Healthy Pad Thai is my simplified approach to a takeout favorite, using ingredients you can easily find at any grocery store. Whole grains, lean protein, and added veggies make this recipe half the calories and points of the takeout version!
If you’ve read through a lot of my blog, then you know that one of my favorite approaches to creating recipes is trying to lighten up my favorite take out and fast food items. I have copycat recipes for El Pollo Loco’s chicken, Panda Express style Chow Mein, Kung Pao Chicken, and many more.
Pad Thai has always been one of my absolute favorites, but it seemed too complicated to make at home. After reading through tons of recipes and doing some research on ingredients alternatives for the harder-to-find items, I found that it can be pretty easy to make at home. And it’s much healthier this way!
what kind of ingredients do i need to make healthy pad thai?
Let me be very clear–this is not a completely authentic Pad Thai recipe. A key ingredient in traditional Pad Thai is tamarind paste, which is made from a fruit pulp that is sour and sweet. You can usually find it in the Asian section of your grocery store, but I try to avoid buying a rather expensive ingredient to make just one dish.
secret ingredient
I looked for alternatives, finding that you really just want to mimic the sweet/tangy/sour flavors of tamarind. A combination of lime juice and, hear me out–ketchup!–did the trick. I know it sounds weird, but if Mark Bittman’s Pad Thai recipe in How to Cook Everything includes ketchup, too, then I feel validated. 🙂 And I always like when recipes include ingredients that I already have around.
Pad Thai Noodles
The only ingredient that I wasn’t really used to working with is the rice noodles. You can use any kind of rice noodles that are labelled for Pad Thai. The shape is important because they are flat and wider than rice vermicelli noodles.
Try using brown rice noodles if you can find them. I bought mine at Sprouts, but I’ve also seen them at Von’s. The brown rice is a little sturdier than the white rice noodles, so they don’t break up as much when you saute them. They also keep me fuller longer than the white rice versions. Best of all? If you’re on the purple plan, like I am, then they are ZERO points!
One more tip: the package says to soak these in boiling water for 8-10 minutes before stir frying them. I find that soaking for just 5 minutes is better. The noodles keep their shape and soak up the sauce better this way. But do whatever works for you.
the protein
My favorite for Healthy Pad Thai is tofu. It soaks up the flavors of the sauce and is super quick and easy to saute up. I just drain the tofu and press it between two kitchen towels while the noodles soak and I prep the rest of the ingredients. Then, I cut it into small rectangles and sear in a hot skillet with cooking spray.
If tofu isn’t your thing, shrimp or chicken breast work just as well. Just sear up a pound of either.
The vegetables
Traditional Pad Thai usually includes bean sprouts, but I’m not a huge fan of those. I wanted to bulk this up with some veggies, so I decided on a combo of carrots and zucchini. To make them the same basic size as the noodles, I spiralized them. But you could just cut them into thin matchstick shapes. Feel free to use whatever veggies combo you like.
That about covers it! In just around 30 minutes, you’ll have yourself some fantastic Pad Thai that is healthier than anything you could get from a take-out place and half of the points!
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!
Healthy Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Pad Thai rice noodles (I use brown rice noodles)
- 14 ounces tofu, drained and diced (or sub 1 lb of chicken or shrimp)
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 cups spiralized carrots*
- 2 cups spiralized zucchini*
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
FOR THE SAUCE
- 2 tbsp reduced-sugar ketchup
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari to keep it gluten free)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar or honey)
- 1 tbsp sriracha (optional)
OPTIONAL GARNISHES
- limes wedges, extra cilantro, peanuts (additional points), bean sprouts, chili flakes
Instructions
- Prepare your noodles. Gently place the dried noodles in a large bowl, then cover completely with boiling water. Let stand for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Set aside.
- Prepare your protein. In a very large skillet, sear your protein until just cooked through. For the tofu, I cook on medium-high heat for about 3 minutes a side. Use about the same time for shrimp, or a little longer for chicken. You can season your protein with about 1/4 tsp of salt and some cracked pepper if you like, but the sauce is pretty salty on its own.
- Set the protein aside. In the same skillet, quickly scramble the eggs. Set aside with the other protein.
- Saute garlic and carrots until slightly soft, about 5-7 minutes While that is cooking, whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
- Once the carrots are soft, add the zucchini and cook until just soft. This should only take about 2-4 minutes.
- Push veggies to the side of the skillet and spray the middle with cooking spray. Add in your noodles and half of the sauce. Stir fry until the noodles have soaked up the sauce, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the protein and eggs back into the skillet, along with the other half of the sauce. Mix everything together until it is all coated, just a minute or two. Add in a couple splashes of water if the mixture is too dry, but keep in mind that the rice noodles and protein should soak up most of the sauce.
