HEALTHY CHICKEN PAD THAI

 Skip the takeout and make this Healthy Chicken Pad Thai recipe instead! This gluten free pad thai recipe is a healthier version of a classic takeout dish. Packed with veggies, chicken and brown rice noodles. 

I feel like I start every blog post by saying the recipe is my favorite, but in reality.. this Healthy Chicken Pad Thai recipe has 100% taken the number 1 spot on my list of favorite recipes.

It is ridiculously delicious, simple to make, and a healthier version of one of everyones favorite takeout meals… what’s not to love?!

Jam packed with ALL the veggies, lean protein, and healthy carbs thanks to brown rice noodles – it’s an easy meal everyone will love!

Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines. It’s our go to whenever I’m sick of cooking (which usually happens on Friday or Saturday night).

I know many people can’t enjoy Thai cuisine due to food allergies (gluten, dairy, nuts, etc) which is why I recreated it at home with this lightened up Healthy Chicken Pad Thai recipe!

This is not an authentic pad recipe, but a lighter version of one of my favorites foods that has been made gluten free and dairy free for everyone to enjoy. It also uses ingredients that are easily accessible at your grocery store and has many substitutions so you can customize it!

WHAT MAKES THIS RECIPE HEALTHIER?

• Lower in salt: Some Thai dishes are high in salt (most restaurant meals are!) This dish is lower in salt than most Pad Thai recipes, but it is still higher in salt than most recipes on our site.
• Few ingredients: This recipe is only made with a few ingredients, all of which can be found at the store,
• Extra Veggies: I always order my pad Thai with extra vegetables – so I loaded this recipe up with veggies.

INGREDIENTS FOR  HEALTHY PAD THAI:

To make this Healthy Pad Thai, you’ll need a few ingredients that you can get at almost any grocery store!

You’ll need:

• chicken
• peppers, bean sprouts, carrots
• brown rice noodles
• peanut butter
• honey
• lime juice/zest
• rice wine vinegar
• fish sauce
• coconut aminos
• peanuts
• red pepper flakes

I’ve included substitutions for all of these ingredients below under ‘Substitutions’

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY CHICKEN PAD THAI:

1. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in cubed chicken to the pan and cook over medium high heat for 12-15 minutes until completely browned and cooked!
2. While chicken is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil + cook rice noodles according to the directions on the packageStep 2: While noodles/chicken are cooking, whisk together the sauce ingredients + set off to the side. Chop vegetables.
3. Once chicken has cooked, remove chicken from the pan + set aside in a large bowl. Try to leave the oil in the pan. Add in peppers, carrots, garlic and onion to the oil and sauté uncovered for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir in bean sprouts and cook for an additional 2 minutes. 
4. Push vegetables to one side of the pan + crack eggs into the pan. Scramble eggs until cooked, approximately 2 minutes. Stir veggie / egg mixture together. Remove from the pan and set aside with the chicken. 
5. Add the sauce mixture to the empty pan (you do not need to clean the pan!) and bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. The sauce should bubble and slightly thicken.
6. Add cooked veggies, cooked chicken and cooked noodles into the pan with the sauce and toss to combine. Garnish with peanuts. Optional garnish: lime, cilantro, green onions.

The next time you’re craving takeout, try making this instead.

It takes the same amount of time to make as you’re probably going to have to wait for delivery anyways, so you might as well try it!

You can also make this recipe in the instant pot! Scroll down and in the recipe you’ll see ‘Instant Pot Instructions.

CAN YOU USE ZUCCHINI NOODLES INSTEAD OF BROWN RICE NOODLES?

Yes, I’ve also tested this recipe with zucchini noodles and it was delicious. I definitely prefer the brown rice noodles , but the last time I made it I did a 50/50 split zoodles to brown rice noodles and it was so yummy!

Lower in carbs and extra veggies. Make sure to really squeeze all the liquid out of the zucchini noodles to avoid them from getting soggy!

DO YOU NEED TO USE FISH SAUCE IN THIS RECIPE?

If you can’t find fish sauce near you, you can sub in more coconut aminos for it. It definitely will not taste as good as the fish sauce adds such a yummy flavor, but it will be ok!

