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Pad Thai

By Lauren Allen on August 1, 2018, Updated August 9, 2019

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This amazing Pad Thai recipe is easy and approachable and can be made in under 30 minutes. It starts with fresh ingredients including rice noodles, chicken, shrimp, tofu, cilantro, bean sprouts, peanuts and scrambled eggs tossed in a delicious homemade pad thai sauce that is so good it tastes like it came from your favorite Thai restaurant.

A white bowl filled with homemade pad thai including rice noodles, shrimo, cilantro and other toppings tossed in a pad thai sauce.

I’ve not kept my love for Thai food a secret here (here are some of my favorite Thai recipes), but I really can’t believe it’s taken me so long to share a homemade pad thai recipe. Just see the recipe card for proof of how easy it is to make from home!

What is Pad Thai?

Pad Thai is stir-fry dish made with rice noodles, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, peanuts, a scrambled egg and bean sprouts. The ingredients are sautéed together in a wok and tossed in a delicious pad thai sauce. It’s common street food in Thailand and one of the most popular menu items at Thai restaurants around the country.

To make vegan or vegetarian pad thai, leave out the egg and substitute the fish sauce for more soy sauce.

Pad thai sauce being poured over the other ingredients in pad thai, in a skillet, including rice noodles, shrimp, chicken, tofu, bell pepper and eggs.

How to make Pad Thai Sauce:

Traditional pad thai sauce includes fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and tamarind paste. Tamarind paste is not easily found at a regular grocery stores so I substituted rice vinegar. If you would like to use tamarind paste, substitute about 2 Tablespoons in place of the rice vinegar in this recipe. I also added a big scoop of peanut butter to my sauce, because I think it gives the whole dish an added creaminess and boost of flavor that I love.

Overhead photo of a skillet with homemade pad thai.

 

Love Thai Food? Try these favorite recipes:

Thai Peanut Chicken Tacos

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Thai Peanut Chicken Pasta

Thai Green Curry Meatballs

 

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A white bowl filled with homemade pad thai including rice noodles, shrimo, cilantro and other toppings tossed in a pad thai sauce.

Pad Thai

This amazing Pad Thai recipe is easy, approachable and can be made in under 30 minutes, fresh ingredients and a delicious homemade pad thai sauce.
4.88 from 154 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Thai
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 596kcal
Author: Lauren Allen

Video

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces flat rice noodles
  • 3 Tablespoons oil
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 8 ounces uncooked shrimp, chicken, or extra-firm tofu , cut into small pieces
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
  • 1 red bell pepper , thinly sliced
  • 3 green onions , chopped
  • 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
  • 2 limes
  • 1/2 cup Fresh cilantro , chopped

For the Pad Thai sauce:

  • 3 Tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • 5 Tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar * see note
  • 1 Tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce , or more, to taste
  • 2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter , optional

Instructions

  • Cook noodles according to package instructions, just until tender.  Rinse under cold water.
  • Mix the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
  • Heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan or wok over medium-high heat.
  • Add the shrimp, chicken or tofu, garlic and bell pepper. The shrimp will cook quickly, about 1-2 minutes on each side, or until pink. If using chicken, cook until just cooked through, about 3-4 minutes, flipping only once.
  • Push everything to the side of the pan. Add a little more oil and add the beaten eggs. Scramble the eggs, breaking them into small pieces with a spatula as they cook.
  • Add noodles, sauce, bean sprouts and peanuts to the pan (reserving some peanuts for topping at the end). Toss everything to combine.
  • Top with green onions, extra peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges. Serve immediately!

Notes

To use tamarind paste in the sauce, substitute 2 Tablespoons in place of the vinegar.

Nutrition

Calories: 596kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 224mg | Sodium: 1991mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 1290IU | Vitamin C: 58.8mg | Calcium: 158mg | Iron: 3.4mg
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Have you tried this recipe?! 

RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

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Chicken· Main Dish· One Pan Meals· Seafood· Thai· Vegetarian
170 Comments

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Comments

  1. Clay says

    October 8, 2019 at 3:58 pm

    Loved it. Would halve the sugar next time. I subsitutued chard and kale for pepper and think it could work with varying veggies, and probably even twice the amount. Thanks for a simple yummy healthy recipe.

    Reply
    • Nolan Lisowski says

      October 24, 2019 at 4:34 pm

      Really loved it my Grandma from Thailand always used to make for me and this recipe almost tastes the same as hers

      Reply
  2. Jeffrey says

    October 12, 2019 at 3:02 pm

    Good dish, great recipe. For the tamarind sauce it is hard to find at any regular grocery store but if you go to an Asian market it’s totally there. The idea of using 2 tablespoons of vinegar is good but what I choose to do is use one tablespoon of ketchup and one tablespoon of rice vinegar. Kinda gives the same result is using the Tamarind sauce.

    Reply
    • Heather says

      October 16, 2019 at 2:24 pm

      Great tip! Thank you

      Reply
  3. Greg V. says

    October 12, 2019 at 7:56 pm

    I made it for my wife and she said it was the best Pad Thai she ever had.

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      October 13, 2019 at 2:38 pm

      I’m so happy to hear it exceeded her expectations! Thanks for sharing Greg!

      Reply
  4. Geoff says

    October 15, 2019 at 10:53 am

    5 stars
    One of the best ever Pad Thais, thank you so much for sharing this, ever time I serve this the majority of guests say it is the best ever, the rest have never had it before and love it.
    I am about to share it with last night’s guests.

    Reply
    • Lauren Allen says

      October 15, 2019 at 3:21 pm

      I really am so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
  5. Ali says

    October 19, 2019 at 3:19 pm

    5 stars
    I love this recipe! It is delicious and so easy to prepare. My kids are 2 and 4 and they love it, too. Very family friendly.

    Reply
  6. Jenni says

    October 19, 2019 at 5:50 pm

    5 stars
    I’ve tried SO many pad thai recipes that seem authentic and delicious. They have all flopped and been such a disappointment. This one was SO easy and exactly the flavor I was looking for. I added the peanut butter and used chicken. I’ll be trying shrimp and tofu next time!

    Reply
  7. Colleen says

    October 20, 2019 at 11:23 pm

    Great recipe!! I only used 2 T sugar and 1 T tamarind/1 T rice vinegar. Also added a sprinkle of dried chili piquin peppers, spicy Thai chili paste-and sweet Thai chile sauce to finish it.
    You can add more hot sauce individually at the table.
    Great one dish meal…fresh ingredients…easy to prepare

    Reply
  8. Tracy says

    October 31, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    5 stars
    DELICIOUS! I’m an asian girl who loves her asian food, and this was on point. I took advice from one of the reviews and did 1 tablespoon of ketchup and 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar (instead of 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar). The peanut butter just added so much flavor and I loved it! Thanks for this simple and delicious recipe!

    Reply
  9. Jenny says

    October 31, 2019 at 8:57 pm

    5 stars
    Extremely poor college student and terrible cook here, I make this all the time because it’s so quick, easy, and delicious!! Thank you!!

    Reply
  10. Tanya says

    November 3, 2019 at 6:02 pm

    5 stars
    This is a WONDERFUL recipe. We made it two nights in a row.

    Reply
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Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos. Read More
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