Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup is a gorgeous, healthy, flavor packed soup recipe that will make your tastebuds tingle!
I firmly believe our tastebuds are trainable. If we serve them salt, they crave salt. If we serve them sugar, they crave sugar.
If we serve them healthy food that TASTES GOOD, they’ll crave healthy food!
When I say “healthy food that tastes good”, I’m not talking about plain chicken breasts, baked white fish, nor boring salads. I’m talking vibrant, flavor packed meals like Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup. This healthy, vegetable packed soup makes eating healthy actually enjoyable – I lick my bowl clean!
Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup
Coconut milk, garlic, ginger, red curry paste, lime juice, and fresh cilantro pack each spoonful of this healthy shrimp soup with flavor. It is so mouthwatering! Yes – a mouthwatering soup!! Plus it’s full of spinach and mushrooms so each bowl is incredibly wholesome.
I scoop my coconut shrimp soup over cooked white rice and serve with Gluten Free Flatbread, but you could just as easily serve it over steamed cauliflower rice to up the veggie ante.
Fire up the stove and let’s get this soup simmering!
How to Make This Recipe
Start by sauting chopped shallots or onion with pressed or minced garlic and ginger in a large soup pot until fragrant. Some of the ginger will want to stick to the bottom of the pot, and that’s ok. We’ll scrape it up in a bit!
Next add a huge thwack of red curry paste then saute until fragrant, another minute or so. I prefer Thai Kitchen brand for both the red curry paste and the fish sauce which we’ll add next. As written, this soup comes in at a medium spice level, though different brands of red curry paste have different heat levels. You can always add more at the end if the soup isn’t as spicy as you like it.
Now, slowly add chicken broth while scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, followed by coconut milk, gluten free tamari, the aforementioned fish sauce, coconut sugar, dried basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat up to bring the soup to a bubble, then turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
After simmering, turn the heat up to bring the soup to a rolling boil then add peeled and deveined shrimp, thinly sliced mushrooms, and chopped baby spinach. Cook until the shrimp are cooked through and the mushrooms are crisp tender, 3-5 minutes.
Last step is to squeeze in the juice from half a lime. The lime completely awakens the flavors in this soup – there is a night and day difference!
Scoop the soup over bowls of cooked rice then top with tons of chopped cilantro and extra lime wedges, if you please. I know you will adore this healthy and flavor-packed shrimp soup recipe – enjoy!
More Easy Thai-Inspired Recipes
- Thai Sweet Potato Curry
- Coconut Chicken Curry
- Chickpea Curry
- Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup
- Chicken Pad Thai
- Sesame Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 large shallot or small onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 3 – 4 Tablespoons red curry paste, depending on how hot you like it, Thai Kitchen recommended
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 15 oz can coconut milk, I prefer full fat in this recipe
- 1 Tablespoon gluten free reduced-sodium Tamari, or soy sauce if not GF
- 2 teaspoons gluten free fish sauce, Thai Kitchen recommended
- 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- salt and pepper
- 1 lb 16/20 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 8 oz mushrooms, very thinly sliced
- 4 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 lime, cut in half, one half sliced into wedges
- For serving: cooked rice and chopped cilantro
Directions
- Melt oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add shallot or onion then saute until softened, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and ginger then saute until extremely fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add red curry paste – careful, as it may spit a bit – then saute for 1 more minute.
- Slowly pour in chicken broth while scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pot then add coconut milk, gluten free Tamari, fish sauce, coconut sugar, dried basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Turn heat up to high to bring the soup to a bubble then turn heat down to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Turn heat up to high to bring soup to a rolling boil then add shrimp, mushrooms, and spinach. Simmer until shrimp are fully cooked through, 4-5 minutes, then squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lime and stir. Serve soup with cooked rice, lime wedges, and chopped fresh cilantro.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
This is really good!!
So glad to hear it, Karen! Thank you so much for your feedback and recipe rating!
I added broccoli with the curry paste because I knew we’d be leaving out the shrimp (because shrimps are the grodiest! lol). Also used dried ginger because I forgot to buy ginger. I was certain that critical error would be a recipe killer, but it still turned out really really good. :) Keeper for sure.
So glad you could make it work, Amanda!!
made this on a cold, wet Louisiana day. Love, love, loved it !!! So very tasty, full of flavor!!! Family loved it & requested it again! Thanks
Thrilled to hear it, Paulette!! <3 Thank you so much for your review and recipe rating!
Thoughts on using some other seafood, other than shrimp? Could I use a flaky white fish or scallops instead of shrimp?
I think scallops sliced in half widthwise would be delicious!
This is so delicious and super easy to make! Love your recipes so much, I could make one every night and not be disappointed!
Soo happy to hear that, Mindy!! Appreciate your feedback!
I made this for my family the other night! Despite the fact that I discovered at the last minute that I had Roasted Red Chili Paste instead of Red Curry Paste, it turned out great. My kids couldn’t believe I made it myself and my husband said it was one of the best things I’ve ever made! Can’t wait to try it with the Red Curry Paste!
Oh my gosh, I am so thrilled to hear this, Larissa!! Yes, you’ll have to report back if/when you make it with the curry paste. Thanks so much for the recipe rating and review!
Hi there! This looks delish! Can you used the pre minced garlic? If so how much? Thanks!
You bet – I’d add a teaspoon or so of pre-minced garlic.
Really random question.. but the last few years I ordered the Nourished Planner, based off your rec, and loved it! And I can’t find it this year, like maybe they didn’t make them? Do you know? Or have another planner you love now lol? I know, random. Thank you!
Hi Holly! Yes, sadly, Alexa and Heidi decided not to continue with the Nourished Planner. That said, I HIGHLY recommend the planner by Dani from Thyme is Honey. She is SO thoughtful about productivity and wellness and I really, really, REALLY love her products:
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Daily Page Planner: https://www.etsy.com/listing/720396522/the-daily-page-planner
You should be able to get 10% off the planner with code: IOWAGIRLEATS Let me know if that code doesn’t work and I’ll get a new one from her!
WOW… great flavor! An amazing unique treat! This easily makes my top 5 soup list! Thanks for sharing!
Thrilled to hear that, Susan! Thank you so much for your recipe rating and review!!
Made this for dinner last night, it was a great spin on our regular curry! It’s (possibly) even better for lunch today! I used brown sugar in place of coconut sugar and it was a delight. Thank you!
Love that you loved it, Morgan!! Thanks for the tip about brown sugar, too. :)
What is coconut sugar? Would you find it with other sugar in the grocery store or would it be in the health food section? Can you use regular white sugar or another more common sugar instead? It seems like a lot to buy it for only 1 tablespoon.
Coconut sugar is made from coconut palm sap. I use it in both cooking and baking – it’s very versatile! You could swap out 2 teaspoons white sugar instead, and add up to an additional teaspoon if you’d like. :)
This sounds good, but my family doesn’t care for mushrooms. What veggie would you recommend instead?
You can use whatever vegetable your family likes – curry recipes are extremely flexible! The mushrooms do release a bit of liquid into the soup though, so you might need to add a bit of extra chicken broth.
Making this again tonight! YUM!!! Made the cheeseburger quesadillas last night with my hubby and it’s not only fun to do but delicious! Thanks for your recipes!
Oh that makes me so happy to hear! We LOVE those quesadillas too! :D