Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup is a delicious, comforting vegetarian Thai recipe which takes less than 10 minutes to cook! Includes tofu or chicken options!
Whenever we go to a Thai restaurant, I have to order the Coconut Soup; It's magically delicious!!! So creamy, yet slightly spicy and sweet, it's amazingly tasty and I crave it all the time. For a long time I thought the authentic Thai flavors were difficult to recreate at home, but I was wrong, it's actually very easy when you have the right ingredients. This Instant Pot Thai Coconut soup only takes 4 minutes to cook in the instant pot (plus the time to come to pressure etc), and turns out fantastic. I like using tofu in my coconut soup, but a lot of people enjoy the soup with chicken, so I will include those instructions below as well. You are going to LOVE this comforting Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup! If you like Thai food, you should also checkout One Pot Thai Noodles, Instant Pot Thai Lettuce Wraps and Spicy Thai Chicken Tenders!
How to make Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup:
**scroll all the way down for printable directions, full ingredient list, and step by step video**
-
- Using a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, heat it up using the sauté function. Add the oil, onions, and peppers and sauté . If you are going to add chicken, this is when you should do it.
- Add the sliced chicken to the pot with the onion and peppers, and sauté for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms, and stir. Add the brown sugar, ginger, curry paste, fish sauce, lite soy sauce and stir some more.
- If you are using TOFU, add it now.
- Make sure you DRAIN (see below for directions) your tofu before putting it into the pot.
- Add the broth, close the top of the pot, seal the pressure valve, and set on manual/high for 4 minutes.
- You should remember when using the Instant Pot, that the time it takes to cook the recipe (4 mins), is not the total time of the recipe. You need to give the pot some time to ‘come to pressure’. With a soup this will take a bit of time since there is a lot of liquid, probably 10-15 minutes. Once it comes to pressure the pot will beep and the time will begin counting down.
- Once the time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 5-10 minutes, then flip the valve to release the remaining pressure (careful some liquid may spout out). Remove the top carefully.
- Add lime juice, coconut milk, and sriracha to taste. Stir everything to combine. Serve the soup and garnish with lime wedges, cilantro, or anything else desired. Enjoy!
- Using a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, heat it up using the sauté function. Add the oil, onions, and peppers and sauté . If you are going to add chicken, this is when you should do it.
How to drain tofu:
It's important to drain the tofu before using it. This will allow the tofu to absorb the flavor of whatever you are cooking it with; in this case the Thai coconut flavor. Flavorless tofu is not good tofu, so make sure you don't skip this step if using tofu.
- Using firm or extra firm tofu, remove from package and discard the water in the package. Cut the tofu block in half long ways, so you make the block thinner.
- Place 1 folded clean dish towel or paper towels down on the counter. Set tofu halves next to each other on top of the towels. Add another 1-2 towels on top of the tofu.
- Place a cutting board on top of the towels, then add a lot of weight to the top of the cutting board. I typically use a few cast iron pots or pans.
- Let it sit for at least 20 minutes, then remove the weight, towels, and cut the tofu into bite sized cubes.
If you like tofu as much as I do (delicious when cooked correctly) then checkout my popular General Tso's Tofu and Crispy Honey Sesame Tofu recipes!
Is Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup Healthy?
This soup is fairly healthy, however there is a decent amount of saturated fat due to the coconut milk. It contains 7 grams of saturated fat which is about 30% of your daily allowance, so as long as you are mindful of that, it's still pretty healthy. Here is how the nutrition breaks down:
- Nutrition info for TOFU: 202 calories, 12g fat, 7g saturated fat, 14g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 7g sugar, 9g protein
- Nutrition info for CHICKEN (no tofu): 215 calories, 10g fat, 6g saturated fat, 13g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 7g sugar, 17g protein.
- Weight Watchers Points: Tofu version contains 8 weight watchers points per serving and the chicken version contains 7 points.
- The soup also contains 17% of your daily vitamin A and 62% of your daily vitamin C!
Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup is the perfect meal, so doesn't require any additional side dishes, but if you'd like more options, be sure to try out these delicious Instant Pot Thai Lettuce Wraps, One Pot Spicy Thai Zoodles or Spicy Thai Chicken Tenders! Serving this dish with just some steamed white rice and shelled edamame is a great option as well!
