This tom kha soup recipe (or Thai coconut chicken soup) is absolutely perfect. Rich and creamy yet tangy and salty, this Thai coconut chicken soup recipe is filling but light and positively bursting with flavor. The very best tom kha gai recipe I’ve ever made or tried. With Whole30, paleo, and vegan options, too.
Let’s go ahead and talk about the best soup of all time.
That’s right: tom kha soup. AKA Thai coconut chicken soup. AKA tom kha gai. And you know what? I have a really solid story to go along with this recipe.
Why This Is the Best Tom Kha Soup Recipe (Ever):
- There’s a secret ingredient that adds a savoriness to this Thai tom kha gai coconut chicken soup recipe that takes it all to the next level.
- It’s creamy and sweet and salty and spicy and bright all in one.
- This tom kha soup recipe is actually quite easy to make and doesn’t require hard-to-find ingredients. You should be able to get everything from a traditional Western grocery store.
- I’ve included Whole30 and vegan options so you can enjoy this tom kha soup all the time, even if you’re avoiding added sugars or you don’t eat animal products.
A Note from Cheryl: Years ago, we referred to certain ingredients in this recipe as “weird”, a term we erroneously used to describe harder-to-find ingredients that are generally unfamiliar to the average American reader. In using this term, though, we unintentionally contributed to furthering the stigma and implicit bias that these ingredients are somehow “not normal”. That was never our intent, but it was our impact – and that’s what matters. We are deeply sorry to the cultures and the people we have offended and affected. We at 40 Aprons are heavily committed to celebrating diversity and dismantling racism & white supremacy within our communities, and will continue actively doing our part to be better.
Restaurant-Style Tom Kha Gai Soup
When I was in college, I fell in love with cooking. Like, swept me off my feet, fall flat on my back, obsess over it day in and day out in love. And so, it being 2006, I started a recipezaar.com account. I went into detail about my obsessions and how the one recipe I always wanted to learn to make was the fresh salsa from my favorite Mexican restaurant. In fact, you can read the story here and get the recipe for the best restaurant style salsa ever by clicking here. You’ll thank me later (pretty sure).
What happened was this: a guy at my college found my profile on the recipezaar.com and saw that it was my lifelong dream to recreate this salsa. He reached out to the head of marketing or CEO or something like that at the restaurant in question and told her this sob story about how we were engaged and living abroad and I was terribly homesick and all he wanted to do for Christmas was make me a giant feast to remember home, including this salsa that I loved so much, of course.
So what did she do? She gave him the recipe of course. Of course.
And then he gave me the recipe of course. Of. Course. And then we got to talking and, no, unfortunately our leading fella isn’t my husband and the father of my children (Because wouldn’t that be just too damn much?), but he did the same thing for me later with this tom kha soup. You see, there’s something about this recipe that’s just not like the others. Something better.
This tom kha soup is based off the exceptional dish found at a local chain of restaurants in the state where I went to college. It was different than the Thai coconut chicken soup I’d had before, and it sold me forever and ever on Thai food. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it solo, though, but it all made sense when he got me the secret recipe.
A Secret Ingredient
It turns out it’s quite simple, really: red curry paste. Just a bit of red curry paste added to an otherwise pretty traditional recipe for tom kha soup, making it way easier for me to make on a regular basis. You still use lemongrass, of course, but you swap ginger for galangal and fresh lime juice for kaffir lime leaves. As much as I love the international market, I just don’t get there enough to satisfy my Whole30 Thai coconut chicken soup craving if I have to use those hard-to-find ingredients!
So here’s the deal: this tom kha gai (Thai coconut chicken soup) is perfection. It’s creamy and a bit tart and salty and a bit sweet, and the chicken is tender, and the mushrooms are filling, and the fresh cilantro adds the perfect herbaceous edge, and I can’t get enough of this soup. I don’t think you’d ever need another Whole30 Thai coconut chicken soup recipe, or heck, a plain ol’ non Whole30 Thai coconut chicken soup recipe for that matter, because this recipe is so damn good.
Where Can I Find Lemongrass?
I find fresh lemongrass in the produce section of almost every grocery store these days. If you can’t find it fresh, though, you can usually find a refrigerated tube of it, minced, in the produce area. Ask your clerk and tell them it’s important! You can’t make the best ever tom kha soup without it!
