Thai Curry Noodle Soup

This simple-to-make Thai Curry Noodle Soup is loaded with flavor and veggies. It’s both creamy and savory as well as being naturally gluten-free and dairy free too. Pile on the fresh cilantro and green onions with a squeeze of lime juice over a big bowl to create the perfect fresh flavor combined with the slightly spicy curry. You can customize the amount of spice by playing with how much curry paste you use as well.

All the classic flavors of Thai curry are made into a cozy noodle soup. It’s the perfect healthy comfort food that comes together in just 30 minutes! A creamy coconut curry base envelopes the noodles and veggies with savory chunks of chicken throughout.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Chicken thighs – are my preference in soups because they don’t dry out as easily. But you can also use cubed-up boneless skinless chicken breasts as well here.
• Onion, garlic, & ginger – make up the base of flavor in this soup. To speed up the prep time, try using a garlic press, and ginger from the tube. I used a white onion here, but sweet, yellow, or red onions all work here.
• Curry paste – I recommend using Mae Ploy curry paste here for the best flavor. Also, other brands tend to be quite spicy, so be aware of this and adjust accordingly. You can also use other kinds of curry paste as well like green curry or Panang.
• Bell pepper – is one of the veggies I love to add to this soup because it adds so much flavor. But you can also add any other veggie you’d like here. Just adjust the cooking time to finish the soup when your veggie substitute is tender.
• Coconut milk – makes up some of the liquid base of this soup and adds a lot of creaminess. I don’t recommend using light or lower-fat coconut milk here because the soup won’t be creamy enough.
• Chicken broth or stock – use the best quality chicken stock you can find and look for low sodium as well if you can. I like to use my Homemade Chicken Stock when I have some in the freezer and add salt to taste. You can also use vegetable broth, but chicken broth has the deepest flavor.
• Spinach – adds another serving of veggies to this soup and lots of ‘greens’ to the mix as well. You can also use kale but it needs to be cooked longer or bok choy which takes just a couple of minutes to cook.
• Fish sauce – can be omitted, but adds the perfect amount of more ‘authentic’ curry flavor. Don’t be put off by the smell, it tastes wonderful in Thai dishes. Also, read the labels carefully. I use Red Boat fish sauce, but cheaper brands will use caramel coloring, etc. in fish sauce. You can also use soy sauce or coconut aminos.
• Rice noodles – I use white rice vermicelli noodles, but brown rice noodles work here as well, they take a few more minutes to cook.
• Green onions & cilantro – fresh herbs add lots of flavor, but you can choose just one to go with as well. Fresh basil leaves or Thai basil is also really tasty here if you have it around.
• Lime – cut into wedges to squeeze over the top is the final flourish that brings everything together and adds a nice bright note.

Step 1: Start by mincing the ginger and garlic, then chop the bell pepper and onion. You can also cut the onion into half-moon slices for more texture and faster prep time.

Step 2: Next sauté the chicken before removing it from the pan.

I like to use a large 10″ Dutch oven or similar-sized cooking pot here.

Step 3: Sauté the onion, ginger, and garlic, until the onion turns translucent. Then add the curry paste and cook briefly, breaking up the curry paste with a wooden spoon.

Step 4: Add the bell pepper, coconut milk, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until the bell pepper is tender about 10 minutes.

Step 5: Add the roughly chopped spinach, (1-inch chunks) and chicken to the soup and cook just until wilted, about 1 minute.

Step 6: Finally, turn off the heat and stir in the fish sauce. Add the rice noodles to the soup. Using a wooden spoon, submerge the rice noodles in the soup and allow the residual heat to cook the noodles, for 3-4 minutes.

Serve with the chopped fresh cilantro, sliced greens onions, and lime wedges for squeezing over the top.

Storing leftovers

• To store – place any leftovers into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
• Reheat – add the soup to a saucepan and heat over medium heat stirring frequently until heated through.
• To freeze – I recommend leaving out the noodles if you want to freeze this soup. The bell pepper will become mushy, but this soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Then defrost in the fridge overnight before bringing it to a boil and adding the rice noodles.