A Guide to Green Pea Curried Soup: A Light and Vibrant Thai-Inspired Bowl
A bright, creamy, and lightly spiced green pea curried soup that is packed full of flavour and only requires a handful of ingredients you may already have at home. As the days grow warmer in the summer, heavy Thai curries might not feel right for every occasion. Sometimes you want something lighter, fresher, and quicker to put together but without sacrificing those bold, aromatic Thai flavours you love. This soup is exactly that. It works beautifully as a quick weekday lunch, a light dinner starter, or even a meal prep staple that keeps well in the fridge.
When I first made this dish, I used 2 tablespoons of our Mae Jum Thai Green Curry Paste. For those familiar with our pastes, you will know that our green curry paste has a bigger kick than most supermarket brands, so 2 tablespoons gave a genuinely spicy result that I loved.
A few days later, I made it again with just 1 tablespoon, and my daughter said it was perfect for her. My advice: start with a little, taste, and build up to your preferred heat level, especially if you are new to Mae Jum products.
What Makes This Green Pea Curried Soup Special?
There is something quietly brilliant about this soup. On the surface it looks simple, peas, coconut milk, curry paste, a handful of herbs but the result is far more than the sum of its parts. The natural sweetness of the peas pairs beautifully with the herbaceous, citrusy heat of Thai green curry paste, and the coconut milk brings everything together into a smooth, creamy base that feels indulgent without being heavy. This soup is also naturally vegan as usually soups require cream, making this soup suitable for all diets.
What sets this soup apart from a standard pea soup is that distinctive Thai green curry character — the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime, and green chilli that form the heart of a good green curry paste. These aromatics give the soup a depth and fragrance that you simply will not find in a traditional pea and mint recipe. It is Thai cooking sensibility applied to a British staple, and it works wonderfully.
It is also a genuinely practical recipe. From fridge to table in around 20 minutes, it is light enough to serve on a warm summer day without that heavy, sluggish feeling that sometimes follows a rich meal. At 378 kcal per serving with full-fat coconut milk, or just 231 kcal with lite coconut milk, it is a dish you can feel good about eating and one you will want to make again throughout the summer, making more use of a curry paste out of the usual colder month season.
Where Thai Green Curry Meets the British Garden
Thai green curry, known in Thailand as Gaeng Keow Wan (แกงเขียวหวาน), meaning "sweet green curry", is one of the most iconic dishes in Thai cuisine. It is believed to have developed in central Thailand during the early 20th century, drawing on centuries of culinary tradition shaped by geography, trade, and the extraordinary depth of Thai herb and spice culture.
The "sweet" in the name does not refer to added sugar, but to the natural sweetness of the young green chillies used in the paste, a small but important detail that tells you a great deal about how Thai cooking approaches flavour. Everything is about balance: the heat of the chilli, the brightness of kaffir lime, the earthiness of galangal, the warmth of lemongrass. A good green curry paste is not simply spicy. It is layered, aromatic, and complex in a way that takes time and skill to achieve.
Peas, on the other hand, are as British as it gets. Green peas have been cultivated in Britain for centuries and remain one of the country's most loved vegetables, humble, versatile, and deeply tied to the summer garden. Great British Pea Week, celebrated each July, is a wonderful reminder of just how good fresh and frozen peas can be when treated with a little care and imagination.
This soup sits at the intersection of those two cultures. It takes the vibrant, fragrant character of Thai green curry and pairs it with one of Britain's most beloved green vegetables. The result is a dish that feels both familiar and exciting — a cross-cultural combination that, once you taste it, makes complete sense.
Ingredients You'll Need
One of the best things about this recipe is its simplicity. There is no long shopping list, no specialist equipment required, and a good chance you already have most of what you need.
Fresh or Frozen Peas Garden peas are the star of this dish, and either fresh or frozen will work beautifully. Frozen peas are convenient, consistently sweet, and available year-round, they are frozen at peak freshness, which means their flavour and nutritional value are well preserved.
If you are making this during the summer months and can get your hands on freshly podded peas, absolutely use them. The sweetness is exceptional and worth the extra few minutes of preparation. Either way, the peas provide the soup's gorgeous, vivid green colour as well as its natural sweetness.
Mae Jum Thai Green Curry Paste The heart and soul of this recipe. Mae Jum's Thai green curry paste is made with authentic Thai ingredients and it delivers a depth of flavour that dried spice blends simply cannot replicate. Blooming the paste briefly in oil before adding the other ingredients is an important step: it wakes up the aromatics, releases the essential oils from the herbs and spices, and transforms the paste from raw and sharp to rounded and fragrant. Don't rush this stage.
