Copycat Panera Thai Chicken Soup
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This Panera Bread Thai Chicken Soup copycat recipe is the perfect soup for the cold weather! It’s a delicious mix of flavors full of chicken, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, red bell peppers and edamame simmered in a rich, Thai yellow curry spicy-sweet coconut broth. Plus – it’s a little spicy – so it clears the sinuses too!
What You Will ❤️ About Thai Chicken Soup
- So Much Flavor!! The can of Thai Yellow Curry is a game changer – that tiny can is packed with so many Thai style flavors and spices – not to mention the aroma when you open the can – oh my my!
- Devoured! I literally ate 3 cups of this soup the day I made it and had 2 more cups the next day for breakfast! Normally I freeze some leftovers so I don’t get burned out – but not this time!
- Mushroom-Lovers Dream! This is loaded up with Shitake mushrooms and I loved every bite! There’s also peppers, onions, carrots and even tender white meat chicken!
Panera Thai Chicken Soup Ingredients
Ok – I’ll be frank – this is a HUGE list of ingredients (sort of the way it goes with an Asian-style soup). It is a bit overwhelming! But – IT’S WORTH IT!!! I’m providing alternatives for as much as I can – and if you’re missing something or you can’t find it – skip it. Except for the Thai Yellow Curry – don’t you dare skip that!!!
- Chicken Breast
- Veggies: Yellow onion, Shitake Mushrooms, Shredded Carrots, Red Bell Peppers, Canned Diced Tomatoes, Shelled Edamame, Scallions, Jalapeno
- Substitution Options:
- Mushrooms – use any type of fresh mushrooms although I would recommend a Gourmet Blend if you can’t find Shitake rather than just “button mushrooms”.
- Edamame – I bought a bag of frozen and then steamed in the microwave and shelled the beans. That took more time than anything else! 😉
- Jalapeno Pepper – My Kroger was out so I used Serrano instead
- Substitution Options:
- Liquids: Chicken Stock, Unsweetened Coconut Milk, Lime Juice
- Coconut Milk – be sure to get Unsweetened and be aware – if you’re new to coconut milk – it will have a solid layer on top – scrape it all in – it will melt
- Lime Juice – be sure to use a fresh lime for this – the juice has so much more flavor
- Seasonings: Thai Yellow Curry Paste, Garlic, Turmeric, Ginger, Salt
- Yellow Curry Paste – the red & green are easy to find in store but the yellow is a bit tougher. Whole Foods has one but I found this can on Amazon.
- Ginger Puree – Panera used a ginger puree – I grated ginger on a zester instead
- Herbs: Fresh Basil, Fresh Cilantro, Fresh Lemongrass
- I have an Aerogarden so I have fresh basil all the time!!! I really recommend it – they have a great selection and you can’t kill them! They grow with just water and it tells you when to fill the water and add plant food! It’s the best money I’ve spent!
- Lemongrass – Kroger in BFE Ohio didn’t have lemongrass – shocker. You can swap out lemon, lime zest or Kaffir lime leaves.
- Other: Olive Oil, Fish Sauce, Tamari, Rice Wine Vinegar, Brown Sugar, Corn Starch
- Fish Sauce – you can swap with Oyster Sauce, Tamari, Soy Sauce or Worcestershire – it’s a little fishier – so I’d go with Oyster if I didn’t have Fish Sauce (I have it all – haha)
- Tamari – it’s a little less salty and thicker than soy sauce but it’s very similar – so you can swap that (I did)
- Rice Wine Vinegar – you can sub with white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
How to Make Panera’s Thai Chicken Soup
Luckily that giant list of ingredients is where the heavy lifting is. This hearty chicken soup is super easy to make so it even works on a busy day!
- Over medium heat on a stove top, in a large stock pot or dutch oven, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken, onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are softened.
- Add the mushrooms, carrots, red pepper, turmeric and Thai Yellow Curry. Stir until the chicken and vegetables are coated in curry paste.
- Add the chicken stock, canned tomatoes and edamame. Cover with lid and bring to a slow simmer.
- In a small bowl, whisk together fish sauce, Tamari, rice vinegar, ginger and brown sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Once the soup is slowly simmering, add the fish sauce mixture, coconut milk, lime juice, basil, scallion, cilantro, lemongrass, jalapeño and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together corn starch and water and pour into soup. Stir to combine. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Serve with fresh cilantro and slices of jalapeno
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Tips, Tricks & FAQs
Wow – that’s a loaded question! Because of the yellow curry paste and turmeric – it has a strong curry flavor – but then with all the other seasonings and vegetables – it’s so much more! My new favorite for sure!
There are 160 calories in a cup of Panera’s version. My version has 259 calories per cup.
You’ll have to check the sauces and be sure to use gluten-free varieties in this copycat of Panera Bread Thai Style Chicken Soup.
