It’s self care Saturday over here at the Budget Bytes house and I’m eating this super cozy Coconut Turmeric Chicken Soup. With chilly temps outside I knew I wanted to make a pot of chicken soup, but decided to change up my classic version by combining it with my favorite aspects of my Golden Coconut Lentil Soup. The combo is absolutely FANTASTIC! Warm, cozy, creamy, and aaaahmazing.
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How to Serve Coconut Turmeric Chicken Soup
This soup itself is awesome, but I topped mine with a small scoop of jasmine rice, a little fresh cilantro, and wedge of lime. You could also serve it up with a piece of naan bread for dipping into the delicious broth.
Coconut Turmeric Chicken Soup
Servings 6 1.3 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.21)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.15)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil) ($0.32)
- 1/2 Tbsp turmeric ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp cumin ($0.05)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 lb. carrots (about 3) ($0.45)
- 1/2 bunch celery (about 4 stalks) ($0.65)
- 1 skinless chicken breast (about 3/4 lb.)* ($2.97)
- 3 cups chicken broth** ($0.39)
- 1 13oz. can coconut milk ($1.99)
- 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) ($0.02)
Optional for Serving
- 3 cups cooked jasmine rice ($0.53)
- 1 handful fresh cilantro ($0.25)
- 1 lime ($0.22)
Instructions
- Dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to a large soup pot with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
- While the onion, garlic, and ginger are sautéing, peel and chop the carrots, and chop the celery.
- Once the onions are soft, add the turmeric, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Sauté for about minute more to toast the spices. Add the carrots and celery and sauté for a few minutes more, or just until they begin to soften.
- Add the chicken breast to the pot along with the chicken broth. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let the broth simmer for 30 minutes.
- Once the chicken and vegetables have simmered in the broth for 30 minutes, remove the chicken breast and shred it with two forks. Return the shredded meat to the soup and add the coconut milk. Stir to combine and heat through over medium-low heat. Taste the soup and add salt to taste (I added 1/2 tsp).
- To serve, ladle about 1 1/3 cups soup into a bowl and top with 1/2 cup cooked rice, a few fresh cilantro leaves, and a wedge of lime.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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You can find this red 6-quart Amazon Basics Dutch Oven in the “cookware” section of my Amazon Shop.
How to Make Coconut Turmeric Chicken Soup – Step by Step Photos
Begin by dicing one onion, mincing two cloves of garlic, and grating about 1/2 Tbsp fresh ginger. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic to a large soup pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Once soft, add 1/2 Tbsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cumin, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Sauté for about one minute more to toast the spices.
While the onion, garlic, and ginger are sautéing, peel and chop 1/2 lb. carrots (about 3 medium carrots), and chop 1/2 bunch celery (about four large stalks). Add them to the pot and continue to sauté for a few minutes more, or just until they begin to soften.
Add one chicken breast to the pot along with 3 cups chicken broth. It’s okay if the chicken broth doesn’t completely cover the chicken. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring the broth to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and let the pot simmer for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes of simmering, remove the chicken breast and use two forks to shred it.
Return the shredded chicken to the pot and add one 13oz. can of coconut milk. Stir to combine and heat through over medium-low. The fat from the coconut milk will look a little clumpy until it heats up and melts into the soup.
Once heated through, give it a taste and add salt as needed. I added 1/2 tsp, but this amount will depend largely on the salt content of the broth you used.
Serve the Coconut Turmeric Chicken Soup with a small scoop of cooked jasmine rice, a few fresh cilantro sprigs, and a wedge of lime.
I’ve had a cold recently and this soup was everything I needed! Yummy and filled with veg to help me get those good vitamins. I made a couple tweaks based on other comments that I think added to the finished product:
1. A couple drops of fish sauce really added some nice depth to the flavor, as did about a tsp of curry powder
2. Spinach paired nicely with the other veggies, I added a sizeable handful at the end.
3. I used lite coconut milk which I think kept it from being too rich.
Let me know if anyone else tries this and what you think! Again, fabulous recipe for when you’re feeling under the weather.
I love this soup! I would recommend cutting the chicken breast into several smaller pieces and simmering for only 15-20 minutes (check with thermometer if you wish). Remove and shred while veggies continue to cook. Then return chicken to pot to rewarm.
I make a lot of BB recipes, but this is honestly one of the best. I don’t think I’ll ever make chicken soup any other way ever again. I added finely diced baby potatoes at the same time as the chicken, and I sliced the chicken to help it cook faster. Two words: A. Mazing.
Do you know if this freezes decently considering the use of coconut milk instead of a dairy milk? Thanks!
I don’t think I’ve tried freezing this one, so I’m not quite sure. If the coconut milk does separate a bit upon freezing and thawing it would still be okay to eat, just not very aesthetically pleasing. :)
I often make a big batch of this soup and freeze in mason jars with some rice on top. I find that it freezes perfectly and makes a perfect lunch. I am not sure, but have heard the lite coconut milk does not freeze as well.
I can’t actually speak to this exact soup, but I have frozen lots of other soups, including one where coconut milk is 100% of the broth (whereas here it makes up 25% of it), and those have all defrosted just fine. I just put a couple servings of this into the freezer tonight.
I have to order groceries right now and they brought thin fillets instead of breasts. Will that work for this recipe or should I cook the chicken first separately and add it in later?
Those will cook a lot faster, so I would let the soup simmer for a while before adding the chicken. They’ll probably only need 15 minutes or so. :)
We’ve been making this at least twice a month! An absolute hit with us, and our two tweens. I make a double batch and it’s gone within a day or two. We top it with chili oil for a bit more punch, and really enjoy it with a side of naan as well. It’s such a comforting and cozy soup, but a fun fresher flavor profile than a “classic” chicken soup.
Made this last night – I was quite happy with it, but my boyfriend really didn’t enjoy the coconut flavour, he found it too overpowering.
Might make this again with a substitute milk.
This quickly became a family favourite!! It’s super healthy yet tastes so indulgent!
Does the nutritional information include the rice? I’m looking for low carb recipes and it would seem without the rice this could be a low carb soup or at least less than 30 carbs…
It was supposed to (we calculate including everything listed in the ingredient list), but it didn’t look like it was, so I went ahead and recalculated it. The numbers now definitely include the rice. :)
Delicious! We make this often! We are vegan, so we substitute Better than Bouillon No-Chicken flavor, and use either Soy Curls, cauliflower, and/or chickpeas. Amazing! Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Just made this, it is delicious!
Made this soup and it was amazing! I sautéed like the recipe and cooked everything in my instant pot on high for 14 minutes. I also subbed chicken breast for thigh and it was delicious. I wanted a little more complex flavoring so I added cinnamon, a bit of curry powder and garlic powder. Another staple recipe budget bytes!
Delicious. Didn’t have cilantro, so used fresh parsley. Added about 1/2 c chopped tomato.
I am not a fan of celery what other veggie would you recommend substituting it with ?
I don’t think there’s anything similar, so I’d just leave it out.
I’m not a big fan of celery either so I used a can of garbanzo beans just to fill the space the celery left. Was delish.
So tasty and healthy, loved it
Hi Beth!
I made this a long time ago and it was delicious. Just curious if I can add a second chicken breast, without changing the rest of the ingredients (like amount of broth), or would that they everything off?
Absolutely, yes, that shouldn’t require any other changes. :)