Healthy Chicken Pad Thai
This Healthy Chicken Pad Thai is a light, gluten free spin on Pad Thai using fresh vegetables and rice noodles! Savory sauce makes this “bowl” irresistible! This isn’t your traditional Chicken Pad Thai Nooodles recipe, but rather a bowl of pad thai with fresh ingredients!
Healthy Chicken Pad Thai is a delicious dish packed with veggies and protein. This recipe includes lean chicken breasts, but you can use any kind of protein (shrimp, steak, pork, ground turkey). It includes rice noodles, and a variety of colorful vegetables, all tossed in a savory sauce. Many recipes emphasize using fresh, whole ingredients and adjusting the sauce to reduce sodium and sugar.
Along with healthy eating, Chicken Pad Thai, we’re loving this recipe for hosting. When people come to dinner, they do want fresh dishes. We love to eat what is in season, so you can always adjust the veggies according to the seaon. For example, for summer we love zucchini in a bowl. [You may also want to try our Shrimp Burrito Bowls or Mongolian Beef Noodles.]
Ingredients to make a Healthy Chicken Pad Thai
Make the sauce:
- peanut butter
- rice vinegar
- honey
- garlic powder
- fresh ginger, grated
- coconut aminos, or soy sauce – you can buy these on amazon!
- limes, juiced
- fish sauce
Veggies and chicken for the bowl:
- shallots
- avocado oil
- purple cabbage
- shredded carrot
- zucchinis, spiralized
- thin rice noodles
- chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sesame seeds
- Green onion
How to make Healthy Chicken Pad Thai Bowls?
- Saute zucchini noodles, cabbage, and carrots.
- Make the peanut sauce.
- Cook veggies for 5-7 minutes before mixing in the peanut sauce.
- Stir for about 3 minutes, then reduce heat to keep noodles warm.
- Make the noodles according to package directions.
- Cook the chicken thighs.
- Assemble all together into a delicious “bowl.”
What are Thai noodles made of?
Typically Thai noodles are soaked dried rice noodles, which are usually stir-fried with eggs and chopped firm tofu, and are flavored with tamarind pulp, fish sauce, dried shrimp, garlic or shallots, red chili pepper and palm sugar, and served with lime wedges and often chopped roasted peanuts.
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Protein: use your favorite protein. Our favorite is chicken, shrimp, and steak. Chicken is leaner though.
- Veggies: mix and match – use what is in season.
- Peanut sauce: buy store-bought if you are in a pinch for time, but homemade is the best.
- Make ahead: make all the ingredients ahead, and then assemble before eating.
- Serving: Set it out in bowls and let people assemble their own bowls.
- Leftovers: Store leftover in fridge for up to 3-4 days. Delish the next day.
Serving
We love to serve these little cucumber bites for an appetizer, and then set out the ingredinets on a board for everyone to make their own bowls.
The type of bowl is important – we love a low-line, flatter bowl that you can fill up.
Optional to serve with chop sticks.
Dessert: This 2-ingredient ice cream is amazing. Guests love it.
More bowl recipes you may want to try:
- Shrimp Burrito Bowls
- Easy Pad Thai Salad
- Thai Chicken Fettuccine Recipe
- Noodle Free Pad Thai
- Mongolian Beef Noodles
Get the Recipe:
Healthy Chicken Pad Thai
Ingredients
Make the sauce:
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- ⅔ c coconut aminos, or soy sauce
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 tsp fish sauce
Make the veggies and chicken:
- 2 medium shallots
- ⅔ cup avocado oil, divided
- ½ purple cabbage
- 2 cups shredded carrot
- 6 zucchinis, spiralized or sliced
- 1 pkg thin rice noodles
- 1 pound chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Sesame seeds
- Green onion
Instructions
- Wash, dry, and remove fat from chicken thighs. Salt and pepper each side, then set aside.
- Cook rice noodles according to package directions.
- Make the sauce: In medium bowl, combine peanut butter, vinegar, honey, garlic powder, ginger, coconut aminos, lime, and fish sauce, then set aside.
- In large sauce pan, heat ⅓ c avocado oil on medium-high heat, then add zucchini noodles, cabbage, and carrots. Cook for 5-7 minutes before mixing in the peanut sauce. Stir for about 3 minutes, then reduce heat to keep noodles warm.
- In a separate, large pan, add the other ⅓ c avocado oil and heat on medium/high heat. When hot, add the chicken thighs and allow to cook 3/4 of the way through before flipping, 7-10 minutes. Allow chicken to get a light golden brown crunch on the outside before removing from pan.
- Slice chicken into strips and serve on top of veggies and noodles, with sesame seeds and green onion.
- Assemble the bowls with chicken and veggies. Top with the sauce!
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Sandy. First, thanks fro another mouth watering recipe. I have most of these ingredients and might make these bowls tonight. We went for a foggy, cold hike today and this sounds great.
Also, I love your January goals. Where you live seems perfect for amping up exercise. I love that you do not let winter deter you (quite the opposite I think).
Mostly, what a beautiful lesson. We are all so hyper-connected via social media, and the world is dizzy with hot-button issues, it can be scary to interact with people we care about. But your advice is sound. Sending big hugs from Oklahoma!!
This looks amazing! YUM!