This Keto Thai Chicken Soup with zucchini noodles is the low carb ultimate comfort food. It’s so easy to make and only takes 30 minutes from start to finish. Dairy-free and Paleo too.
I first created this delicious and easy Thai Chicken Soup back in 2015 and it’s been a favorite ever since. It got really chilly here in Portland this past weekend so I made it yet again. I’d almost forgotten how good it is!
I really do love soup of all kinds. Rich and hearty soups like my Chile Relleno Chicken Soup, or vegetable soups like the Keto Cream of Mushroom. And don’t even get my started on chili, which may be the ultimate comfort food. Have you tried my Keto Short Rib Chili yet?
But this Thai Chicken Soup was the first soup I ever added zucchini noodles to, and I was blown away by the flavor and consistency of the soup itself. And the zoodles were utterly perfect. I have the ideal way for allowing them to cook without being too soggy in a soup like this.
Be sure to check it out below!
How to make zucchini noodles
Step 1: Purchase yourself a good spiral vegetable cutter. The hand-held ones are not worth your time and money, and the bigger ones are not particularly expensive. I have the Paderno spiralizer and it’s lasted me over 6 years now. Worth every penny.
Step 2: Grab a zucchini, chop of the ends, and start spiralizing!
I’d say that if any kitchen gadget could inspire a serious addiction, the Spiralizer would probably rank at the top of the list. You’ll know what I mean if you’ve ever stood there at your kitchen counter turning the crank and watching the fun noodle-shaped veggie slices that result.
You do one zucchini and get quite a giggle out of it, especially the somewhat phallic-looking zucchini core that results. Then you do another zuke, and another, and before you know it, you have a huge pile of spirally low carb zucchini noodles taking over your counter.
But you can’t stop, won’t stop, because it’s simply too much fun. You find yourself eyeing every fruit and vegetable in the house, wondering how that would fare on your spiral cutter. Really, it’s a sickness.
Can zucchini noodles be made ahead?
Surprisingly, they can. Not too far ahead, mind you. But I’ve had leftover zucchini noodles from recipes like this one and I’ve simply popped them in a tupperware and stored them in the fridge. They are fine for up to 3 days.
Don’t try freezing them, they become complete mush. I have heard of some people dehydrating them and then reconstituting them later but I have yet to try that myself.
How to make Easy Thai Chicken Soup
Deciding how to use your zucchini noodles is the fun part. Adding them to this Keto Thai Chicken Soup is a delicious way to cook and enjoy zoodles.
But you don’t want to just plop them into the soup the way you would with regular noodles. So bear with me here and I will give you my little trick for making them absolutely perfect and not the least bit soggy.
The soup itself is insanely easy to make. Simply sauté the onions in coconut oil, and add in the aromatics like jalapeño, Thai curry paste, and garlic. I love the green Thai curry paste for this but you could use red as well. And if you don’t like things as spicy as I do, skip the jalapeno and cut back on the curry paste.
Once you add the broth, you bring the soup to a boil and add the red pepper, sliced chicken, and fish sauce. The chicken is thinly sliced so it cooks quickly in the broth itself, and only takes about 5 minutes. A little chopped cilantro adds great flavor too.
Only now do you get to add the zucchini noodles. Except you don’t add them to the pot with the soup. You place them at the bottom of the soup bowl and pour the hot soup over top of each individual serving. The heat of the soup cooks the noodles perfectly, without making them soggy.
This Thai Chicken Soup is the perfect comfort food. One of my friends swears it cured her of the flu!
More Keto Thai Recipes
Paleo Thai Chicken Zoodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ¼ medium onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon green curry paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups chicken bone broth
- 13.5 ounces canned coconut milk (full fat)
- 1 medium red pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 pound chicken breasts or thighs, thinly sliced against the grain
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce (use Red Boat for sugar free)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 medium zucchini, spiralized
- 1 lime cut into 8 wedges
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan, heat the coconut oil over medium heat until melted and shimmering. Add the onions and sauté until just translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the jalapeño, curry paste and garlic, and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk, whisking until fully combined.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and add the red pepper, chicken and fish sauce. Let simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.
- Divide the zoodles among 8 soup bowls and ladle the soup over; the heat of the soup will make the zoodles tender. (If you are not serving it all at once, only use enough zoodles for each bowl of soup you are serving. The rest will keep well in a covered container for a few days).
- Serve each with a squeeze of lime.
Eileen says
Do you think I could use the red curry paste instead of the green?
