An easy, dairy-free, lightened up version of Thai coconut soup made with coconut milk, ginger, spices and veggies. Perfect vegetarian weeknight dinner idea!
I’ll be honest, up until a few years ago, I had never before tried Tom Kha (Thai Coconut Soup) in my life. I’d never even heard of it! At that point, the extent of my Asian cuisine experiences had been sushi, Chinese food, pad thai, and Mongolian beef at PF Changs (lol). Maybe kimchi and Korean BBQ?
Yeah.
SO…a few years ago, I went to dinner with friends to a nearby Thai place. My friend ordered Tom Kha and not knowing what it was, I tried it. OMG. IT WAS DELICIOUS. A little sour, yet spicy. Creamy because of the coconut milk. Flavorful from all the spices and veggies. YUM. I had wanted to remake this Thai Coconut Soup ever since that day but I never got around to it.
Until today!
How good does that look!? Traditionally, Tom Kha aka Thai Coconut Soup is made with lots of spices, lemongrass, galangal root, Thai fish sauce, and Thai chili paste. But here’s the thing… I wanted to keep things simple for you. My idea was to create a homemade version of Thai Coconut Soup that you can make on a whim on a random weeknight. A deliciously easy version made with common ingredients found in your pantry or local grocery store. Like for example, lemon zest in place of lemongrass and cayenne pepper in place of the chili paste. Here’s how I made it.
How To Make Easy Thai Coconut Soup Using Simple Grocery Staples
Making this Thai coconut soup is so easy. There’s a video below that details the process however I’ll quickly run by the steps. In a dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil, garlic, and mushrooms. Sauté for about 3-5 minutes. Next, add carrots, soy sauce (or coconut aminos), ground ginger, sugar (or coconut sugar), cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, lemon zest, vegetable stock and coconut milk. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve with sliced green onions and chopped cilantro. And don’t forget a squeeze of lime for extra freshness. That’s it!
Feel free to buy a rotisserie chicken, shred it up and add it in, if you’d like. Honestly, this vegetarian version is delicious as is. It’s the perfect veggie-packed soup after an indulgent weekend or when you want an easy weeknight dinner.
Can’t wait for you guys to try it!
Easy Vegetarian Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 small yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper or more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- Zest from one lemon
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2 cans full-fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 2 green onions sliced
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms. Sauté for 3-5 minutes.
- Add carrots, soy sauce, ginger, sugar, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, lemon zest, vegetable stock and coconut milk. Bring to a boil then simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Serve with lime wedges, top with cilantro and green onions and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
SHOP THE RECIPE
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my Husband and i love Thai food and i made this soup today, it was absolutely gorgeous, and so easy to follow the recipe. We like the fact that it is vegetarian and low fat also. I absolutely adore any recipe that has coconut in it and this was amazing….i have made enough for two days and will be making it more often for friends and family. It did not take any time to prepare and using the store cupboard ingredients it was on the table and devoured …..delicious, thank you
Best wishes and keep up the good work
Thank you Marian! So sweet!
My family has yet to try it, but it came out delicious. I also added bok choy, and will be adding it in the future as well.
Oooo love the bok choy addition. Enjoy!
I recommend some lemongrass. Gives the soup a tart little kick..
A-fucking-mazing!!! So easy and flavour bomb
So delicious! The flavors are lovely. I liked the idea of lemon zest in this recipe so I went ahead and gave it a squeeze of lemon juice as well. Thank you for posting this gem of a recipe!
So happy you loved it, Amanda!
You made this recipe super simple to work with. I wanted to make a Thai coconut soup, but your recipe had simple ingredients that I already had on hand! I loved that you gave a really easy base recipe that you can add and take away from. Didn’t have carrots, but added extra mushrooms. Didn’t have lemon so used lime. Added shrimp for substance and my husband added chicken. Great great flavor!!
Soooo happy you enjoyed it, Allee!!
I made this soup over the weekend. It was quick, easy and utterly delicious. I would recommend this to anyone to try, even if you aren’t hugely into Thai food it’s a lovely comfort eating bowl of goodness.
Made this twice. It’s a great recipe. I add Thai basil to it, baby bok choi, and fish sauce.
You give the recipe and it sounds delicious, but how do you meal prep it?
You transfer the soup to a few airtight containers and enjoy it within 3-4 days.
I never commment on food blogs, but i just have to say! This recipe was literally made for me tonight. Its raining and I don’t have a lot in the pantry so I took a look around and was like “I think I can make Tom Kha on a whim” jumped on google and whala, your no fuss version. Thanks!
So happy to hear that, Katie! Enjoy!
I adore This soup!
Does this soup freeze well?
Yes it does! Just make sure to fully defrost it before heating it up. :)
This dish was delicious! I made a few modifications – added 1/2 chopped red pepper, can of baby corn, 1 Tbs red curry paste, 1 Tbs minced lemongrass and 1 tsp or so of fish sauce. According to my husband, it was “restaurant quality”!
So happy you both loved it!! Thank you!!
I just made this easy and delicious soup. Thank you for the recipe. It’s going to be a staple in our home!
So happy to hear that!! Enjoy!!