Making This Tom Kha Soup Vegan
To make this tom kha soup vegan:
- Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
- Substitute soy sauce for the fish sauce.
- Add a 1-pound block of tofu, cubed into bite-sized pieces, instead of chicken.
And you won’t call it “tom kha gai,” if you don’t use chicken. You can call it “tom kha tofu”!
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Vegan Chili
- Grilled Baked Potatoes
- Paleo Banana Bread
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Mexican Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Perfect Keto Deviled Eggs
- She Crab Soup
Hey – you’ve made it this far, and now we’re best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook, too!
Best Ever Tom Kha Gai – Thai Coconut Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- ½ of one onion sliced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- ½ of one red jalapeno pepper sliced, or a couple Thai chiles, halved
- 3 ¼-inch slices galangal or ginger
- 1 lemongrass stalk pounded with the side of a knife and cut into 2-inch long pieces
- 2 teaspoons red Thai curry paste
- 4 cups chicken broth see Notes if vegan or on Whole30
- 4 cups canned coconut cream or coconut milk see Notes
- 2 medium chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces, see Notes for vegan/vegetarian or to use shrimp
- 8 ounces white mushroom caps sliced
- 1-2 tablespoons coconut sugar if on Whole30, see Notes
- 1 ½ – 2 tablespoons fish sauce plus more to taste, see Notes if on Whole30 or vegan
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2-3 green onions sliced thin
- fresh cilantro chopped, for garnish
Suggested Wine Pairings (Optional)
- 2019 Gallivant Sauvignon Blanc click to buy
- 2018 L'Original Sparkling Rosé click to buy
Instructions
- In a medium pot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeno or chile, galangal or ginger, lemongrass, and red curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until onions are softened. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce head and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Strain out the aromatics (the garlic, onions, lemongrass, and ginger) and discard. Add in coconut cream or milk, chicken breast (or tofu or shrimp), and mushrooms. Simmer until chicken breast pieces are just cooked through, then add fish sauce, coconut aminos (or coconut sugar), and lime juice, plus more of each to taste.
- Cook 2 minutes, then ladle into serving bowls and top with sliced green onions and fresh cilantro.
Video
Notes
- Be sure to use coconut cream or coconut milk. Coco lopez and coconut creamer are not the same as coconut cream/coconut milk and will not work in this recipe.
- To use shrimp, simply stir in 1 pound of raw shrimp instead of chicken. Simmer until just cooked through, pink, and no longer translucent.
- Make it Whole30: Use compliant chicken broth. Use 2 tablespoons coconut aminos instead of coconut sugar. Use Red Boat fish sauce – this is the only fish sauce I’ve found to be compliant.
- Make it Vegan/Vegetarian: Use vegetable stock, preferably an Asian variety. Use a 1-pound block of firm or extra firm tofu (regular or silken) cut into bite-sized cubes. For vegan, use soy sauce (to taste) instead of fish sauce.
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe, be sure to check out 40 Aprons Premium! 40 Aprons Premium offers exclusive recipes, monthly meal plans, grocery lists, and more – all completely ad free!
Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10 years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of two who lives in Memphis, TN.
Kristin says
Super easy and delicious! I added green beans to mine just for some extra veggies, but this is definitely a recipe I am keeping to make again later!
Mark O. says
Does the tofu need to be baked in advance of using?
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Not at all! Just be sure to get the extra firm kind and give it a good press for at least 30 minutes beforehand. 🙂
James says
I’m new to Keto and this recipe is great. I really like how you make it really easy for a regular person to prepare. I really appreciate your insight. I have been looking for a good place to get started. I found this site https://custom.becauseketolife.com and was wondering what your thoughts are.
CL says
Sooooo delicious! We can’t ever do take out soup again!
Deborah says
My husband and I love Tom Kha Gai and I am very eager to try this recipe to see if I can successfully make it at home. Do you have any concerns about using a light unsweetened coconut milk in order to make this a bit more WW-friendly? Also, would you recommend about 10 minutes to cook the chicken, once you add it to the broth? Thank you!
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
That type of coconut milk should work! 🙂 Also, yes, 10 minutes it just about right! If you’re unsure, check with a meat thermometer. 🙂
Candace says
This was delicious! My teen son said it was the best thing I’ve made in a while. Keeping this one in my favorites list!
