The rich taste and aroma of this easy Coconut Chicken Soup will warm your belly and soul! Loaded with vegetables and lean chicken breast, this dish will keep you full and satisfied for hours.
Every now and again, we all crave warm, comforting soups that fill our bellies and warm our souls.
This coconut chicken soup recipe does just that! It combines classic chicken and fresh vegetables with a bit of an exotic flavor – coconut. The result is a wonderful mix of familiar comfort food combined with a new exciting flavor that I think you will fall in love with (I did!)
Even better, this super easy dish comes together in one pot. All you have to do to prep is a bit of chopping.
As the soup cooks and simmers on the stovetop, your kitchen will fill with a delicious, warm aroma. You’ll be counting down the minutes until you can dive headfirst into a big bowl!
How to make coconut chicken soup
This soup cooks very quickly. Just make sure all your ingredients are prepared and ready to go before you start cooking, and then it’s just a matter of adding them all into the pot:
Step 1: Season the sliced chicken breast generously with salt and pepper.
Step 2: In a large (5-6 quart) soup pot, heat the coconut oil over high heat and add the chicken breast. Stir-fry over high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside.
Step 3: Add the sliced onion, minced garlic, and minced ginger. Continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.
Step 4: Add the diced zucchini and cubed pumpkin, then stir.
Step 5: Add the sliced bell pepper, sliced chili or jalapeño pepper, coconut milk, chicken broth, and lime juice. Give everything another good stir.
Step 6: Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fully cooked.
Step 7: Remove from heat and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Garnish with cilantro leaves to serve.
It’s healthy as well as tasty!
With green zucchini, red bell peppers, and beautiful orange pumpkin, this soup makes it easy to meet your daily vegetable needs!
The wonderful fresh colors of these vegetables are due to all their different vitamins and nutrients. Zucchini is rich in Potassium, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B-6 while red bell peppers and pumpkin are both loaded with Vitamin A.
A good way to make sure you are getting a variety of nutrients from your foods is by “eating the rainbow,” or trying to make sure that you eat as many different colors of fruits and vegetables as possible each day. Luckily, that is easy to do with delicious and colorful soups like this one!
This soup also contains lean chicken breast, which will help fill you up because of the protein in the chicken. In fact, one serving of coconut chicken soup has 17.1 g protein, 11.6 g carbs, and 12.7 g fat. It’s a great nutrient profile to help you feel full and satisfied while also keeping you full for longer.
Is coconut milk good for you?
As if the vegetables weren’t enough, this soup also contains a health boost from the can of coconut milk!
Coconut milk is a good source of vitamins and minerals like manganese, iron, and magnesium. It’s also high in lauric acids, which are known for boosting your immune system.
Regular coconut milk is calorie dense and high in fat, but since we’re using lite coconut milk for this recipe, you can enjoy the health benefits AND luxurious taste without guilt!
Storage
This soup reheats really well. In fact, it tastes even better the next day after all the flavors continue to meld together overnight. So don’t be afraid of making a big batch of this soup – you’ll want leftovers the next day!
You can store this soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days… if it lasts that long!
More healthy soup recipes
I am a huge fan of healthy and easy soups! They’re such a great way to warm up and nourish the body. If you’re looking for a few more yummy soup recipes, here are a few I know you’ll love:
For even more inspiration, check out this roundup of delicious low-carb soup recipes!
When you’ve tried this soup, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked it and rate the recipe in the comments below!
Coconut Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken breast, thinly sliced
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced into half moons
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into quarters lengthwise and diced
- 0.75 lb. pumpkin, cubed into ½ inch pieces (1 cup)
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and thinly sliced
- 1 small chili or jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and thinly sliced
- 14 oz. lite coconut milk (1 can)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- Juice of 1 lime
- Handful cilantro leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Season the sliced chicken breast generously with salt and pepper.
- In a large (5-6 quart) soup pot, heat the coconut oil over high heat and add the chicken breast. Stir-fry over high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside.
- Add the sliced onion, minced garlic, and minced ginger. Continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the diced zucchini and cubed pumpkin, then stir.
- Add the sliced bell pepper, sliced chili or jalapeño pepper, coconut milk, chicken broth, and lime juice. Give everything another good stir.
- Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fully cooked.
- Remove from heat and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired. Garnish with cilantro leaves to serve.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Info Per Serving
Hello
14 oz. coconut milk and 2 cups of chicken broth? (14+16= 30/6=5 oz.)
Is it enough for 6 people?
It’s also 1 lb. chicken and a lot of veggies so should be a lot of food. If it’s a main meal, and you’re still hungry, you could have 2 servings as the calories are fairly low
My whole family are starting to eat healthier because my partner has been diagnosed with Sugar Diabetes Type 2. I have all boys who are big meat eaters along with my partner. We have a busy schedule so we have quick not so healthy meals. This recipe was quick and easy compared to the painful dinners myself and my partner have cooked after a long day at work – with no real motivation to cook something tasteful, we cooked to fill our bellies! My partner and I fell into a rut of cooking the same meals over and over (we’re both good cooks and love our food). I changed up the vegetables for ones the whole family could eat and left out the coconut milk (2 don’t like it) there wasn’t much left after dinner and I didn’t have the boys come back for a snack later! I will definately be trying the other 9 recipes!
Excellent, so glad to hear this recipe was a hit
I am so happy to see such amazing Recipes. Thank you. Keep them coming. I cant wait to make this Soup
Thanks!
Ivy
I made this soup for my Mom who is newly diabetic and she loved it. Does anyone know if this soup would freeze well?
I freeze all my soups and yes it does freeze well.
how much is one serving?? one cup?? looks really good
It will depend on how much you boil it down. The liquid and vegetables should be about a cup per serving and then chicken comes on top
This soup is fantastic! This will be a staple in our home!
This soup was so delicious; I added mushrooms, carrots, peas and bok choy. Also some curry and a bit more coconut milk. So good, thanks for the recipe.
How many main dish servings does this make? BTW, I plan to use butternut squash if my store doesn’t have small fresh pumpkins.
This serves 6 people. You can see servings listed in all our recipes just below the preparation time.
Hope you enjoy it
Delicious! I can’t believe I tried this as I am not a squash fan at all. I only liked fried zucchini. And when I tried this and I could not find pumpkin, fresh or canned. So I used this squash from the produce, it was butternut. I never cooked with it before. After I assembled everything and it melded? To die for. Very very good. I added more coconut milk and more salt and pepper. Very good, rich and hearty Thanks!
Question? How do
Cut pumpkin? Do you mean an actual
Pumpkin?
Yes, the yellow pieces you see in the dish are pieces of pumpkin. If you don’t want to cut it yourself some supermarkets sell them precut
Can you use sweet potato instead of pumpkin?
From a flavour profile, I think you could, but I’m not sure the sweet potato will hold its shape.
Ok! Thanks. So I’ve made this and the pumpkin was the hardest part. Cutting it seemed difficult and dangerous but I did it! Can’t wait to taste it when it’s done!
I used sweet potato and the shape held nicely. Also I’ll add more spice for us…nice dish.
Glad that worked out and that you enjoyed it
I’m going to use Butternut or acorn squash. Pumpkins are all gone by now
Welcome to the Diabetes Strong family Kate. I made the soup yesterday and it was great! I hope you will make more recipes for us people with diabetes 🙂
Thank you so much, Molly! I am so glad you made the soup and enjoyed it, that means a lot to me. 🙂