New year, new super nourishing, absolutely delicious meal to start your week. After weeks straight of holidays, birthdays, and plenty of Christmas cookies, I’ve been craving some much-needed nutrients.
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
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!
Healing Ginger Coconut Chicken Brown Rice Soup
Healing ginger chicken soup packed with feel-good ingredients like fresh ginger and turmeric, plus a lovely creaminess from coconut milk. This nourishing, one pot coconut chicken and rice soup has a boost of whole grains from brown rice and is delicious topped with fresh garnishes! A wonderful meal for colder months.
- 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
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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.
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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.
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Pour into bowls, then garnish with a little of each of the following: scallions, cilantro, mint, basil and peanuts. Serves 4-6. Enjoy.
Feel free to use white jasmine rice for this soup; you’ll likely only need to cook the soup for 25-30 minutes total.
Nutrition
Servings: 6 servings
Serving size: 1 serving (based on 6)
Calories: 337kcal
Fat: 14.6g
Saturated fat: 6.6g
Carbohydrates: 28.7g
Fiber: 2.7g
Sugar: 2.6g
Protein: 24.6g
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