Carolyn says
Sure!
Wendy says
Made this soup today and tried out my new spiralizer. The soup is yummy and I LOVE my new spiralizer!!
LeAnne says
Thai always intrigues me but have been afraid that it would be too spicy. Finally dove in with this recipe and LOVE it! The green curry is mild and love all the other ingredients as well, using rotisserie chicken and homemade broth.
Erica says
This soup is so yummy! I made it for dinner tonight. My husband and I had multiple bowls. It wasn’t too spicy for my kids, either. I will definitely be keeping this in my Paleo recipe arsenal!
Kitty says
We had this for dinner tonight and honestly we all agreed it was one of the best soups we have ever had! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.
Megan says
I love this recipe. I’ve made it twice in 2 weeks. Addicted.
KalynsKitchen says
Hi there,
Just letting you know that I featured this recipe in my Deliciously Healthy Low-Carb Recipes round-up from last month. (Also your slow cooker meatloaf!) I hope a lot of my readers will come over here and check it out, great recipe!
Carolyn says
Thanks, Kalyn!
linda says
Hi Carolyn, Just made this today – we’re getting buried in snow here in Southern Ontario – and it was absolutely delicious! One small modification: since I follow a ketogenic diet I wanted to reduce the carb load. I substituted Shirataki/Miracle Noodles (Fettucini) for the zucchini and cut the carbs down to 3 (ECC) per serving. Bonus is that these will never get soggy so I froze the other servings.
Apologies to all those who are hoping to use their spiralizer….
Linda
Julie says
Mmmm… This was so good!
Though maybe I’m not so good at portion control – we ate it in about 4-5 servings. I would’ve been really hungry still with half the amount. I used light coconut milk because that’s what I had on hand, so maybe that balanced it out a bit 🙂
Carolyn says
Light coconut milk would be a lot less satisfying and filling so yes, I can see that!
Shelley says
I made this soup on Friday after viewing it on Pinterest. Very easy to follow recipe! I was able to make it even more simple by using pre-cut rotisserie chicken from my local supermarket. Thank you for sharing and curbing my Thai food cravings!
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
dreeza says
I must chime in here because turnip is my friend. You just have to treat it first and then it’s close to a potato. Parboil the turnip in water and milk ( I use cream ) for a few minutes. continue cooking in your recipe and it is wonderful low carb eating – lower than rutabaga I think.
Beth.H says
I just ordered a spiral vegi slicer from amazon on Friday. This soup sounds wonderful can’t wait to try it, I love spicy. Thanks for your inspiration.
tiffany says
Do you think this would freeze well?
Carolyn says
Yes, but I wouldn’t put the zucchini noodles in until you’ve rewarmed it. They are best put in fresh or they will get soggy.
Catherine says
Great and healthy recipes. xo Catherine
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
Carolyn, I love my spiralizer!!! and love your paleo/low carb spin on one of my favorite Asian soups!! love the green curry paste!
Susan says
Shoveled about 8 inches of snow off my driveway today & was thinking about a nice hot soup for supper. Anything Thai or anything curry is always a winner!
KalynsKitchen says
Great recipe! I love everything about this.
lisa says
This looks great – I have a spiraler I have not used yet (sigh) – perfect initiation! I assume the serving size if 1 cup approx? With 8 cups yield?
Carolyn says
Yep, 1 cup.
Hannah R. says
Looks delicious, can’t wait to try it!
Also FYI: the serving size says ‘1 cupcake’! 😉
Carolyn says
Must have been auto-correct. Off to fix it!
Lori says
I just made zucchini noodles last night! I am addicted to my spiral cutter too, so I’m thrilled to see another recipe where I can use them. FYI – I tried “noodling” eggplant and it didn’t work at all with the tool I have – too fibrous, I think.
Carolyn says
Good to know. Have you tried rutabaga or turnip? I did a small rutabaga once and then fried the noodles. They were tasty…not exactly crisp but really tasty!
Lori says
I have not tried those – I’ll consider rutabaga, but turnip and I are no longer on speaking terms. 🙂
Carolyn says
Uh oh! What did turnip do to you???
Lori says
It tricked me into eating it then gave me acid reflux. Bad turnip.
Carolyn says
Ah…nasty sneaky turnip!
Nichol says
What cutter do u have? I got one and it didn’t wk at all:(
Carolyn says
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KOWGZJE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00KOWGZJE&linkCode=as2&tag=aldaidrabfo05-20&linkId=TRKRGBJIZ4U3JYNJ