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.
This is the first recipe I made from this website, and it exceeded my expectations! I must’ve used a spicier brand of red curry, because I’m sweating- but spicy is how I like it. SO GOOD.
This was super good for how easy it is.
Next time I will add more red curry paste and a bit more fish sauce. But I like things with a lot of flavor. I also put some sliced jalapeños in the bottom of my bowl before I ladled the soup in. Gave it some good spice!
Tasty soup. Made a couple of changes. I only used 4 cups of chicken broth. I tenderized sliced chicken breasts and fried them. Added 2 tbsp sugar to the sauce as most recipes for Thai red curry include it. Used about 6 cloves of garlic and probably 2 or 3 tbsp ginger because we love it. I also didn’t measure my paste but it was definitely at least double of what the recipe states. Nice and spicy!
Next time I would only use 2 tbsp fish sauce. Might have seemed too much because I used less broth tbh! I used vermicelli rice noodles as that’s what I prefer in Thai soups.
This recipe was much nicer than the one I used previously from a different site. Thanks!
Five star! Easy to make and full of flavor! I added chicken to mine and loved it. Will definately make it again.
This was a very good tasting Thai soup. The flavor was great and I would definitely make it again but a bit more spicy. The only negative I have is that I used pad thai rice noodles and I did not like the texture of the noodles at all. Next time I will use ramen noodles and it will be great all the way around. I’ve never used those noodles before so. Ow I know I’m not a fan but I give the Thai soup a big thumbs up and the flavors are wonderful.
This was absolutely delicious. I did add quite a bit of cayenne, since we like our curry to be spicy. Next time I might also add chicken. But the flavors were delicious. Definitely will make again!
First attempt at making any Thai soup and I was not disappointed. De-licious! I did use my immersion blender to make a smoother soup, my preference only and after reading reviews I tried adding a little chili crisp which added a little heat and a greater depth to the soup. A definite keeper recipe!! Thank you Katya hi
Love this recipe!!!!! The flavors were amazing. As I am not a fan of fish, I was hesitant to using fish sauce. It balanced out the sweetness of the coconut milk perfectly. Added baby bocchoy. I would add more next time along with doubling the carrots and red pepper. This recipe is a keeper!
Fresh, healthy, easy, fast, dairy free and DELISH!! We used ribbon rice noodles (cooked separately and added
to the bowls before ladling broth and veg/meat on top). Added chicken thighs for more protein and garlic chili oil for more heat to our recipe. EXCELLENT and is a definite addition to our fave menu roster
Delicious! Family Favourite 🙂
So yummys in my nummys
Made this today and followed recipe exactly but added mushrooms, celery, and asparagus. Next time I may use a lower fat coconut milk as it was a tiny bit rich for my taste but still delicious!
This recipe is full of spicy flavor. Love it
This is delicious. Amazing and I’ve never made Asian soups before. I had ramen noodle squares from a pack I bought at Costco, I used 2 for 5 oz total which wasn’t enough for my tastes. I think next time I’ll just make noodles separate, place in bowl then ladle broth over. Also might try green onion instead of cilantro, just for kicks! Highly recommend this dinner party level recipe!!
I didn’t have fish sauce but substituted a bit of Worcestershire sauce, I also added a soft boiled egg, sesame seeds and kimchi as a topping and it was incredible.
This was a fantastic recipe! I loved the fish sauce taste, it really added a depth of flavor. I would consider adding some protein next time such as chicken or silken tofu as I ate a lot to fill up.
This was delicious! It is so spicy, tasty, & delicious. We added shrimp for a little extra protein. My whole family loved this.
Really really great! Made this tonight and everyone loves it. My 11 yo son went back for seconds! This is a keeper.