My favorite Instant Pot Recipes:
- Instant Pot Asian Pork cooks up in just minutes, and is the perfect healthy dinner! Use the juicy meat in lettuce wraps, sliders, or a salad!
- Best vegetarian instant pot recipes; From side dishes to main dishes, and a variety of cuisines, there is definitely something for everyone!
- Instant Pot Bang Bang Chicken comes together in minutes and is so delicious! The classic spicy sauce is perfect on shredded chicken which can be used in rice bowls, salads, wraps, or however you want!
- Instant Pot Loaded Mashed Potatoes are full of cheese, bacon, and green onions! Ultra creamy and delicious, these are the best loaded mashed potatoes!
- Instant Pot Hard Boiled Egg Loaf: In five minutes you can have a whole bunch of hardboiled eggs which are perfect for egg salad! No peeling or ice bath for this Instant Pot Hard Boiled Egg Loaf!
- Instant Pot Thai Lettuce Wraps (pork or chicken) can be made with pork or chicken in the instant pot or slow cooker! Juicy pork or chicken covered in an easy Thai peanut sauce makes the perfect healthy easy dinner!
- Instant Pot Roasted Red Pepper Soup: Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons is the perfect comfort food without any guilt! Make it in the Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, or on the stove top!
Make sure you don’t miss a thing! Follow Domestic Superhero on:
Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter
Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup is a delicious, comforting vegetarian Thai recipe which takes less than 10 minutes to cook! Includes tofu or chicken options!
- 1 TBS sesame oil
- 1 medium white onion, sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 8 ounces mushrooms, wiped clean, cut in halves or 4ths if larger
- 1 TBS brown sugar
- 1 TBS fresh ginger, about an inch diced
- 2 TBS Thai red curry paste
- 1 ½ TBS fish sauce
- 1 TBS reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 block firm or extra firm tofu, drained and cut into bite sized peices
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 3 TBS lime juice
- 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, (found in the Asian area of the grocery store, usually in a can)
- sriracha to taste , I typically add 1 tsp
- lime wedges for garnish
- cilantro for garnish
-
Heat a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, using the sauté function. Add oil, onions, and peppers and sauté 2-3 minutes. **If you are going to add chicken, this is when you should do it (see notes below).
-
Add the mushrooms, and cook for 2 minutes. Add brown sugar, ginger, curry paste, fish sauce, lite soy sauce and stir. Add tofu then broth.
-
Close the lid, seal the pressure valve, and set on manual/high for 4 minutes.
-
Once the time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 5-10 minutes, then flip the valve to release the remaining pressure (careful some liquid may spout out). Remove the top carefully.
-
Add lime juice, coconut milk, and sriracha to taste. Stir everything to combine.
-
Serve the soup and garnish with lime wedges and cilantro. Enjoy!
Recipe Video
TIP: You should remember when using the Instant Pot, that the time it takes to cook the recipe (4 mins), is not the total time of the recipe. You need to give the pot some time to ‘come to pressure’. With a soup this will take a bit of time since there is a lot of liquid, probably 10-15 minutes. Once it comes to pressure the pot will beep and the time will begin counting down.
If using CHICKEN:
- 1lb boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced into ½ inch strips or bit sized cubes.
- Add the chicken at the end of step one, with the peppers and onions, and cook. Continue with recipe as written. Omit tofu.
Nutrition info for TOFU: 202 calories, 12g fat, 7g saturated fat, 14g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 7g sugar, 9g protein.
Nutrition info for CHICKEN (no tofu): 215 calories, 10g fat, 6g saturated fat, 13g carbohydrates, 2g fiber, 7g sugar, 17g protein.
Christa Fournier
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this soup!!!! I make with chicken, put into baggies and freeze for easy lunch to heat up at work. Delish!
Allyson
So happy you love it as much as we do!
Melinda Garde
This was a fantastic recipe. Super easy and quick. I switched out the Fish Sauce to Vegan Fish Sauce. I've made several Thai Coconut Soup before and I promise you this is the best by far!
Allyson
What a great review! Thank you so much for sharing!!! Glad you enjoyed it!
Tricia
Do you think this would work with lite unsweetened coconut milk? Doing WW and was just trying to save on points. Can’t wait to make this tonight!
Allyson
It won't have the same flavor, so it will be lacking in that department.
GinaP
So good and easy!