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This amazing Pad Thai recipe is easy and comes together in under 30 minutes. It starts with fresh ingredients including rice noodles, chicken, shrimp, tofu, peanuts, scrambled eggs, and fresh vegetables all tossed together in a delicious homemade pad thai sauce.
Looking for more fun 30-Minute-Meals? Try my Creamy Pesto Tortellini, Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Ground Beef Bowls.
I haven't kept my love for Thai food a secret (here are some of my favorite Thai inspired recipes). My love comes from my mom's cooking, and enjoying favorite Thai restaurants near my hometown, like My Thai, owned by Dee Benson. Dee also made the best fresh spring rolls and gave us advice for making them. This recipe was created by me in an effort to use ingredients I could find easily, and recreate the taste I love.
For a more Authentic Pad Thai recipe that uses palm sugar and tamarind paste, check out Thai Cooking with Joy.
Why I love this recipe:
- 30 Minutes: From start to finish, perfect for a busy weeknight!
- Easy: A few simple steps and everything gets tossed together in the same pan!
- Flavorful: The fresh vegetables and homemade pad thai sauce really make this meal shine!
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 a 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.
A Note about 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.
How to Make Pad Thai:
Cook Noodles: Follow package instructions to cook noodles just until tender. Rinse under cold water.
Make Sauce: Stir together fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar (or tamarind paste), Sriracha, and peanut butter, if using. Set aside.
Sauté Protein: Heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, chicken or tofu, garlic and bell pepper. Cook until meat is done.
Cook Eggs: 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.
Combine and Toss: Add noodles, sauce, bean sprouts and peanuts to the pan (reserving some peanuts for topping at the end). Toss everything to combine.
Serve: Top with green onions, extra peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges. Serve immediately!
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Cut your protein, and chop veggies ahead of time. Stir together sauce ingredients and set aside.
To Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Recipe Variations:
- Tamarind Paste: Substitute 2 Tablespoons Tamarind paste in place of the vinegar, for a more authentic sauce.
- Vegan or Vegetarian: Leave out the egg. Use tofu, and substitute the fish sauce for more soy sauce.
- Peanut Butter: In my recipe, I add a big scoop of peanut butter to the sauce because I think it gives the whole dish an added creaminess and boost of flavor.
More Thai Inspired Recipes:
- Panang Curry
- Yellow Curry
- Drunken Noodles
- Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Peanut Chicken Pasta
- Green Curry Meatballs
Pad Thai
Equipment
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, , or Tamarind Paste*
- 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.
- Make sauce by combining sauce ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Stir Fry:: Heat 1½ tablespoons of oil in a wok or large saucepan 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 wok (reserving some peanuts for topping at the end). Toss everything to combine.
- Garnish the top with green onions, extra peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges. Serve immediately!
- Store leftovers in the fridge and enjoy within 2-3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe August 2018. Updated April 2022.
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Best Pad Thai I’ve ever made at home, rivalling the best I’ve had out.
Of all pad Thai recipes I’ve tried, this is the best one
I found this recipe after eating Pad Thai on a business trip. It immediately became a family favorite. I make it almost weekly, using shrimp and baby scallops, red, yellow and orange peppers, crunchy peanut butter and extra roasted peanuts. It’s pretty quick and easy to make, and the best part is, leftovers are EXCELLENT!! Thank you!
The crunchy peanut butter! Love it!
I’ve tried several recipes for pad Thai and this is by far my favorite! The sauce was so delicious and this recipe was easy to make. I will definitely be making more of it!
Hands-down, the best Pad Thai I’ve ever had/made. I never order it from a restaurant anymore and just make this at home and everyone loves it!
Outstanding recipe…. I used fresh salmon I got from my local fish monger…. cooked it first, removed from pan, did everything else your. way, then plated the salmon last… So So SO good!!! Will be making this often with different proteins. Thank you very much. This recipe is a keeper.
This was great. I used shrimp, added steamed boy choy and steamed carrot strips because that is what I had on hand. I thought a tablespoon of Siracha would be too hot, so I used half Siracha and half sweet chili. I thought peanut butter would not work with shrimp but I am so glad I added it. It made for a delicious and creamy sauce. Yum!
If i could give this 100 stars, it would get 100 stars. I’m a foodie…and i love to cook. Most times I find a pretty good recipe, and i tweak to my liking. I absolutely LOVE pad thai, but have not found (in all my 56 years) a recipe worthy of cooking again. It is all about the authenticity of the sauce…and no sauce has held up to my tastebuds. I made this last night and the only 4 things I did a little differently (without altering the recipe) was 1) used hot sriracha (other people made this suggestion in the comments), 2) when cooking any type of Asian food, I like to use Sesame oil vs. regular oil, 3) i can’t add peanuts to the main dish due to someone in my family’s inability to eat peanuts (whole or chopped…but peanut butter is fine). So i did the peanut butter…and then chopped peanuts for anyone who wanted them ‘on top’ of their plate and lastly 4) i cut up the chicken thighs (vs. cooking whole). I’ve never had pad thai any other way (and it just made sense…and unless i missed something written out in the recipe, it doesn’t say to cut the chicken). That is what I did. THIS WAS ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. It was, perhaps, the best pad thai I have ever eaten. Easy to make (chopping up the onions, cilantro, etc. was what took the time) and the entire family was PLEASED beyond PLEASED. My daughter told me it is, hands down, the best meal I have ever made. KUDOZ to YOU for this amazing recipe. It is now officially in the rotation. I’ll be headed to my favorite Asian market to pick up BIG bottles of sriracha and fish sauce (and rice noodles). I’m so glad my son talked me into making this! He was making it for my birthday dinner, and in the end, i wound up finishing up the chopping and final cook 🙂 BEST BIRTHDAY DINNER EVER!
This really was just as good or even better than restaurant pad thai. I couldn’t get bean sprouts but sugar snap peas and carrots worked great.
Ooohhh. Now I’m going to try it was sugar snap peas!
I made this tonight and I am so impressed. Quick easy and I didn’t have to buy coco amino acids, etc. Will definitely make over and over. I doubled the sauce and cooked a whole box of noodles. Added sugar snaps and carrots. Thanks a million. Just what I was looking for.
This was my 1st pad thai and it was amazing. So much so, my guests went for second helpings and loved it the next day too. I had done it with tofu, but will try shrimp next time.
My husband and I love this recipe. It’s easy and very flavorful. The only change I make is to double the sauce which seems to suit us better.
First time making pad thai, feels bullet proof and so authentic. YUM!
This was an awesome recipe it wasn’t too heavy and had the perfect flavor! I didn’t have bean sprouts or fresh peanuts but it was still so yummy! I will definitely be making this recipe again!
Fabulous recipe, now everyone thinks I can cook,LOL
We’ve made this 3-4 times now in the last 2 months and it’s by far the easiest and tastiest recipr for us! We make it vegan with tofu, Ocean’s Halo vegan fish sauce, and a generous 1/2 tsp of Tamarind concentrate instead of rice vinegar like you noted. Delicious! Goes well with Annie Chung’s brown rice noodles too! So quick to put together once you’ve got everything in the pantry!! Thank you for sharing!
Absolutely A M A Z I N G , feel like I just walked I to a Thai restaurant,thanks so much for sharing !