I like to buy red boat fish sauce from Trader Joe’s, it’s cheapest there and has the best ingredients.

SUBSTITUTIONS FOR THIS LOW CALORIE PAD THAI:

There are lots of substitutions for this recipe! Here are some that we recommend:

Egg free: You can simply omit the eggs.

Bean Sprouts: You might have a hard time finding bean sprouts. You can just skip them or sub in more vegetables.

Oil: You can sub olive oil with avocado oil or canola oil

Vegetables: You can omit the bean sprouts if you’re having a hard time finding them. Bulk up the dish by adding more carrots or peppers! I’ve also added in mushrooms and match-stick sliced zucchini and it was yummy!

Vegetarian: Feel free to skip the chicken and bulk up on veggies to make this vegetarian!

Protein: You can sub in shrimp for the chicken if you’d like. Shrimp take much less time to cook, depending on their size I would cook about 2 minutes on each side until shrimp begin to turn pink. You can also use shaved steak/beef if you prefer! I have not tried this recipe with cooked tofu but I think it would work!

Chicken: Boneless skinless thighs or chicken tenders will also work. We also have a Thai Chicken Wings recipe that is delish!

WW Freestyle note: Save 1 SP per serving by using olive oil spray instead of actual olive oil to cook. Save 4SP by using zucchini noodles instead of brown rice noodles

Fish Sauce: If you can’t find or don’t have fish sauce you can sub it in for more coconut aminos or soy sauce. It won’t taste the same but it will still be good! I promise you will not taste the fishy-ness of fish sauce.. I don’t eat fish and absolutely love the flavor it gives! (It does have a bit of an off-putting smell if this is your first time cooking with it, don’t be alarmed!)

Coconut Aminos: If you don’t have coconut aminos – substitute soy sauce or Bragg’s liquid aminos. If you use Bragg’s use 1/2 the amount as it is much saltier.

STORING/SERVING PAD THAI:

Storing: This pad thai will last for 3-4 days in an airtight container in a refrigerator

Reheating: You can reheat this pad thai in the microwave or on the stove

Freezing: I haven’t tried freezing this pad thai, but I don’t think it would work well.

OTHER HEALTHY TAKEOUT RECIPES:

• Healthy Orange Chicken
• Lighter Chicken Fried Rice
• Healthy Sesame Chicken
• Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
• Healthy Shrimp Stir Fry

POPULAR THE CLEAN EATING COUPLE RECIPES:

We love cooking with chicken because it’s SO versatile. Here are some of our other favorite chicken recipes

• Healthy Orange Chicken
• Easy Turkey Soup
• Fast Crock Pot Recipes
• Pulled Chicken Instant Pot
• Pumpkin Muffins Healthy
• Roasted Russet Potatoes
• Instant Pot Beef Bone Broth
• French Fries in Oven
• Pulled Pork in Crock Pot
• Blueberry Crisp Recipe
• Easy Creamy Potato Soup

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4.88 from 80 votes

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai

Skip the takeout tonight and make this Healthy Chicken Pad Thai recipe for dinner instead! This lighter pad thai recipe is a healthier version of a classic takeout dish, packed with veggies, chicken and brown rice noodles.

 CourseMain Course

 CuisineAmerican

 Keywordhealthy chicken pad thai, lighter chicken pad thai

 Prep Time10 minutes

 Cook Time30 minutes

 Total Time40 minutes

 Servings4 people

 Calories554kcal

10

 WW Freestyle Points 10

 AuthorThe Clean Eating Couple

Ingredients

• 5 oz brown rice noodles
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb chicken breasts pounded thinly
• 1 cup red peppers sliced into thin pieces
• 2 cup carrots sliced into thin pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 1 cup Bean sprouts
• 2 eggs

For the Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1.5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• ¼ cup coconut aminos or low sodium soy sauce

For Garnish:

• 1/4 cup green onions sliced thinly
• ⅓ cup peanuts crushed or chopped
• red pepper flakes (optional)
• lime wedges (optional)
• cilantro (optional)

