Chicken Curry Soup is an Indian-spiced creamy chicken soup that’s comfort food with a spicy twist. This curried chicken soup is a hearty and flavorful dish that combines the best of both worlds. Whether you’re new to Indian flavors or a pro, this recipe is sure to please.
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This is one of my favorite soups and I think this chicken soup recipe will become a part of your regular meal rotation if you like Indian flavors.
The chicken coconut curry soup recipe is an aromatic blend of tender chicken, healthy spinach, creamy coconut milk, and fragrant spices, resulting in a satisfying meal.
Ashley says ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is the number one request my husband has! We absolutely love it. Easy to follow recipe gets even better the next day. Thank you!
I don’t usually use curry powder because I prefer individual spices such as coriander, cumin, and turmeric. But I make an exception for this recipe.
I think you’ll agree that curry powder is the star of this delicious curried chicken soup recipe that I adapted from this Indian curry soup recipe.
If you want to try an authentic Indian recipe, give my Instant Pot chicken curry (based on my mom’s recipe) or Instant Pot chana masala a try. Or, if you want another Indian fusion recipe, try my Indian shepherd’s pie, a delicious comfort food with Indian flavors!
For some other soup recipes, Thai coconut curry soup, Instant Pot shrimp soup, Instant Pot Italian wedding soup, creamy chicken soup, and pork and hatch chile soup are all delicious! It’s not quite a soup; this Ethiopian lentil stew is awesome, too.
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients for Curry Soup
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
Here are some tips for getting the best results when making this chicken curry soup:
🧈 Butter: I use either butter or ghee for flavor, especially homemade ghee using my Instant Pot ghee recipe. For fewer calories, substitute with vegetable oil.
🌴 Coconut Oil: Use coconut oil for a stronger coconut flavor.
🌿 Fresh Spices: Fresh curry powder is essential for robust flavor. Toss any old spices, and avoid generic brands. I recommend McCormick, Spice Islands, or Simply Organic. Adjust salt based on the brand’s salt content. Increase the quantity for more intensity. Indian curry paste will also work.
🥥 Coconut Milk: I prefer full-fat coconut milk, like Aroy-D or Chaokoh. Some readers like Trader Joe’s brand. If you want a creamy alternative, use ½ cup of heavy cream as some recipes for mulligatawny soup.
🌶️ Spice Level: For heat, add more jalapeño or switch to serrano peppers, which offer consistent spiciness. Omit jalapeños for a milder soup.
🍅 Tomatoes: Canned diced tomatoes work great, but fresh tomatoes can also be used.
🍗 Chicken: I prefer boneless, skinless chicken thighs for tenderness, especially in the Instant Pot. Chicken breast is fine, too. You can use shredded rotisserie chicken; just add it after simmering the broth for 5 to 7 minutes on the stovetop or after pressure cooking. Adjust the salt accordingly.
🥦 Vegetables: Add more veggies like diced carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, and potatoes for added nutrition.
🕒 Make It Ahead: This creamy soup tastes even better the next day!
❓ FAQS
Add the tomatoes with the juices, there’s not need to drain.
Use tofu instead of chicken and vegetable broth instead of chicken broth to make this recipe vegetarian. Another option is to add some red lentils (which are quick-cooking) or canned chickpeas.
If you don’t like the taste of cilantro, you can omit it. You can also sprinkle some chopped parsley.
Add more coconut milk to the soup to make it less spicy. Start with a couple of tablespoons and add more to taste. Another option is to add diced potatoes to absorb some of the spiciness.
How to Make Coconut Curry Soup
♨️ Stovetop Method
- Saute onions, spices and chicken
- Add broth and tomatoes
- Simmer soup
- Add coconut milk and spinach
- Garnish with cilantro
- Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Heat ghee, butter, or oil over medium heat. Stir in onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapenos, and saute the onion mixture until onions are light golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn heat off and add curry powder, salt, and pepper. Stir till fragrant. If the spices are burning or the food is sticking to the bottom, deglaze with a small amount of chicken stock or broth.
- Add chicken.
- Saute chicken until chicken pieces begin to lose their pink color and start to brown.
