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This slow cooker version of my best-ever tom kha soup recipe (or Thai coconut chicken soup) is absolutely perfect… and made to be easier than ever! Light, yet filling and full of tangy flavor, it’s the best tom kha gai recipe I’ve ever made or tried and is so creamy, easy, and delicious.
Notes from Cheryl
- Be sure to use coconut cream or coconut milk. Coco lopez and coconut creamer are not the same and will not work in this recipe!!
- While the lime leaves are optional, I hiiiiighly recommend using them if you can! They add a ton of this incredible lime flavor to tom kha that’s slightly different than the flavor you get from lime juice alone. Just make sure not to actually serve the leaves – they’re tough and not pleasant to eat.
Key Ingredients for Tom Kha Gai
Red Thai Curry Paste – Made from red chilis, this paste is a little sweet, spicy, and savory and adds a major punch of flavor to your Crockpot tom kha gai.
Lime Leaves – Kaffir lime leaves are traditional to Thai cooking and add a delicious citrus and floral aroma.
Galangal or Ginger – Galangal is citrusy, while ginger is sharp and spicy. If you can’t find galangal, ginger will work just fine.
Lemongrass – Citrusy and tangy, lemongrass gives the slow cooker tom kha gai a lemony, minty flavor.
Coconut Milk or Cream – Rich, sweet, and creamy, coconut milk or cream makes this tom kha light, filling, and full of flavor.
What I Love About This Recipe
- This recipe is based on my Best Ever Tom Kha Gai Soup, which is one of my most popular recipes for a reason. It’s creamy, yet light, tangy, yet sweet. It’s the perfect soup when it’s getting cooler outside (or just downright cold), or when you’re craving spicy Thai goodness. And it’s soooo good.
- Slow cooker Tom Kha Gai is full of delicious ingredients. And sure, I’ll admit, this soup was already easy… but the slow cooker makes it even easier! I really love slow cooker recipes. Just toss everything in and come back in a few hours to a delicious meal!
- This recipe can fit a variety of dietary needs! We’ve included specific dietary variations below, but you can adapt this slow cooker Tom Kha Gai to be Whole30-compliant, paleo, vegan, or vegetarian. You could also sub in shrimp for the chicken if you don’t eat poultry!
Recipe Variations
- Tom Kha Goong: Use 1 pound of raw shrimp instead of the chicken. Cook until shrimp is pink, slightly curled, and no longer translucent.
- Vegan Tom Kha: Replace the chicken with 1 pound of firm or extra-firm tofu cut into cubes. Swap out the fish sauce with soy sauce, too, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Make it Whole30: Use compliant chicken broth. Replace brown or coconut sugar with 2 tablespoons coconut aminos and use a compliant fish sauce without sugar (the only one I know of is Red Boat Fish Sauce).
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Slow Cooker Tom Kha Soup Recipe
Equipment
- Crockpot or similar slow cooker
- Slotted spoon
Ingredients
For the Tom Kha Soup
- 1 cup white onion slices approximately 1 small white onion
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic approximately 3 large cloves
- ½ red jalapeño pepper sliced; or 1-2 Thai chiles, halved
- 3 slices fresh galangal or fresh ginger, each slice ¼-inch long
- 1 stalk lemongrass pounded with side of knife, cut into 2-inch-long pieces
- 10 lime leaves torn, optional
- 1 tablespoon red Thai curry paste
- 4 cups chicken broth see Notes
- 2 13.5-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream, at room temperature
- 1 pound chicken breasts approximately 2 small chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 ounces white mushroom caps sliced
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or coconut sugar, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus more to taste
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- thinly sliced green onions
- chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Add 1 cup white onion slices, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic, ½ red jalapeño pepper, 3 slices fresh galangal , 1 stalk lemongrass, 10 lime leaves, 1 tablespoon red Thai curry paste, and 4 cups chicken broth. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Place lid on slow cooker. Cook mixture on HIGH 3 hours, or LOW 6 hours. Stir mixture occasionally.
