Coconut and Chicken Curry Soup

This Coconut Chicken Curry Soup is made with coconut milk for a fresh, tropical vibe!

Growing up, my mom would occasionally make something delicious for supper: Chicken Curry.

It was a pretty rare occurrence.

And it’s funny how much we enjoyed it.

It was just the sort of thing at which my sisters and I would usually turn up our noses.

But somehow we knew that it was awesome.

Fast forward to my teen years, and I discovered the wonderful world of curries.

We sampled Thai curry and completely fell in love.

Then we really went through a curry craze.

Our mom became quite sick of it.

But somehow I kept my love.

If a dish is described as having curry, my interest increases.

The combination of flavors in this coconut curry soup really hits a home run for me. It’s so fresh, bright, and full of life. The coconut milk lends a hint of sweetness. The jalapenos give a barely noticeable kick of heat.

Here’s everything you’ll need to make it:

Ingredients:

• Avocado or coconut oil for sautéing (hint: if you use virgin coconut oil, the coconut flavor will be more intense).
• Onion: what’s a soup if it doesn’t include onion?!
• Curry powder: I really like Simply Organic curry powder.
• Cooked chicken: You can use leftover rotisserie chicken, or cook it up especially for this soup.
• Grated fresh ginger: I like to mince my ginger with a knife, but you can also grate it with a fine grater such as a Microplane.
• Chicken broth: Homemade chicken broth makes the best soup, but this is a good store bought alternative.
• Canned coconut milk: Make sure to use unsweetened full fat coconut milk! I like the Thrive Market coconut milk because it doesn’t contain additives, and it’s affordable.
• Jalapeno pepper: This isn’t essential if you can’t abide any sort of heat. But I think that hint of spice is perfect in this soup!
• Rresh lime juice: That hint of tang is so beautiful for balancing all of the flavors out.
• Red bell pepper: Yes, this soup is freshness galore!
• Chopped fresh cilantro: You might balk at the thought of cilantro in soup, but it really works in this one, friends.
• Unsweetned chipped coconut: Yes, you can have coconut in 3 forms! A bit of toasted coconut on top is 👌
• Freshly cooked rice: You can eat the coconut curry chicken soup all by itself, but it’s even better over white rice!

By the by, this recipe was one of the most popular that I ever published on Cooking for Seven (my first food blog). It kind of irks me that the photo in that post was one of my least favorite to accompany one of my recipes. I guess the true character of this curry soup shone through the shoddy photography.

Print

Coconut and Chicken Curry Soup

A fresh and flavorful curry soup.

Course Soup

Cuisine Thai

Keyword Chicken, Coconut

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 775 kcal

Author Erica Lea

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp avocado or coconut oil
• 1/2 of a large onion, chopped fine
• 2 teaspoon curry powder
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1-2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can unsweetened full fat coconut milk (14 ounces)
• 1 jalapeño seeded, minced
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 small red bell pepper, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro plus extra for garnish
• 1/2 cup unsweetened chipped coconut toasted (optional),
• 2 cups freshly cooked rice (or more to taste)

Instructions

1. Heat the avocado oil in a medium sized soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion until tender, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the curry powder.

2. Add the chicken and ginger to the pot and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, and jalapeno. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

3. Add the bell pepper and cilantro and simmer an additional 3 minutes. Stir in the lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Optional: Spoon rice into 4 bowls. Top with a ladle or two of soup. Garnish with additional cilantro and a sprinkling of shredded coconut. Serve.

Recipe Notes

adapted from Good Life Eats