Instructions

• Cut chicken in 1 inch square pieces. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add in cubed chicken to the pan and cook over medium high heat for 12-15 minutes until completely browned and cooked!
• While chicken is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil + cook rice noodles according to the directions on the package
• While noodles/chicken are cooking, whisk together the sauce ingredients + set off to the side. Chop vegetables.
• Once chicken has cooked, remove chicken from the pan + set aside in a large bowl. Try to leave the oil in the pan.
• Add in peppers, carrots, garlic and onion to the oil and sauté uncovered for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, stir in bean sprouts and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
• Push vegetables to one side of the pan + crack eggs into the pan. Scramble eggs until cooked, approximately 2 minutes.
• Stir veggie / egg mixture together. Remove from the pan and set aside with the chicken.
• Add the sauce mixture to the empty pan (you do not need to clean the pan!) and bring to a boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. The sauce should bubble and slightly thicken.
• Add cooked veggies, cooked chicken and cooked noodles into the pan with the sauce and toss to combine.
• Garnish with peanuts. Optional garnish: lime, cilantro, green onions.

Instant Pot Instructions

• To make this in the instant pot – it is important to DOUBLE the sauce recipe. All other ingredients remain the same.
• Bring a separate pot of water to a boil (outside of instant pot) and cook the rice noodles according to package directions. While the rice noodles are cooking, turn instant pot on Sauté- High. Heat 1 tablespoon. of the olive oil, add the eggs in and scramble them quickly. Put them on a plate and set aside.
• Drizzle in the other 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the whole chicken breasts. Sear them 2 minutes per side to get them nice and golden brown. Meanwhile mix together your sauce ingredients. Make sure to double sauce ingredients from recipe.  
• Move the chicken breasts onto a cutting board and chop them into one inch pieces.
• Add the garlic and onion into the instant pot. Saute for 30 seconds then add in the chicken, peppers and carrots. Mix it all together and pour the sauce over top.
• Set the Instant Pot to Manual High Pressure and Cook for 3 minutes.  Keep in mind the Instant Pot takes 3-5 minutes to come to pressure before counting down the 3 minutes you’ve set.
• When the time is up quick release the steam. Remove the chicken and vegetables with a slotted spoon. Set aside.
• Turn the Instant Pot to the high sauté setting once more and bring the sauce up to a bubble. Allow it to bubble for 10-12 minutes until it thickens slightly. You’ll know it’s done when it begins to look darker and when you drag a spoon across the bottom of the pan and it takes just a second or 2 to come back together.
• Add in your noodles, eggs, chicken and veggies. Toss it all together. Garnish with peanuts, green onions. Note – nutritional facts will vary slightly because of the increase in sauce.

Video

Notes

Substitutions for this recipe:

• Egg free: You can simply omit the eggs.
• Oil: You can sub olive oil with avocado oil
• Veggies: You can omit the bean sprouts if you’re having a hard time finding them. Bulk up the dish by adding more carrots or peppers!
• Protein : You can sub in chicken for shrimp if you’d like. Shrimp take much less time to cook, depending on their size I would cook about 2 minutes on each side until shrimp begin to turn pink
• WW Freestyle note: Save 1 SP per serving by using olive oil spray instead of actual olive oil to cook. Save 4SP by using zucchini noodles instead of brown rice noodles

Instant Pot Notes:

• Make sure to cook the chicken whole and then cut it into cubes. Due to shape, the instant pot just doesn’t have the browning power of a wok or skillet when doing small pieces of chicken.
• DO NOT cook the noodles in the Instant Pot. They are just too starchy and will not work. 
• Add in your noodles, eggs, chicken and veggies. Toss it all together. Garnish with peanuts, green onions. Note – nutritional facts will vary slightly because of the increase in sauce.

Nutrition Facts

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai

Amount Per Serving (2 cups (approx))

Calories 554Calories from Fat 189

% Daily Value*

Fat 21g32%

Saturated Fat 4g25%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 154mg51%

Sodium 1286mg56%

Potassium 983mg28%

Carbohydrates 56g19%

Fiber 8g33%

Sugar 17g19%

Protein 36g72%

Vitamin A 12084IU242%

Vitamin C 62mg75%

Calcium 78mg8%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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