Thai Coconut Curry Soup
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This will be your go-to Thai curry soup! Serve with fresh Thai basil, cilantro and lime juice. So cozy, so good.
Hello, cozy-soup-weather-season.
When it’s 34 degrees F windchill in the middle of October and it’s too cold to go outside, we’re all staying home with this Thai coconut curry soup.
The freshly squeezed lime juice, Thai basil and cilantro adds such brightness to this soup, cutting through the heat to give it just enough of a spicy kick. For less heat, you can easily cut down on the red curry paste to your liking.
You can serve it as is, you can add rice, you can add rice noodles, you can sub out the shrimp for chicken, or you can keep it completely meatless.
It is all good, guys. There’s no going wrong here!
Thai Coconut Curry Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
- 1 ½ pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ¼ cup chopped fresh Thai basil leaves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat coconut oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add bell peppers and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in red curry paste, ginger and garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in chicken stock, tomato sauce, fish sauce and brown sugar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until flavors have blended, about 10-15 minutes.
- Stir in coconut milk and simmer until reduced and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in shrimp, and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in basil, cilantro and lime juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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10 out of 10 my wife declared! Probably could have used a bit more heat. I made it 99% of the recipe and used reg basil and a yellow onion. Thanks again for a wonderful recipe from Damn Delicious!! 🙂
I LOVED this recipe, just as is!!!!
For me, that is the utmost compliment Chungah because I find so many recipes wanting to have bolder personalities!
For that reason, they call to me to add more flavour with extra ginger, garlic, or more fun like mushrooms, peas or broccoli. While you can do this to the above recipe, you don’t have to. Its wonderful, “as is”. Also, if you’re wondering if the spice allergic member of your family will like it, it passed the “David” test…. he can spot heat from the kitchen door, and he loved this soup (the coconut milk tempered the bit of chili in the thai chili paste (which I happen to really love using. Thank you Chungah. So refreshing to not have to figure out how to make a so-so recipe wonderful.
I first made this soup years ago. To me it is one of those few exciting recipes that one would typically only find in an authentic fine restaurant. Being able to make it!!!! Now there’s something to boast about.
It’s a recipe to impress. I never kept fish sauce in the fridge, now it’s a staple.
This dish was simple and very delicious! Will definitely make it again.
Fantastic! I make this just about every week. My hubby and I love it that much Â
Thank you.
I made this at a Thai cooking party with friends and it was such a hit! Â Flavors are perfect and everyone raved. I love that all of the ingredients are easy to find and that it comes together so quickly. Â The few leftovers remaining were just as good or better the next day. Â Thank you!
Sounds good
Yummy love Thai Food
Wow! This really is damn delicious. I made it with shrimp and poured over brown basmati rice. Hot the spot!
This was a great recipe with easy to find ingredients.  The flavor was perfect.  I don’t eat shrimp so I omitted it and had sautéed salmon on top of the curry.  Thank you for such a great, user friendly recipe!
Husband approved!! Never made anything like this before and it was incredibly easy! He ended up adding a little cayenne so make it a little more spicy and it’s delicious! I didn’t add any and it’s very flavorful. Made my whole house smell amazing(:
Do you think I could freeze this to serve later?
Great dish with a ton of flavor!!
Wonderful! I had no shrimp or fish sauce, so I used chicken and soy sauce as one reviewer suggested.  To answer one reviewer’s question—I sautéed the chicken (cut bite-size) in oil, set it aside, and added it to the recipe when it was called for.  We served leftovers on top of grits with our eggs for breakfast brunch!Â
  It did help to do all the chopping and measuring, before I began cooking.
My husband often orders this when we go to a Thai restaurant, so I thought why not try making it at home. It was amazingly good, the aroma and flavor really comes together just with the first few ingredients.
Can you tell me what you mean by a can of tomato sauce? I’m in Australia. Tomato sauce here is like ketchup in America. Â You serve it with pies or hot chips or sausages. Â I don’t think this is what you mean. Â Do you mean tinned tomato soup?
Great question! Canned tomato sauce is very different from tomato soup. Canned tomato sauce is also sometimes called spaghetti sauce. It’s essentially pureed tomatoes and a little water (sometimes herbs and spices are added), then cooked down until it has a “ketchup”-like consistency. I hope that helps!
I lived in Australia for 10 years. American tomato sauce is called TOMATO PURÉE in Australia.Â
I just made this yesterday. Let me tell you – I never knew I was capable of making an amazing Thai food.  This was something that was so rich in flavor, perfect for cold weather and definitely something we will be adding to the meal rotations. Thank you so much!  I didn’t use fish sauce but it was perfect without it.  All my kids loved it!Â
Can I use regular basil if I can’t find the Thai basil?Â
My cooking adventure started with this recipe. AMAZING! I can’t do spicy so I altered the curry paste. Will make this again.
How much did you use to not make it too spicy?
I prepared this recipe for our dinner and it was deliciosos. I added some rice. Thank You !!
Great recipe.
