I’m back with another reader favorite soup recipe that you all fell in LOVE with back when I published it a couple years back.
This cozy and delicious ginger chicken soup has a beautiful creaminess from coconut milk and is super satisfying thanks to brown rice. The fresh ginger, garlic and turmeric add anti-inflammatories and a little immune boost (so necessary right now) and make this chicken and rice soup truly feel like a hug-in-a-bowl.
If you’ve had my famous best ever chicken soup recipe, you’re going to LOVE this creamy version that has wonderful flavor from soy sauce, fish sauce and a kick of heat from red chili paste. Check out even more options to make it your own throughout the post and enjoy!
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Ingredients in this healing ginger chicken soup
This beautiful ginger chicken and rice soup is filled with nourishing ingredients and tons of amazing flavors. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Veggies: you’ll need green onion and carrots to cook up in the soup. You’ll also need some regular or toasted sesame oil to cook them down.
- Broth: we’re using low sodium chicken broth and canned light coconut milk to cook everything together and make a luscious broth.
- Flavor: this ginger chicken soup gets its delicious flavor and nutrients from fresh ginger, ground turmeric, garlic, soy sauce, red chili paste, lime juice and fish sauce.
- Chicken: I like to use boneless skinless chicken thighs because they’re easier to pull apart once cooked and stay nice and tender, but you can also use chicken breasts.
- Rice: adding brown rice gives the soup the perfect amount of heartiness to keep you full and satisfied.
- To garnish: top your bowl with freshness from scallions, cilantro, mint, basil and some chopped, roasted peanuts. YUM.
Can I make it vegetarian?
Sure! Feel free to swap the chicken for a can of chickpeas or even cubed tofu. Be sure to use low sodium vegetarian broth as well, and omit the fish sauce if you’d like.
Add your fav grains
I love the whole grains and heartiness that brown rice gives the ginger chicken soup, but you have some options:
- White rice: feel free to use white jasmine rice instead of brown, but just note that you’ll only need to cook the soup for 25-30 minutes total.
- Noodles: try adding 8 ounces of rice noodles or ramen noodles! Add them in the last 10 minutes of cooking so that they don’t get mushy.
- Couscous: if you haven’t, you must try my famous best chicken soup recipe. Or, you can add pearled couscous to this ginger chicken soup! Note that pearled couscous is not gluten free.
How to make coconut chicken and rice soup
- Cook your veggies. Start by cooking down the green onion and carrots in toasted sesame oil with ginger and turmeric. Add the garlic in the last minute of sauteing.
- Add broth & flavors. Next, mix in the chicken broth, coconut milk, soy sauce and chili paste.
- Mix in chicken & rice. Finally, fold in the chicken thighs and rice and make sure all of the chicken is covered. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce and simmer. Stir every so often so that the rice doesn’t get stuck on the bottom.
- Shred & simmer. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot, shred it, and stir it back into the soup. Cover the soup and let it cook longer so that the rice is tender. In the last few minutes of cooking stir in the fish sauce and lime juice.
- Garnish and serve. Divide the soup into bowls, add fresh garnishes and enjoy!
Choose your soup thickness
This ginger chicken soup thickens over time because of the rice in, so if you like a more brothy soup feel free to add about 2 additional cups of chicken broth to the pot when you add the shredded chicken back into it.
Storing & freezing
- To store: store this coconut chicken and rice soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days. Simply reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- To freeze: I would suggest leaving the rice out if you’re planning to freeze this. Allow the soup to cool completely before placing it into airtight, freezer-friendly containers. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, simply allow the soup to thaw in the refrigerator before reheating on the stovetop or in the microwave. To add the rice, cook it separately and add it to your reheated soup when you’re ready to serve.
More soup recipes you’ll love
- Butternut Squash Green Chile Chicken Soup
- Courtney’s Curry Chicken Noodle Soup
- The Best Minestrone Soup
- Healing Curry Butternut Squash Lentil Soup (with a slow cooker option!)
- Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup (whole 30, dairy free)
Get all of our amazing soup recipes here!
