Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
This curry noodle soup is the ultimate comfort food! It’s sweet, spicy, and guaranteed to fill your belly and warm you up from the inside out, making it perfect for chilly fall and winter days.
Featured Comment: “Wow, this was delicious! I’m already excited to make this recipe again.” – Sarah
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This is the soup I make when I know everyone’s hungry, I’m running behind on dinner, and I need something that comes together fast but still feels comforting and homemade.
It’s one of my go-to noodle soups on busy weeknights, even on weekends when I don’t feel like cooking but still want something good. Everything goes into one pot, and I build the flavor as it cooks, letting it simmer just until it smells right.
It comes out rich and comforting, with that slow-simmered taste, even though it’s ready in a little over 30 minutes.
Thai Curry Soup Ingredients
- Yellow onion
- Red bell pepper
- Carrots
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Red curry paste
- Chicken broth
- Coconut milk
- Fish sauce
- Noodles
- Fresh lime juice
- Cilantro and lime
Best Noodles for this Soup
- Ramen noodles – My personal favorite! Ramen noodles are a type of egg noodles. They’re delicious and easy to find at most grocery stores.
Sometimes you’ll find them on their own or with seasoning. For this recipe, you’ll need the noodles without the seasoning.
- Rice noodles – This is another great option for the soup. Made from rice starch, rice noodles are available in all kinds of lengths and widths. They absorb flavor really well and cook fairly quickly.
For this recipe, we recommend rice stick or pad thai type noodles.
What is Red Curry Paste?
Red curry paste is a thick, aromatic paste made from a blend of red chilies, garlic, lemongrass, shallots, and warm spices. It’s commonly used in Thai cooking, and you can usually find it in the international aisle of most grocery stores.
How to Make Thai Curry Noodle Soup
- Heat oil over medium heat in a dutch oven. Add onions, bell peppers, and carrots, and cook until tender.
- Stir in garlic, ginger, and red curry paste. Cook until fragrant, stirring frequently, about 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth, coconut milk, and fish sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in noodles and cook until tender. Add fresh lime juice and cilantro.
Variations of Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
- Protein: Include protein options like chicken, shrimp, tempeh, or tofu.
- Vegetables: Add to or replace the vegetables with any kind you like best such as zucchini, spinach, bok choy, or mushrooms.
- Increase the Heat: Add additional curry paste or sliced fresh chili peppers.
- Herbs: Swap the cilantro with fresh basil, mint, or Thai basil for a different taste.
Thai Red Curry Soup Tips
- Choose full-fat coconut milk for its richness.
- The strength of curry paste varies from brand to brand. Check the label for spiciness. We used Thai Kitchen brand for this recipe.
- Feel free to add more veggies. Fresh spinach, baby bok choy, mushrooms, or bean sprouts all would be delicious in this soup.
- Stirring in a little lime juice cuts through the richness of the soup.
How to Serve Curry Noodle Soup
Serve the soup topped with fresh cilantro and lime wedges. Fresh basil and sliced green onions also serve well with this Thai noodle soup and Sriracha for extra heat.
Want to turn the soup into a complete meal? Try pairing it with Vegetable Rice Paper Rolls, Chili Garlic Rice Noodle Salad, or Thai Chicken and Cabbage Skillet.
Storing Leftover Thai Curry Noodle Soup
This recipe is best served right away. However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. For the best results, store the noodles and the rest of the soup in separate airtight containers. Otherwise, the noodles tend to become too soggy.
You can also freeze the soup for up to 2 months. Just be sure to leave out the noodles! Then, thaw it in the fridge overnight, warm it in the microwave or on the stove, and prepare the noodles fresh when you’re ready to serve.
