Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup with Noodles

My Thai chicken soup simmers away in the slow cooker with spicy red curry paste, fresh ginger, and pungent fish sauce, then finishes with creamy coconut milk and bright lime juice stirred in at the end. I serve it over rice vermicelli noodles to complete the dinner.

Most slow cooker Thai soups ask you to brown the chicken first, or sauté the aromatics, bloom the curry paste in a pan before anything reaches the pot. Mine doesn’t, and that’s on purpose. The vegetables, chicken, red curry paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, and stock all go in together, and you close the lid and leave.

There are two things I learned in recipe testing. The thighs stay fully submerged the whole time, so they poach gently rather than drying out the way slow cooker chicken so often does. After six to eight hours, they shred easily with two forks and stay silky instead of stringy.

The second is the coconut milk. Left in the pot all day, it separates and goes grainy, so wait until the end and warm it through for ten minutes with the lime juice. That’s the difference between a creamy broth and one that’s broken.

What you get is rich and coconutty with a bit of heat behind it, brightened right at the last second by lime. Ladle it over rice vermicelli and dinner is finished.

Is this an authentic Thai chicken soup recipe?

No, and I’d rather tell you that up front. If you’ve eaten your way through Thailand, you know there are dozens of chicken soups there, and the great ones are usually built on galangal, lemongrass, and makrut lime leaves, ingredients I can’t reliably get in my grocery store.

So this is a Thai-inspired soup rather than a traditional one. It’s built on the flavors I fell for while traveling: coconut milk, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, palm sugar, and red curry paste. Those five things do a lot of heavy lifting, and the result tastes rich, savory, and bright in a way that stands on its own.

If you’re after the real thing, look for tom kha gai, a gorgeous soup worth seeking out.

Flavor Tip: You may already know that not all curry pastes are created equal. I really like Mae Ploy curry paste. When in doubt, check where the curry paste is made and choose one made in Thailand; it’s the safest bet.

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Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup with Noodles

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 6 hours hrs

Total: 6 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

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Everything goes into the slow cooker at once, no browning and no sautéing. The chicken poaches until it shreds with a fork, and the coconut milk goes in at the end so the broth stays creamy. Served over rice vermicelli.

4

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 medium carrots (chopped)
• ▢ 1 medium red bell pepper (chopped)
• ▢ ½ medium yellow onion (chopped)
• ▢ 2 inch piece of ginger (minced)
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• ▢ 4 tablespoons red curry paste
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon palm sugar (or brown sugar)
• ▢ 3 cups chicken stock
• ▢ 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• ▢ 2 15-ounce cans coconut milk
• ▢ 1 lime (juiced)
• ▢ 8 ounces rice vermicelli (cooked according to package directions )
• ▢ Optional toppings: lime wedges, sauteed mushrooms, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, black pepper

Instructions 

• Add all ingredients EXCEPT the coconut milk, lime, and rice vermicelli to your slow cooker and stir. Cover and cook on high heat for 3-4 hours or on low heat for 6-8 hours.
  2 medium carrots, 1 medium red bell pepper, ½ medium yellow onion, 2 inch piece of ginger, 4 cloves garlic, 4 tablespoons red curry paste, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon palm sugar, 3 cups chicken stock, 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  
• Remove the chicken thighs and shred them using two forks. Return the chicken to the slow cooker, add the coconut milk and lime juice, and stir. Let the coconut milk warm for 10-15 minutes before serving.
  2 15-ounce cans coconut milk, 1 lime
  
• 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.
  8 ounces rice vermicelli, Optional toppings: lime wedges, sauteed mushrooms, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, black pepper
  

Equipment Used

CrockPot

Video

Notes

Store: Keep leftover soup in a covered container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Since rice noodles (like vermicelli) are always best served fresh, I recommend cooking the vermicelli when you reheat the soup.

Freeze: If you’re planning on freezing this soup, add the coconut milk and vermicelli noodles before serving for the best texture. When it comes time to reheat, mix in the coconut milk on the stovetop and cook the noodles right before serving.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving = ¼ of the recipe, Calories: 567kcal (28%), Carbohydrates: 71g (24%), Protein: 31g (62%), Fat: 16g (25%), Saturated Fat: 9g (56%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 113mg (38%), Sodium: 1789mg (78%), Potassium: 737mg (21%), Fiber: 4g (17%), Sugar: 10g (11%), Vitamin A: 8432IU (169%), Vitamin C: 48mg (58%), Calcium: 79mg (8%), Iron: 3mg (17%)

© Author Kristen Stevens

We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.

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