I added a few more cups chicken stock and water to make more soup. Also added shiitake mushrooms,
After making Damn Delicious recipes for about a year now (my fave recipe website), this is the first one that I’ve left a review about. I could have cried this turned out so good. I followed the instructions, ingredients, and amounts and it was PERFECT. Served over jasmine rice. Better than takeout!
I love this soup. I have a hard time not adjusting recipes but made this exactly as printed! I love this about your recipes. No changes need! I have to say that the prep time is longer than 15 min. with all the chopping and peeling and deveining 1 1/2 lbs shrimp. I wish prep times were more realistic. Most recipes say less time than is real. I’ve  worked in many kitchens and I am not slow in prep work. Thank you for your recipes!
Sooooooo yummmm. I made it as a curry with a little less stock. Family loved it…better than restaurant quality. Thanks.
I’m not gonna lie my wife and I saw this recipe and instantly knew we had to try it later. It has now become our super bowl dinner choice. Enjoy the game because with your curry I’m sure we will as well.
Very flavourful and creamy !
Excellent combination of Thai seasoning and flavors. Love it.
This was great! I’ve never made any type of curry before but love to order it when I go to restaurants so I thought I’d give it a try. Very easy. Only changes I made were that I used chicken instead of shrimp and soy sauce instead of fish sauce. Would definitely make again!
I wish I could give this 10 stars. Seriously, I think this might be one of the best soups I have ever made. My whole family was blown away. Followed recipe as written. Highly recommend giving it a try.
Hi – I’m a big fan of  your recipes and I’m excited to try this! I’m also relatively new to cooking, so apologies if this is an obvious question. If we substitute the shrimp for chicken, how long should we cook the chicken? From quick online research, it looks like it would typically take 10 min on med heat, but I worry that might overcook the veggies. So wondering if I should cook chicken ahead of time or put it in earlier in the process? Thanks!
This was terrific and my mom asked for the recipe even! I live in a rural area but I was able to get everything but the herbs. I had to use dried but it still came out great. I used bottled lime juice and chicken bouillon cubes and it was still good. I mention that only in case anyone else was wondering. Your lists on Amazon are really helpful too. Thank you Damn Delicious.
This was terrific! Everyone enjoyed it and my mom wants the recipe. I’m so happy I found this website. I live in a rural area but I was able to get all the ingredients except the herbs. I used dried and it still tastes great. I used bottled real lime juice and that was good too. I’m only mentioning that in case anyone else is wondering. I’m grateful for your lists on Amazon too. It’s really helpful. Thank you Damn Delicious!
Great depth of heat, sweet, and savory. Substituted a few things here and there, and topped with air fried salmon instead of shrimp. Ratio of broth, coconut milk, and tomato sauce is pretty on point.Â
This was so flavorful, a lot of curries don’t put in tomato sauce but I thought it was a great addition. I also browned mushrooms with the onions, and added some spinach at the last minute of cooking. As good as any I’ve had a Thai restaurant. Will definitely make again.Â
This soup has an amazing depth of flavor. I substituted chicken for shrimp because that is what we had and we are under quarantine. My whole family enjoyed it. I will add an additional yellow pepper next time I make it.
Haven’t made this yet, but looks delicious! Is there a substitute for the fish sauce, I don’t have any, or can I just omit?
i think you can use soy sauceÂ
I made this tonight for a low carb option and it was yummy, a fair bit of preparation but worth it!
Made this tonight for my partner who has a cold..used a lil extra heat (Thai chiles, sriracha) to help clear up the sinuses. It was awesome !  I so appreciate your recipes, very adaptable, especially when we can’t run out to the store at this time. I have a bunch of those squeeze tubes of garlic, cilantro, lemongrass, ginger, so when fresh isn’t available, they’re perfect in a pinch.  I’ve been making a lot of your soups, using bouillon in place of stock. I hope you keep posting, making those pantry staples into something a lil more special. Thank you!Â
Easy to make and amazing taste. Will definitely make again.
This soup was amazing. I added spinach 🙂
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I used extra red curry paste since I love spice and added shredded zucchini when the shrimp were added. I want to try make this in the Instant Pot. Any ideas or tips on how to make this in the Instant Pot?
AMAZING! I followed the recipe closely. The only thing I left out was the Thai basil just because I couldn’t find any so just put a tblsp of reg basil instead. I also am watching my calories so I used the light coconut milk. It worked perfectly because it was more brothy and less thick which I like. my family enjoyed it as well. I used shredded chicken instead of shrimp. Was yummy!
This was my first time trying something like this but I love red curry. It came out so good and really wasnt difficult. Great recipe!!!
