosing the right kind for you, decide if you want full fat or lite. I use full fat coconut milk in my thai coconut soup because it has the best flavor + creaminess. Then look at the ingredients. Companies like to add all kinds of crazy stuff to canned products that truly aren’t necessary! Look for limited ingredients that are pronounceable.
With the growing popularity of coconut milk, many stores are stocking more and more variety, which is awesome! Even Target has their own brand now. I typically buy Thai Kitchen, Trader Joe’s, or Thrive Market.
Origins of Thai Coconut Soup
If you’re ordering this soup at a Thai restaurant, you’ll probably see names like Tom kha kai or Tom kha gai. Note that it typically has chicken in it, while my inspired recipe below is vegetarian. It comes from northern Thailand and is traditionally served with rice. To keep my version grain free, I use spiralized zucchini, or zoodles.
Common additions include fresh ginger, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves. Don’t hesitate to add these to your recipe; they are sure to taste amazing!
Plant-Based Recipes to Share
While you can def add cooked chicken to this recipe, it’s delicious without it! People tell me how hard it is to cook vegetarian, and I get it. I like creating recipes that don’t rely on meat for nutrition, then you can choose to add it or leave it out when you make it (and either is fine). Here are some of my family’s fav plant based dishes:
- Almond butter zoodles
- Thai-inspired lettuce wraps
- Noodle salad
- Coconut bacon BLTs
- Jackfruit BBQ tacos
- Hemp hearts sauce w/ veggies
- Simple homemade ramen
- Teriyaki bowl
- Spiralized taco salad
- Crispy chickpea tacos
- BBQ pizza
Food shouldn’t be boring, and it should be easily shared. Grab one of these recipes today and help your family try something new!
How to get your kids to try Tom Kha Gai
Two things help my kids try more foods: helping pick out ingredients and helping cook. As you can see from the video for this Thai coconut soup recipe, Clare was 100% on board to help make this soup. I chose age appropriate ways for her to help, and was okay with less than perfection in the kitchen as we cooked. This Tom Kha Gai soup has foods she traditionally shies away from… yet not when she helps make it!
I also let my kids join in when shopping for ingredients. Jackson loves trying exotic fruit and I’m all for it! He is turning into quite the chef nowadays, and my mama heart is bursting with happiness that he shares my love for good food. Plus, he makes great food and gives Ryan and me the night off cooking (win-win!).
Thai Coconut Soup
Ingredients
- 7 cups coconut milk light or full-fat canned
- ¼ cup Thai curry paste red or green
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 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
This soup is interesting. The taste is similar to “opor” and “terik” in indonesian food, eventhough the ingredients are different.
I substitute the zucchini with eggplant because it’s difficult to find it here. Overall, I enjoy eating this soup.
We love soup & I am exited to try this one!
I really loved this soup. Normally when I make a coconut milk soup I double it with water, but this one was so much creamier. I added some lime juice and think the maple syrup isn’t necessary. Next time I’ll add some more veggies though. Even hubby didn’t miss the chicken 😉
This is def one of my favs as well! So glad you and your hubby enjoyed it.
I was really excited to make this soup but it was too sweet for me. I ended up adding a bit of chicken bouillon, fish sauce, soy sauce, fresh ginger and garlic and let it simmer for quite some time. This tasted much more authentic to me.
Love the upgrades to make it your own, Akemi!
What a beautiful recipe , straight from the ❤️
Delicious soup. The lime really does take the flavour to more complex levels!
When I reheated leftovers, I added more mushrooms and some cooked chicken. The result: a rival with the yummiest restaurant standard thai soups! Will most definitely make again
Easy, healthy and really great flavour. A winning combination!
Excellent recipe and easy to make. Very filling and satisfying. Who knew I could make curry? Thank you!
One of the reasons I visit Thai Restaurants is to get one of the coconut soups. After making and loving this version, I will no long need to go buy it when instead I can make it at home or at a friends home if they have a decent blender, you know Jen, the kind that costs more than $100 (LOL). From the 10-day soup challenge I learned a bunch of ways to vary this recipe and additional ingredients to use. This is one of my all time favorites. I believe I had already rated this soup, but I’m going thru them all again, because I have benefited so much in many ways from participating in this, like you said Jen, its so much more about making and eating soup.
Fantastic! Used the zucchini noodles (and a bit of rice) fr a delicious soup dinner that my Husband slurped down in a minute. The ingredients blend to make a SUPER flavor-fulled soup. As always, with Jen’s recipes, it will be a make again for sure.
Loved this one! We added all the garnishes and thought they added a lot to the soup. Loved the zucchini noodles but will definitely cut them into shorter pieces next time!
Tom Ka is on of my favorites of all time and this one….wow! Really love it!!
I loved it, my family did not. I will definitely make this again for myself.
Loved the exotic flavors of this soup but felt it needed more vegetables to counteract the richness of so much coconut milk.
What a wonderful combination of flavors. I really enjoyed this recipe!
This soup was a bit disappointing to me–I guess I wanted the coconut flavor to be sweeter and more dominant. The base of the soup (canned coconut milk) provided a lot of calories with little taste. Maybe it was the fact I used the light version of the coconut milk, or maybe it was the brand, but I couldn’t really recommend it. On the other hand. I absolutely loved the vegetables, especially the zucchini strips (I don’t have a spiralizer, so I used the peeler method)! They took on a texture that had great “mouth feel”. And, I added some shredded cooked chicken breast. Once I drained off most of the coconut milk, I really enjoyed the chicken and veggies. I doubt I’ll make this again, but I will be adding zucchini strips to future soups.
Glad you loved the veggies in this one! We’d def go for the full-fat coconut milk next time for that amazing robust flavor you’re looking for.
I was a little nervous about the spicy heat so I halved the Red curry spice. I should have used the whole amount. I used red onion instead of green onion and red pepper diced instead of the poblano pepper. I poured the soup over brown rice to make it a main dish. I didn’t have a spiralizer so used a peeler and it worked fine with the zucchini.
Really delicious flavor.