Thai Coconut Turkey Soup

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 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!

I love turning Thanksgiving leftovers into something new—like this Thai Coconut Turkey Soup! Instead of my usual easy homemade turkey soup or my turkey pot pie soup, this year I’m going bold with a fresh, flavor-packed twist I first made years ago.

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.

Why you’ll love Thai turkey soup

This soup tastes nothing like leftovers—it’s a vibrant new meal that comes together in just 25 minutes. Creamy coconut milk, turkey broth, and curry paste create an unbelievably delicious base, while shiitake mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, yellow peppers, and bean sprouts add freshness and crunch. Cozy, quick, and full of Thai-inspired flavor—this is the turkey soup you’ll want to make every year.

Another unique turkey soup recipe you may want to try is my marry me turkey soup.

Tips for making the best Thai Coconut Turkey Soup

Always start with Homemade Turkey Stock. If you use store-bought stock, the dish 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.

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Thai Coconut Turkey Soup Recipe

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

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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 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!

4

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• ▢ ½ medium onion (chopped)
• ▢ 5 ounces shiitake mushrooms (cut in half)
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
• ▢ 1 inch piece of ginger (julienned)
• ▢ 4 cups homemade turkey stock
• ▢ 2 cups shredded cooked turkey meat
• ▢ 15 ounce can coconut milk
• ▢ 3 tablespoons Thai curry paste (red or green)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional – see notes)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sea salt (see notes)
• ▢ 2 bell peppers (thinly sliced into 2-inch lengths)
• ▢ 1 pint cherry tomatoes (see notes)
• ▢ 3 cups bean sprouts
• ▢ Juice from 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
• ▢ Cilantro (to garnish)

Instructions 

• Heat the coconut 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 an additional minute.
  1 tablespoon coconut oil, ½ medium onion, 5 ounces shiitake mushrooms, 3 cloves garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger
• Add the turkey stock, shredded turkey, coconut milk, curry paste, soy sauce, salt and, if using, fish sauce. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes
  4 cups homemade turkey stock, 2 cups shredded cooked turkey meat, 15 ounce can coconut milk, 3 tablespoons Thai curry paste, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• Add the bell peppers and cherry tomatoes to the pot and let them simmer for 1 minute. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the bean sprouts and lime juice.
  2 bell peppers, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, 3 cups bean sprouts, Juice from 1 lime
• Taste and add more salt to make the flavors pop, if you'd like. Garnish with cilantro.
  Cilantro

Video

Notes

Salt: The amount of salt you need will depend on the stock and salt you use, and personal preference. I always use homemade turkey stock and typically use at least 2 teaspoons. Start with 1 and work your way up.

Fish sauce: This ingredient adds a wonderful flavor, without making the soup taste fishy. If you have some in your fridge, I encourage you to add it! 

Cherry tomatoes: I like to leave them whole, both for convenience and because I love the juicy pop they make when I eat them. But when they are cooked, they are very hot, so be careful. You can lice them in half, if you prefer.

Serving: This soup is wonderful served on its own, but it’s also delicious (and a little more filling) with a scoop of cooked vermicelli rice noodles added to the bowl. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1 serving = ¼ of the recipe, Calories: 472kcal (24%), Carbohydrates: 41g (14%), Protein: 33g (66%), Fat: 19g (29%), Saturated Fat: 12g (75%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 61mg (20%), Sodium: 1006mg (44%), Potassium: 1315mg (38%), Fiber: 4g (17%), Sugar: 16g (18%), Vitamin A: 2525IU (51%), Vitamin C: 152mg (184%), Calcium: 77mg (8%), Iron: 4mg (22%)

© Author Kristen Stevens

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

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
• Leftover Mashed Potato Croquettes