This Thai Chicken Soup with zucchini noodles is the ultimate low carb comfort food. It has a rich, coconut-scented broth with plenty of chicken and vegetables. And it takes only 30 minutes to make!
I first created this delicious Thai Chicken Soup back in 2015 and it’s been a favorite ever since. When the chilly rains creep over the Pacific Northwest, we make this easy keto soup frequently.
I really do love soup of all kinds. Rich and hearty soups like my Chile Relleno Chicken Soup, or vegetable soups like Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup. And you will often find a pot of Keto Chili bubbling away in my kitchen.
I made this Thai-style coconut chicken soup recently for a friend when she was under the weather. And she swears it cured her of the flu. Now that’s a healthy bowl of deliciousness!
Why we love it
This recipe is lighter than a lot of keto soups, so it’s great when you don’t want a heavy meal. While the coconut milk does lend some creaminess to the broth, it doesn’t have any dairy. It also has a bright fresh flavor from the green curry paste.
And the zucchini noodles stay nice and firm, without become a soggy mess. The trick is to add them to each bowl before ladling the hot soup overtop. That way, they cook just enough to combine perfectly with the other ingredients.
With all the chicken and low carb vegetables, it’s a healthy high protein recipe. And it takes only 15 minutes to make, start to finish. Easy enough for a busy weeknight!
Reader reviews
“Delicious! My hubby said he could eat this every week forever… he is super picky, so thats a win.” — Jacky P.
“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.” — Kitty
“This was so good! I loved the flavor, but I loved even more that my girls loved it. They are so picky sometimes!” — Julie B.
Ingredients you need
- Onion: You can use white or yellow onions.
- Jalapeño: Skip this if you don’t like spicy food.
- Green curry paste: You can also use red curry paste, but I think green has the right flavor for this recipe.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is a must for the best flavor.
- Canned coconut milk: This is the base of the soup and gives it flavor and creaminess. Use full fat coconut milk.
- Red bell pepper: This adds some color and flavor.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs: By cutting the chicken into thin strips, they will cook quickly in the soup. You can also use any leftover cooked chicken you have. Just add to the soup and it’s ready when heated through.
- Fish sauce: There really is no substitute for fish sauce, so don’t skip it. I use Red Boat for a sugar free fish sauce.
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro offers such vibrant and wonderful flavor. You can use parsley or basil if you can’t tolerate cilantro.
- Zucchini: You will need to spiralize the zucchini noodles prior to making the soup.
- Lime: Again, fresh lime offers more bright and wonderful flavor and a little acid to balance the soup.
- Staples: Chicken broth, avocado oil.
Step by Step Directions
1. Sauté the onions: In a large sauce pan, heat the avocado oil over medium heat until melted and shimmering. Add the onions and sauté until just translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the aromatics: 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.
3. Add the chicken: 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.
4. Add zoodles and serve: 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.
Tips for Success
Purchase 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 for years.
Don’t add the zucchini noodles to the pot. By placing the zucchini noodles in your soup bowl and ladling the hot soup over it, the heat of the broth cooks the noodles perfectly, without making them soggy.
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.
Slice the chicken relatively thinly so it cooks quickly and evenly. No need to cook it before adding it to the soup!
Frequently Asked Questions
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, as they become complete mush.
You can freeze this Thai soup as long as you don’t include the zucchini noodles. The soup will freeze well for up to 3 months. Once reheated, add the zoodles and enjoy!
This Keto Thai Chicken Soup recipe has 6g of carbs and 1g of fiber per serving. That comes to 5g net carbs per serving.
More keto Thai-style recipes
Thai Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado oil, can also use coconut or olive oil
- 1/4 medium onion,, chopped
- 1 medium jalapeño,, chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp green curry paste
- 2 cloves garlic,, minced
- 6 cups (1,419.53 ml) chicken bone broth
- 13.5 ounces (382.72 g) canned coconut milk, (full fat)
- 1 medium red pepper,, thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 pound (680.39 g) chicken breasts or thighs,, thinly sliced against the grain
- 2 tbsp fish sauce, (use Red Boat for sugar free)
- 1/4 cup (4 g) chopped cilantro
- 2 medium (566 g) zucchini (about 10 ounces each), 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I have a fish allergy. suggestions please.
Leave out the fish sauce.
ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING
Two words– Wow Wee!! 😅 Great recipe! I added celery, broccoli and cauliflower for a veggie boost! Very good and great instructions!!
t
Thanks for another great way to help stay on Keto!!
This was so tasty! Thank you for making such delicious and healthy recipes. My whole family enjoys every time I make anything from your webpage.
Thank you!
I followed this recipe to a T and really wanted to love it but it was okay. I had to add a lot of cayenne pepper at the end to our bowls to add some flavor and heat.
I am going to guess that your Thai chili paste was weak…
I am not a huge fan of the zoodle but this soup covers them up very well.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Just had this soup today after pinning it a long while ago. It is soooooo good! I enjoyed it very much. Thanks Caroline for the awesome recipes!
By the way I was scared it would be spicy so I took the inside of the jalapeno and run it under water and it was just perfect even not spce loves approved !
If using curry powder instead of paste. How much powder do you suggest?
Curry powder? Like Indian curry powder? Because this is a thai recipe and I don’t know of any thai curry powders. I wouldn’t know how to use them.
Re: Freezing the Zoodles –
They sell frozen zoodles at the store, so I’m going to take a page from an extention office book and say you need to blanch the zoodles for about three-four minutes in slightly salted *boiling* water, drop them in an ice bath at the end of the 3 minutes, dry them on toweling and *then* freeze. The fast boil then ice bath “pops” some of the cells containing water and so less cells remain full of water to burst and make things soggy when you defrost the zoodles, at least that would be my take on it. Me personally, I’d put a tiny bit of “Fruit Fresh” (Citric Acid) in the ice water bath for freshness and to keep them from browning while freezing. I also wouldn’t keep them in the freezer more than about 4 months, I’m pretty sure the commercial stuff can last longer because they’re soaked in chemical preservatives, and no one wants that!
Can I use red curry paste? What would be the difference I do not know much about these.
Sure! They have different flavor profiles but both are delicious.
I am excited to make this!!
Wow. I like Thai food, but because of a cancer diagnosis we have been doing keto, so I was excited to find this recipe. Made it tonight, but I have no spiralizer so I just used my mandolin for julienne type zucchini cuts. We loved it, even my 14 yo. It wasn’t until I was packing leftovers that I realized I had forgotten to put in the fish sauce, but I had doubled the recipe to have lots leftover so I added it. We love it both ways, and I loved the unami flavor after adding the fish sauce. It was my first time using the curry paste, I’m glad I did. And thank you for the lesson on the coconut milk, I was wondering the same thing when I was at the store today!
Just made this! Super delicious. I followed recipe to the T. Next time I might add a smidge more “kick” with some chili paste but this one is a keeper!
I just made this tonight. I tweaked it. I did 1/2 teaspoons of: pepper, thyme, poultry seasoning, basil and 2 chicken bouillon cubes(I may do one next time) I also did chicken thighs since I had them on hand. I loved it. I did it 8 hours in the crock pot. This will be how I make chicken noodle soup from now on. Thanks for the recipe!
This is everything a gourmet soup should be, and then some! Looking forward to making this for dinner tomorrow; delish!
I am excited to make this!! Love thai soups & I love the idea of using zucchini, instead of pasta! Looks delicious!