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Healthy Chicken Pad Thai topped with peanuts, green onions, limes and cilantro.

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai (Easy Recipe)

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  • Author: Bailey Sissom
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stir-fry
  • Cuisine: Asian

Description

This Healthy Chicken Pad Thai recipe is loaded with vegetables, lean protein and a lightened up silky sauce. It utilizes simple ingredients that can be purchased at your local grocery store. 


Ingredients

Scale

For the Pad Thai Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons chili sauce
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

For the Pad Thai:

  • 8 oz. brown rice noodles
  • 2 pounds chicken boneless chicken breast, sliced thinly on a diagonal
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup snow peas, snipped and de-stringed
  • 1 cup red peppers, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup mung bean sprouts
  • 1 cup carrots, julienned (store-bought shredded carrots can be subbed)
  • OPTIONAL: chopped peanuts, cilantro, green onions and lime wedges for garnish.

Instructions

Cook The Noodles:

  1. Cook rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Make Sauce:

  1. In a small bowl, combine rice vinegar and brown sugar. Mix until fully incorporated.
  2. To the same bowl, add 1/3 cup warm water, fish sauce, chili paste and a squeeze of lime juice. Whisk to until smooth.

Cook Chicken

  1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cornstarch and soy sauce. Mix until smooth. Add sliced chicken to the bowl. Toss to coat.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add marinated chicken. Sauté until no longer pink, about 4-7 minutes depending on thickness. Remove from pan onto a plate.

Sauté Vegetables + Stir Fry:

  1. While the chicken is cooking, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to a second skillet. Add garlic, stir for 1 minute. Add the snow peas, red peppers, bean sprouts and carrots. Cook until tender crisp, 5-10 minutes.
  2. To the skillet with the veggies, add the noodles and Pad Thai sauce. Use a wooden spoon to gently "loosen" the noodles as they will be sticky/gummy until covered in warm sauce. 
  3. Add the cooked chicken into the skillet with the vegetables and noodles. Mix gently over medium heat.
  4.  Garnish with sliced green onions, chopped peanuts, a lime wedge, cilantro and serve immediately.

Notes

Liquid Aminos can be substituted for soy sauce to make this recipe gluten-free

Sub frozen crushed garlic cubes for fresh to save on time and chopping.

Julienned carrots can be replaced by store-bought shredded carrots in a pinch.