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Thai Red Curry Soup
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
Easy Thai noodle soup with sweet and spicy broth, ramen noodles, and fresh lime juice.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. avocado oil or olive oil
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- ½ cup diced red bell pepper
- ½ cup diced carrots
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
- ¼ cup red curry paste
- 6 cups chicken broth or vegetable stock
- 1 (14 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk
- 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 4–5 oz. ramen or rice noodles (see note)
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
- ½ cup fresh chopped cilantro, plus more for serving
- Lime wedges, for serving
Instructions
- In a dutch-oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, red bell pepper, and carrots. Cook until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, ginger, and red curry paste. Cook until fragrant for about 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add chicken broth, coconut milk, and fish sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let the mixture come to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in noodles and simmer until tender. Cook time will vary based on the type of noodles. Check the package for directions.
- Stir in lime juice and cilantro.
Notes
- Curry Paste: The strength of curry paste varies from brand to brand. I used the Thai Kitchen brand to make this recipe.
- Noodles: Ramen or rice noodles work the best in this soup. For ramen noodles, make sure to toss the seasoning if included. For rice noodles, rice stick or pad thai type noodles work great. I do not recommend using ultra-thin noodles, such as vermicelli.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 307
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 1883.1 mg
- Fat: 21.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.1 g
- Protein: 4.8 g
- Cholesterol: 5 mg
Hi! I'm Katya -- a former corporate paralegal turned full-time recipe developer and blogger behind Little Broken. Here you'll find family-friendly and seasonal recipes made from real ingredients.
I love this soup. My daughter and I make a new soup every month and post pictures and comments on Facebook. This was a winner. Great flavors that were new to me. So easy and quick to prepare. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear that!
can this soup be frozen?
Yes. Freeze the soup without the noodles and when ready to serve cook the noodles separately. Technically, you can probably freeze it all together but sometimes the noodles become mushy when thawed.
So so good and very easy. Thank you!!
this was so delicious! I added zucchini and fresh basil instead of cilantro. I used rice noodles.
5 oz is not 6 servings.
Correct. The soup is approximately 6 servings.
I’ve made this several times, sometimes with ramen noodles, other times with rice noodles. It’s great every time and I like to adjust the amount and type of veggies too.
How many servings i nthis recipe?
In this*
Hi: There are 6 servings .
This was good. I did add a little sea salt and a couple tbl of sugar however, but that is just my preference to have it a little sweeter. Otherwise delicious!
dies this soup freeze?
Hi Lise: Yes, you can freeze this soup, however, it will be very thick upon freezing. Add a splash of water or more broth to thin it out when reheating.
this is one of my favourite new recipes – so quick and packs loads of flavour. we use Vegan fish sauce which has made such a difference to my Thai dishes. Can I simply swap out the red curry paste for green or would I need to make other changes as well for it to taste as good?
I haven’t tried it with green curry paste but from my understanding, they are very close in taste. So I would imagine there would not be too much of a change.
This was AMAZING! I added Serrano pepper and shiitake mushrooms.
I made this for dinner tonight and omg my family ate it up! I added chicken to boost the protein. Absolutely delicious. We used Mae Ploy brand Thai red curry paste and added two Birds Eye chilies for more heat. Recipe is a keeper. Thanks!
Made the recipe just as it was written. I just needwd a little protein so I thought shrimp would be a great addition. Omg so many flavors! Can’t wait to make it again!!! Thank you soo much!
Thank you! I love that you added shrimp.
We loved it. I’m not going to lie-when I was measuring the fish sauce I thought oh nooo. Delicious. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Loved this recipe, super simple and easy. Lovely fresh flavours, I also found chucking in whatever veges I have in the fridge works no matter what the combination so its a great stressfree and wholesome meal.
Thank you for your feedback!
absolutely succulent soup. the perfect balance of flavours, and just hot enough. thank you so much, i will never stop making this!
Can I just use curry powder does it have to be paste
I would not use the two interchangeably. Curry powder is going to be more concentrated and different tasting.
I made this and added chicken….amazing recipe!!!!! so good!!!
Delicious! I got super potent red curry, which needed a taming, so I doubled the coconut milk, added chicken, double the lime juice, and a few more tweeks. I also added 1/4- 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and it complimented your delicious proportions. Thank you!