A delicious and hearty Thai Red Curry Soup with chicken, sweet potatoes, and zoodles. This Whole30 soup recipe will be a hit with the whole family! Be sure to check the recipe notes for ideas to make it less spicy if feeding kiddos.
*This post is sponsored by SunButter, a sunflower seed spread perfect for allergy-safe baking and cooking! Thanks for supporting the brands that keep Sunkissed Kitchen running.
Contents
A Creamy, Spicy, Dreamy Soup
There’s not a lot of dishes that can compete with the complexity of flavors in Thai dishes.
If you’re also a fan of Thai flavors, you’ll love these Thai inspired dishes:
This Thai Red Curry Chicken Zoodle Soup is a hearty soup, perfect for warming up on a chilly day. Make it spicy or mild, either way it’s delicious.
Coconut milk, SunButter sunflower seed butter, and red curry paste provide layers of flavor and complexity that make it absolutely irresistible. Plus, the healthy fats make it satiating and give it some staying power.
I layer in tender chunks of chicken, sweet potatoes, and lots of fun zucchini noodles, for a great mix of healthy carbs, protein, and green vegetables.
Lots of Thai dishes have a nutty flavor from peanuts — a great undertone to their vibrant dishes.
I’ve subbed the peanut flavor in this dish with SunButter Sunflower Seed Butter. My favorite varieties to cook with are the No Sugar Added and the Organic options — because I prefer to add my own sugar to recipes, if needed, or leave dishes unsweetened.
SunButter is a great way to get the same nutty flavor as peanut butter, but in a healthier way that is also allergy friendly. I love using it to make cookies and desserts that are safe to send to school!
Check out the SunButter website to find great recipes, or see the other varieties that are available! Perfect for baking, cooking, and snacking!
How to Make Thai Red Curry Soup
Step 1: Begin this soup by sautéing the garlic, ginger and turmeric in a large soup pot. These ingredients aren’t just delicious, they are anti inflammatory powerhouses.
Step 2: Into the pot with the aromatics, add the red curry paste and SunButter, along with a splash of the vegetable broth. Whisk the paste and sunflower seed butter to form a creamy base, and then add the chicken, sweet potato, and the rest of the vegetable broth. Allow the chicken and sweet potatoes to simmer in the broth for about 15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes have softened.
Step 3: Add the coconut milk, red pepper, and onions. Season the soup with lime juice and coconut aminos. Taste the broth, and season with additional lime juice, coconut aminos, or sea salt, if desired. Allow the vegetables to cook for 5-10 minutes.
Step 4: Once the vegetables have softened, remove the soup from the heat, and add the zoodles. Or, if you’re like me, and like your zoodles to have some crunchy texture, just add the raw zoodles to your soup bowls and then add hot soup on top. This is my favorite way to serve it, especially if you’re not planning on finishing the soup.
Tips for Making the Best Chicken Zoodle Soup
Use the best quality coconut milk. Living in Asia for 12 years, and spending a lot of time in Thailand, I definitely know what good coconut milk tastes like. The stuff we buy in cans in the US is not good coconut milk. I’ve tried many of them! In SE Asia, coconut milk is sold in paper cartons (if not fresh!), and the taste is a lot sweeter and richer than what we are used to. If you love coconut milk based curry dishes, buy Thai coconut milk in cartons on Amazon or from a local Asian import store.
Find a good Red Curry Paste. I love this brand because it has clean ingredients and a wonderful flavor. It is spicy, however! If you’d like a more mellow spice, try this curry paste. You might also want to start with half the amount in the recipe and add a bit more to taste. Another option is to add about a tablespoon of coconut sugar to offset the spice.
Keep your Zoodles fresh and prevent them from getting watery. Zucchini releases a lot of water when cooked, so the best way to keep it from getting watery is to keep it fresh. I like to add the zoodles to the bowls, and add hot soup on top of them, so they retain a crisp texture. This is also a great tip if you are making this for meal prep. Keep your zoodles separate until ready to serve!
Thai Red Curry Soup with Chicken, Zoodles and Sweet Potato
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or sub olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons ginger grated
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 1/4 cup SunButter No Sugar Added
- 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste *makes a very spicy soup – add less if needed
- 1 pound chicken breasts cubed or thinly sliced
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and cubed
- 1 14 ounce can coconut milk full fat
- 1 red bell pepper cut in thin strips
- 1 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons coconut aminos or 1 1/2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 zucchini about 6 cups zoodles (1 very large zucchini)
- cilantro chopped, to garnish, optional
- green onions chopped, to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat, and add in avocado oil, garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Saute the aromatics for about 5 minutes until softened.
- Into the pot, add a splash of the vegetable broth, along with the red curry paste and SunButter. Whisk to create a creamy paste, and then add the chicken, sweet potatoes, and the rest of the vegetable broth. Allow to simmer until the chicken is cooked and the sweet potatoes are softened, about 15 minutes.
- Add the red peppers, onions, and coconut milk, and bring back to a simmer. Season the soup with coconut aminos and lime juice. Season the broth with sea salt, if necessary, to taste. Allow the vegetables to soften for about 5 minutes.
- While the soup is cooking, use a spiralizer to make zoodles. If you don't have a spiralizer, use a vegetable peeler to create long strands of zucchini, or just chop the zucchini to keep it simple.
- Add zoodles to bowls, and top with hot soup to serve. Garnish with cilantro and green onions, if desired.
Delicious! Wished I had doubled the recipe and stuck a quart in the freezer for later. I used Thai Kitchen’s red curry paste which is pretty mild. In fact, we could have tolerated even more spice and I may add a pepper Thai chili pepper to my next batch. This will be in frequent rotation!
So glad to hear that! I have been wanting to make it again. I buy the Mae Ploy brand of red curry paste off Amazon — it has an amazing kick of heat and better flavor than Thai Kitchen for sure 🙂