This Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup is a healthy and easy dump-and-go recipe with no precooking required! It’s hearty enough for a meal and packed with wholesome and flavorful ingredients like coconut milk, chicken breast, fresh cilantro, lemongrass, ginger, and lime. It’s also Weight Watchers friendly and Dairy-free.
This amazing soup is popular any time of the year. It was inspired by my Thai Chicken Noodle Salad on this site and pairs well with Bread Machine Italian Breadsticks or for a lighter side Everything Bagel Cloud Bread Recipe. My testers said this soup tasted just like soup you get in Thai restaurants.
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🥘Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients for this Thai Chicken Soup Crock Pot recipe:
- 6 chicken breasts
- 1 red bell pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
- 2 tsp garlic (2 cloves garlic)
- 3 stalks lemongrass
- 1-2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 14 oz can of coconut milk * you can use light or regular (**See TOP TIP if using light coconut milk)
- 1 tsp agave
- 4 tbsp thai red curry paste (affiliate link)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
- 3 tbsp lime juice from concentrate/concentrated lime juice *you could use fresh lime juice, but you'll need double the amount
- 4 tablespoon cornstarch with 2-3 tablespoon cold water to make a paste
- Garnish: fresh lime wedges and additional cilantro, if desired
🔪Instructions
If you don't like precooking with your slow cooker, you will love this one because there is none!
Add all ingredients (except cornstarch and water) to slow cooker
Stir until combined (and curry paste is completely dissolved)
Cook on the low setting for 5.5 hours.
Add cornstarch mixed with water and cook on low heat for another 30 minutes or until reaches desired thickness. *You can also add additional cornstarch mixed with water if it's not thick enough
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Chicken- you can use chicken thighs or rotisserie chicken instead of chicken breasts
- Lemon grass- you can use dried lemongrass instead of fresh or lime zest can be substituted
- Agave - you could use honey (you'll need 2 tsps) or 2 teaspoon of brown sugar instead
- Lime juice - you could use fresh lime juice, but you'll need double the amount
- Ad-ins - you can add brown rice, a wild rice blend, white rice or noodles. You could also add additional vegetables like broccoli or shredded carrrots
- Instant pot - you can make this soup in your instant pot - here's how to convert your recipe from a slow cooker to an instant pot
💭Top tip
If you use light coconut milk, it separates more than regular coconut milk, so you'll need to thicken it even more. Add about 2 teaspoon of tapioca starch (I use Minute tapioca).*You can also skim off the separated milk bits with a small mesh strainer (affiliate link) or remove meat and vegetable and strain through a larger mesh strainer.
🥗 Side Dishes
This Slow Cooker Thai coconut chicken soup pairs well with bread and/or salad.
- Everything Bagel Cloud Bread
- Machine Onion & Olive Bread
- Bread Machine Italian Breadsticks
- Spinach salad
- Mandarin Orange Salad Recipe
🍽Equipment
You will need a 6-quart slow cooker, a cutting board, and a sharp knife (affiliate links) for this Thai coconut soup recipe.
🌡️Storage
Store this Thai soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
👪 Serving Size
This delicious soup recipe makes 10 (about 1 ¼ cups each) servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
This recipe is Weight Watchers friendly @ ww 5 points using regular coconut milk. When light coconut milk is used, it's 2 ww points. However, keep in mind that when I tested the light coconut milk, it separated a lot more than the regular coconut milk. You can use tapioca starch (I use Minute Tapioca) to thicken it a bit more. You can also skim off the separated milk bits with a small mesh strainer (or remove meat and vegetable and strain through a larger mesh strainer).
🦺Food safety
- Cook chicken to an internal minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
- Never leave cooking food unattended
See more guidelines at USDA.gov
❔ Frequently Asked Questions
No, you don't have to brown the chicken, but searing it does help to seal in the juices.
Yes, raw chicken can go in the slow cooker, as it cooks long enough to cook it thoroughly.
This Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup with coconut milk is an easy weeknight meal. Just put it all in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a delicious meal. If you love Thai food, it's bound to become one of your favorite soups!
📋 Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 skinless chicken breast
- 1 red pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoon garlic
- 3 stalks lemongrass
- 1-2 teaspoon grated gingerroot
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 14 oz can coconut milk * You can use regular or light, but see TOP TIP if using light
- 1 teaspoon agave
- 4 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- 3 tablespoon lime juice ( from concentrate ) * you could use fresh lime juice, but you'll need double the amount
- 4 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2-3 tablespoon of cold water to make a paste
Garnish (optional)
- additional cilantro leaves
- lime wedges
- additional crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Add all ingredients (except cornstarch and water to slow cooker)
- Stir until combined (and curry paste is completely dissolved)
- Cook on low for 5.5 hours.
- Add cornstarch mixed with water and cook for another 30 minutes or until reaches desired thickness.
Garnish
- Garnish with cilantro, lime wedges and crushed red pepper, if desired
Terri Gilson
This Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup is a lifesaver for busy weeknights. I love how I can just toss everything in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a restaurant-quality meal. The combination of coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, and lime gives it such an authentic Thai flavor, and it's so satisfying to know it's both delicious and Weight Watchers friendly!