- To reheat leftovers, add in about 1 tsp water before microwaving to help separate the noodles again.
This was excellent! I do love my bean sprouts so I used those in place of zucchini. Also, monk fruit sweetener. Will definitely be on the rotation.
I’m in love with this recipe. I’ve had it for lunch three days straight. I bought a rotisserie chicken and used it as my protein. Thank you for sharing!
I made this tonight and it was so delicious!!! I used a rotisserie chicken for the protein. So good. And so fast to make.
I made this last night. I used round slices of carrots and zucchini. It was beyond delicious. Thank you for the amazing recipes!
You’re so welcome! Good to know it comes out great without spiralizing. 🙂
Can you use rice vinegar in place of rice wine vinegar? I can’t seem to find in the grocery stores in my area!
Sure!
Made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing! Greatly exceeded my expectations! Thank you!
Love hearing that, Briana!
This was so amazing – thank you for sharing! 😀
You’re welcome! So happy you liked it.
At what stage did you add the 1/2 cup cilantro? Or, did you just top with cilantro?
I just mixed it in at the end. I still need to update that instruction!
Awesome, thanks! I’ve made this 3 times already since discovering it a few weeks ago. Between this and your Tikka Masala, I’m not sure which is my fave.
This looks super yummy but I’m not a huge fan of fish sauce. Can you leave it out or substitute with something else?
If you leave it out, it won’t really taste like Pad Thai. But you could just use extra soy sauce and it would still be good. Fish sauce is really what gives it that Thai flavor, though. 🙂
I LOVE LOVE this recipe and will make it all the time!
Yay! Love hearing that. 🙂
Absolutely incredible recipe. Definitely a “lightened up” version, which I appreciate so so much. Added crushed peanuts and felt like I was having takeout!!
So glad you enjoyed it!!
Made this tonight with shrimp and bean sprouts!!!! Yum!!! My husband and I enjoyed it so much….definitely gives our Thai place a run for its money 😉
We couldn’t find fish sauce but jarred pad Thai sauce. Can we use that in place of fish sauce? Or should we keep hunting?
I would keep hunting. Fish sauce has a saltiness that you really need in this dish. I would try Amazon.
Hoping to make this tonight but we couldn’t find Fish Sauce and purchased Pad Thai sauce containing Fish Sauce. Will that suffice?
Sorry for the late response! I’ve never used Pad Thai sauce, so I’m not sure. Hope it turned out okay for you.
Made this today and used spiralized sweet potatoes in lieu of carrots as well as monkfruit sweetener instead of the coconut sugar. It was very tasty! Definitely hit that noodle craving.
Thanks!
Love those substitutions!
I have always been unhappy with the taste, texture, and nutritional content of jarred pad thai sauce, but I could never find a good homemade recipe until now. I made this tonight and it was fantastic! I omitted the veggies since I didn’t have them on hand and added bean sprouts to be closer to traditional take out. It both tastes closer to restaurant pad thai AND is much healthier. I used chicken and next time might cook it in a bit of peanut oil to get that taste (not a fan of actual peanuts). I will absolutely make this again, thank you so much!
Love hearing all of this! Thanks for taking the time to review. 🙂
This has been on my menu multiple times and I’ve never had the ingredients. Well tonight, I still didn’t have all the ingredients said, “F it!!” And slapped it together with what I had on hand. Used spaghetti noodles, leftover chicken, half a bag of coleslaw mix, some bell peppers & topped withchopped spicy cashews. AMAZING!!! Make this now. And again next week. I will be!
Oh. My. Word. This recipe was amazing!! I couldn’t believe this wasn’t pad thai takeout and it’s only 6 points. Pad thai is one of my favorites and it’s definitely a “cheat” meal for me when I want it. Well, thanks to this recipe, no more cheating needed! I don’t like bean sprouts in this dish and I was loving all the zucchini & carrots. I couldn’t believe how good and simple this was. I’m framing this recipe in my kitchen haha
P.S. It didn’t say what to do with the cilantro (huge fan of the herb) so I just sprinkled it on top in the last step. I also used some crushed peanuts and mixed them in as well. It really tasted authentic!
You are right, the sauce is perfect! I added snow peas, green pepper, and green onion to increase the volume with veggies. The only issue I had was that my noodles needed way more than 5 minutes soaking, it might be good to follow the package directions, but just reduce it by a few minutes. My package said soak for 20-25 minutes.