This easy, 30-minute Thai-inspired Red Curry Noodle Soup features flavorful coconut broth, juicy chicken, lime juice, and many veggies (bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, onions). It is cheaper, faster, and tastier than a take-out! This recipe is dairy-free, gluten-free, packed with veggies and protein, and fiber-rich.
Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken
I love making Thai-inspired dishes in the Fall and in the Winter. It's the ultimate comfort food: creamy, cozy, without being unhealthy. Everything is made in 30 minutes in one pot. Faster and healthier than take-out. This flavorful recipe is packed with vegetables (bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, onions). I used gluten-free brown-rice ramen noodles. You can use regular GF rice noodles. This Asian-inspired soup uses basic ingredients and is perfect for busy family weeknights.
Cooking tips
- Use full-fat unsweetened coconut milk without any additives. Do not use lite version for this soup.
- Do not overcook. Rice noodles (or ramen noodles) generally take only about 2 minutes to cook in boiling water. Watch cooking times closely.
- Rice or ramen noodles are best on the same day. Once cooked, they tend to get mushy, so I don't recommend saving them for leftovers and reheating them later.
- Do not use the seasoning packet that came with the noodles. You will not need it for this recipe - so you can just throw it away.
What kind of noodles to use
- Rice noodles are usually thin and cook really quickly. They are made of brown rice and are gluten-free. They are commonly used in Thai dishes and soups.
- Gluten-free ramen noodles are what I love to use. I used 2 packages of rice ramen noodles - each package was 2.8 oz - Lotus Foods brand. Discard the flavor package.
- Regular instant ramen noodles are usually wheat-based and are not gluten-free. They cook really quickly as well. They are common in Chinese and Japanese dishes. Discard the flavor package if using ramen noodles.
Toppings
Red curry noodle soup is a well-balanced meal that features protein, carbs, and lots of veggies. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite soup recipes during the Fall and Winter seasons. Here are some toppings that you can add to enhance the appearance and the flavor of this soup:
- Chopped green onions or chopped chives
- Toasted nuts, such as cashews or peanuts
- Sesame seeds - use 2 colors (black and white) for presentation
- Sliced cooked egg
- Fresh herbs such as basil.
How to make it meatless
Skip the chicken, and add plant-based protein, such as chickpeas, or simply add more rice noodles. You can also add rice or quinoa.
Can you make it gluten-free?
- I recommend using gluten-free ramen noodles in this Thai red curry noodle soup. They hold up better in a soup, don't get mushy, and taste so good! You can even make this dish a day or two in advance - the noodles will not fall apart and they will keep their texture really well! You can also cook gluten-free rice noodles al dente to keep their texture. I used gluten-free rice ramen noodles - the Lotus Foods brand.
Storage Tips
- Fridge. Store this soup refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If making this in advance, do not add noodles. Add noodles right before serving, otherwise, they will absorb the liquid, and the soup will thicken too much.
- I do not recommend freezing this dish.
Variations and substitutions
- Different types of noodles. The best choices for this recipe are rice noodles or gluten-free rice ramen noodles. However, you can also use egg noodles, spaghetti, or fettuccine instead! Just cook them in a separate pot according to package instructions and proceed with the recipe!
- Veggies. My favorites are spinach, bell peppers, snow peas, snap peas, and mushrooms. You can also add broccoli, chopped carrots, chopped asparagus, cauliflower, green beans, or sweet potatoes. All these will work great with red curry noodle soup.
- Nuts and seeds. I love adding nuts to ramen. Cashews and peanuts are the obvious choices. Sesame seeds also add a nice, nutty flavor.
- Honey can be replaced with brown sugar or maple syrup
Thai-inspired Red Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 oz baby bell peppers thinly sliced (or 1 red bell pepper)
- 1 large zucchini sliced
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2 small carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast thinly sliced (or tenderloins)
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup red curry paste
- 14 ounces unsweetened coconut milk (1 can)
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 6 ounces gluten-free rice noodles (or gluten-free ramen noodles)
Garnish
- 1 small lime thinly sliced
- fresh basil
- ⅓ cup peanuts
Instructions
- Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a large saucepan or soup pot. Add sliced bell peppers and sliced zucchini, sprinkle lightly with salt, and cook for about 5 minutes or more, stirring once, until softened. Remove to a plate.
- Add chopped onions, carrots, and sliced chicken to the same saucepan. Add another tablespoon of olive oil if needed. Sprinkle with dried basil and a little salt, and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and red curry paste - stir with the chicken, onions, and carrots on medium heat for 1 minute.
