It warms you all the way through, with a nourishing broth that can keep you going on a cold day. But the spicy flavors are also excellent for a summer evening!
Want to make your own Thai chicken soup? Check out this guide for everything you need to know.
Quick Answer: How To Make Panera Thai Chicken Soup At Home
Making panera Thai chicken soup is surprisingly easy (Also check out Best Spices For Chicken Soup) and, despite needing quite a few different ingredients, once you’ve done all of your preparations it’s a simple case of adding everything together in a large pan, bit by bit, until you’re left with a delicious soup!
Why We Love Thai Chicken Soup
This could be a very long list because there are so many things we love about Thai chicken soup. So, let’s try and keep to the basics!
The flavors are layered and luscious and complex. Honestly, there’s so much going on in this soup that it could be overwhelming, but it works out just right!
It’s very filling for a soup, but you can also add rice and noodles to bulk out the broth. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner, and we could probably enjoy a bowl for breakfast!
Every spoonful has something new. A lot is going on in this soup, but it’s worth the big shopping trip and prep time!
Ingredients You Need For Panera Thai Chicken Soup
Take a sip of Thai chicken soup and you’ll understand why you need such a big ingredients list.
This is a richly flavored soup, with layer after layer of taste. It’s salty and meaty and fresh and sour and everything in between.
But to achieve that diverse array of flavors, you need a pretty long list of ingredients. Don’t worry, there are a few that can be skipped or substituted.
There’s one thing you really can’t do without — Thai yellow curry paste. This gives a big heap of flavors with just one spoonful. Leave this out, and your soup won’t be the same.
Let’s take a look at everything you need for Thai chicken soup!
Chicken breast. Breast works best in this recipe, but you can try thigh instead. You could also try substituting chicken for pork or shrimp (or leaving it out altogether).
Yellow onion.
Red bell peppers: Or try yellow or orange.
Carrots.
Scallions.
Shiitake mushrooms: Shitake adds the best flavor, but feel free to try other mushrooms.
Canned tomatoes: You can peel and dice fresh tomatoes, but it’s a lot more effort for no real payoff.
Edamame: Fresh or frozen will work. Alternatively, try green beans or bean sprouts.
Jalapeno pepper: You can achieve this same spicy kick with Serrano or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
Chicken stock: You need quite a lot of chicken stock for the soup, plus some extra spoonfuls for the cornstarch mixture. You can substitute this with chicken broth. If you’re keeping it veggie, use vegetable stock.
Coconut milk: Choose unsweetened coconut milk and add the entire can (even the solid layer).
Lime juice: Use fresh lime, as it has the most flavor.
Thai Yellow Curry Paste: This is the one ingredient you can’t miss or substitute! You can buy Thai yellow curry paste online or in stores. It has a really rich blend of ingredients, so you’d need a whole load of seasonings to achieve the same effect.
Garlic: Use grated fresh cloves or puree.
Ginger: Panera uses pureed ginger, but you can finely grate fresh ginger instead.
Turmeric powder.
Salt.
Fresh basil.
Fresh lemongrass: Swap it for lime or lemon zest, or add kaffir lime leaves.
Fresh cilantro.
Olive oil: Olive oil is fine in this recipe, but you can experiment with other oils. Keep in mind that something like peanut oil might alter the flavor.
Fish sauce: Oyster sauce is the best substitute if you don’t own fish sauce, but tamari or soy sauce can work, as can Worcestershire sauce.
Tamari: Tamari is a lighter version of soy sauce, which works well for this soup. But if you don’t have it, use soy sauce.
Rice wine vinegar: The best alternative is white wine vinegar, but apple cider vinegar is also a good substitute.
Brown sugar: Brown has a caramel depth, but you can probably use whatever sugar you have to hand.
Cornstarch.
How To Make Panera Thai Chicken Soup
The good thing about that massive ingredients list is that once you’ve done your shopping, you’re basically halfway to making your soup.
There isn’t much work involved in making Thai chicken soup, which can come as a surprise as it develops into such a big flavor.
The ingredients list is long, but when you’ve made this soup once, there will be a lot less shopping next time. If you don’t have ingredients like fish sauce and rice wine vinegar, now is the time to invest!
Begin by prepping your vegetables. Once the soup has started, things move pretty quickly. Thinly slice the bell pepper, mushrooms, and onion, shred the carrots, and grate the garlic and ginger. If your edamame beans are still in their shells, pop the beans free.
Finely chop your scallions, cilantro, basil, and lemongrass. Slice your jalapeno — you can leave the seeds in or take them out, depending on how hot you want your soup.
Slice your chicken into bite-sized pieces.