- When cook time ends, use slotted spoon to remove solids from slow cooker, leaving liquid behind.
- Add 2 13.5-ounce cans full-fat coconut milk (at room temperature), 1 pound chicken breasts, and 8 ounces white mushroom caps to slow cooker. Stir to incorporate.
- Place lid on slow cooker. Cook ingredients on HIGH 1 hour or LOW 2 hours, until chicken breast pieces are fully cooked.
- Once chicken is cooked through, add 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, and 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice. Stir to incorporate, then taste mixture and adjust brown sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice as desired.
- When satisfied with flavor of soup, ladle soup into serving bowls. Garnish each bowl with thinly sliced green onions and chopped fresh cilantro. Serve immediately.
- Storage: Refrigerate any leftover soup in an airtight container up to 1 week.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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This is one of the best soups we’ve ever made… The lime leaves make all the difference too. Easy to prep in our busy schedule and made double broth so could freeze for another day. Thank you so much for bringing this into our lives 🙂
We’re so glad you love it, Sarah! Thanks for sharing!
Can I freeze this?
Sure! Some of the ingredients may become mushy after freezing and defrosting, but overall it should be just fine.
This is so good!! I made this in my instapot to decrease cook time. I also added a bag of frozen stir fry veggies because I wanted more veggies. Next time I’ll try adding bok choy as some others suggested. Other than that I followed the recipe as is and it came out great! Thanks!
So glad you loved it, Yvonne! We love making it in the Instant Pot, too! Did you use our Instant Pot recipe (https://40aprons.com/instant-pot-tom-kha-soup/) or did you adapt this version?
I did the shrimp variation, I couldnt find red jalapenos so I used 2 fresno peppers instead and it turned out great. So good! Such a comfort meal, this would be great if you had a cold I think.
Thank you, Cynthia! And you’re definitely right, it’s one of our go-tos if we’re under the weather.
LOVE this recipe! Next time will use the higher amount of red/jalepeno peppers, brown sugar and lime juice. Couldn’t find lime leaves, so used lime rinds while the broth simmered that seemed like an ok option. Decided to sub chicken with halibut as mentioned by another reviewer, added bok choy- both added in the last 5-10 minutes. Served over rice. Delish!
Yumm- that sounds delicious! So glad you loved it! 😊
My husband said he would like to eat this three nights a week, AND it is better than our favorite Thai restaurant makes. A couple modifications I made, just due to the ingredients we had…. Lemongrass paste (instead of fresh) and added bok choy and chunks of halibut instead of chicken. Dropped those in for the last 5 mins of cooking (and turned up the heat). Guess I’m making this 3 times a week now 😀
So glad you and your husband love it, May! Your modifications sound delicious- thanks for sharing!
I am so happy with the way this came out! When I follow this recipe and measure correctly, it really matches the flavor of the local family owned restaurant.
I used lemongrass paste from Vons because I couldn’t get a hold of fresh, whole lemongrass at the time. And even though this recipe specifically said DO NOT substitute Ginger instead of Galangal, I had no choice bit to take other people’s advice and add some Ginger from a tube(same style and brand as the tubed lemongrass puree).
So glad you enjoyed it, Jason! Thanks for sharing! 😊
It was absolutely phenomenal. I’ve added some Seafood Mushrooms I found at the Asian Market in addition to the mushrooms and I also found some bok choi. I would recommend adding that for the last 30ish minutes. We are it basically as a sauce with jasmine rice to make it a little bit more filling. I will make a second batch tomorrow and put it in the freezer.
Thanks for the helpful tips- we’re so glad you enjoyed it! 😊
I swapped chicken breast for chicken thighs and it was fantastic! Definitely a family favorite
A fantastic swap! Thank you so much for sharing your review with us, Emily!
Delicious flavors, I used red Chile paste because I didn’t have the peppers on hand and added some zucchini for extra veggies. Definitely tweak to your personal preferences, have fun with it.
Love how you mixed it up, Julia! Thank you so much for sharing your version with us!