Easy and creamy Instant Pot Thai Chicken Soup with coconut milk, peanuts, cilantro, lime and full of hidden veggies. Make on the stove, slow cooker or turn into a freezer meal.
We also love this Thai chicken butternut squash soup, Thai chicken curry, and Thai crock pot chicken thighs. So easy and good!
This healthy Instant Pot Thai chicken soup is everything your body craves on a winter day. So silky smooth, creamy and comforting, it is full of hidden veggies. Then topped with fresh cilantro, lots of roasted peanuts and lime juice. Oh, and crunchy fresh bell pepper is amazing!
Homemade Thai inspired dishes save money, health and taste just as good as restaurant food. Take this Thai chicken salad, Thai cauliflower rice and even homemade Thai chili sauce or peanut sauce.
As per my husband’s opinion “Any restaurant would be proud to have this soup on their menu”. Hurry up to wow your significant other right now. I always try to get as many points as I can. You just never know…
Need more Instant Pot ideas? Check out all Instant Pot recipes I have here on the blog.
Ingredients You Will Need
Even if you do not cook Thai food on a regular basis, you can grab a few Thai ingredients at any grocery store.
- Chicken breast or thighs, boneless or bone in, skinless, fresh and even frozen (as long as they are separated).
- Sweet potato: The secret ingredient is 2 lbs of sweet potatoes. Whoa, that’s a lot of vitamin C, vitamin B6, potassium and magnesium.
- Onion and ginger: I did not add ginger because I didn’t have any on hand. I also think this pressure cooker Thai chicken soup still tastes amazing without ginger. If you want you can add some minced fresh ginger.
- Coconut milk: Full fat or light, from a can. I like brands like Thai kitchen, 365 or Trader Joe’s because they are not gritty.
- Tomato paste: A can of low sodium tomato sauce worked like a charm for me one time.
- Maple syrup: Good substitute would be honey, coconut or cane sugar. To sweeten the coconut milk and offset the acidity of tomatoes.
- Peanuts: Look for unsalted, raw or dry roasted. More likely you will find blanched in oil ones.
- Lime and cilantro – do not skip! They make this Thai chicken soup.
- Fish sauce and red curry paste are located in international (Asian) section of any grocery store. Both are in glass containers and are not refrigerated.
- Kaffir lime leaves: Skip at all or add fresh basil at the end. Kaffir lime leaves are sold dry in a bag like bay leaves and are harder to find.
- Lemongrass: Just like with ginger, I think this Instant Pot Thai chicken soup tastes like Thai food with an addition of limes, peanuts, coconut milk etc. Lemongrass is not widely available. You can add some if you wish.
How to Make Instant Pot Thai Chicken Soup
For 3 quart pressure cooker, cut Instant Pot Thai chicken soup recipe ingredients in half but keep same cooking time.
- Add Ingredients to 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot: chicken, sweet potatoes, onion, coconut milk, tomato paste, water or broth, fish sauce, maple syrup, red curry paste, salt and kaffir lime leaves. No need to stir but if you did by accident – it is fine.
- Cook on High for 20 minutes, let Instant Pot sit for 10 minutes and then release remaining pressure using Quick Release method by turning valve to Venting and open the lid.
- Remove and shred chicken on the plate using 2 forks.
- Puree the soup using an immersion blender right inside the pot. Don’t forget to remove kaffir leaves if added before.
- Add lime juice, cilantro, peanuts and shredded chicken. Stir and serve warm.
Tips for Best Thai Chicken Soup
- I recommend to not peel sweet potatoes because first of all, it saves time. I never do whether roasting, sauteing or mashing yams. Secondly, sweet potato skin is full of fiber and potassium. I recommend to buy organic sweet potatoes. They are usually well pre-washed and their skin does not contain harmful pesticides. A rinse at home is enough.
- I can see how garden sweet potatoes might be hard to clean. In that case, I would peel sweet potatoes.
- You don’t have to puree the soup. However, pureeing makes Thai coconut chicken soup more thick and creamy. It also helps to hide the vegetables. My kids do not like the soft texture of cooked sweet potato. Once you puree the soup, sweet potato is barely noticeable.
- Please don’t use other milk instead of coconut milk. Canned coconut milk is what makes this soup a Thai soup. Coconut milk from a carton will not work. Please do not use almond milk either.
- Add noodles like rice vermicelli or flat rice noodles. Add uncooked to the soup when it’s finished. Stir, close the lid (Instant Pot off) and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir and serve.
- You can make this soup in slow cooker: Cook soup on Low for 6-8 hours or on High for 3-4 hours in your crockpot.
- To make on the stove: Saute onion first and then simmer everything for about 30-40 minutes.
How to Store and Make Ahead
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and simmer on low to reheat.
Make Ahead: In an Instant Pot insert or a large bowl, add all ingredients except water, peanuts, limes and cilantro. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Transfer all the contents into a pressure cooker when ready and cook as per recipe’s instructions.
How to Make a Freezer Meal
- Instant Pot: Add all ingredients in the order listed in the recipe minus water (broth), peanuts, lime and cilantro. I recommend to swoosh sweet potatoes with chicken around to separate chicken breasts so they don’t cook in a frozen blob. Freeze uncooked in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Cook from frozen on High pressure for 20 minutes, wait 10 minutes and do Quick Release.
- Slow Cooker: Same freezing instructions as for Instant Pot above. After thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking. Cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours.
- After cooking: Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks. Using an immersion blender, puree soup right inside the pot. Return chicken back to the pot along with peanuts, lime juice, cilantro and bell peppers (optional). Stir and serve hot.
Check out my full list of 20 healthy freezer meals. I’m obsessed!
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot chicken tortilla soup
- Instant Pot chicken wild rice soup
- Instant Pot chicken noodle soup
- Instant Pot chicken and rice soup
- Instant Pot white chicken lasagna soup
Looking for more dinner ideas? Check out collections of 45 healthy Instant Pot recipes.
Instant Pot Thai Chicken Soup
Easy and creamy Instant Pot Thai Chicken Soup with coconut milk, peanuts, cilantro, lime and full of hidden veggies. Make on the stove, slow cooker or turn into a freezer meal.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs 3 large chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
- 5 large 2 lbs sweet potatoes, skin on & cubed
- 1 large onion chopped
- 14 oz can coconut milk full fat
- 6 oz can tomato paste low sodium
- 6 cups water or low sodium broth
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp red curry paste
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 kaffir lime leaves optional
- 1 cup peanuts chopped
- 2 limes juice of
- 1 bunch cilantro finely chopped
- 1-2 bell peppers chopped, for garnish and crunch (optional)
Instructions
- In 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, add chicken, sweet potatoes, onion, coconut milk, tomato paste, water, fish sauce, maple syrup, red curry paste, salt and kaffir lime leaves. No need to stir but if you did by accident – it is fine.
- Close the lid, turn pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cooking on High for 20 minutes.
- After Instant Pot has finished cooking, let Instant Pot sit for 10 minutes and then release remaining pressure using Quick Release method by turning valve to Venting and open the lid.
- Remove chicken onto a plate and shred with 2 forks.
- Using an immersion blender, puree soup right inside the pot.
- Return chicken back to the pot along with peanuts, lime juice, cilantro and bell peppers (optional).
- Stir and serve warm.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: For up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and simmer on low to reheat.
- To make this soup in a slow cooker, cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on High for 3-4 hours.
- To cook on the stove, saute onion first. Then simmer everything for about 30-40 minutes.
- For 3 quart Instant Pot, cut ingredients in half but keep same cooking time.
- Instant Pot: Add all ingredients in the order listed in the recipe minus water (broth), peanuts, lime and cilantro. I recommend to swoosh sweet potatoes with chicken around to separate chicken breasts so they don’t cook in a frozen blob. Freeze uncooked in a gallon size Ziploc bag. Cook from frozen on High pressure for 20 minutes, wait 10 minutes and do Quick Release.
- Slow Cooker: Same freezing instructions as for Instant Pot above. After thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking. Cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours.
- After cooking: Remove chicken and shred with 2 forks. Using an immersion blender, puree soup right inside the pot. Return chicken back to the pot along with peanuts, lime juice, cilantro and bell peppers (optional). Stir and serve hot.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cup | Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 625mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 13g
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Is there a way that this could be made vegetarian?
You can omit chicken and use flavorful vegetable broth. Also can add chickpeas or white beans. Enjoy!
I omitted the maple syrup because I’ve never seen that in a Thai recipe before and it was still incredibly sweet. After cooking, I added more salt and pepper to give it flavour since I found it sweet, but bland.
I added chili garlic paste and it gave the flavour and heat that it was missing.