Yes! This is a delicious dairy free chicken soup recipe!
No – not exactly. Sone of the ingredients are different but they’re very similar. This recipe is the best version though – I promise!
Pour soup into airtight containers (I like these glass ones) and store in the refrigerator for up to a week – or freeze up to three months. Reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or on the stove top in a sauce pan on high 3-4 minutes until simmering.
Recipe Variations
There’s nothing like a warm cup of soup on a cold day and this Thai chicken soup is a great choice! That said – you can make some tweaks if you’d like!
- Noodles – after eating this soup my first thought was – I want to add ramen! And I did with the leftovers! I heated up the ramen and the soup separately then added the noodle to the soup.
- Vegetables – you could definitely swap out some of the vegetables – orange bell pepper for red, add green beans and decrease the mushrooms – do what you like!
More Panera Bread Copycat Recipes
- Panera Spicy Thai Salad with Chicken
- Panera Broth Bowl
- Teriyaki Chicken & Broccoli Bowl
- More Panera Recipes
More Copycat Soup Recipes
Panera Thai Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast thinly sliced bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 12 oz fresh shitake mushrooms chopped
- 1.5 cups shredded carrots
- 1 large red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- 4 oz Thai Yellow Curry Paste
- 24 oz chicken stock or broth
- 14 oz diced tomatoes drained
- 12 oz edamame bag of frozen pods, shelled
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp Tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp ginger grated
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 28 oz unsweetened coconut milk 2 – 14 oz cans
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp basil fresh, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp scallions finely diced
- 2 tbsp cilantro fresh, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp lemongrass finely diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper thinly sliced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tbsp chicken broth or water
Instructions
- Over medium heat on a stove top, in a large stock pot or dutch oven, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the chicken, onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are softened.2 tbsp olive oil, 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, 1/2 yellow onion, 1 tbsp minced garlic
- Add the mushrooms, carrots, red pepper, turmeric and Thai Yellow Curry. Stir until the chicken and vegetables are coated in curry paste.12 oz fresh shitake mushrooms, 1.5 cups shredded carrots, 1 large red bell pepper, 1 tsp Turmeric, 4 oz Thai Yellow Curry Paste
- Add the chicken stock, canned tomatoes and edamame and bring to a slow simmer.24 oz chicken stock, 14 oz diced tomatoes, 12 oz edamame
- In a small bowl, whisk together fish sauce, Tamari, rice vinegar, ginger and brown sugar and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.1 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tsp Tamari, 1 tsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp ginger, 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Once the soup is slowly simmering, add the fish sauce mixture, coconut milk, lime juice, basil, scallion, cilantro, lemongrass, jalapeño and salt.28 oz unsweetened coconut milk, 1 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp basil, 2 tbsp scallions, 2 tbsp cilantro, 1 tbsp lemongrass, 1 jalapeno pepper, 2 tsp salt
- In a small bowl, whisk together corn starch and water and pour into soup. Stir to combine. Simmer for 15 minutes.1 tbsp corn starch, 2 tbsp chicken broth
- Serve with fresh cilantro and slices of jalapeño
I finally got all of the ingredients together to make this after you shared this recipe in our Facebook group. OMG! It is absolutely amazing!! Thank you so much for this fabulous soup!
When Panera carried this soup, it was our favorite. Now we can make it at home with the exact same flavor and satisfaction (actually, your recipe is so much better than theirs!). The only thing I did differently to save time was use Lemongrass and Ginger paste from a tube. Thank you so much for sharing this with the world. We will make this recipe for years and years to come! xxx
Thank you so much!!!! I was surprised at how delicious it turned out! I’m glad you can enjoy it anytime!
Dried shiitake mushrooms or fresh? I used dried from Amazon the 1st time I made this, they were hard to slice so I chopped them in my cuisinart, and it was delicious! Then I got dried shiitakes at my grocery store and used half the package, tbe batch had a bitter almost burned taste; I got sick. I threw the rest out I started batch 3 w tbe
test of the pkg and stopped bc it had a strong burnt smell. I noticed my grocery store has fresh shiitake mushrooms and am considering starting over.
I also skip fish sauce (ick) and jalapeños, and missed the tomatoes and adamant in the recipe. I was thinking of cabbage snd bananas.
But my main question is the MUSHROOMS fresh or dried?
fresh
This Soup is absolutely Delish. Thai Restaurant Quality. It make at least 3 Quart’s so hopefully this is freezable? Now that I have made the investment in all the ingredients I will definitely make it often if it’s freezable.
Thanks for sharing!
Oh it’s freezeable – I do it all the time!!!!
it came out good. not exactly Thai but with a lot of Thai type ingredients. the important thing is tastes really good. I have so much being single I will be eating this for a long time. thank you
Agreed on the amount – but it freezes great!!!!! I froze in small bags and take a bag out every couple weeks.
This soup is
Best recipe ever