If you make this healing ginger chicken soup be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healing Ginger Coconut Chicken Brown Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (or olive oil)
- ½ cup diced green onion
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated turmeric
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth (or 8 if you like it broth-y)
- 1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon red chili paste (if you like a little heat)
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ¾ cup jasmine brown rice (or sub jasmine white rice)
- 1-2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 lime, juiced
- To garnish:
- ⅓ cup diced green scallions
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup torn mint
- ¼ cup torn basil
- 3-4 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Add 1 tablespoon sesame oil to a large dutch oven or pot and place over medium high heat. Add in the green onion, carrots, ginger and turmeric; saute for 3-5 minutes. During the last 30 seconds-1 minute of cooking, add in the garlic and saute until fragrant. Slowly add in the chicken broth, coconut milk, soy sauce and red chili paste until well combined. Add in the chicken thighs, brown rice and stir, making sure the chicken is covered with the broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan at any point.
- After 25-30 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove chicken from the pot and transfer to a cutting board, but keep the heat in the pot as the rice will need to continue cooking. Use two forks to shred chicken then add back to the pot. If you like a brothier soup, now is the time to add more chicken broth. Cover soup with lid, continuing to simmer on low for 10-15 minutes until rice is tender. Finally to finish, add fish sauce and lime juice and simmer for just a few more minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
- Pour into bowls, then garnish with a little of each of the following: scallions, cilantro, mint, basil and peanuts. Serves 4-6. Enjoy.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on January 26th, 2023, and republished on February 11th, 2025.
Please keep sharing these inspiring recipes, because they encourage people to cook healthier meals. Just a little extra nutritional advice would be helpful here.
Can I use a different type of rice instead of jasmine?
Yes, any rice should work well!
We make this soup all the time and have tried it with all the different grains and noodles! Kiddos love it too, Our 2 year old ate like half the of tonight’s batch!!
Amazing! This one’s great for customizing!
I’m a big soup gal and this not only hits the spot flavorwise but the nourishing ingredients take it up 10 notches as they heal you from the inside out as the name implies. I’ve made this soup several winters in a row now and will often double the recipe to freeze portions for days I don’t have the time or energy to make a nice lunch (especially on a snowy day). Goes great some some toast. 10/10 must try!
Absolutely! One of my all-time favs during colder months.
I LOVE this soup so much! I make it a lot for my family. Question – can I make it with a whole (small) chicken? I’m hoping to use a whole chicken that I have and make this tomorrow. Thanks!
So happy to hear that! Feel free to cook the chicken separately and add the meat to the soup in the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.
So cosy and warming!
One of my all-time favs!
Incredible dish. Honestly, everyone of the ambitious kitchen recipes I’ve made have been a real success. This soup has so much essence that comes through, I have made it for friends who have been sick that have raved about it. Ginger and coconut milk and all the veggies is just perfect. It is one of my favorite soups now.
So happy to hear that! This is one of my all-time favs, too 🙂
Great meal. Threw in some celery with the other aromatics. I also added a bunch of sad spinach at the end to get some extra greens! Delicious. Will make again.
Mmmm, you never can go wrong with more veggies in a soup!
It needs so much more salt and acid than described.
I’ve always found the 1/4 cup of soy sauce and whole juiced lime to be plenty, but feel free to add more of both or salt to taste! You could also use a regular chicken broth instead of low sodium.
I LOVE this soup. I have made it several times now, and it gets better every time. I don’t make any modifications. Lovely, lovely soup!
One of my all-time favs, too!!
Hi Monique. I agree with many others that your pictures are mouthwatering, and instructions are easy to follow. And again like others, I substitute ingredients, mostly onions and garlic. Due to allergies, I substitute onion powder and garlic powder for the fresh. I also do not use any onion family vegetables. Can’t wait to try this soup!
Is it possible to add the category Potassium with the gm number to the Nutritional Facts as now I have to limit Potassium!
Thanks and Happy New Year,
Suzie2
Perfect! We typically only calculate higher-level macros, but an online nutrition calculator should be able to help with that extra information!
So delicious – I added a jar of chickpeas which complemented the soup wonderfully.
Love that! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
I love this soup so much! I have made it many times, and the whole family loves it. I use less broth than called for: I make a double recipe but only use 6 cups of broth. This makes it pretty thick. I use a little more fresh grated ginger and Tumeric than the recipe calls for too. Those fresh spices are so good! I usually skip the cilantro garnish, but I love the torn fresh mint and basil – they add a wonderful freshness and complexity. My favorite soup ever!
