This delicious chicken pad Thai tastes like just how they make it at your favorite restaurant. It has the perfect balance of salty, nutty, and sweet, making it a fabulously tasty noodle stir-fry dish for any day of the week!
Pad Thai Chicken
Out of all Thai cuisine, nothing has achieved worldwide fame like its chicken pad Thai. As Thailand’s national dish, it has been praised for its savory sauce-soaked noodles, juicy chicken, and roasted crunchy peanuts stir-fried to perfection.
This easy chicken pad Thai recipe is made with a tasty homemade sauce made of brown sugar, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and soy sauce, giving it fantastic sweet and salty flavors that are simply heavenly.
Why You’ll Love this Chicken Pad Thai Recipe:
- Comfort Food: There’s nothing better than warm, savory noodles after a long day.
- Quick Recipe: This recipe gets from kitchen to table in only 25 minutes!
- Great Flavor: We’ve got salty flavors, sweet flavors, and nutty flavors, all stir-fried to flavorful perfection.
How to Make Chicken Pad Thai
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the stir-fry sauce ingredients. Whisk well and set aside.
- Follow the prep instructions on the package of rice noodles, then rinse them under cold water.
- Heat oil in a wok or large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Then add the sliced chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Push everything to the side of the pan. Drizzle in a bit more oil and add the beaten eggs, scrambling them before tossing them with everything else in the pan.
- Add the bean sprouts, cooked noodles, and sauce, tossing to combine. Cook according to the instructions (in the recipe card). Stir in the green onion and peanuts and remove from the heat.
- Serve immediately, garnished with peanuts, cilantro, and lime wedges. Enjoy!
Chicken pad Thai is a Thai street food dish made from rice noodles and chicken stir-fried with vegetables and eggs in a sweet and savory sauce.
This recipe is high in fat, cholesterol, and sodium, so I recommend enjoying it in moderation!
This dish has a complex array of flavors, from sweet to sour and salty to fermented. It’s got an umami punch that’s sure to keep you coming back for more.
This recipe has about 547 calories per bowl. This is an estimate and can change based on the ingredients used and substitutions you choose to make.
Chicken pad Thai is a great dish to add vegetables to. I added bell peppers, bean sprouts, and onions to mine, but you could really add anything you like!
I don’t recommend omitting the fish sauce, as it helps give this dish a more authentic flavor. It shouldn’t taste fishy at all! If you have an allergy, look for vegan fish sauce or try Worcestershire sauce.
Bean sprouts can be found fresh in the produce aisle or canned in the International foods aisle. If you can’t find them, you can leave them out or swap them for another crunchy vegetable, such as napa cabbage or snow peas.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Keep in mind that rice noodles usually take about an hour to soak in water. So make sure you soak your noodles before you begin cooking!
- Make sure you have a large enough pan so that you don’t crowd the noodles. When your noodles are crowded, it traps in steam, resulting in clumpy or soggy noodles.
Make Ahead Instructions
- You can mix the sauce together up to 3 days in advance of when you plan to use it. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- You can make chicken pad Thai up to 1 day in advance of when you plan to serve it. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to reheat.
Storage Instructions
Store leftover chicken pad Thai in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop set over medium-low heat until warmed through.
Freezing Instructions
Freeze chicken pad Thai in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Substitutions
- While I highly recommend using the fish sauce, you can swap it for vegan fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce if needed.
- If you can’t find rice vinegar, you can use white wine vinegar instead.
- For a gluten-free alternative, try tamari or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce.
- Look for rice noodles in the International aisle of the grocery store; they look like white, semi-transparent fettuccini.
- In place of the vegetable oil, you can use canola or avocado oil.
- Feel free to add in whatever veggies you like, such as carrots, peas, broccoli florets, or green beans.
- You can use chicken breasts or thighs in this recipe.
- If you can’t find bean sprouts, try adding napa cabbage or snow peas instead.
Serving Suggestions
Have a Thai takeout night by serving this dish with Thai red curry chicken, peanut butter chicken, or chicken coconut soup.
We hope you enjoy these delicious pad Thai noodles! Whether it’s your first time making them, or your 100th, we’d love to know how the recipe turned out. Let us know in the comments below!
If you’ve made this recipe, please be sure to let us know by leaving a star rating or a comment below. Enjoy!
Chicken Pad Thai Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ½ tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce (see note)
For the Pad Thai
- 8 ounces dry flat rice noodles
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
- 1 cup thinly-sliced bell pepper any color
- 1½ teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, chopped small
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
- 3 green onions chopped
- ⅓ cup roasted peanuts plus more for garnish
- Chopped fresh cilantro optional, for serving
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Whisk well and set aside.¼ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, ½ tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- Follow the prep instructions on the package of rice noodles, then rinse them under cold water.8 ounces dry flat rice noodles
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or large saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the sliced chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes, until mostly cooked through.3 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1 cup thinly-sliced bell pepper, 1½ teaspoons minced garlic, ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Push everything to the side of the pan. Drizzle in the remaining tablespoon of oil and add the beaten eggs, scrambling them lightly before tossing them with everything else in the pan.2 large eggs
- Add the bean sprouts, cooked noodles, and sauce and toss to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes until everything is heated through and the sauce has been mostly absorbed.1 cup fresh bean sprouts
- Stir in the green onion and peanuts and remove from the heat.3 green onions, ⅓ cup roasted peanuts
- Serve immediately, garnished with peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges.Chopped fresh cilantro, Lime wedges
Notes
- Soy Sauce: For a gluten-free alternative, use tamari or coconut aminos instead.
- While I highly recommend using the fish sauce, you can swap it for vegan fish sauce or Worcestershire sauce if needed.
- If you can’t find rice vinegar, you can use white wine vinegar instead.
- Look for rice noodles in the International aisle of the grocery store; they look like white, semi-transparent fettuccini.
- In place of the vegetable oil, you can use canola or avocado oil.
- Feel free to add in whatever veggies you like, such as carrots, peas, broccoli florets, or green beans.
- You can use chicken breasts or thighs in this recipe.
- If you can’t find bean sprouts, try adding napa cabbage or snow peas instead.
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