Thai Coconut Turkey Soup
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Thai Coconut Turkey Soup is the most delicious way to turn your turkey dinner leftovers into something special. It's made with coconut milk and Thai green curry broth and loaded with shredded turkey, shiitake mushrooms, yellow peppers, and noodle-like bean sprouts. And taking only 25 minutes to make, you'll be sitting down to a delicious bowl of turkey soup in no time!
This Thai Coconut Turkey Soup recipe was originally published in November 2013.
We love making turkey soup with our Thanksgiving leftovers. Most years, we make a batch of our classic Easy Homemade Turkey Soup Recipe. Last year, we switched things up a little and went with a Healthy Creamy Turkey Mushroom Soup. This year we are going totally rogue and bringing back a unique (and delicious!) turkey soup that we first made many years ago.
Why we love this Thai Coconut Turkey Soup
- Thai food is the ultimate comfort food and this Thai turkey soup is exactly what we feel like when the weather is cold.
- It's not one of those leftover turkey recipes that leave you feeling like you're eating leftovers. This is a fresh, new meal.
- From start to finish this soup takes only 25 minutes to make. Give it up for quick and easy meals!
- A few big handfuls of bean sprouts make this reminiscent of turkey noodle soup.
- Creamy coconut milk + flavorful turkey broth + a little green curry paste make the most unbelievably delicious base.
- Shiitake mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, yellow peppers, and bean sprouts for lots of much-needed post-Thanksgiving veggies.
- It's a healthy soup recipe that's Whole30, paleo, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
I know it might seem a little strange to put turkey in Thai food but since it is a whole lot like chicken, just way more flavourful, it totally works. And since it's so quick and easy to make, it's ideal after Thanksgiving when you don't want to spend another million hours in your kitchen.
Love Thai recipes?
We do, too! Make sure to check out our other favorite Thai recipes:
- Coconut Thai Chicken Zoodle Soup
- Crockpot Thai Chicken Soup
- Thai Turkey Lettuce Wraps
- Crockpot Thai Chicken Curry
Tips for making the best Thai Coconut Turkey Soup
Always start with Homemade Turkey Stock. If you make this recipe with store-bought stock, it won't have the same rich flavor. Luckily, making turkey stock is super easy. We put the turkey bones in our crockpot, fill it up with water, and turn it on low right after dinner. By the time we wake up in the morning, we have turkey stock ready to be made into soup!
Decide whether you like slurp-worthy soup. Or not. We make this soup with whole bean sprouts and bigger strips of peppers and onions, which can be a bit messy to eat. If you'd like a little less noodle-like slurping, chop the veggies smaller.
Use a curry paste you love. While most grocery stores sell Thai curry paste, not all are made equal. My trick to finding the best is to look for curry paste made in Thailand with Thai writing on the jar or package. In my experience, these are the best-flavored curry pastes.
What to do with Thanksgiving leftovers
If you've got more Thanksgiving leftovers than you know what to do with, you can repurpose some of them with these recipes:
- Cheesy Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes
- Blue Cheese and Brussels Sprouts Pizza
- Thanksgiving Leftovers Eggs Benedict
- Potato Croquettes with Sriracha Mayo
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Favorite Leftover Turkey Recipes
- Easy Homemade Turkey Soup
- Healthy Creamy Turkey Mushroom Soup
- Butter Turkey Curry
- Leftover Turkey Bolognese
- Pulled Turkey Pizza with Fiery Pineapple Salsa
Thai Coconut Turkey Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Ā½ medium onion (thinly sliced)
- 5 ounces shiitake mushrooms (cut in half)
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 inch piece of ginger (julienned)
- 8 cups homemade turkey stock
- 2 cups shredded cooked turkey meat
- 15 ounce can coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons green Thai curry paste
- 2 tablespoons coco aminos (can substitute soy sauce)
- 2 yellow bell peppers (thinly sliced)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 3 cups bean sprouts
- Juice from 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- Sea salt to taste (see notes)
- Cilantro (to garnish)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more.1 tablespoon coconut oil, Ā½ medium onion, 5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger
- Add the turkey stock, shredded turkey, coconut milk, curry paste, and coco aminos and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.8 cups homemade turkey stock, 2 cups shredded cooked turkey meat, 15 ounce can coconut milk, 3 tablespoons green Thai curry paste, 2 tablespoons coco aminos
- Add the bell peppers and cherry tomatoes to the pot and let them simmer for 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and add the bean sprouts and lime juice.2 yellow bell peppers, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 3 cups bean sprouts, Juice from 1 lime
- Season to taste with salt then garnish with cilantro.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
This soup was easy and great. I added more mushrooms and might try more coconut milk, but these are just extra preferences, not necessary. Will definitely make again.
Wonderful soup, colorful when adding red and yellow peppers. Will definitely make again. Easy to prep also.
Can I freeze this soup?
Yes! This soup freezes very well. š
Very tasty and easy to make. Ā I didnāt have red pepper so I substituted baby bok choy and it was good.
Can this wonderful soup be frozen??
Yes, this soup freezes well!
Was delicious. I had all the ingredients already and came together very nicelyĀ
This is an excellent recipe! My husband and I actually added more ingredients (celery and carrot) to the dish to make it a little more hearty. We also added red pepper flakes for some heat.Ā
I made this soup with my turkey leftovers and it was a hit with the family. Ā Will definitely be making it again.
This looks delicious. I only have red curry paste on hand. Would I be able to use that as a substitute for the green curry paste?
Absolutely you can! The color of the soup will change but it will be every bit as delicious. š
I made this ‘THAI COCONUT TURKEY SOUP’ for dinner. I loved the flavor with a bit extra lime juice and Siricha when served. I will make it again , thanks for another great recipe!
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe, Shannon!
This was delicious! I added a few generous squirts of Thai fish sauce. A welcome change to the same old turkey soup.
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe!
We LOVE this recipe! Made it several times now and it always turns out delicious!
That’s so great to hear!!
I’m a huge fan of Thai food (turkey and soup). This soup was bursting with flavour and freshness. It was the first time I’d ever cooked with shiitake mushrooms. The vendor at Kin’s said to soak the fresh mushrooms for awhile and add the water they were soaked in, to the soup as well…so I did. I’m in a soup club at work and have made and enjoyed many fabulous soups. I will be making this one for our group and they will love it. Thanks for the outstanding recipe!
I’m so happy you like the recipe! It is one of my personal favs.
Great tip about soaking the mushrooms. I’ve never done that before but will try it next time for sure!
My sister whipped up this recipe while I was visiting her this past week. Lovely, colorful and delicious soup. I used to buy Thai soups, but this is way better. I will be making it very soon
This is such a great way to use up turkey leftovers!
This looks great. I get stuck with what to make aside form boring regular turkey soup and mountains of turkey sandwiches. Will be making this come Sunday.