- Add coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce, and honey.
- Boil for about 1 minute, stirring everything well. Then, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked.
- Add rice noodles (or ramen noodles) and cook for 5 more minutes on low heat (simmer) until the noodles are soft.
- Remove from heat. Adjust seasonings: add 2 tablespoons of lime juice (or more) and 1 more tablespoon of fish sauce (if needed). Add more honey if desired.
- Stir in cooked sliced bell peppers and zucchini.
- Serve in individual bowls, topped with peanuts, lime slices, and fresh basil.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Just made this. My husband said it tastes "authentic", like in a Thai restaurant. So, thanks for yet another great recipe!
Excellent recipe. I didn’t have fish sauce but used a small amount of anchovy paste instead. I added about a tablespoon of lemongrass - tumeric paste to the soup and cilantro to the garnish, for more Thai flavor. Delicious!
Julia, I love your recipes and appreciate you sharing them.
I have a question on your Thai recipes. It appears you do not use spices often like curry, tumeric, coriander and cardamon. Perhaps I have missed them and the red curry sauce has it all. It saves a step?
Made this tonight and even though I missed the step of removing the peppers and zucchini and adding them back later♀️, it was delicious and easy to make. I’ll definitely be making this again and follow all the directions.
Thank you, Debi, for your review! The step that you skipped is not critical - but it does make a nice presentation! 🙂
I wanted to love this. It has all the ingredients that a favorite restaurant uses.
I did add some chopped fresh Green Beans and went a bit light on the fish sauce as I am not a fan.
I just could not get this balanced in flavor.
I think it was the Fish sauce (even the bit that I used). The soup, overall, had a slightly bitter "fishy" taste. I ended up adding double the honey and a bit of Turbinado Sugar and then some Heavy Cream to dilute the fish-sauce flavor and get the mouth feel less runny.
I couldnt find Gluten-Free ramen noodles, so ended up using 3 2-oz cakes of organic ramen from my local asian store. Boy did they suck up ALL the broth and quadrupled in size...also long and very messy to eat-had to run my kitchen shears thru the pot before serving. lol
I love your recipes with Orzo as that doesn't drip off the spoon.
Needs a bit more "coconut-y" flavor, in our opinion.
Will try it again as a Half-recipe (this made A LOT!) leaving out the fish-sauce and cooking rice on quinoa separately to spoon this over.
**Might leave out the Honey and try a dollop of Coconut Cream (we have it for coctails) instead.
I did ask in the FB post about the Red Curry and started out with half the measurement, but ended up using the full 1/4 cup.
Gonna spring for a tub of the Mae Ploy paste as the tiny Thai Kitchen jars at the grocery are stupid-expensive and my local restaurants all use Mae Ploy brand.
How does shrimp work with this recipe, instead of chicken?
Carter, shrimp would work great! BUT, shrimp cooks so much faster than chicken. I would cook the shrimp as the first step in this recipe, remove it from the pot, and proceed with the recipe. Then, add shrimp at the end.
Take a look at this recipe, I used similar concept of cooking shrimp first here:
https://juliasalbum.com/banana-coconut-curry-shrimp/
Can I substitute green curry paste for the red?
Sandie, yes, you can. It will have the flavor and the color of the green curry - which is really delicious, too!
Very tasty soup! I will have to double the recipe next time as it didn’t last long.
Lianne, so glad you enjoyed it!! ❤️
Absolutely delicious! A great soup for a chilly winter day. Just the right amount of heat. Served it with chopped cilantro on top and homemade sourdough bread on the side. Will definitely make this again.
Michelle, I am so happy you loved this soup! ❤️ Sourdough bread sounds delicious as a side!
Made this today. I had bone in chicken thighs so I stripped the bones as best as I could and added the bones in for flavour.
This soup is incredbile! Thank you
Evan, thank you for your rave review and the 5-star rating! ❤️❤️ Using bone-in chicken thighs does add so much flavor - great choice!
Can I use yellow curry instead?
Denise, yes, this would work great with yellow curry paste!
This was easy, although it took me longer than it said to make it, and SO delicious. I can’t wait to make it again! I added some chili garlic sauce to my bowl to add some heat, but my spouse liked it just the way it was. Definitely a keeper!
Sue, I am so glad you both loved this recipe! ❤️ Thank you for taking the time to share your rave review! 🙂
Can I use green curry paste instead??
YD, yes, you can use green cury paste instead of red curry paste - it would be delicious! 🙂
Everyone loved it
Annie, thank you very much for stopping by and sharing your feedback! ❤️❤️