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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!
Hi Megan, would it work to sub green lentils? I’m planning to make this soon and will report back, but I’ll see if I can track down red lentils first if you think it makes a big difference. Thanks!
Green lentils take longer to cook, and will hold their shape more, so they won’t “blend in” to this soup the way red lentils do. So, the soup might not look as thick, and you’ll notice the texture of the green lentils more. But, I think it should still taste good! You should also wait to add the salt until after the green lentils are tender, as salt tends to affect them more than it does red lentils.
Thanks for the reply! I grabbed some red lentils 😉
This soup is delicious! I splurged on a “gourmet” curry powder and it had plenty of curry flavor and a nice slow heat. I found this looking for recipes containing liver friendly ingredients as I’m working on healing mine. This was perfect and so easy in the instant pot. Thanks!
Made this tonight and turned out amazing! I used 2 cups water and 2 chicken broth, kept everything else the same. My picky none soup eating kids devoured it! I used my instant pot. Thank you for this recipe! And I was pleasantly surprised when I saw you used red lentils I rarely see it in recipes
Such a yummy, comforting soup! Perfect for the fall and holiday season. I loved it.
Just made this in my Instant Pot and love it! Another commenter is correct that it’s a relatively mild curry flavor, but that can be ramped up or left as is for more “sensitive mouths”. I made it with a mix of thighs and tenders I had in my freezer and it turned out great. Two thumbs up!
This soup was so delicious! It gave me all the fall feels and was so flavorful and comforting. I prepared the soup as directed but accidentally over did the coconut milk. Even with that mistake it was still delicious. This will definitely be a recipe that I put into rotation. Thanks, Megan!
Best winter savory soup! This is just what I need! This is your comforting curried chicken stew without the branded products – although I think Whole Foods Balti curry is the best EVER curry. I wanted to make this vegan! Thanks for the suggestion! I will try this. How long would it cook in Instant Pot?
Woohoo! On the menu for this week. Curry Chicken & Rice is one of my favorite dishes, so VERY EXCITED to try out this soup!
Does the cooking time change for the vegetarian version in the InstaPot?
I usually cook lentil soup for 10 minutes in the Instant Pot, with a 10 minute natural release, so it should be the same here!
Will brown lentils work? I can never find red.
I usually have to cook brown lentils in soup for about 25-30 minutes to get tender, but that should work, too.