Damaris Wise says
Does it freeze well? I’m trying to build up a freezer stash for postpartum life and this soup would be so wonderful to have on hand.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Yes, it does! 🙂 It’s perfect for the freezer!
Michele says
When do you add the coconut sugar?
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Sorry about that confusion! That’s actually supposed to be added towards the end of step 2. We’ve fixed that error in the recipe!
Beth says
So. Dang. Good!! I order my groceries online and thought I’d ordered red curry … turns out I got red pepper something or other instead. I ended up substituting green curry, because I had that on hand, but followed the rest of the recipe. It was wonderful – there were no leftovers. Next time, I’ll have to triple the batch to ensure we have some.
James says
This recipe for Tom Kha Gai is absolutely mind blowingly good. I now live in Knoxville, TN and
cannot find lemongrass, but I did find it in a tube. How much of the lemongrass in the tube do
you recommend I use? Again, thanks for the best soup recipe ever.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
You can start off with half a tablespoon and just increase from there. 🙂
Kim says
In Knoxville there is a great Asian Market called Sunrise on Kingston Pike
DPR says
this soup is the best in the world :-))
I can tell 🙂
Suzanbe says
This soup is amazing!! I was just wondering if I could freeze the leftovers. Thank you for the incredible soup!!
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Of course! 🙂
Melissa says
This recipe was amazing! Just as delicious at the Tom Kah Gai at my favorite Thai restaurant. Followed the recipe exactly, but used shredded rotisserie chicken breast. I will be adding this to my go to recipes!
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
That sounds amazing!
Lori Stefanowicz says
My foodie family members said it was the best soup they ever had! Thank God we doubled it from the beginning. we did add in some shiitake mushrooms and thought it would be fine even without the chicken. Cant wait to make it again!
Nancy says
This soup is so good! I doubled the recipe and I think I’ve already eaten 5 quarts myself.
I found this Honey Ginger Tea made by Balance Grow at Costco. It’s basically honey, sliced Ginger and ginger extract. I don’t know if honey is Whole30 but I used it to sweeten the soup and get more ginger. I also added extra mushrooms and did a combo of silk and firm tofu.
Oh man this soup is like Nectar from the Gods!!
Miriam says
I followed the recipe but did not take out the aromatics. I grated the ginger. The fish sauce, aminos, lime juice and a bit of sriracha at the end is what turns it into a little miracle.
Lindsay says
I have to say, this recipe is pretty unbelievable. I wasn’t so sure, and halfway through I am almost gave up and had toast for dinner. But it’s truly delicious WOW could probably eat this forever and nothing else 🙂
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Glad you enjoy it, Lindsay! 🙂
dana says
This was truly the BEST tom kha I’ve ever made! It was simple, easy to follow, and customizable for my family’s needs. Great recipe, highly recommend.
Jessica says
Delightful! Most delicious recipe ever is actually quite accurate. I tweaked mine a bit as I assume most of us that have a feel for this soup will. I used unsweetened coconut cream ( one can) for super rich base. Used 4 tsp of red curry paste, 2 full spoonfuls of fish sauce, extra garlic and a sweet yellow onion sautéed in olive oil and coconut oil. I wasn’t sparing with the jalepeño, ginger or garnish. Like the recipe called for add more ingredients to taste fantastic In all, yum with tons of flavor, super easy to make and I am very proud to make for friends and friends!
Elizabeth says
This was amazing! I’m doing Whole30 right now so I followed all of the note suggestions and also added some zoodles at the end of cooking! I subbed shrimp instead of chicken and it was amazing! Definitely making this again 🙂 Couldn’t find thai chilis at my grocery store so I used a serrano pepper and a dash of sambal olek! Wow thanks for sharing this 10/10
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
All of that sounds amazing!
Joe Meccia says
About 20 years ago, I first tasted chicken coconut soup at a Vietnamese restaurant named RIVER in NYC. It was one of the best soups I have ever tasted and I come from a restaurant background. I tried your recipe for the first time…… Pretty d— close! Beautiful recipe!! It is great just the way it is. I will have some fun tweaking it for my own tastes but NICE JOB!! Thank you for posting. It brings back good salivary memories.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Thanks for the awesome review!
