This Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Curry Soup is the perfect comfort food!
Loaded with chicken and vegetables and the perfect amount of spice from the curry paste and topped with peanuts, cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime!
It's starting to get a little cool around here and I am celebrating with one of my favorite soups - a Thai Chicken Curry! It's already a fairly easy soup to make, but it's made even easier in the slow cooker!
The secret to making this Tom Kha soup even more delicious is that you add some of the ingredients right towards the end.
The coconut milk, bell pepper, mushrooms, curry paste, and cilantro are added during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking. This results in crisp tender vegetables and bright flavor!
Ingredients to Make Thai Chicken Soup:
(These ingredients are to make the first part of the soup.)
- Chicken - I use bone in thighs or legs. Bone in gives the broth so much more richness.
- Ginger - fresh. I store mine in the fridge and then just grate it using a microplane zester. There are also tubes of ginger that you can get in the refrigerated section in produce. They are great if you don't have any fresh ginger.
- Garlic.
- Lemon.
- Red Pepper Flakes.
- Onion.
- Lemongrass - I buy it at the Asian market and store it in the freezer! Use can also use those tubes that you can find at almost any grocery store.
- Chicken Broth - I used my easy Instant Pot Chicken Broth.
These ingredients are added towards the end of making the soup.
- Straw Mushrooms - can use regular canned mushrooms if you can't find straw.
- Thai Curry Paste - you can use red, green, or yellow. I used Mae Ploy Green.
- Red Bell Pepper.
- Coconut Milk.
- Cilantro.
Instructions.
Combine the chicken, broth, carrots, onion, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and red pepper flakes in the slow cooker. Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours. No need to brown the chicken first!
About a half hour before you want to eat, remove the chicken and set it aside until it is cool enough to handle. Remove the skin and bones and shred the chicken meat and add it back to the slow cooker.
Stir in the coconut milk, bell pepper, mushrooms, curry paste, and cilantro. Cover and let it cook for about 10 minutes. Discard the lemongrass if you used fresh lemongrass.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the roasted peanuts. Serve with fresh lime wedges.
This spicy Thai coconut chicken soup is so good! It gets so much flavor from simmering all day. Your house will smell amazing!
You can control the amount of spice by how much curry paste you use. I usually use about 1 tablespoon, if you like things spicier, you can try a little more!
Tom Kha is one of my favorite Thai soups and it is so easy to make in the slow cooker!
More Slow Cooker Soup Recipes.
Recipe.
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Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs bone in, skin on or off
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 8 carrots sliced diagonally
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 inches ginger root grated
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 stalks lemongrass white part, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 15 ounces coconut milk unsweetened
- 1 bell pepper red or yellow
- 8 ounces straw mushrooms canned, drained (or button)
- 1 tbsp Thai curry paste or more, can use red, yellow or green
- 1 lime cut into wedges for serving
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ⅓ cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Place the chicken, broth, carrots, onions, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass in the slow cooker. Cover and set to low for 6-7 hours.
- Remove the chicken and set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove from the bones, shred and return to the slow cooker.
- About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the coconut milk, bell pepper, mushrooms, curry paste and cilantro. Cover and let cook for about 15 minutes.
- Serve in bowls topped with roasted peanuts and a lime wedge.
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
This was originally published in 2009 and has been updated for 2019.
Jessica Formicola says
I made this for dinner last night and it was incredible! It will definitely be added to our regular rotation!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
We made this the other day and everyone loved it. Going to make it again for a family gathering this weekend!
Pam Greer says
So glad you liked it!
laurenzietsman says
this sounds yummy--I wanted to stick something in the crockpot before class today and use the leftovers from a roasted chicken but didn't want the traditional chicken noodle. This looks like a great twist 🙂
Domino says
I am addicted to this very same soup (except with shrimp) from the Thai place across the street from my work. But I have been overpaying! I can't wait to try this. Pleased to see that you can leave it to cook a few hours longer without much harm done. Can you freeze it?
Marjie says
I don't know if you watch the Amazing Race, Pam, but I watch it with my little guys. (It helps with geography painlessly, and they get a peek at the rest of the world!) Last week they went to Taiwan, and one of the idiots on the show said she was really excited to go to Taiwan because she loves Thai food....even my 8 year old roared at that.Love your pretty picture, and your square bowls!
Patricia Scarpin says
I have never tried thai soups, Pam, and this would be a magnificent way to start!
Kevin says
This looks good! I like the use of the peanuts. I have really been enjoying Thai flavours recently. I normally use the chicken thighs when making soups as well.
Peter M says
Pam, good show! I'm in agreement with all your ingredients and it's done in a slow cooker, easy peasy!