You need to use a big pot to make this soup, as a lot of liquids go in! Place it over a medium flame, and heat your olive oil. Add your sliced chicken and onion. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the onions have started to soften. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant. This will take around 30 seconds.
Add the basic veggies: carrots, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. Next, add turmeric powder and Thai yellow curry paste. Stir everything until the curry paste is lightly coating all the chicken and veggies.
Pour in the chicken stock, the tomatoes, and, if you have them, the edamame beans. Give everything a good stir until it’s fully mixed in. Cover, and leave it on a slow and low simmer.
While the soup simmers, you want to get started mixing your flavorings. In a separate bowl, combine the fish sauce with the tamari and the rice wine vinegar. Add the ginger and the brown sugar. Whisk the mixture to combine and dissolve the sugar.
Add your fish sauce mixture to your simmering soup, and stir to combine. Next, add the coconut milk. If it’s separated, make sure you add both the liquid and solid portions — it will melt in the heat! Stir, add some salt, taste, and adjust the seasoning.
In another separate bowl, whisk the cornstarch with some chicken stock until it forms a thick liquid. Pour this into the soup and stir. Simmer with the lid off for roughly 15 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasonings. It should smell mouthwatering, so you’ll probably want to break out a bowl and a spoon right away. Serve garnished with chopped cilantro and some jalapeno slices, and add a last squeeze of lime. Enjoy!
Thai Chicken Soup Substitutes And Variations
There are a few ways you can experiment with your soup, to make it just right for your tastes:
Make It More Filling
This soup is a hearty meal on its own, but you can bulk it out a bit with rice and noodles.
Try heating some ramen noodles and adding them to your soup right at the very end. Or, have a go at making some Thai roti bread! This popular bread can be enjoyed sweet or savory and is great at mopping up those last bits of soup in your bowl.
The basic dough is made from egg, butter, flour, milk, and water. Once the dough has rested, you slap the dough thin, fold it back into itself, and fry.
Switch Your Vegetables
The vegetable mixture we’ve used here is pretty classic, but you can experiment with what you add. Yellow and orange bell peppers will both work well, as well as bean sprouts and water chestnuts.
You could even try adding some leafy greens! We recommend stirring through kale or spinach not long before serving, so it has a chance to wilt without disintegrating.
Switch Your Proteins
Chicken breast is our top choice, but you can try using thigh instead. This will give the soup a higher fat content. Pork could also work well. Try frying bite-sized pieces of diced pork instead of chicken.
Shrimp is nearly always good in Thai food, but be careful with your timings. If you cook shrimp for too long, it can become chewy.
Alternatively, you can use pre-cooked meats. Instead of frying the chicken breast, toss through shredded rotisserie chicken a few minutes before serving.
Make It Vegetarian
There are a few steps required for making your Thai soup suitable for vegetarians. Leave out the chicken and substitute the chicken stock for vegetable. You’ll also need to replace fish sauce with tamari.
Double-check the ingredients of your Thai yellow curry paste. Most of them are suitable for vegetarians, but some brands list shrimp paste or fish sauce in the ingredients!
Final Thoughts
Don’t fancy a trip to Panera? We think our version of Thai Chicken Soup is even better, and you can make it at home! The ingredients list is long but the process is easy, and the flavors speak for themselves!
Frequently Asked Questions
Excited to start making your soup? In this section, we’ll take a look at some common questions you might have before you get cooking!
What Does Panera Thai Chicken Soup Taste Like?
Imagine a fragrant curry with a smack of sour, a lingering sweetness, and a salty umami base — that’s roughly what Panera Thai Chicken Soup tastes like, although that doesn’t do it justice!
Thai Chicken Soup has such a rich and layered flavor that it feels almost impossible to explain. There’s everything from sweet to savory in there, but the most prominent flavor is an aromatic curry taste.
How Many Calories Does Thai Chicken Soup Contain?
The original Panera version of Thai Chicken Soup contains 160 calories per cup. Our version is slightly richer and contains roughly 259 calories in a cup.
You can try to cut this down slightly with low-sodium chicken stock and low-fat coconut milk.
Other calorie-reducing swaps include replacing brown sugar with a sugar substitute and skipping the chicken breast.
Is Thai Chicken Soup Suitable For Gluten-Free Diets?
Thai chicken soup can be made gluten-free, but you must be careful with the ingredients. Make sure you’re using a gluten-free tamari, and if you substitute the fish sauce, check your replacement has no gluten.
We’ve used the Maesri Thai yellow curry paste, which does contain wheat. If you want to make a gluten-free version of Thai chicken soup, you’ll need to look for a yellow curry paste that doesn’t contain wheat.