- Stir in the tomatoes and add chicken broth. Let the soup come to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Stir in the coconut milk. *
- Add spinach and simmer until spinach wilts and soup is heated through.
- Turn off heat and stir in cilantro.
- Serve this flavorful soup over rice or with crusty bread.
* If you want to make the soup thicker, feel free to mix together one tablespoon cornstarch and one tablespoon broth and add it to the simmering soup. Stir until thickened.
⏲️ Instant Pot Method
- Turn on Saute Mode.
- Saute onions, garlic, ginger, and jalapenos in ghee, butter, or oil.
- Press Cancel and saute curry powder, salt, pepper briefly.
- Be sure to deglaze.
- Saute chicken and stir in broth. Add the tomatoes, but don’t stir them in.
- Pressure cook and release pressure using natural release.
- Stir in Coconut milk and heat until the soup thickens.
- Add spinach, select Saute mode, and heat until spinach wilts and soup is heated through.
- Press Cancel and stir in cilantro.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
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I’m Neena, and I’ve spent a lifetime perfecting the recipes I share. My years of practice have honed my skills, resulting in consistently delicious and easy meals. My experience (including hits and misses!) enables me to provide valuable insights, troubleshooting advice, and innovative recipe ideas. Every recipe is tested multiple times, so you can be sure it works the first time!
Coconut Chicken Curry Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon ghee or butter
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 2 tablespoon garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon ginger finely chopped
- 1 jalapeno sliced (optional)
- 2 Tbsp curry powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste) See Note 1
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (1 kg) cut into 1 inch cubes
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth low sodium
- 1 cup diced tomatoes canned or fresh
- 1 cup coconut milk preferably Aroy-D or Chaokoh brand
- 3 cups baby spinach chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
Instructions
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Instructions
- Select Saute mode and allow the Instant Pot to heat up. Once the inner pot has heated up, add the butter or ghee.
- Once the ghee has heated up, add onions and saute until light golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger, and jalapeno and cook mixture until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Press Cancel. The spices will cook in the residual heat.
- Add curry powder, salt and pepper and stir till fragrant, about 30 seconds [See Note 2]
- Add chicken and stir to coat with the spice mixture.
- Stir in ¼ cup of broth to deglaze. There should be no brown bits stuck to the bottom of the inner pot.
- Stir in remaining broth. Add the tomatoes, but don't stir.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR). If you're pressed for time, after 10 to 15 minutes, release any remaining pressure. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
- Stir in spinach and coconut milk.
- Cook soup in Saute mode until spinach wilts and soup is heated through.
- Stir in cilantro and serve soup in individual soup bowls over rice or with crusty bread.
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat butter or ghee in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.
- Add onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeños to the pot. Saute for a couple of minutes or until the onion is lightly browned.
- Add curry powder, garlic and salt and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute.
- Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, and chicken. Allow the soup to come to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Stir in the coconut milk and heat till the soup thickens. [See Note 3]
- Add the spinach and heat through till the spinach wilts.
- Garnish with cilantro.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, minced garlic, diced chicken, etc.
Nutrition
Thank you for visiting Paint the Kitchen Red. All photos and content are copyright protected. Please don’t use any content without prior written permission. If you’ve made this recipe and would like to share it with your friends, please link back to this recipe. Thank you!
I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Deborah says
I can’t eat spinach. It gives me kidney stones. Would it hurt the recipe to leave it out? Would parsley work? Thank you.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Deborah – yes, you can leave it out. I wouldn’t use parsley but frozen peas are an option – I do that sometimes. Hope you like it!
Jessica says
Hi,
I am using frozen chicken thighs (whole). How long do I cook for? Same?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Jessica – you would need to cook for 8 to 10 minutes. If you find it’s not completely cooked, just cook on ‘Saute’ mode or pressure cook for another few minutes.
Patti says
Excellent soup, better than restaurant .
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks, Patti – that’s a great compliment 🙂
Lillian says
This is delicious! People keep asking for the recipe but then say they don’t have an Instant Pot. Any chance you have a stove top version?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you Lillian! Yes, I do have the stovetop version of the recipe on the site. It was one of my first recipes, and so the photos and the blog post are pretty basic, don’t judge 🙂 Here’s the recipe for Indian Chicken Curry Soup.