Niki says
This soup is definitely easy to make, but it does not taste like tom kha. I would recommend pounding the lemongrass in a mortar and pestle and adding in kaffir lime leaves. Simmering for thirty minutes doesn’t do much flavor ways. This taste like coconut soup with chicken and mushrooms.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Thanks for the honest review!
Amber says
Love this!! So good, perfect for a crisp fall evening! I added a few tweaks to make it just the way we like it: red pepper flakes for some extra spice, extra lime, fish sauce and red curry paste (seriously, do not skip the fish sauce or red curry paste!!). My husband swears it’s better than any restaurant made version we have ever had. Thanks so much. A new “go to” for us! If you’re thinking about making this— go for it, you won’t be disappointed!!
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Bananarama says
I was so excited about this recipe but unfortunately mine turned out quite bland. I cannot figure out what I did wrong 🙁 … When I added the coconut milk after the half hour of simmering a lot of the broth had evaporated, is that to be expected? So it ended up being quite white in color. I removed the seeds from the red jalapeño so perhaps that contributed to the lack of flavor? I’m also worried I didn’t add enough ginger in the beginning… I wasn’t exactly sure what 3/4 of an inch of ginger meant (in terms of length or width). I also used soy sauce instead of fish sauce. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly but I’m 100% certain that I made this incorrectly because of everyone else’s review. Will have to try again, so definitely welcome any tips. I added more red curry paste (like two more tablespoons at the end to try and add some more flavor) but dont feel like it helped much.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Aw, we hope you will try it again!
Kay says
@bananarama Fish sauce and soy sauce have totally different flavor profiles. To me, fish sauce is more salty, tangy and a richer flavor than soy. I would try the recipe again using a quality fish sauce, because it really is delicious. I dont strain out my aromatics, my family just pulls them out when it is served, so that may also be a factor.
Lisa Croddy says
Next time when you are cooking the broth, keep it on low so that it doesn’t evaporate. Since you lost all of that broth it made a big difference. Maybe Cheryl can respond to your other questions and offer some advice.
Kim says
Have 3 different versions of Tom Kai Ga but this one is restaurant quality. Few changes as I merged parts of other recipes. Sauteed mushrooms in a bit of coconut oil first, then set aside. Put aromatics in cheesecloth (except garlic and onion) and sauteed with chili pepper and curry paste. I did this because I don’t care for the stringiness of lemongrass. Remove cheesecloth packet right before serving. Used brown sugar as I didn’t have coconut sugar. Finally, added finely shredded lime leaves at the end. Kefir is hard to find but we found a plastic container at an Asian market and keep in the freezer.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Sounds delish!
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
We consider a serving size anywhere between 8-10 ounces. 🙂 Those numbers are for the entire recipe!
Christi says
As far as serving size, How many ounces or cups are you considering a bowl? Is 668 calories from 1 cup?
Kirsten says
Incredible! We are in Europe in an area where good Thai food is very scarce. This soup makes us feel like we have just had a terrific dining out experience with the satisfaction of making it at home. If I could give this recipe more stars, I would!! Thank you so so much. 🙂
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Becky says
I missed this soup and was craving really good Thai. This was better than I remember from my favorite restaurant. You are an amazing chef and inspirational as well. Thank you so much for sharing your gift.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Erin says
Wow, so flavorful, delicious and comforting. I added sliced yellow onion and mushrooms and let them cook a bit before I added lobster meat! It was sooooo good! We will be making this a lot this winter 💙 Thank you!!
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
So glad you like this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Heather says
It’s 9:45 in the morning and I just finished a batch. I wanna cry its SO GOOD! I used ginger and I couldn’t find lemongrass so I used the Thai Kitchen green curry paste in place of the chilis and lemongrass. Absolutely delicious!!
DG says
This Tom Kha Gai Soup has a whopping 60g of Fat per Serving?? Please tell me that is an error.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Sorry for the confusion. 🙂 That measurement is for the entire dish. Hope this helps!
JulieR says
The fat in this recipe is in the coconut milk/oil. Coconut oil is a medium-chain fatty acid which is never stored as fat and is easily metabolized for energy. It is extremely healthy for the GI tract as well as brain health.
Julie Simmons says
This soup was amazing! I added more vegetables cause I like them! I will be keeping this recipe! Thank you!
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
That is so great to hear!