This post may contain affiliate links. See my affiliate disclosure policy.
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!
Easy to make once all the ingredients are prepped. Tasty. Will make it often.
Glad this made it in the regular rotation!
Love it! Enjoyed the spicy flavor. Next time will cut the zoodles before adding.
This was the first time I cooked with Coconut Milk. And my first time with curry paste. It did have a bit more heat then I am used to, but I liked it and I will make again. The recipe with the challenge did not say how long to cook the carrots, but after watching this video and looking it up in your cookbook (which I own) I see it needed 15 min. So my carrots were a bit undercooked.
Used canned coconut milk lite and it was plenty rich. Would increase to 3 carrots and 2 c mushrooms.
Easy to make with simple ingredients but I found it very bland. It needs more flavouring.
Wow, the flavour is vibrant! I used the red paste and it’s sure SPICY! Topped with avocado (which helped cool it down a bit), cilantro, lime and chopped cashews. I’m not a huge coconut fan so I thinned mine out a lot: 1 can coconut milk and the rest water. I cooked the zucchini and jalapeño peppers in with the carrots and mushroom because I don’t like raw zucchini. This has been melding in my fridge for almost four days. Will freeze the leftovers. Very very flavourful!
So… I’ve been worried about this one since I ssw it lol! I love Thai, hubby hates it- and won’t eat most of the ingredients. We’re also trying to loose weight & all the coconut fat was worrisome. I decided to use 1/2 coconut water to lighten it up by half. I also used thick slices of the mushrooms and peeled the zucchini to try & hide it. I expected to love it & wasn’t disappointed! Big surprise- after ladling out only the “agreeable” parts, my husband loved it so much that he went for seconds! THANKS!
Seeing the added fat can be scary when wanting to lose weight. Yet, don’t forget that healthy fat can help you stay fuller longer and be a friend in your weight loss journey!
First time making and eating coconut soup. I was pleasantly surprised. Glad I challenged myself.
So delicious and surprisingly filling for how few ingredients there is. This will definitely be in rotation at my house
I could eat this EVERY DAY! I cut the coconut milk and curry in half and added about 1/3 cup of red lentils. I chopped the zucchini instead of spiralizing. The soup was more like a thick sauce and we ate it over rice with homemade pickled hot peppers, cilantro, lime and cashews.
Loved it but I didn’t follow the recipe exactly since 4 cans of coconut milk seemed a little too much
Pretty tasty! I used heart of palm noodles instead of zoodles. Felt like it was missing something, but not sure what.
Loved this one! I think it’s definitely going to be one of my go-to recipes! I used some Trader Joe’s green chili sauce instead of the curry paste, and it still tasted great with the Thai seasonings in the sauce. Thanks for sharing!
Not my favorite. I don’t think I would make the soup again it was pretty bland I even added more curry powder and pepper and just wasn’t to my liking
I don’t like curry so i was skeptical that this soup would be any good. But i really enjoyed it. Adding lime juice and the cashews added an extra bonus.
This is delicious! I did not have a spiralizer but I did have 2 cups of grated zucchini in my freezer. I used that and like the texture it adds to this soup. My husband, who will not eat zucchini, ate a full bowl of this soup, He said it has a rich flavor.