The Mae Ploy Thai yellow curry paste doesn’t appear to contain gluten, but please check carefully before using it.
Is Thai Chicken Soup Dairy-Free?
Yes, our recipe for Thai chicken soup is dairy free! We’ve used coconut milk to bring a rich creaminess to the broth without adding any dairy.
Is This Copycat Thai Chicken Soup Identical To Panera Thai Chicken Soup?
Our recipe is close to the Panera original, without being completely identical, but we think this version is better anyway!
Our Thai chicken soup can be made at home, and the luscious blend of flavors will ensure you never need to head to Panera again! (At least, not for chicken soup! You can still go for a breakfast sandwich.)
How Long Can You Store Thai Chicken Soup?
Our copycat Thai chicken soup can be kept refrigerated for roughly 5 to 7 days. You might notice the flavors change and deepen over time, but it should still be incredibly tasty.
Store your soup in an airtight container, and reheat it when you’re craving something delicious.
Reheat on high power for roughly 3 minutes using the microwave, or on the stovetop for 3 to 4 minutes, until it’s reached a good simmer.
Can You Freeze Thai Chicken Soup?
Yes, Thai chicken soup freezes really well! We recommend freezing it in individual portions, for an easy weekday dinner for one. Thai chicken soup can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost completely before reheating.
You might notice the flavor balance has changed slightly during the freezing, defrosting, and reheating process. Taste your soup before serving and adjust the seasonings as appropriate.
Is Thai Chicken Soup Spicy?
Thai chicken soup definitely has a kick of spice, but the most prominent tastes are aromatic, rather than hot. However, if you’re particularly sensitive to spice, there are some steps you can take to reduce the heat levels of your soup.
First, use less of the Thai yellow curry paste. This is a tricky balance to get right, so we recommend testing frequently to make sure you’re still getting flavor without the heat.
Next, make sure to remove the seeds and the membrane from the jalapeno! This is where most of the heat is.
Alternatively, you can skip the jalapeno altogether. It adds some flavor to the soup, but you won’t miss it!
If you’re cooking for different palettes, try leaving the jalapeno out of the soup, and letting people add their own slices when serving.
Finally, if you realize you’ve made your soup too hot, try adding an extra squeeze of lime, some more coconut milk, and serve with plenty of rice!
Begin by prepping your vegetables. Once the soup has started, things move pretty quickly. Thinly slice the bell pepper, mushrooms, and onion, shred the carrots, and grate the garlic and ginger. If your edamame beans are still in their shells, pop the beans free.
Finely chop your scallions, cilantro, basil, and lemongrass. Slice your jalapeno — you can leave the seeds in or take them out, depending on how hot you want your soup.
Slice your chicken into bite-sized pieces.
You need to use a big pot to make this soup, as a lot of liquids go in! Place it over a medium flame, and heat your olive oil. Add your sliced chicken and onion.
Heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink in the center and the onions have started to soften. Add the garlic, and cook until fragrant. This will take around 30 seconds.
Add the basic veggies: carrots, mushrooms, and red bell pepper. Next, add turmeric powder and Thai yellow curry paste. Stir everything until the curry paste is lightly coating all the chicken and veggies.
Pour in the chicken stock, the tomatoes, and, if you have them, the edamame beans. Give everything a good stir until it’s fully mixed in. Cover, and leave it on a slow and low simmer.
While the soup simmers, you want to get started mixing your flavorings.
In a separate bowl, combine the fish sauce with the tamari and the rice wine vinegar. Add the ginger and the brown sugar. Whisk the mixture to combine and dissolve the sugar.
Add your fish sauce mixture to your simmering soup, and stir to combine.
Next, add the coconut milk. If it’s separated, make sure you add both the liquid and solid portions — it will melt in the heat! Stir, add some salt, taste, and adjust the seasoning.
In another separate bowl, whisk the cornstarch with some chicken stock until it forms a thick liquid. Pour this into the soup and stir. Simmer with the lid off for roughly 15 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasonings. It should smell mouthwatering, so you’ll probably want to break out a bowl and a spoon right away.
Serve garnished with chopped cilantro and some jalapeno slices, and add a last squeeze of lime. Enjoy!
Hey! I’m Lana, the original Soup Chick! I decided to create this website as I am a massive soup fan. I will literally make soup for every occasion. Whether a friend is under the weather, has the flu, or I just want to try out something new in my slow cooker!
I hope that you can find some really interesting and different soup recipes to try out with my site. I know I’ve had a lot of fun curating and trying them all, and I hope that you do too!