Laurie says
This was delicious and so easy to make. Felt like I was at a Thai restaurant! Thanks for the great recipient!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you for the comment, Laurie. It is actually Indian-flavored, but similar to some Thai soups due to the coconut milk 🙂 I’m glad you liked it.
Savanna says
LOVED this recipe! Do you think it work to toss everything into a slow cooker and cook all day?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Savanna, I’ve never tried it in the slow cooker but I think it should be just fine. Would you saute the onions etc first?
Marit DiRado says
Delish and very easy to throw together!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Marit! Glad to hear you liked it!
Ashley says
Do you think this would freeze well?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Ashley, I think you could. The coconut milk might separate a bit, but I think the flavor would be fine. I recommend that you go up to the point before adding the spinach and coconut milk and freeze. Then add them when you’re reheating. Hope that works for you.
Niki says
I made this last night and it was a hit with everyone in my family! After reading the comments, I added a few potatoes that we had on hand, and next time I will add some cauliflower as well (just because we love it and I think it would go well!). I used low sodium chicken broth and with that and the potatoes, I found we needed just a little more salt. But we will definitely make this again!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks for your comment and rating, Niki. When you add cauliflower, just watch out for the cooking time. Cauliflower can become mushy if pressure cooked for too long 🙂
Becky Hamilton says
Delicious!!!
Ducky R says
Hello! Do you think I could substitute the cubed chicken thighs with a whole chicken that I have cut up? If that works, should I leave out the backbone of the chicken or can I put that in too? I love your recipes and your blog! Thank you.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks for your question. I’ve never thought to use bone-in chicken. I think that would work. You can pressure cook for about 12 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the pieces. I think all the bones will add a ton of flavor to the recipe. I think you’re going to have a delicious soup!
Leigha says
Love this recipe!
Melissa says
I’m planning to make this soup tonight and am super excited. Can I use frozen chicken breast and increase the cooking time?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Melissa, I’m assuming you would cut the frozen chicken into small pieces? If you do, I think you should be able to do it without changing the cooking time or just a minimal increase. The Instant Pot will just take longer to come to pressure due to the frozen chicken. Good luck!
Aisha says
If I’m suing ginger/garlicpaste, how much should I put?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Aisha, I would use the same quantity. One for one.
Aisha says
Thanks!
Reena says
My soup is quite liquid as opposed to creamy. Was that the intent?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Reena – it is more soup-like than a stew, however I don’t find it too liquidy. Did you use regular coconut milk or light? Were any of your ingredients frozen? Next time you could reduce the amount of broth to 3 cups, or you could up the quantity of chicken and/or veggies. Thanks for your question.
Aisha says
Where can I find curry powder?
Can I substitute all spice powder or garam masala?
Aisha says
Where can I get curry powder?
Is garam masala or “all spice” ground powder a reasonable substitute ?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Aisha, no those spices won’t give you the same flavor. Curry powder is a combination of coriander, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, etc. Are you in the US? You can find curry powder in any grocery store spice aisle. And you can order it on amazon/online. Or you can make your own curry powder spice mix. There are many recipes online if you do a google search. Thanks for your question.
Aisha says
Gotcha
Yes I’m in the US. What about the national curry masala at the Desi stores?
Oops reposted the question accidentally!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Yes, that should work!
Steve says
Thank you Neena!
I added some veggies I had in the fridge: carrot, broccoli, mushroom, and replaced the spinach with Dino kale.
So easy and
So
Freaking
Delicious!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Steve – awww, thank you! If you like beef, give the Instant Pot Beef Curry/Stew recipe a try. Just made it last week – it’s one of our favorites! You can eat it with rice as a curry but I like to have it as a stew/soup.
Leigha says
Made this tonight. Delicious!
Liz says
This looks really wonderful and based on all the rave review I’m guessing it is! I’d like to make this vegetarian and use tofu or chick peas. Would you adjust the cooking time? I”m a beginner at my Instant Pot, so all suggestions are welcome! 🙂
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Liz – for tofu, you can pressure cook for 2 minutes. If you’re using canned chickpeas, you can just do 1 minute or so. Hope you like it!