For something easy, delicious, and reminiscent of your favorite Thai food cart, make this Easy Chicken Pad Thai Recipe. It's full of many different delicious ingredients and is perfect for serving to guests!
A flavorful meal that everyone will love
If you asked me to list my five favorite meals, easy chicken pad Thai would undoubtedly fall into the list. This dish is nothing short of flavorful, with ingredients like rice noodles, onion, carrots, and even honey. The peanut sauce is the best and is made with peanut butter, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar. There's a reason this dish is so popular!
This is one of my go-to recipes when I'm in the mood for something extra filling and delicious. It doesn't take too long to make, and despite the "long" list of instructions, everything is very easy and to the point.
For extra brownie points, serve this up when entertaining friends or family. They'll be shocked to learn that it didn't come directly from their favorite Thai food cart!
Easy chicken pad Thai recipe ingredients
Our easy Thai chicken consists of three parts: The main ingredients, the peanut sauce, and the toppings! Each section uses different ingredients, but together the three parts come together to be über flavorful and oh so tasty! The peanut sauce is personally my favorite part.
Here's a breakdown of everything that's included:
Main dish:
- Chicken breasts
- Rice noodles
- Avocado oil
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Red bell pepper
- Eggs
Peanut sauce:
- Peanut butter
- Sesame oil
- Fish sauce
- Rice wine vinegar
- Limes
- Honey
- Coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
- Dried ginger
- Sriracha (optional but recommended)
Toppings:
- Lime
- Peanuts
- Sriracha
- Cilantro
- Green onion
Tools used to make easy pad Thai
You'll need a few tools to make this recipe. You'll be chopping a bunch of veggies and the chicken, so be sure to choose the proper knife! As always, can't forget measuring cups. You'll only need four sizes for this meal.
- Cutting board
- Cutting knife
- Skillet or dutch oven
- Meat thermometer
- Large mixing bowl
- Cooking spatula
- Whisk
- Tongs
- Measuring cups: 1 tsp, 1 tbsp, ¼ cup, ½ cup
How to make this easy chicken pad Thai recipe
This chicken recipe is a bit more in depth than usual, but trust me when I say that it's extremely easy. Follow the directions in order, and you'll be well on your way chicken pad Thai goodness! Here's how it's done:
Begin making this dish by cleaning and chopping all of your vegetables. Dice your chicken into small cubes. If the breasts are large, slice them in half or pound until thin before cutting into cubes.
Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to the package.
Heat a large skillet or dutch oven with 2 tablespoon of avocado oil. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes or until cooked and no longer pink. Stir frequently. If using a meat thermometer, the temperature should reach 165F.
Next, remove the chicken and place in a bowl.
Add 2 tablespoon of avocado oil to the same pan.
Add the onion, garlic, carrots, peppers, and salt. Let cook until everything is softened, about 7-9 minutes.
While the veggies are cooking, make the peanut sauce by whisking all of the sauce ingredients.
Then, once the veggies are softened, make an empty circle in the middle of the pan by pushing them aside.
Crack three eggs in the middle. Scramble the eggs so that the yolks and whites are mixed. Let cook, slowly scrambling.
Once the eggs have cooked, mix them together with the rest of the veggies. Then, add the chicken, noodles, and the peanut sauce.
Turn the heat to low and stir until all of the ingredients are well combined. Tongs are helpful to toss everything together here.
After about 5 minutes, turn off the heat.
Top with cilantro, peanuts, lime, sriracha, and green onion, and serve!
Commonly asked pad Thai questions
Here are some helpful pointers and tidbits that may help you when making this recipe. If you still have a question, feel free to leave it in the comments!
Can I use turkey instead?
The short answer is yes! You can definitely use turkey meat in this recipe just as you would use chicken. Follow the instructions the same way, and it will be sure to turn out perfectly.
What's the difference between coconut aminos and soy sauce?
Coconut aminos and soy sauce are quite similar. Soy sauce is slightly richer, though coconut aminos contain more nutrients. The coconut option is also free of gluten.
What internal temperature does chicken need to reach?
Before removing your chicken from the stove, the internal temperature should reach 165F. The same goes for turkey, if that's what you're using.
How should chicken pad Thai be stored?
Store leftover chicken pad Thai in the refrigerator and consume within 2-3 days. Ensure that the container is securely sealed in order to maintain the texture and flavor.
Try these easy recipes next
Meals don't have to be long and complicated. I'm all about keeping things as simple as possible, which is why I love putting together easy recipes! Here are some more ideas for quick weeknight dinners that I'm sure you're love.
Easy Chicken Pad Thai
Ingredients
Method
- Prepare all of your vegetables by chopping. Dice your chicken into small cubes, if your breasts are very large, slice them in half or pound them until thinner, then cut into cubes.
- Meanwhile, cook rice noodles according to package.
- Heat a large skillet or dutch oven with 2 tablespoon avocado oil. Once hot, add chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes or until cooked and no longer pink. Stir frequently. If using a meat thermometer, temperature should read 165F.