Takes a little extra time, but well worth it. I threw in some slivered carrots early on, and a few handfuls of baby spinach with the herbs. Â Used regular basil and jarred ginger. Â Still great! Â I think most veggies could be added to this. Â Â
I’ve been making your recipes for a couple years and have never been compelled to comment until now — this was really, really good. My girlfriend requested it “non spicy” so I just used 2 Tbsp of red curry paste. Next time I’d just use the full amount – it was barely perceptible after the coconut milk was added. As is, this soup isn’t super spicy so fear not!Â
We omitted the shrimp and just used veggies. This soup is perfect for any veggies or any protein. We’ll definitely be making it again.Â
The soup is delicious. I followed the recipe + I added broccoli. I used 3 large tablespoons of red curry, next time I will use a little bit less.
Finally, I managed something that tastes as good…or better…than our awesome local Thai take out place. Followed the recipe exactly except I did add a little minced Thai lime leaves since I had some. Next time will try it with thinly sliced chicken breast.
This was my first time every making curry and I was little nervous at first. I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out amazing! The hint of lime at the end really pulls it all together. I served mine with cilantro and a side of rice. It has been negative degree weather out lately so this was the perfect dish to warm up to.
Delicious! I used lite coconut milk and added scallop go
It, so so good!
Just made this soup and it was awesome! I have a ‘green binder’ of repeat recipes and this one definitively made it in there! Our family is on the lighter side of the hot scale so I adjusted a the curry a little bit and it was spot on. I made some white rice and served the soup over that. Seconds for everyone!
Have not tried but can’t wait too, the recipe sounds great. What kind of red curry is used?
I made this and man, it’s a great soup to add to your soup journal. ….I’m eating some right now!
This recipe says 2 cups of chicken stock, is that the right amount?
What can you substitute for the chicken stock?
Veggie stock
Just made this soup as the base for a friendsgiving meal. friends brought in butternut squash, green beans, corn, cabbage. It was AMAZING. Everyone raved over the soup. I tested before the extra ingredients as well, made the soup just like the recipe. So many options. Thank you so much for a great recipe. And ditto, wonderful site for recipes.
Wow this recipe was delicious! I couldn’t believe it tasted just like it does at Thai restaurants. I didn’t make any adjustments to the recipe. So far my favorite recipe I’ve made from this website that I adore so much. Thank you!
We’re so happy this was a winner for you!
Yup! This was delicious! I didn’t make any changes, followed the recipe as shown. I did not add any rice or noodles, and it is so full of flavour.
And appears to be gluten free 🙂
…and I froze it for about a week, then travelled to see my daughter, and took it with me. Â She put it in the fridge and had it the next day. Â I ended up with a flurry of texts about how amazing it was, so apparently it froze well. Â Only suggestion I gave her was to continue stirring it as it heats, b/c it separates a bit.
If it’s possible to freeze it without the shrimp, do that, and add fresh shrimp when re-heating it.
I’m a newbie here to Damn Delicious and I gotta say, why have I not been coming to this website for ALL my meal inspiration! Seriously, this place is great! And speaking from a designer point of view- I really dig the website aesthetic & photo appeal- it’s much nicer than other food websites I’ve been to before, so kudos!
Anyways, on to this recipe- this was seriously SOOO freaking good! I was like “Ahh. That IS damn delicious.” I have never in my life made a soup before, but when I saw this meal on the homepage- I just really wanted to try it. That said, the instructions were really easy to follow and even though it did require a lot of prep work, it was so worth. I only got nervous when it came to step 4 because after stirring in the coconut milk, it didn’t exactly thicken. It just seemed the same consistency like it was before. Not sure where I went wrong. But it still came out really good and I served it with a side of white rice and I think next time I might add in another bell pepper just to make it feel more hearty. But I’m definitely adding this to archive. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Stephanie! I’m no expert but I LOVE making thai inspired meals, and one thing I’ve found is if you use reduced fat coconut milk, or you buy something else other than the canned kind, it won’t thicken up your soup/broth. It’s the fat that gives it that creaminess, and I’ve messed this up a time or two before without even noticing! – Lydia
This recipe was so delicious! My boyfriend and I loved it. We used frozen cooked shrimp from Trader Joe’s and it was still awesome. Highly recommend giving it a try!
Can you substitute chicken for the shrimp?
Absolutely!
Absolutely fantastic!!!  Worth all the prep- only complaint is there wasn’t enough!! Big hit here- can’t wait to make it again!  Only change I made was I replaced onions with a 1/2 teaspoon of granulated onion…SO GOOD!! Thanks for another great recipe!
You are so welcome, Kelly! 🙂
This sounds excellent. Do you use sweetened or unsweetened coconut milk. Sorry for my ignorance…
Unsweetened. 🙂
looks amazing and fabulous
i would try this weekend with family, and surely mail you with photos.
can you please tell we are 8 member so 2 coconut is enough ?
The recipe yields 6 servings so you can multiply the recipe by 1.5 or 2. 🙂
This recipe is amazing! I followed it to the letter as best I could but added some mushrooms. Took a while to prepare but well worth every minute. The curry and the coconut milk balance each other just right.
The addition of mushrooms sounds amazing, Emma! 🙂
Can this soup be frozen? It sounds amazing!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this ourselves, we cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let us know how it turns out! Good luck! 🙂