This chicken Pad Thai is perfect for when you're craving something different but still want a well-rounded, tasty meal. It's packed with protein from chicken and eggs, plenty of veggies like bell peppers and carrots, and gets a boost of healthy fats from peanuts—all tossed with filling rice noodles. You get a flavorful mix of sweet, tangy, umami, nutty, and a little bit of kick in the sauce, and it’s a great dish to make when you want to impress without too much effort. Plus, it’s completely dairy-free and easily adapted to be gluten-free!
Back when I was in college, there was this small Thai restaurant in Provo, Utah where I tried Pad Thai for the first time. I was hooked, and it became my go-to order every time we ate there! I no longer live near Provo, but whenever we try out a new Thai restaurant, I have to test their version of Pad Thai. To this day, I haven't found a restaurant that serves Pad Thai that's nearly as good as the first one I tried!
Now I've taken matters into my own hands and decided to make my own recipe--after testing and altering over and over, THIS recipe is one that I'm proud of. It tastes just like I remember it tasting the first time, plus some extra veggies for added nutrients.
Ingredient Notes
- Pad Thai noodles: I like using Butterfly Pad Thai noodles, but Thai Kitchen stir-fry rice noodles are easier to find and work great too. Keep in mind that wide rice noodles and thin rice noodles will have different cook times because of their thickness--those are on both sides of the spectrum.
- Low-sodium soy sauce: Low-sodium tones down the saltiness of the sauce. The other ingredients add a lot of sodium, so regular soy sauce might over-do it. Substitute the soy sauce for a gluten-free version or tamari to make this recipe completely gluten-free.
- Tamarind paste: This ingredient can be hard to find, but is so important in getting that authentic Pad Thai flavor. You can find it at your local Asian market, or order Asian Kitchen Tamarind Paste online from Walmart. (Your local grocery store may have it in stock. Mine didn't, but it's worth checking!)
- Smooth Peanut Butter: Just use a brand like Skippy or Jif--they both add some additional sweetness and creaminess that a natural peanut butter won't have.
How to Make Chicken Pad Thai
Pad Thai Sauce
First, add the brown sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind paste, peanut butter, garlic, sriracha, and ginger to a medium-sized bowl and set it aside for later. Don't bother stirring, most of the ingredients won't mix well until they are cooking in the pan.
Pad Thai Noodles
Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add the Pad Thai noodles, and boil until they just barely reach the desired consistency. Mine took about 5-6 minutes, but check them after 4 minutes to keep them from overcooking. Some Pad Thai instructions recommend just soaking the noodles in water, but I found that this takes way longer than the instructions claimed.
Immediately drain the water and rinse the noodles in cold water using a colander so that they don't continue to cook. Set the noodles aside for later.
Cook the Chicken
In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Mix together the garlic powder, ground ginger, and fine sea salt. Coat the chicken strips in the mixed spices.
Saute the chicken strips on one side until golden (about 3-4 minutes). Then flip them over and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until golden. The cook time will depend on the thickness of the chicken strips, so they may take longer with larger pieces. Cooked chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit.
Place the chicken on a plate and cover with tin foil to keep warm for later.
Assembly
In either the large pot used to boil the noodles or in a large wok, saute the red bell pepper, shredded carrots, and shallot with some olive oil for about 3-4 minutes on medium heat, or until the bell peppers are tender.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Pour the egg mixture into the pot with the vegetables. Stir until the egg is cooked through, about 2 minutes, breaking it into smaller pieces as you go.
Pour in the sauce ingredients that were set aside, and stir well. Once the sauce is boiling and there are no chunks of peanut butter remaining, add in the noodles, chicken, peanuts, and cilantro.
Stir well, and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat until the sauce has thickened. Don't cook it for too long, or the noodles will get soggy. Serve immediately with additional lime and sriracha (optional). Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Most instructions will tell you to either soak them or cook them in boiling water for a few minutes. I've found that I usually need to cook the noodles a little longer than the instructions suggest, otherwise they turn out too chewy. In this recipe, because these noodles don't cook very long in the sauce, I suggest boiling the noodles to your preference before adding them to the sauce.
Some of the key ingredients to any Pad Thai sauce are tamarind paste, fish sauce, sugar and lime. This recipe also incorporates some soy sauce, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, and some sriracha for a little bit of kick.
"Pad Thai" literally translates to "Thai stir-fry".
Other Asian-Inspired Recipes
I'm a huge fan of Asian cuisine, so it's no surprise that I have quite a few Asian-inspired recipes on my blog. If you enjoy this Pad Thai, here are some other recipes I recommend:
Korean Ground Beef Bulgogi Bibimbap
If you try out this chicken Pad Thai or any of my other recipes, I’d LOVE to hear about it. You can leave a comment below the recipe, or if you post a picture on Instagram, be sure to tag me! Getting any feedback on my recipes is both rewarding AND helpful as I write and edit recipes in the future.
Now get cooking, and enjoy!
Chicken Pad Thai
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 ½ lb skinless chicken breast sliced into thin, bite-sized strips
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt divided
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced and halved
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 1 medium-sized shallot minced
- 2 large eggs
- 6 oz pad thai noodles*
- ½ cup roasted peanuts roughly chopped
- 2-3 tablespoon cilantro, stems removed finely chopped
Sauce
- 3 tablespoon light brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste**
- 2 tablespoon smooth peanut butter***
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon sriracha
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Optional Toppings
- lime wedges
- sriracha
Instructions
Sauce
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and set aside for later. Don't bother stirring, most of the ingredients won't mix well until cooked.3 tablespoon light brown sugar, 3 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon tamarind paste**, 2 tablespoon smooth peanut butter***, 2 teaspoon minced garlic, 2 teaspoon sriracha, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Pad Thai Noodles
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add the Pad Thai noodles*, and boil until they just barely reach the desired consistency (mine took about 5-6 minutes, but check them after 4 minutes).6 oz pad thai noodles*
- Immediately drain the water, and rinse the noodles in cold water using a colander so that they don't continue to cook. Set the noodles aside for later.
Cook the Chicken
- In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Mix together the garlic powder, ground ginger, and ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt. Coat the chicken in the mixed spices.1 ½ lb skinless chicken breast, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ¾ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Saute the chicken strips on one side until golden (about 3-4 minutes). Then flip them over and cook for another 3-4 minutes (until golden). Cook time will depend on the thickness of the chicken strips, so they may take longer or shorter depending on the size of the chicken pieces. Cooked chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165° F.
- Place the chicken on a plate and cover with tin foil for later.
Assembly
- In either the large pot used to boil the noodles or in a large wok, saute the red bell pepper, shredded carrots, and shallot with a little bit of olive oil for about 3-4 minutes on medium heat, or until the bell peppers are tender.1 red bell pepper, ½ cup shredded carrots, 1 medium-sized shallot
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Pour the egg mixture into the pot with the vegetables.2 large eggs
- Stir until the egg is cooked through, about 2 minutes, breaking it into smaller pieces as you go.
- Pour in the sauce ingredients that were set aside, and stir well.½ cup roasted peanuts, 2-3 tablespoon cilantro, stems removed
- Once the sauce is boiling and there are no chunks of peanut butter remaining, add in the noodles, chicken, peanuts, and cilantro.
- Stir well, and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium heat until the sauce has thickened. Don't cook it for too long, or your noodles will get soggy.
- Serve immediately with lime wedges and sriracha (optional). Enjoy!lime wedges, sriracha
Notes
Equipment
- large pot or wok
- large frying pan
- cutting board
- large knife
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- medium-sized bowl
- rubber spatula
- colander
- whisk
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