- Remove chicken to a bowl. Add 2 tablespoon avocado oil to same pan.
- Add in onion, garlic, carrots, peppers and salt. Cook until softened, about 7-9 minutes.
- While veggies are cooking, make the peanut sauce by whisking together all of the ingredients. If your sauce is not thin enough to pour, add a few tablespoon water.
- Once softened, make an empty circle in the middle of the veggies by pushing them aside and crack three eggs in the middle. Scramble the eggs up so the yolk and white are mixed. Let cook, slowly scrambling.
- Once eggs have cooked, mix together with rest of veggies. Then add in the chicken, cooked noodles, and the peanut sauce.
- Turn heat to low and stir all ingredients until well combined. Tongs are helpful to toss everything here.
- After about 5 minutes, turn off heat and serve.
- Top with cilantro, peanuts, lime, sriracha, green onion.
Haley Head says
This recipe is so good and flexible. Flexible meaning: if you're missing one or two ingredients, you can still make it work and it will still taste amazing which is freaking awesome. I make this regularly and never get sick of it.
Erin says
Hi Haley, so glad you loved it! 🙂
Kate says
This recipe has become a favorite of mine! It’s delicious, I swap the chicken for tofu to make it vegetarian and the swap works so well!
Erin says
Hi Kate, so glad you loved it!!
rachel says
so so sooo good!! made it for the second time last night and my family of 4 devoured all 8 servings. definitely becoming a staple meal, though we prefer it with a bit less lime 🙂
Erin says
Hi Rachel, so glad you loved it!! Thanks for sharing!
Antoinette Brito says
This is restaurant quality Pad Thai.....but even better than any Pad Thai I’ve had at any restaurant. SO INCREDIBLE
Erin says
Hi Antoinette, so glad you loved it!! 🙂
Pamela says
Soooo good! Family favorite!
Erin says
Hi Pamela, so glad you enjoyed it!
Whit G says
I am Gf and for the longest time, didn’t realize what I was missing by not making this recipe! This is my go-to recipe for pad Thai, and it’s a winner every time I make it. The ingredients list seems daunting at first but after making it a couple times, it is easy to remember what you need and the order of doing things. I’ve tried other recipes and this one takes the cake!
Erin says
Hi Whit, I am so glad you love it so much!!
Elena says
Loved this recipe so much! Was so simple to make and was a huge hit with my family, will definitely be making again soon!!
Erin says
HI Elena, so glad everyone enjoyed it!
Amanda says
This was soo incredible! Definitely adding it to the list of rotating dinners!
Amanda says
This was incredible! Definitely adding it to the list of rotating dinners!
Erin says
Hi Amanda, so glad you enjoyed it!!
Sara W says
Saw on your Instagram and made it today! Super delicious!
Erin says
Hi Sara, so glad you enjoyed it!
Kelsey Gallagher says
This recipe is by far my favorite of Erin's recipes! My roommate and I deiced to pick a recipe from our favorite food bloggers and make a three-course meal, we chose this for our main dish. We were amazed by the flavor and I need to make it again ASAP
Erin says
Hi Kelsey, so honored to be part of your favorite blogger list! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Reyna Munves says
Hi Erin!
I don’t eat fish...what can I sub for fish sauce? Thanks!
Erin says
Hi Reyna, you can omit it and add more soy sauce! Let me know how it comes out!
Meg says
Made this last night. YUM!! Thank you for making dinner stress free/ fun/ yummy to look forward to again!
Erin says
Hi Meg, I am so glad you liked it!
Olivia says
My roommates BEG me to make this! A staple in our apartment. Thanks for the perfect and easy recipe!
Erin says
Hi Olivia, so happy everyone loves it!!
Natasha says
This is just delicious! I didn't have fish sauce so I added a 1/4 cup soy and a 1/4 cup rice vinegar as a replacement. The store also didnt have sweet peppers so I added cabbage and extra carrots instead. Turned out great and really flavorful.
Erin says
Hi Natasha, I am so glad you enjoyed it and made it your own!
Megan says
We tried this for the first time last night and this is now our go to Pad Thai recipe! We love it!
Erin says
Hi Megan, so happy you enjoyed it!!
Anna says
Didn’t use fish sauce and used whole wheat spaghetti instead of rice noodles and it was delicious!
Erin says
Hi Anna, so glad you made it your own and enjoyed it!!
Meg says
I have made a lot of pad Thai recipes. This was by far the easiest and my favorite!! Tons of flavor!
Erin says
Hi Meg, so glad you enjoyed it!
Natalie S. says
Absolutely LOVE this recipe!! perfect amount of lime and peanuty flavor!! Best pad thai I've ever had!! Also tastes great leftover!
Erin says
Hi Natalie, so happy you loved it!
Hannah says
This is my GO TO pad Thai recipe, no extra ingredients that you have to leave the house for. When I want a lighter version I do zoodles! It’s so good.
Erin says
Hi Hannah, I am so happy you enjoyed it and great idea. Let me know how the zoodle version comes out!! 🙂