easy pad thai

An easy recipe for Pad Thai with simple accessible ingredients with the most amazing flavor! The best part ... once you have your ingredients together it only takes 15 minutes of actual cooking time! See recipe notes for tips and tricks!

Pad Thai 

dry pad thai noodles (rice noodles)

water noodles

shallot,

chopped garlic cloves

ginger (optional)

eggs, whisked salt

tofu, chicken breast

salt and pepper

peanut oil, wok oil or coconut oil

lime

fish sauce (see notes- or use vegan fish sauce)

sugar

rice wine vinegar

soy sauce (or GF liquid aminos like Braggs)

lime wedges, fresh bean sprouts, chili flakes, chopped scallions, roasted peanuts.

COOK NOODLES

Cook noodles according to package instructions (or place rice noodles in a shallow bowl or baking dish and boil enough water to cover them. Cover with boiling water for 7- 8 minutes, until tender, then drain. They don&#8217;t have to be totally soft, just bendy and pliable)

Chop

shallot, garlic and ginger and set aside.

Whisk

the two eggs with a fork and add a generous, 3-finger pinch of salt.

Make the Pad Thai Sauce

 Whisk fish sauce,  rice vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce. (see notes) in a small bowl.

Prep and Cook the protein: Chicken

slice chicken into very thin strips and season with salt and pepper. Crispy Tofu: Blot tofu with paper towels pressing down firmly. Cut tofu into ¾ inch cubes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and for extra crispy, dredge in a little corn starch. Shrimp:  Peel and season with salt and pepper. COOK: Sear the seasoned chicken, shrimp or tofu in a wok with hot oil until cooked through over medium-high heat. Set aside, on top of a paper towel, wipe out the pan. Turn heat off.

STIR FRY

Gather your chopped shallots, whisked eggs, cooked noodles, cooked protein and Pad Thai sauce around the stove. Heat 2 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil in the wok over medium heat, add shallot-garlic-ginger and stir, cooking just a few minutes until golden and fragrant.

Make a well in the center of the wok, add the whisked eggs. With a metal spatula, scramble them and break them apart into little bits, letting them brown just little, and incorporate them into the shallots continuing to break them into small bits.

Add the drained, semi-soft noodles and toss with the egg mixture, stirring, flipping, frying constantly for 3-4 minutes, until noodles become soft and pliable.

Add the Pad Thai Sauce

and cook 1 minute.  It will smell quite fishy at first &#8211; turn your fan on &#8211; but it will mellow out perfectly. Add the cooked chicken, tofu or shrimp and turn and toss the noodles for a few more minutes. Cook until the noodles are soft (but still a little chewy) adding just a little water if it seems too dry.

Toss in the bean sprouts

and roasted peanuts (or serve on the side) and sprinkle with chili flakes and scallions. Squeeze with the lime. Taste. Adjust salt, lime and sweetness to your liking adding a pinch of salt, more lime or more sugar to taste. Give one more toss and serve immediately. Divide among two plates.

Garnish

with more bean sprouts, fresh scallions, cilantro or basil, chili flakes, lime wedges and roasted crushed peanuts. Or make this Peanut Chili Crunch!

This is the best pad this recipe we've tried. I like how you keep it authentic and don't add <span class="tasty-link" data-tasty-link-href="https://amzn.to/2Fv6fai">peanut butter</span>.  Perfectly balanced and not too sweet.

My whole family loved it! We'll work it in to our monthly rotation... perhaps even more often. I think it's better than most restaurant Pad Thai... less oily. I feel it's a healthy meal with a great balance of vegetables and healthy protein ratio to noodles (we used tofu). I love that this recipe can be made without planning ahead, since I have most of the ingredients on hand all the time. I doubled the recipe for my family of 6. I might triple next time. We made it in a 16" Presto electric skillet, and it was easy to manage a double quantity... I feel sure we could manage a triple size recipe and recommend the skillet if you have a large family!

I tossed about 1/2 cup chopped peanuts and 3 large green onions at last step. Then I put another 1/2 cup chopped peanuts, 3 more minced green onions, and a whole chopped red pepper in bowls to add in, super yum! 

It was easy (but I'm slow... it took me at least 45 minutes the first time... I think I could do better next time, speed isn't my forte in the kitchen). I tossed my tofu in a little soy sauce and baked it in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes, flipping 1/2 way through... I just love tofu baked.

Thanks for a fabulous recipe!

Great recipe - really authentic - a triumph!

Wow- this was spot on delicious!  I chopped up my large shrimp to stretch it a bit more- but wow, wow, wow! So good!

Delicious!! Doubled the sauce amounts and added a tablespoon of peanut butter. Thanks for the recipe !!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/Myc6rSeR.mp4

Easy, Authentic 15 minute Pad Thai Recipe with simple ingredients! 

15-Minute Pad Thai 

Really good! Amazingly authentic tasting without all the harder to find ethnic ingredients. Added two heaping tablespoons of chunky peanut butter for peanut flavor and one teaspoon of sriracha to the sauce mixture for a little heat.

