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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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Only thing I didn’t have were the lime leaves so I used fresh lime. Tastes nothing like Tom Kha and the flavor is so bad it’s not edible.
So sorry it wasn’t a hit for you, Nic. Thank you for the feedback!
I like making big batches of crock pot goodies and freezing them for later. Can this be frozen and come out ok? Thanks!
Yes! 😊
Great recipe – I did need to double the curry paste (2 to 3 tbsp). Found adding bean sprouts to be good as well. Unable to locate line leaven the Midwest but I got away with using the juice of 4 limes. Served over rice and it was perfect!🧑🍳
We’re so glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing, Sarah!
My first time making an “infused” soup…it turned out great…
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing, Phillip!
I LOVE this recipe!! When I lived in Encinitas, CA there was a Thai Restaurant with awesome Tom Kha Soup. People traveled miles to join me for a Thai meal. Then I moved to Vancouver, Canada and haven’t found any as good 🙁 Now, I’ll make it here and invite friends, Thank you for posting this recipe!
We’re so glad you found the recipe and loved it! Thanks for sharing, Sharon! 😊
Where would you recommend purchasing the lime leaves and lemongrass from?
We usually get ours from a local International farmer’s market, but you can find lemongrass at most grocery stores now!
If I were to add some cut up tomatoes to this recipe–a variation I’ve had in shine Thai restaurants that I really enjoy–when would I add them? Can’t wait to try this!
Hi, Cheri! You could add them at step 2, with the mushrooms. That sounds delicious- be sure to let us know how it turns out! 😊
My family loved this soup, I only put 2 tbls of fish sauce, I added an additional tsp of red curry chili paste and a dried chili pepper from my garden with the aromatics . I made rice noodles on the side and we spooned the soup over the noodles to make it heartier. This soup is worth the time it takes to make it. I also didn’t use a crock pot since I don’t own one, stove top it was and it was no problem.
Yumm, rice noodles sound like a delicious addition! Thanks so much for sharing these helpful tips, and we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
If you can not digest onion and garlic is it ok to leave them out entirely or is there something to replace those with?
You can definitely omit the onion and garlic! You could add more galangal, lime, or red curry paste if you taste it towards the end and feel the need for some extra flavor!
Could this recipe be canned?
We haven’t tested canning for any of our recipes, so we can’t say. So sorry!