Coconut Milk Full-fat coconut milk gives the soup its creamy, silky body and gently tempers the heat of the curry paste. It carries the fat-soluble aromatic compounds from the paste throughout the soup, ensuring every spoonful is evenly and deeply flavoured.
For a lighter version, reduced-fat coconut milk works well too. The soup will be slightly less rich, but still delicious. One useful tip: once you have poured the coconut milk in, fill the empty tin halfway with water and add that too. It washes out every last bit of coconut from the tin and reduces waste.
Onion A small, finely chopped onion forms a simple base. Cooking it until soft and translucent before adding the curry paste builds a gentle sweetness into the foundation of the soup and ensures the paste has something to cling to as it fries.
Fresh Coriander Added before blending, a handful of fresh coriander deepens the green colour of the soup and contributes a herbal brightness that lifts the whole dish. It also adds to the visual appeal, this soup is genuinely beautiful to look at, with a vivid, jewel-like green that comes entirely from natural ingredients.
Fresh Lime A generous squeeze of lime juice added at the end is what ties everything together. Sourness is a cornerstone of Thai flavour, it balances the creaminess of the coconut milk and sharpens the overall taste of the soup. Do not skip it. Taste and adjust: you may find you want more than you expect.
Garnishes The soup is delicious on its own, but a few simple garnishes turn it into something visually striking. Sliced fresh green chilli, coriander leaves, coconut flakes, and a drizzle of coconut cream are all excellent choices. They add texture, fragrance, and a little theatre to the finished bowl.
Cooking Tips for the Best Result
Fry the paste properly. Give the curry paste a full two minutes of blooming. You are looking for it to deepen slightly and for the kitchen to smell extraordinary. This single step makes a bigger difference to the final flavour than almost anything else.
Don't overcook the peas. Peas need very little time to cook, just five minutes at a gentle simmer is enough. Overcooking them will dull their colour and diminish that natural sweetness. If you are using frozen peas, keep an eye on the pot and remove it from the heat as soon as everything is hot through.
Blend thoroughly. For the smoothest, creamiest result, blend the soup for longer than you think is necessary. A hand blender works well, but a high-speed jug blender will give an even silkier finish if you have one. If you want a slightly more rustic texture, you can blend only half the soup and leave the rest with a little body.
If using a jug blender, it’s best to cool the soup first and take extra care. If blended too hot, there will be increased pressure and a big gust of hot air will burst out when the lid is taken off.
Season generously. Peas and coconut milk both benefit from a confident pinch with salt. Season in layers — a little before blending, then taste again afterwards and adjust. The lime juice should go in last, once the soup is blended and seasoned, so you can judge exactly how much brightness it needs.
Serve with something on the side. The soup on its own makes a light, satisfying meal. But if you want to make it more substantial, a thick slice of toasted sourdough or a warm, crusty baguette alongside is perfect for scooping and dipping. The contrast between the creamy soup and the crunchy bread is simple but genuinely enjoyable.
Making Ahead and Storage
This soup keeps very well. Allow it to cool fully, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. The flavours settle and deepen overnight, making it a great option for batch cooking and packed lunches. Reheat gently in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
It also freezes well, portion into containers and freeze for up to two months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat gently before serving. A fresh squeeze of lime after reheating will revive the brightness.
Final Thought
There is something rather lovely about discovering that a beloved British vegetable and a treasured Thai curry can speak the same language. Peas have grown in British gardens for centuries, humble and reliable, waiting for a cook brave enough to see them differently. This soup does exactly that, it takes what you already know and love about peas, then introduces them to the fragrant world of galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime. The result feels neither borrowed nor forced, but rather like two culinary traditions recognising something true in each other.
When you taste this, you will understand why Gaeng Keow Wan (แกงเขียวหวาน) has remained so central to Thai cooking for over a century. The "sweet" in the name speaks to the natural intelligence of Thai flavour-building, it is never about heat alone, but about balance. Young green chillies carry a subtle sweetness that, when ground with galangal and lime, creates something that feels both sharp and rounded at once. Mae Jum's stone-ground paste carries this philosophy in every spoonful, and when it meets the natural sweetness of garden peas, something quietly brilliant happens.
Make this on a summer afternoon when you want something nourishing without heaviness. Serve it to friends who think Thai food must always be rich and complex. Let them taste how simplicity, when built on genuine flavour, becomes something far more interesting than anything hurried or artificial could ever be.
Green Pea Curried Soup
- 600 g Peas
- 400 ml Coconut Milk
- 200 ml Water
- 1 tbsp Mae Jum Thai Green Curry Paste (2 tbsp for spicy version)
- 1 Lime
- — Fresh Coriander Leaves
- 30 Coconut Flakes (Garnish)
- — Green Chilli
Thai Green Curry Paste