Perfect! So glad you love this one (one of my all-time favorites, too!)
This soup is absolutely fantastic. I love making a big pot of it to have as easy lunches for the week (I make the rice separately and add it in as I reheat the soup so the rice doesn’t absorb too much liquid). I keep it simple and use ground turmeric and skip the toppings and it’s still fantastic. It’s such a comforting meal and I love that it’s packed with anti-inflammatory ingredients. My only recommendation is to keep it away from upholstered dining chairs and good clothes because turmeric stains forever.
So glad you love this one! And yes, be careful with that turmeric 🙂
I make this recipe every time I’m sick! Total comfort food. I add edamame beans and extra lime juice.
Absolutely! Love those additions 🙂
This looks great! Can this be made in the slow cooker? If so, when would you recommend adding the rice?
For a slow cooker option, I would still recommend cooking down your veggies, then adding them to your slow cooker with the rest of your ingredients (rice included) and cook on high for about 3-4 hours.
I made this following a particularly nasty case of the flu and it was exactly what my body needed – nutritious, delicious and restorative. I opted for noodles instead of brown rice but it would be just as good with cannellini beans. On occasion I add a tsp of Thai red curry paste when reheating a portion but overall a fabulously tasty recipe that needs no improvement.
I’m so glad you found this recipe! I always make a version of this when I’m sick. Hope you’re feeling better!
I made this following a particular nasty case of the flu and it was exactly what my body needed. Delicious, nutritious and restorative. I opted for noodles over brown rice and on occasion added a little Thai red curry paste to the saucepan when reheating a portion but overall a wonderful recipe that is perfect as is.
I love this soup! I made it towards the end of recovering from a virus and it healed me! I then made it for my neighbor when he said he and his daughter had the flu. He claims he was healthy the next day. It was so good I made it for another neighbor. I loved the creaminess, but the ginger, fish sauce, soy, etc., make is so flavorful! It is my favorite!
Amazing! So glad this one helped in the recovery process!
I made this last night and it was so flavorful and easy to make, not many ingredients needed either.
The perfect cozy meal!
Made this last week and it was delish! I used homemade bone broth and pulled chicken breast that I had on hand, as well as some homemade curry powder instead of ground turmeric. I used gochujang for the red chili paste and it was the perfect amount of spice. My husband loved it as well! The coconut milk makes it nice and creamy and balances out the spice. I used short-grain brown rice this time, and think it would be great with some brown rice noodles as suggested as an option. Lots of great flavors and nourishing. I will make this again for sure! Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Amazing! This one’s great for customizing — so glad you both enjoyed!
I made this dish just as we waited for a cold snap moving in here in South Texas – expecting the temps to fall from mid 60s to 35 overnight. A great meal for a cold and chilly day. Very easy to make. My wife and I used to live in Thailand – the combination of aromatics (Ginger, Garlic, Green onion) are a great base for the soup. Next time I might try to replace the green onions with shallots – another great aromatic. The topping of basil, mint, cilantro and parsley, of course with the peanuts – a very fresh taste reminiscent of Vietnamese cooking. Having lived in Asia, we always have fish sauce and lime on hand, and a quick trip to an Indian market yielded fresh turmeric. I did make the brown rice separately as we plan on this for lunch tomorrow as well! Very easy to make and absolutely delicious! This will go on our list of Go To Comfort food.
So glad you gave this one a try! Perfect for colder weather 🙂
I’m 40 weeks pregnant and just doubled this recipe to have a freezer meal ready. Used 1.5lbs chicken thighs + 1 can chickpeas, and added a head of chopped cauliflower in the last 10 minutes of simmering. Added a scoop of peanut butter and 1 lime squeezed at the end. Fantastic! This is so good and feels like exactly the nourishment my family needs this week!
Perfect!! This will be such a great postpartum meal 🙂
This is one of my most favorite soup recipes EVER and I make a lot of soups! I make a soup or two every week during the fall and winter. This recipe is so comforting but packed with so many nutrients. Although, I have never made this recipe with brown rice, I always use a whole wheat noodle like yakisoba or Rice ramen from Lotus Foods. I simply prefer noodles over rice. But seriously, I can’t recommend this recipe enough!
So happy to hear that! LOVE the idea of adding noodles 🙂