This easy vegan Tom Kha soup is a sweet, sour, and spicy Thai soup packed with herbs and spices in a rich and creamy broth. Tom Kha is simply Tom Yum soup with coconut milk added to it to mellow out the spiciness and gives it a creamy full flavor! Serve on the side of your favorite Thai dish or over rice noodles and make it a meal.
Tom Kha soup found in traditional Thai cuisine is a spicy, sour coconut soup made from many hard-to-find ingredients like kaffir lime leaves, galangal root, lemon grass, and Thai chilies.
I never seemed to have all of those ingredients when I craved a bowl of Tom Kha, so I was thrilled when I found a vegan Tom Yum soup base at my local Asian supermarket with all of those ingredients already in the spice mix. Now I can whip up a pot of Tom Kha anytime at home so I don't have to worry about restaurants adding fish sauce.
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❤️ Why you'll love Tom Kha soup
- This vegan Tom Kha is a rich and creamy coconut milk-based soup that is bursting with flavor.
- It's a spicy yet slightly sour soup packed with complex flavors.
- This vegan method makes a quick and easy, nutritious meal in about 20 minutes.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Tom Yum Soup Base - you may be able to find it at your local Asian market or you can easily order it online. (One container will make 4 large pots of soup.)
- Water - to mix with the soup base. You could also use a low-sodium vegetable broth for more flavor.
- Vegan Protein - I usually use tofu in this soup. I just toss it in raw and let it soak up the flavor of the broth while it simmers. You can also use pan-fried tofu or vegan chicken.
- Coconut Milk - full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream works best. You want canned coconut milk, not the type that comes in a carton.
- Tomatoes - I like to use halved cherry tomatoes in it, but you can also use regular diced tomatoes. You can also use red bell pepper instead.
- Onion - you can use regular yellow onion, sweet onion, or red onion.
- Mushrooms - white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms work best. You can also use shiitake mushrooms if desired.
- Rice Noodles - This is optional to make this soup more of a meal. You can leave it out if you want a thin light soup.
- Fresh Cilantro - optional for flavor. You can swap this out for green onions too or add them in addition to the cilantro. You can also add fresh lemongrass or even lemongrass paste if you have some.
- Lime Juice - Fresh lime is delicious and squeezed into the soup after cooking.
Did you know that not all brands of coconut milk use ethical treatment of animals and therefore not truly vegan? Read more about it and see which brands of coconut milk are vegan.
🥄 How to make vegan tom kha soup
Step 1 - Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large soup pot. (You can also use 4 cups of low-sodium vegetable stock and 4 cups of water.)
Step 2 - Add a ¼ cup of soup base, a protein of choice, and the onion and mushrooms to the water.
Step 3 - Let the soup simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
Step 4 - While the soup simmers, cook the rice noodles according to package directions then drain, rinse with cold water, and set them aside.
Step 5 - Add the can of full-fat coconut milk and the halved cherry tomatoes and simmer over low heat for 5 more minutes.
Step 6 - Serve over cooked rice noodles.
Step 7 - Garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
🥗 Serving suggestions
Make this vegan Tom Kha a complete meal by serving it with these tofu spring rolls, vegan lettuce wraps, or teriyaki tofu. It also goes great alongside orange cauliflower, vegetable chop suey, and teriyaki noodles.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- Use less soup mix for a more mild soup and more soup mix for a spicer soup.
- You can also serve this soup without rice noodles.
- Keep the rice noodles separate, and then serve the hot soup over the noodles. This keeps the noodles from cooking too much and getting mushy.
- To give your soup more flavor you can add a tablespoon of soy sauce, a teaspoon or two of Thai red curry paste, or even a little brown sugar or coconut sugar to enhance the flavor.
🥡 How to store and reheat tom kha soup
Refrigerate: This makes a big pot of soup, and it tastes great the next day and works well for lunches. Vegan Tom Kha soup will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container.
Freeze: Tom Kha freezes well and can be stored in an airtight bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheating: Reheat the soup in the microwave for about 3 minutes or reheat it in a saucepan until warm.
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📋 Vegan tom kha soup recipe
Easy Vegan Tom Kha Soup
Equipment
- souper cubes (for storage)
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- ¼ - ½ cup Tom Yum broth base
- 1 medium onion peeled and cut into ¼ inch slices
- 1 lbs. firm tofu pressed and cubed or package of vegan chick’n strips
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced or any other veggie of choice (optional)
- 8 oz. rice noodles cooked according to package directions
- 1 (13.5 oz. can) coconut milk
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
Optional after cooking
- 1/4 cup cilantro (optional)
- 1 medium lime (optional)
Instructions
- Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a large soup pot. (You can also use 4 cups of low sodium vegetable stock and 4 cups of water.)
- Add a ¼ cup of soup base, a protein of choice, and the onion and mushrooms to the water.
- Let the soup simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
- While the soup simmers, cook the rice noodles according to package directions then drain, rinse with cold water, and set them aside.
- Add the can of full fat coconut milk and the halved cherry tomatoes and simmer over low heat for 5 more minutes.
- Serve over cooked rice noodles.
- Garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
Notes
- This makes a big pot of soup. It tastes great the next day and works well for lunches.
- I like to keep the noodles and soup separate so the noodles don't get overcooked when reheating. If you think you will eat it all in 1 sitting, you can add the noodles to the broth.
- Adjust the amount of soup base that you use to control the spice level.
- To give your soup more flavor you can add a tablespoon of soy sauce, a teaspoon or two of Thai red curry paste, or even a little brown sugar or coconut sugar to enhance the flavors.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
I'm not trying to be the fly in the ointment, but I thought I saw dried shrimp in the ingredient list for the tom yum soup base in the link on amazon. Am I mistaken, or is there a soup mix available without dried shrimp?
I just rechecked the link and it goes to a vegan Tom Yum soup base. It even has a certified vegan label on it. Maybe you were looking at a related item after you clicked the link?
This was so good! I was so excited to see a way to make my own that was easy and vegan. I get it when I go out for Thai, but never made my own until now.