Thai Ground Turkey Soup is warm, hearty, and full of bold Thai-inspired flavor, with veggies and rice in every spoonful. Quick, customizable, and perfect with crusty bread and a salad.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This Thai ground turkey soup is the perfect soup recipe for turning a pack of boring ground turkey sitting your fridge into something cozy and flavorful! Even if you don’t like soup with ground turkey, I think you will find lots of flavor in this one that’s not spicy.
Of course, it’s not a traditional Thai cuisine recipe, but just like my coconut curry chicken soup, it makes the most of pantry staples, helps clean out the fridge, and stretches the grocery budget. I always make soups that do all three!
This Thai ground turkey soup recipe is always a little different depending on what you toss in, makes dinner feel easy, and is just right for a crisp fall evening. Settle in and enjoy!
Ingredients for Thai Ground Turkey Soup
- Ground turkey: I used lean ground turkey but any ground meat works, so feel free to use ground chicken, pork, or even beef.
- Onion: I like to use yellow or white onion in this recipe.
- Avocado oil: For sauteing. Olive oil works too if that’s what you have.
- Ginger: Fresh minced ginger gives a bright punch, but dried ginger works too.
- Coconut milk: Full-fat makes it creamy, light coconut milk works if you’re watching calories.
- Chicken broth: I always buy low sodium broth or make my own. You can also use vegetable broth or beef broth, if using ground beef.
- Red curry paste: Adds lots of flavor and you can adjust for spice.
- Fish sauce: Just a splash adds umami.
- Cabbage: I prefer savoy cabbage in this soup because it’s softer and more Asian, but green cabbage absolutely is fine.
- Potatoes: Any cubed potatoes like Yukon Gold or russet potatoes. Sweet potatoes work well too if you want a touch of sweetness.
- Carrots: Sweet, tender, and colorful.
- Rice: You can go with white rice or brown rice for more nutrition, cooking time will be a bit longer with the second choice.
- Seasonings: Just salt and pepper to taste. If you want to mix it up, Italian seasoning, dried oregano, or any other dried herbs could work nicely too.
- Cilantro: If you’re not a fan, finish off with parsley or fresh basil instead.
- Lime juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice is a must or use lemon juice.
How to Make Thai Ground Turkey Soup
You can make this soup in one pot in 45 minutes, and the leftovers are just as delicious.
- Saute aromatics: Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium. Saute onion (and fresh ginger if using) for a few minutes.
- Brown the turkey: Add ground turkey, break it up, and cook until browned.
- Add liquid and flavor: Stir in dried ginger (if using), coconut milk, broth, curry paste, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil.
- Add veggies and rice: Add cabbage, potatoes, carrots, rice, salt, and pepper. Boil again, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
- Finish and serve: Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Taste and tweak seasoning if needed and serve hot.
Tips for Best Results
Here are a few ways to make this Thai ground turkey soup your own.
- Use what you have on hand: Swap in whatever vegetables or protein you’ve got. Zucchini, bell peppers, or even leftover cooked chicken all work.
- Adjust to taste: Add more curry paste for heat or less if you prefer mild, extra lime juice for brightness, or a bit more fish sauce for deeper flavor.
- Make in slow cooker: Brown the turkey and saute the aromatics first, then add everything to the slow cooker and cook on Low for 6-8 hours or High for 3-4 hours.
- Cook in Instant Pot: Saute the turkey, onions, and fresh ginger on Saute mode, then add the rest of the ingredients to the Instant Pot and pressure cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes. Allow it to Natural Release but keep in mind rice will be mushy or just use brown rice. Stir in cilantro and lime juice and enjoy!
Variations
- Low carb: Skip the rice or potatoes and load up on extra veggies like cabbage, zucchini, celery, or mushrooms.
- More protein: Add extra ground turkey, shredded chicken, cooked shrimp, or beans like chickpeas or white beans to make it heartier.
- Add leafy greens: Stir in chopped spinach, kale, or bok choy at the end.
- More spicy: Toss in extra red curry paste, a pinch of chili flakes, or a drizzle of sriracha.
- Pasta instead of rice: Swap the rice for noodles like udon, rice noodles, ramen or small pasta shapes. Add them toward the end so they stay firm or cook them separately and stir in at the end.
Serving Ideas
We love to serve a fresh salad alongside something for dunking, like breads or savory scones.
Greek Yogurt Biscuits
Zucchini Cheddar Cottage Cheese Scones
Spinach Avocado Salad
20 Minute Crunchy Asian Chopped Salad
How to Store and Reheat
Store: Keep leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Transfer to a freezer-safe container, leave a little space at the top, and freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat: Warm up what you need by simmering on low with the lid on.
More Ground Turkey Recipes to Try
Thai Ground Turkey Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil, for frying
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger, or 1 teaspoon dried ginger
- 14 ounces can coconut milk, full fat or light
- 10 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 4 teaspoons red curry paste
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 5 cups savoy cabbage or green cabbage, thinly shredded
- 4 large potatoes, cut into small cubes
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 1 cup white rice, or brown rice
- 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 lime, juice of
Instructions
- Preheat Dutch oven or large pot on medium heat and swirl oil to coat. Add onion (and if using fresh ginger) and saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add ground turkey and cook for 7 minutes, stirring and breaking into small pieces.
- Add dried ginger (if not using fresh one), coconut milk, chicken broth, red curry paste and fish sauce. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Add cabbage, potatoes, carrots, rice, salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes or until rice is cooked. You can stir a few times and check for doneness, if you want.
- Add cilantro and lime juice, adjust any seasonings to taste, if you wish. Serve soup hot.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat desired amount by simmering on low heat while covered.
- Freeze: Freeze in an airtight container, leaving some room for expansion, for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