Just made this exactly as recipe states, using tamarind paste and prawns, OMG it was wonderful! Thank you so much for the recipe, I'm feeling very accomplished :)

Seriously, the best pad thai recipe out there.  We use spaghetti squash instead of rice noodles and it is absolutely amazing.

Fantastic recipe.  I'll probably only use 2 tablespoons of brown sugar instead of 3 next time I make it.

Oops. Forgot to rate on my previous review.

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai with a simple five ingredient Pad Thai sauce - adaptable to any veggies you have on hand! So easy and delicious!

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai with Peanuts and Basil

brown rice noodles

zucchini

red pepper

yellow onion

carrots

egg, beaten

peanuts, chopped

herbs

fish sauce

brown sugar (or sub another sweetener)

broth

white vinegar

soy sauce

chili paste (sambal oelek)

Place the uncooked noodles in a bowl of cold water to soak. Spiralize the zucchini, red pepper, and onion into noodle-like shapes. Cut the carrots into very small pieces (or spiralize them, too, if they&#8217;re big enough).

Spiralize the zucchini, red pepper, and onion into noodle-like shapes. Cut the carrots into very small pieces (or spiralize them, too, if they're big enough).

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai Step 2

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai Step 3

Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the veggies &#8211; stir fry with tongs for 2-3 minutes or until tender-crisp (if they are not spiralized, they might need longer). Be careful not to overcook them &#8211; they&#8217;ll get soggy and heavy. Transfer to a dish and set aside.

Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Add the veggies - stir fry with tongs for 2-3 minutes or until tender-crisp (if they are not spiralized, they might need longer). Be careful not to overcook them - they'll get soggy and heavy. Transfer to a dish and set aside.

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai Step 4

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Drain the noodles &#8211; they should be softened by now. Add the noodles to the hot pan and stir fry for a minute, using tongs to toss. Add the sauce and stir fry for another minute or two, until the sauce is starting to thicken and stick to the noodles. Push the noodles aside to make a little room for the egg &#8211; pour the beaten egg into the pan and let it sit for 30 seconds or so. Toss everything around with the tongs. The egg mixture will stick to the noodles and everything will start getting sticky.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Drain the noodles - they should be softened by now. Add the noodles to the hot pan and stir fry for a minute, using tongs to toss. Add the sauce and stir fry for another minute or two, until the sauce is starting to thicken and stick to the noodles. Push the noodles aside to make a little room for the egg - pour the beaten egg into the pan and let it sit for 30 seconds or so. Toss everything around with the tongs. The egg mixture will stick to the noodles and everything will start getting sticky.

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai Step 5

Add in the vegetables, toss together, and remove from heat. Stir in the peanuts and herbs and serve immediately.

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai Step 6

Oh Lindsay I LOVE your easy, healthy meals and this is no exception!  This looks amazing, and I love all those crushed up peanuts they add such a fantastic texture!

Hi! I just tried this but made a couple tweaks, just because I didn't have all the ingredients. I was looking for a good base recipe and this is it! Thanks! :) (My tweaks were really just using a bit of peanut butter to make the sauce creamy and have more body--since I didn't have fish sauce, using spinach instead of zucchini, omitting the egg, and using sriracha! Oh, and squeezing a little lime juice into the sauce, too!)

On the topic of vegan fish sauce,  I found this recipe a while ago and pinned it for reference (I'm not vegan, but one never knows when it'll come in handy): https://food52.com/blog/15368-a-fish-sauce-with-all-of-the-flavor-none-of-the-fish

Mmmm... That looks so good.  Some people might not know, but even a small pot of Pad Thai is so filling it could feed a whole family and then some.  Great food and great post.
http://askmelissaanything.blogspot.com/

Woah this recipe was SO SALTY! I couldn't eat more than two bites and had to throw it out. I might try it again though with half as much fish sauce and soy sauce.

Yes, yes, and yesssss. What I wouldn't give to face-plant in a big ol' bowl of that right about now! This looks DELISH and SO impressed that you made it to the kitchen and whipped this up despite the craziness. High fives.

I needed this recipe! I am a pad thai addict! I am gonna add some shrimp and a little hot sauce! YUM!

Hey Lindsay,

This looks deliciously colourful! Will be running out to get a spiralizer so I can try this recipe out at home :-)

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/z5Fq6m1e.mp4

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai with a simple five ingredient Pad Thai sauce – adaptable to any veggies you have on hand!

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai

This Shrimp or Chicken Pad Thai with savory Peanut Sauce is absolutely better than takeout! Made with rice noodles, shrimp (or chicken), veggies, peanuts, lime, cilantro, in just 30 minutes. 

Pad Thai with Peanut Sauce

rice noodles (cooked according to package directions)

shrimp

bean sprouts (optional)

eggs (whisked)

green onions (chopped)

chopped cilantro and lime wedges (for serving)

peanut butter (microwaved

juice of 1 lime

brown sugar

garlic (OR ½ teaspoon garlic powder)

sriracha sauce (OR 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes)

water (more as needed)

 Stir together all sauce ingredients until smooth, set aside. It should be easily pourable - if not, add more water.

