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This Curry Chicken Soup is ultra-comforting and loaded with veggies. I love how quick and easy it is to prepare, all in one pot!
How to Make Curry Chicken Soup
To make this flavorful soup, you’ll start by sauteing some onion, carrots, and celery, along with garlic and ginger.
I like to use curry powder to get the classic curry flavor in this soup, without relying on several individual spice jars. Stir the powder into the sauteed veggies to bring out the flavor, then you’ll add in the veggie broth, lentils, and chicken, and let it all simmer until the chicken is cooked-through, about 30 minutes.
Adding Raw Chicken to Soup
I don’t know about you, but I don’t love working with raw chicken on my cutting board– so I place the chicken thighs into this soup whole.
After the soup has finished cooking, it’s easy to grab the cooked chicken with tongs, shred it with two forks on a cutting board, and then return it to the soup.
If you would rather cut the raw chicken into bite-sized pieces before cooking, you are welcome to do that, too.
How to Thicken Soup (Without Flour)
This soup gets its thick texture from red lentils, which are one of the quickest-cooking variety of lentils. What I love about this addition, is how the lentils practically dissolve as they cook in this soup, creating a thick and creamy texture.
Eating a 1/3 cup of lentils each day may help to lower cholesterol (source) and they are an excellent source of iron (source) so I love adding them whenever I can. Plus, the fiber they contain should help keep you full for hours.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 3 carrots , chopped
- 3 celery stalks , chopped
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly minced ginger
- 4 teaspoons curry powder
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 pound boneless & skinless chicken thighs
- Fine sea salt (I use Real Salt brand)
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and saute the onion, carrot, and celery until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, ginger, and curry powder, and stir unti fragrant, about one more minute.
- Add in the broth and lentils, and give the pot a stir, then place the chicken thighs directly into the broth. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, and bring the soup to a boil.
- Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot, letting the soup cook until the lentils are tender and the chicken is cooked-through, about 30 minutes. (You can use a thermometer to make sure the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF, or you can slice into it to check.)
- Use tongs to remove the chicken thighs, transfer them to a cutting board, and use two forks to shred them into bite-sized pieces. Return the chicken to the pot, and stir in the coconut milk. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding more salt, if needed. (I usually add an extra 1/2 teaspoon, but it will vary depending on the sodium in the broth that you use.)
- Serve with freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, if desired. (The lemon helps brighten up the flavor!)
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Try serving the leftovers over rice, too!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Curry Chicken Soup Nutrition above is for 1 of 6 bowls of soup. (Roughly 2 cups per serving)
Recipe Notes:
- I haven’t tested this recipe using chicken breasts, because I originally developed it for the Instant Pot, and the Instant Pot doesn’t create the best texture for chicken breasts cooked directly in liquid. (Check out my Instant Pot Chicken Breasts post for tips.) I imagine you could cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces, and cook them that way, if you prefer to use that instead of chicken thighs in this soup recipe.
- For a vegetarian recipe, feel free to leave out the chicken all together. You could add in a cut sweet potato for some added heartiness, and in that case the soup would only need to cook for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are as soft as you’d like them to be.
- If you don’t have broth on hand, you can use water instead and season with extra salt to compensate for the flavor.
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too! We can all benefit from your experience
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Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite soup? My Chicken Vegetable Soup is another fan favorite, and Curried Butternut Soup is another easy option for your Instant Pot!
My family can be hard to please with soups as a main course, and this soup hit all the right notes with everyone! So delicious. I added diced mushrooms, and I subbed air fried TVP chunks for the chicken and added at the end. Would probably also work with tofu or soy curlz.
Thank you for an awesome soup, this one is going into regular rotation this fall/winter!
Loved this soup! I made it with chickpeas instead of chicken and it’s perfect. Using the instant pot made it so fast and easy. Once again Megan did not disappoint! This will be in my lunch prep rotation from now on.
This is delicious and easy to put together using ingredients I usually have on hand. I made this for lunch prep for the week. So yummy!
This was a great soup. I used a a little diced red bell pepper, rotisserie chicken added at the end; 1 diced and boiled, medium Yukon gold potato; and, diced jalapeño for the adults. My kids all loved it, even my 2 yr old asked for 2nds. I made a simple salad with chopped romaine and tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, s&p. The dressing paired perfectly with the lentils served over jasmine rice. Day 2 was just as good!
Delicious soup, and so easy to make! Thanks for another great recipe 🙂
Made the stove top version with chicken breasts. Followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Absolutely delicious.
Absolutely delicious! I wouldn’t change a thing with this recipe.
Can chicken breasts work instead of thighs?
Check the notes below the recipe! I haven’t tested with chicken breast yet, because I was developing this one for the Instant Pot and chicken breast can be rubbery in there if you cook it directly in liquid, but I imagine it could be done.
I made it with a mix of chicken thighs and tenders that I had in the freezer. Worked great!
Thank you so much, this was absolutely delicious! My two 12yr olds even ate it all up. I think I could live on it personally!!
I could only fine brown lentils at shop so I used cannellini instead, so will hunt some down next big shop.
And now about to make the cashew chocolate thingy, can’t wait to eat that too.
Its a keeper for sure, thanks again 🤗
What chocolate cashew thingy?
Chocolate Pots De Creme!
This is a very delicious lentil chicken soup with a slight curry flavor! I was really wanting a strong curry flavor but once I got over that, I realized it was still amazing!! I simmered a lot longer and added at least another 2 tsp of salt!
Glad you thought it was delicious, still! You can always add more curry powder to your taste next time. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your feedback!
Loved this soup, so easy to make and very tasty.
Has anyone tried this in a crockpot? How long did you cook it?
Can this be done in a crockpot? For how long?
I’ve cooked other chicken dishes for around 2 hours on high or 3 to 6 hours on low. The main thing is to check the internal temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer, to make sure it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF. Hope that helps!
I wanted to try the crockpot, but was past the “whole day” point. So I put it on high, and it was done in 3 hours! My house smelled great!