This spicy and smooth curry chicken noodle soup is full of warming flavors and vegetables like bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, and carrots.

Bowl of curry chicken noodle soup garnished with fresh parsley and sliced chiles, and a small bowl of hot sauce next to it.

Soothing Chicken Noodle Soup as We Know It Just Got an Upgrade.

All of the nourishing elements of a good and wholesome chicken noodle soup are here, but we’ve added the warming flavors of yellow curry, some creamy coconut milk, and a smidgen of heat. With its rich and silky broth, this soup is sure to keep you toasty and kick any cold that tries to knock you down. The best part is that, despite having more complex flavors than your average chicken noodle soup, it’s just as easy to make! I’ll walk you through it and offer up some tips and tricks near the end of this post.

What you’ll throw into this beautiful jumble.

In addition to tender shredded chicken, this soup offers up carrots, baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, scallions, and chewy egg noodles. To add a little extra zip, throw some sliced chiles or jalapeños on top for garnish. Here’s the full list of ingredients:

  • Avocado oil or olive oil
  • Boneless, skinless chicken tenders or chicken breasts, cut into strips like tenders
  • Sea salt and cracked black pepper
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Lemongrass (optional)
  • Scallions
  • Shiitake mushrooms
  • Carrot
  • Baby bok choy
  • Yellow curry paste (I recommend using this one)
  • Curry powder
  • Turmeric
  • Chicken broth (or homemade stock)
  • Coconut milk
  • Fish sauce
  • Egg noodles
  • Lime

Plate of chicken tenders, bowl of egg noodles, and vegetables and spices spread out over a countertop.

Dutch oven full of chopped bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and scallions.

How to Make This Spicy Curry Chicken Noodle Soup.

We love a classic homestyle chicken noodle soup in this house. But! After devouring a few bowls of this good stuff, we won’t be going back to our old chicken noodle ways for a while. This version kicks the comfort and flavor levels up a few notches without much extra work!

Here’s the rundown:

  1. Drizzle the avocado oil into a heavy-bottom stock pot or Dutch oven and warm it up over medium heat.
  2. Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper, and place them into the hot oil. Cook them for about 8 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the chicken is fully cooked and registers an internal temperature of 165º F. When the chicken is ready, remove the tenders from the pot and place them onto a paper towel-lined cutting board or plate and set them aside. If there are browned chicken bits stuck to the pot, add in a splash of chicken broth and deglaze the pot—but leave the bits in there, because they’ll add flavor.
  3. Drizzle a bit more oil into the pot. Add the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, and let it simmer for about 15 seconds or until aromatic.
  4. Transfer all of the prepared veggies to the pot—bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and scallions—and stir them around, to coat. Let them cook for about 5-7 minutes or until they’re tender.
  5. Stir in the curry paste to lightly coat the veggies.
  6. Add the chicken broth, turmeric, curry powder, coconut milk, and fish sauce, and give everything a good stir. Make sure that the curry paste has completely dissolved and that the coconut milk is cohesive with the broth.
  7. Bring everything to a simmer and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, chop or shred the chicken on a cutting board.
  8. Add the egg noodles and the chicken to the soup, and simmer until the noodles are fully cooked—about 8 minutes. At first it will seem like you need to add more noodles, but don’t! I made this mistake the first time I made this soup and ended up with curry noodles—hardly any broth ;)
  9. Once the noodles are cooked, it’s ready to serve! You can garnish the bowls with slices of fresh chile or jalapeños, fresh parsley or cilantro, or crushed toasted peanuts. Serve with a lime wedge for a refreshing spritz of lime juice, as well!
  10. *See tips + tricks for reheating instructions.

Two bowls of curry chicken noodle soup, a turquoise tea towel, and a small dish of hot sauce.

Equipment You’ll Need:

Recipe Tips + Tricks:

  1. Don’t add more noodles than the recipe calls for! It’ll be tempting, but once the noodles are completely cooked, you’ll see that 2 cups is enough. If you do accidentally add too many noodles and they soak up the broth, simply add more chicken stock.
  2. Sometimes after the soup sits in the fridge, the noodles inevitably soak up a lot of the broth anyway. So if that happens, add some chicken broth when reheating leftovers on the stovetop.
  3. Make this a vegetarian-friendly soup by omitting the chicken (you could use tofu instead) and fish sauce, and using vegetable broth.
  4. You can crank up the heat in this soup by adding Sriracha, or Sambal Oelek to the broth while it simmers.
  5. Fresh stalks of lemongrass aren’t always easy to find, so you could either omit the lemongrass or get the grated lemongrass in a tube—but freshly grated is way better and will offer optimal flavor.

Bowl of curry chicken noodle soup garnished with fresh parsley and sliced chiles, and a small bowl of hot sauce next to it.

More Cozy Soups to Curl up With:

Have You Made This Recipe?

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Bowl of curry chicken noodle soup garnished with fresh parsley and sliced chiles, and a small bowl of hot sauce next to it.

Spicy Curry Chicken Noodle Soup

This spicy and smooth curry chicken noodle soup is full of warming flavors and vegetables like bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, and carrots.
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Dana Sandonato

Ingredients

  • 1-2 TBSP avocado oil, or olive oil
  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders Or use chicken breasts and cut them into strips.
  • Sea salt and cracked black pepper
  • 4 cloves of garlic, smashed and thinly sliced
  • 1 TBSP freshly grated ginger
  • 1 TBSP freshly grated lemongrass (optional)
  • 5 scallions cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
  • 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
  • 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
  • 2 bunches of baby bok choy, roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 3 TBSP yellow curry paste I like this kind
  • 1 TBSP curry powder
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 8 cups chicken broth Or use a homemade stock
  • 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
  • 1 TBSP fish sauce
  • 2 cups egg noodles

Optional Garnishes:

  • Thinly sliced chile or jalapeño
  • Fresh parsley or cilantro
  • Crushed toasted peanuts
  • Lime wedges

Instructions

  • Heat the avocado oil in a heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
  • Hit the chicken tenders with some salt and pepper, and place them into the hot oil. Cook them for about 8 minutes, flipping them over with tongs halfway through, until the chicken is fully cooked and has an internal temperature of 165º F. When ready, transfer the tenders onto a paper towel-lined cutting board or plate and set them aside. If there are browned chicken bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, pour in a splash of chicken broth and deglaze the pot; leave the bits in there, they'll add flavor!
  • If necessary, drizzle a bit more oil into the pot. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, and let simmer for about 15 seconds or until aromatic.
  • Transfer the chopped bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and scallions to the pot and stir to coat. Let them cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until they're tender.
  • Add the curry paste and mix it in well to lightly coat the veggies.
  • Pour the chicken broth into the pot and add the turmeric, curry powder, coconut milk, and fish sauce; give everything a good stir. Make sure that the curry paste has completely dissolved and that the coconut milk is well-mixed into the broth.
  • Bring the soup to a simmer and let it go for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, chop or shred the chicken on a cutting board. (Shred it using two knives.)
  • Add the egg noodles and the chicken to the soup and simmer until the noodles are fully cooked—about 8 minutes.
  • Once the noodles are cooked, it's ready to eat. Serve the soup garnished with slices of fresh chile or jalapeños, fresh parsley or cilantro, or crushed toasted peanuts. Add a wedge of lime to spritz some fresh lime juice in there, too!