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
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Recipe
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
Macros Recipe Adaptation
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, ¼ cup dry roasted peanutsPer Serving Amount
277 gramsMacros
395 kcal, Fat: 15g, Carbs: 34g, Protein: 28gNutrition
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I originally shared this recipe August 2018. Updated April 2022.
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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!
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.
Delicious! Made this using tofu, which I stir fry by itself to get some crispiness before proceeding with the recipe. I used tamarind paste and no peanut butter in the sauce. Would recommend lowering the fish sauce to 2 tablespoons because its flavor note stood out a little too much for my taste. Thanks for a solid and very approachable recipe!
This is so good! The whole family loves this recipe. I’ve been on the hunt for a good Pad Thai recipe since going vegetarian eight years ago, and this one hit the spot! I used tofu and a vegan fish sauce that I made using shitake mushrooms and kombu seaweed. The dish truly reminded me of the best Thai restaurant I used to frequent when I was in college.
This has been on my list to try for a while and I finally did it last night! It was so good and will be added to our regular rotation. We made it with tofu and it was great! We are also going to try it with chicken and shrimp. I followed the recipe almost exactly, but used a pound of tofu (to use up the package) and added a half bag of shredded cabbage (slaw mix) to get some extra veggies. We omitted the peanut butter, but did use the roasted peanuts for some crunch! I also doubled the sauce because of the extra cabbage and tofu. This was so quick and so good!
TBFS Pad Thai is on the regular rotation in our house! This restaurant quality dinner is so delicious and easy to make. The noodles are hard to find at our local market so I always order a few boxes on Amazon to have on hand and voila, problem solved!
That was the best Pad Thai I have had. Got rave reviews each time I made it with some saying better than what you get at our local Thai restaurant. Used Tamarind paste and the additional peanut butter in sauce. Magnificent . Thank you.
It just wasn’t for me.
LOVED this recipe! It was so easy and delicious. To make it even easier, I used pre-shredded rotisserie chicken. Delicious. Will it make it again and again!
Was delicious! The whole family loved it! I doubled the sauce per another reviewer and it was a little too much so next time I will do one and a half times. Excellent gluten-free meal. Quick preparation. highly recommend.
wonderful taste and easy!
Sooooo yummy