Drizzle a large skillet over medium heat withoil. Saute shrimp, bean sprouts, and carrots until shrimp is cooked through.

Push shrimp and veggies to one side of the pan, pour whisked eggs onto the uncovered half of the pan. Stir eggs often until scrambled.

Stir noodles, sauce, and green onions into thepan. Give it a good toss, garnish with cilantro and lime wedges if desired and serve immediately.

Bring restaurant quality Chicken Pad Thai home with this authentic pad Thai recipe. It’s sweet, savory, and absolutely flavor-packed for a fantastic easy meal.

Chicken Pad Thai

palm sugar ((see note below))

tamarind paste

lime juice (, freshly squeezed)

red pepper flakes

vermicelli rice noodles

vegetable oil

chicken breast

garlic (, minced)

eggs (, well beaten)

scallions

bean sprouts (, divided)

parsley (, for garnish)

peanuts (, for garnish)

lime wedges (, for garnish)

Place the palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind paste, lime juice, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes into a large jar with a lid. Shake vigorously until combined. (If all the sugar doesn’t dissolve, give it a stir until it is incorporated. Alternatively, you can place the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk them together.) Set aside.

Cook the rice noodles per the directions on the package. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking, set aside.

Heat a large wok (I use a 14-inch wok) or very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil; once hot, add the chicken and cook until almost done, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Wipe out the wok and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant, 20 seconds.

Add the well-beaten eggs and stir them around until just done.

Add the chicken back to the pan and mix it with the eggs.

Add the noodles and break them up so they are not sticking together, mix everything together (doing this with tongs makes it easier.)

Add the sauce and stir so everything is coated.

Allow to cook, stirring occasionally until 3/4 of the sauce is absorbed, about 10 minutes.

Add the scallions and 1 cup of fresh bean sprouts. Toss to combine.

Serve immediately. Garnish with the remaining fresh bean sprouts, fresh cilantro, peanuts, and lime wedges.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1660427829/rr8tinkc3uyrccrfpr0u.mp4

The Best Vegan Tofu Pad Thai Recipe is delicious, simple, and better than take-out. An authentic taste made with Pantry Staples!

The Best Vegan Tofu Pad Thai

bean sprouts

garlic chives

unsalted roasted peanuts, chopped

rice noodles

garlic

shallots

extra-firm tofu

tbsp oil

bean sprouts, fresh

tbsp coconut sugar

tbsp light soy sauce

ketchup

tbsp lime juice

water

Soak 200 grams rice noodles in water for...

Soak 200 grams rice noodles in water for 1-2 hours before cooking. They will turn a white color and soften.

Prepare the Pad Thai Sauce: in a bowl,...

Prepare the Pad Thai Sauce: in a bowl, add 2 tbsp coconut sugar, 1 tbsp brown sugar, 3 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp ketchup, 3 tbsp lime juice, and 2 tbsp water. Stir until well combined and the sugars dissolve. You can heat it on low to quicken the process.

Prepare the ingredients (once you get cooking it...

Prepare the ingredients (once you get cooking it will be fast): Peel and dice 3 cloves garlic and 2 shallots. Place in a bowl along with 200 grams diced extra-firm tofu and mix to combine. Roughly chop garlic chives (or spring onion or chives) and chop unsalted roasted peanuts.

Start cooking: In a wok or large pan...

Start cooking: In a wok or large pan with a wide bottom, heat 1 tbsp of oil and toss in garlic, shallots, and tofu. Stir-fry until the shallots soften and the tofu turns a golden-brown color. Add another 1 tbsp of oil, then add in soaked and drained rice noodles and the pad thai sauce. Continue to stir-fry on high heat, stirring the noodles into the sauce until they soak up all the sauce and turn soft. If at this point your noodles still have a bite, add a tablespoon more water and continue stir-frying. If your noodles stick together, add a drizzle more oil. Turn off the heat.

To the noodles now add about 1-2 cups...

To the noodles now add about 1-2 cups fresh bean sprouts, 1/2 cup garlic chives, and 1/4 cup unsalted roasted chopped peanuts and stir to combine.

Divide the noodles into 4 plates and serve...

Divide the noodles into 4 plates and serve each with a serving of bean sprouts, garlic chives, and more chopped unsalted roasted peanuts on the side.

Cut 2 limes in half and add to...

Cut 2 limes in half and add to the noodles before serving.

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Pad Thai

Pad Thai

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai with Pe...

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Top 6 easy pad thai recipes from across the web

The most viewed easy pad thai recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Pad Thai

Pad Thai

Rainbow Vegetarian Pad Thai with Pe...

Pad Thai with Peanut Sauce

Chicken Pad Thai

The Best Vegan Tofu Pad Thai

The most viewed easy pad thai recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine