The Best Crock Pot Thai Chicken Soup
Crock Pot Thai Chicken Soup is a lightened up, and super easy to make, version of Thai chicken curry. It's also one of the few slow cooker chicken recipes that cooks for 8-10 hours so you can pop everything in before work and come home to dinner. This has turned into one of our favorite healthy recipes!
The healthy January eats continue! Don't worry, what I've made for you today may be lightened up, but it's 100% delicious. It's also a winter approved, warm you up recipe that is insanely easy to make.
I've been toying with another Thai crockpot recipe ever since the Crock Pot Thai Chicken Curry shot up to the #1 viewed recipe on the blog. My original thought was to create a veggie Thai curry, but that didn't work out so well. It was important to me that the recipe be able to cook in your slow cooker for 8-10 hours. (Who's got time to run home at lunch to turn on the crockpot?)
Thing is, all my attempts at cooking vegetables in a crock pot for 8-10 hours resulted in mushy, overcooked veggies. I ate each attempt (hate wasting food) but I would never suggest that you make anything so blah. I'm determined to find a way and will let you know once I've nailed it.
This Crock Pot Thai Chicken Soup is made by slowly cooking chicken thighs in Thai flavors until they are falling apart tender. When you get home from work, take out the chicken and shred it with two forks. Pour some coconut milk into the crockpot and let it warm then serve yourself a delicious dinner.
I like to serve this with a handful of rice vermicelli noodles, but you could sub rice or quinoa. To keep this a paleo recipe, omit the noodles or use zucchini noodles instead.
I promised you guys that I wouldn't turn this into a mommy blog and talk constantly about my daughter. I think I've done reasonably well, considering how super adorable and completely awesome she is. Now that she's started eating, all bets are off. Food has always been a social experience for me and one best shared with friends and family.
Getting to share all my meals with the cutest little girl is seriously the best ever.
We skipped over all the bland food and one ingredient at a time thing. (I never have been one to follow the rules.) Right from her first bites she exactly ate what we ate. We eat a lot of Thai curry around here, and it's one of her favorites, too. I tone down the spiciness a touch (honestly, not much) and am surprised every time she devours a bowl of the richly flavored, spicy coconut broth. Few things make me happier than watching her love food as much as I do.
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Easy Chicken Recipes:
- Crock Pot Thai Chicken Curry
- Cheesy Fajita Stuffed Chicken
- Coconut Thai Chicken Zoodle Soup
- Asian Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
- Saucy Peanut Chicken with Peppers and Broccoli
- Italian Braised Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives
- The Best Chicken Tortilla Soup
Crock Pot Thai Chicken Soup
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Prep Time: 10 mins -
Cook Time: 10 hours
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Total Time: 10 hours 10 mins
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Yield: 4 servings 1x -
Category: Dinner -
Cuisine: Thai
Description
Crock Pot Thai Chicken Soup is a lightened up, and super easy to make, version of Thai chicken curry. It's also one of the few slow cooker chicken recipes that cooks for 8-10 hours so you can pop everything in before work and come home to dinner. This has turned into one of our favorite healthy recipes!
Ingredients
- 2 medium carrots, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 2-inch piece of ginger, minced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (sub coco aminos for paleo)
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 cans coconut milk
- 1 lime
- 8 ounces rice vermicelli, cooked according to package directions (omit for paleo or sub zucchini noodles)
- Optional toppings: lime wedges, sauteed mushrooms, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, black pepper
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the coconut milk, lime, and rice vermicelli to your crock pot and stir together. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Remove the chicken thighs and shred using two forks. Return the chicken to the crock pot. Add the coconut milk and stir. Let the coconut milk warm for 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Place the cooked rice vermicelli into soup bowls and top with the Thai chicken soup. Squeeze a little lime over the top and serve with any or all of the optional toppings.
I love this soup! I’m diabetic and always looking for tasty sugar-free recipes. I’ve adjusted it to suit my taste however. I use 4 teaspoons curry paste (red or green) instead of 4 tablespoons, and I use stevia to sweeten. I also use unsweetened coconut milk.
★★★★★
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe, Ellen!
Absolutely wonderful and so easy to make! I will be serving it at our Super Bowl party tomorrow.
I hope that the soup was a hit!
Any suggestion for a coconut milk sub? I’m allergic to coconut even though it’s yummy!
Coconut milk is a big part of this recipe, so omitting will change it a lot. While it would taste quite different, you could try it with chicken broth instead. You may want to add some extra soy/fish sauce/curry paste to boost the flavor. 🙂
Did anyone omit the palm sugar? I don’t have any.
You can also sub another sweetener … coconut sugar, brown sugar, honey, or even maple syrup would work. White sugar would also work if that’s what you have on hand.
My sis in law sent this recipe to me bc she said it was so good! Do you have recommendations on how to make it vegetarian??
The flavor won’t be nearly as rich if you omit the fish sauce and use vegetable stock so you’ll likely need to boost the flavor with extra curry paste, soy sauce, and ginger. And in Thai curries, I like to use medium tofu and fry it well so that it’s crispy. I think it would make a good sub for the chicken. 🙂
One of my new favorites. Easy, flavorful, deliciously good. ♥️
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Awesome! So happy you like the recipe!
My ENTIRE family of picky eaters each had two bowls! A HUGE success! I made two crockpots and they are both empty!
★★★★★
That’s fantastic! Hooray!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
It will last for 3-4 days. But you can freeze it if you need it to keep longer. 🙂
This looks so good! It is nice to have more options for chicken soup than just chicken noodle!
It’s one of our favorite chicken soup recipes!
It’s delicious but I ended up adding a teaspoon of salt to cut through some of the sweetness of the coconut milk. Also, I added an additional teaspoon of powdered curry, these two small additions reall enhanced the flavors! Thank you!
★★★★
That’s wonderful!
This was one of the best tasting soups EVER! I used pho broth instead of chicken broth and 2 Tbsp of green curry instead because the kids don’t care for spicy foods. Everyone had 2 helpings!! It was so nice to have silence at the dinner table with our older kids, our toddler, and our baby all eating silently and the toddler not trying to get up every 2 seconds saying he is done. Thank you for a wonderful meal that saved my sanity after a long day at work!
★★★★★
So happy to hear that the recipe was a hit! My daughter loves curry, too. Our kids have good taste!
Very delicious! I added cooked brown rice to the bottom of my bowl and a drizzle of Sriracha on top.
Thank you!
★★★★★
Such a great idea to add some brown rice!
I just made this in my slow cooker. I used one can of coconut milk and a little more Thai curry paste and it was amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe.
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear you liked it!
Any idea on how to make this in the Instant Pot instead?
I’ve never cooked with an Instant Pot so I can’t say. I would suggest looking for an Instant Pot chicken curry recipe and using the timing for that one with the ingredients in this one. 🙂
Does anyone happen to know the macros on this? Thanks!
I’ve never quite mastered making curry. Something about the fish sauce ratio that throws the whole dish off. I’m better at eating it than making it 🤷🏼♀️ But this dish. Holy smokes THIS DISH IS INCREDIBLE. The flavors are so balanced. Not too spicy, not too fishy, extra creamy, super flavorful- it’s sheer perfection! I only added 2 chicken breasts, so it would be more soupy and I added a tablespoon of lemongrass paste (highly recommend). Anyhoo, this dish is amazing. Thank you for sharing
I’m so happy you like the recipe!
LOOKS delicious. Im making it tomorrow night. Im boiling the bones from a leftover chicken roast now for the broth.
For the Thai veggies why wouldn’t you just set it on low for your desired time and just let the crockpot switch to warm for the remaining time. I believe my crockpot will stay on “warm” for 2-4 hours ( can’t remember which one) then it will stay hot in the pot until you get home I would think. ??
This is really good! Only added 1 can of lite coconut milk, added 1 more tbs of Red Thai Curry Paste and a seeded jalapeño. Can’t wait to have it this evening!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you like it!
This sounds delicious! Will it save well? I’m hoping to make a batch tomorrow and then take it to work each day this week for lunch. Thanks!
It does! I like to keep the rice noodles and soup separate so they noodles don’t get mushy. If you’re taking them to work, you can put the noodles in a resealable plastic bag and add them to the soup when you go to heat it up. 🙂
Hi there,
My soup has just gone in the crock pot! Very excited for dinner! My question is.. if I wanted to use brown rice instead of the rice vermicilli, any idea when I would throw that into the crockpot for it to cook up nicely?
Thanks!
★★★★
To be totally honest, I’ve never cooked rice in a crockpot before. Maybe try looking for a rice soup recipe and add it at the time that recipe says. 🙂
Hi Kristen. Found this via Yummly and it was the absolute bom diggety. I don’t get snow where I am in Australia but it does get pretty cold so this just hit the mark. Have been missing Thai flavours and came across this as an easy introduction back into great Thai flavours. Thanks for sharing:)
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe!
I’ve now made this several times and the whole family loves it, which includes my husband and three boys. My five-year-old usually goes in for thirds. My husband requested it tonight but I realize I only have frozen chicken breast and I only have about seven hours to cook it. Do you think it will be OK?
I’m so sorry for the late reply! I’ve been on holiday and wasn’t checking the comments. While the bone in chicken thighs definitely give the best flavor, chicken breasts will work in a pinch. No need to run to the store! And seven hours is long enough. 🙂
So happy to hear it’s a hit with the whole family!
OMG Kristen!!! Heaven in a bowl! Thank you so much for this recipe! I’ve had crock pot in the box for years and this finally inspired me to use it. SO GOOD. I’ve struggled with making a good red curry for a long time and this was perfection, Better than the restaurant!
I’m so happy you like the recipe!!
This dish was amazing, we all loved it and I will be making it again very soon. Thank you
I’m so happy you loved it!!
hi kristen! i accidentally added the coconut milk in with everything at the beginning – is it ok to slow cook it with the milk?
The only problem with adding the coconut milk at the beginning is that you run the risk of it separating. While there’s nothing harmful about that, it just doesn’t look as nice. 🙂
This really is the best! Love how flavorful it is and the rice noodles are a great add in. Will make it again.
★★★★★
Made this today and it was delicious! Wanted to make it healthier so I used chicken breast and brown rice instead of the noodles. Also 1 can of coconut milk was PLENTY with the amount of chicken broth used. My husband is currently on his third bowl! 🙂
That makes me so happy to hear! Horray!
Can’t wait to try this out. Lovely food photography.
Thank you so much!!
I made it with a whole 7 lb chicken. Used the entire jar of curry and basically doubled the recipe. It still came out bland. Added more powdered curry, turmeric, coriander, salt and pepper, We finally reached the heat and creaminess we desired. Next time I will use only thighs but we came down with the household cold and needed a bigger batch this time around. I do believe it has helped shorten the cold significantly!
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I’m sorry to hear the alterations you made to the recipe didn’t turn out. I promise that the recipe as written is flavorful! I do like the sound of the Indian-style twist you gave it, though. Sounds delicious!
Hope you and your family are feeling better!
I’m in the middle of Whole30 and love adding new slow cooker meals to my repertoire. Going to try this this week, but omit the palm sugar, add a tiny bit of pureed mango, and use either spiralized carrot or sweet potato for noodles because I’ve found they hold up better. I’ll report back!
Nice call on the pureed mango! Love your idea about using spiralized sweet potatoes … that would be so good!
I’d love to try this recipe in my new Instant Pot. I understand that the cooking time/instructions might differ from the Crock Pot. Any idea how I would make this in my Instant Pot (slow cooker mode)?
I wish I could help you out with some suggestions but I’ve never cooked with a pressure cooker before. I would probably have a look at a few curry recipes that have instructions for a pressure cooker and judge the time from that. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help!
I just made this recipe in my electric pressure cooker last night and it turned out fantastic! I substituted 2 breasts for the thighs and cooked it on high pressure for 16 minutes. I let the pressure come down on it’s own for 10 minutes then slowly released the valve. Added the coconut milk and put the cooker on “brown” for 10 additional minutes with the lid on and valve open. Super tastey. The chicken fell apart in the tongs as I was pulling it out of the pot to shred it What an amazing recipe!
Thank you so much for letting us know the recipe works in a pressure cooker!!
I’m totally new to your blog, (found through the Kitchn’s instagram) and would actually love to hear about how you feed your daughter, going straight to table food? What age is she? Do you purée the food? If you’ve already discussed this, I apologize! I’m going to explore your blog some now.
Hi, Amy!
I’ve introduced Avalina in a blog post, but I haven’t given an update since she’s really started eating. When I first introduced her she was only trying little tastes of foods, not real bites.
She’s 7 1/2 months old now and loves pretty much everything. We either mash the soft food we eat with a fork, or I finely mince what we’re eating. I’ve never pureed anything for her and she’s always done ok. As long as the pieces are small (rice size or smaller) she’s always handled them well. With food that is on the dry side (chicken, for example) I stir in a little sauce or yogurt to make it easier for her to swallow.
We’ve really just followed her lead as far as food goes and try not to take it too seriously. If she shows interest in it (which is aften now) we give her as much as she wants. If she doesn’t want to eat, we don’t push it. She’s still breastfed so I know she’s getting everything she needs that way.
I know it’s not the traditional approach, but it works well for us. So happy you found the blog. You’ve given me the nudge I needed to post another baby update. 🙂
This sounds delicious!! Just a quick question though, if I half the recipe, would I still need to cook it for 8-10hrs?
Thanks!
You can cook this recipe on high for 4 hours if that works better for your timing. (Even if you make the whole thing.)
I’m really excited to try this recipe … It’s been snowing in between raining ..or vis versa here in Lake Tahoe and all I can think about cooking is .. soup, soup, and more soup! I’m thinking of purchasing a new slow cooker and I’m curious how you like the Crock Pot brand … I’ve always been partial to Cuisinart and Kitchen Aid so I was looking at those brands and then noticed you’re using the Crock Pot … I guess they were the first to bring this out publicly .. Please, when you have a moment, I’d love your feedback
It’s been raining/ snowing lots here in Vancouver, too!
I have to be honest, this is my first crock pot and the only one I’ve ever cooked in so I don’t have anything to compare it to. I think it works great, though!