Thai food has a special place in my heart, and this Healthy Chicken Pad Thai is a must make! Pad Thai is my husband's favorite Thai dish, so I had to get this recipe "just right." It's got the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, savory, and salty with tender chicken, thick rice noodles, mung beans, crunchy peanuts, and colorful veggies. So good! It's also macro-friendly, gluten-free and dairy-free. If you need this vegan, omit the scrambled egg and use crispy baked tofu instead of chicken!
Did you know? Mung beans (native to India and Southeast Asia) are very nutritious. They're rich in essential protein, antioxidants, and other nutrients. One cup of boiled mung beans contains 80% of the daily requirement for folate and 14 grams of protein.
Choosing the best chicken
When buying chicken, I look for "organic" or "free range" with "no antibiotics ever." This ensures the chickens were raised in a healthy environment with access to the outdoors. If available, I try to choose "Certified Humane" chicken.
For this recipe, I went with lean boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe, but chicken thighs would work too!
Healthy pad thai sauce
Traditional Pad Thai sauce uses tamarind pulp, a paste-like substance from ripe pods of the tamarind tree. The pulp has a distinct sweet-sour taste. Since tamarind paste can be hard to find, I improvised!
My healthy pad thai sauce combines rice vinegar (can sub lime juice), brown sugar sweetener, fish sauce, coconut aminos, and ketchup (yes, ketchup!). Together these ingredients give the sweet, sour, salty, and tangy flavor pad thai is known for.
Other ingredients
This recipe uses brown rice noodles for more fiber, plus lots of veggies: peppers, carrots, mung beans, and green onions. I also added fresh garlic, scrambled egg (optional), and fresh cilantro (optional).
I used avocado oil to stir-fry the vegetables with the cooked noodles, chicken, and sauce. Avocado oil is a great anti-inflammatory, high-heat cooking oil that I always have in my kitchen.
Here's the printable recipe for this Healthy Chicken Pad Thai. I'd love it if you could rate this recipe or comment below if you try it ;)
This Healthy Chicken Pad Thai has the perfect balance of tangy, sweet, savory, and salty with tender chicken, thick rice noodles, mung beans, crunchy peanuts, and colorful veggies. So good! It's also macro-friendly, gluten-free and dairy-free.If you need this vegan, omit the scrambled egg and use crispy baked tofu instead of chicken!
3 tbsp. sugar free brown sugar alternative (I used one that measures like sugar)
2 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. coconut aminos (or tamari or soy sauce)
*See blog post for substitutions and notes.
Directions
Combine rice vinegar (or lime juice), coconut aminos (or tamari), brown sweetener, fish sauce and ketchup in a medium bowl for the sauce. Set aside.
Thinly slice chicken breasts. With a separate cutting board and knife, mince garlic and prepare vegetables so they're ready to go.
Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
Add chicken to hot skillet or wok, stir-frying for 5-6 minutes or until cooked through. Once chicken is done, set aside on a plate.
Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan, then turn burner off. Add rice noodles and let sit for 6-8 minutes until tender but not completely soft (al dente). Drain noodles and rinse with cold water.
Whisk together eggs and add them to the skillet with 1 tsp. oil. Cook eggs, stirring often, for about 2 minutes until scrambled. Set aside with cooked chicken.
Add remaining 2 tsp. oil plus prepared veggies and garlic to the skillet. Stir-fry over medium-high heat for another 2 minutes or until crisp-tender.
Add cooked noodles to skillet along with vegetables, chicken, scrambled egg, and sauce. Stir to combine and cook until heated through, about 2-3 minutes.
Divide evenly into six servings and garnish with cilantro and peanuts if desired. Enjoy!
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for at least a month. I love to meal prep this recipe myself.
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