Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
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So much better than takeout! Packed with bites of tender chicken, rice noodles, cilantro, basil and lime juice!
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reasons to make thai red curry noodle soup
- Restaurant-quality made right at home for half the cost (and even tastier IMO)
- Fragrant, flavorful, cold weather comfort food, full of bold Thai flavors
- No-fuss one pot dinner which means less dishes, less clean up
- Great clean-out-the-fridge meal, adding in any lingering veggies that needs to be used up
- Quick and easy for busy weeknights but also fancy enough for company
what is red curry paste and where can i find it
Commonly used in Thai dishes, red curry paste is made from a blend of red chili pepper, garlic, lemongrass, Thai ginger and various spices.
Red curry paste is typically used for stir-fry, soups or mixed with coconut milk for curry. It is readily available in most grocery store chains, particularly the Thai Kitchen brand, and online, with some brands containing shellfish (shrimp paste).
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite protein. This recipe will work well with chicken thighs, chicken breasts, shrimp or tofu.
- Use full fat coconut milk. Although lite coconut milk can certainly be used, full fat coconut milk will yield a much more rich and creamy broth.
- Fish sauce is a hero. Fish sauce is a key ingredient here, balancing out the flavors, and adding saltiness and umami without overpowering it. A little bit goes a long way.
- Mix it up. Swap the red curry paste for green, add in more veggies (cabbage, zucchini, mushrooms or bok choy) or use your favorite noodles (vermicelli, udon or soba noodles).
- Divide and conquer. When storing leftovers, separate the noodles and broth. This will help the noodles retain its texture.
what to serve with thai red curry noodle soup
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Shrimp or tofu are both great options.
We personally love Mae Ploy (contains shrimp paste). Thai Kitchen is also great with mild heat, and more readily available at most grocery stores.
Fish sauce has a strong, pungent “fishy” smell but when cooked, it brings in savory, salty, umami goodness.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days, separating the rice noodles from the broth.
We do not recommend freezing this as coconut milk tends to separate when frozen.
Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
- 4 ounces rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Add garlic, bell pepper and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in red curry paste and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken broth and coconut milk, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in chicken. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in rice noodles, fish sauce and brown sugar until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in green onions, cilantro, basil and lime juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
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We’ve been making this soup since 2018 when we discovered it. It’s the BEST soup EVER!!
We use 3 breasts of chicken for it. We also use 2 onions instead of 1. We use a full bunch of green onions instead of 3. It is heaven for sure!
Wondering if anyone knows the calorie content per serving or the macros. It would be pretty difficult to figure out.
It’s about 345 calories per serving (if you get 6 servings out of the recipe). The macros are as follows:
20g fat
16g carbs
24g protein
I’ve made this recipe more times than I can count. Its perfect every single time. I do use a whole jar of Thai Kitchen curry paste and I add mushrooms. The taste of the soup broth is just incredible. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
My favorite recipe in the whole world.
Make it all the time and serve it with Pot stickers and soup dumplings with spicy crisp.
I love this recipe! I usually add even more curry paste. The chicken tends to get a bit overdone, so I usually add it much later in the process. Planning to try shrimp next time.
This soup is outstanding, so much flavor! I did not add the noodles, I kept them on the side with a tiny bit of the broth to keep them front sticking and then added each time we served to avoid them from soaking up all of the broth in storage. So delicious, thank you!
I have used so many recipes off of Pinterest and this is hands down one of my favorites!!!! ABSOLUTELY delicious!!! Loved it so much I made it twice this week!!
Very good, easy to make, filling, and lots of veggies!
Has anyone figured out the macros for this recipe? I’m new to tracking but I don’t know how to figure them out
It’s about 345 calories per serving (if you get 6 servings out of the recipe). The macros are as follows:
20g fat
16g carbs
24g protein
It really is as good as it looks , very very flavorful with different layers of flavor . I used 2 TBS red curry sauce for mild but still a little spicy flavor . I have made it twice . The only thing is that the noodle amount is too much . I cut it in half the second time and it was good for the day we ate it but the leftovers the next day was plain noodles as the liquid got absorbed. Next time I will put 1/2 the soup aside and only add 1/4 noodles to the remaining 1/2 and freeze the other 1/2 and then add the noodles when reheating it . 1/2 the recipe was enough for 3 of us .
Oh my word, I love this recipe so much. I’ve made it four times in the past year! So good.
Thank you!
I LOVE THIS SOUP. My edits: I do low sodium veggie broth and bake chicken tenderloins in the over with olive oil and sea salt (350 for 20 mins) to add with toppings instead of boiling it. Since not everyone here eats chicken.
So. Good.
Wow, this soup was amazing..my family loved it. It’s summer here in Australia and normally do not make soup until winter but so glad I made it
The chicken was overcooked after being boiled for so long. Maybe I cut the pieces too small or let it boil too long? The base was great though. I ate it the next day and removed the chicken and added some shrimp and it was much better.
So, so good! I’ve made this twice now. The second time I used ground chicken and added a little crushed red chilies. Really one of my favorite recipes I’ve ever tried!
Made it twice now and making it again tomorrow! My whole family loves it!!!!
My family LOVED this soup!!
So delish! I had to add a little more coconut milk and red Thai paste and brown sugar. It just wasn’t giving. I also added mushrooms, cashews, shrimp, and fresh bean sprouts. Absolutely delish! Definitely making this super easy dish again.
This is so delicious. I made it vegan for my daughter (veggie broth and tofu) and just added in the chicken (for me) and tofu at the end. It was sooo delicious. Reducing the soup to make it thicker added so much flavor and texture. Really great recipe.
This was delicious will make again!
I am curious if you think that I could make this with almond milk instead of coconut milk? I have an intolerance to coconut and end up with a stomach ache when I eat much with coconut milk (even though I love the flavor of soups with it). Thank you for your thoughts!