Living on the west coast for a few years deepened my appreciation for Asian cuisine. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the wonderful intricacies of the flavor of different Asian dishes, I have really enjoyed trying out different recipes. There have been so many times where the ingredient lists on these recipes seemed overwhelming. I felt the ingredient lists were often too extensive to make in my own home since many of the ingredients, I probably wouldn’t use in any other dishes I make.
For this reason, I have really enjoyed experimenting with simplified versions of these recipes that still have a ton of the flavors of the authentic dish and are filled with nutrient dense ingredients. This Pad Thai recipe is a product of that work. It is simple, nutrient dense, and reminiscent of Thai cuisine.
This recipe also holds a special place in my heart because it is one of the first recipes I made for my now husband when we started dating. He hadn’t had much Thai food previously and was a little skeptical but kindly tried it out of politeness. As it turned out, he absolutely loved it! It is still one of his most highly requested meals to this day. Since it is so easy to put together, it is a regular staple on our menu.
The Best Easy Pad Thai Recipe
I honestly don’t even remember the first time I had Pad Thai or why I thought it was a recipe I wanted to make, but I love the richness of the peanut flavor paired with veggies and topped with cilantro to add that extra freshness to the dish. It was one of my favorites before meeting my husband, so I was glad he enjoys it too.
I have tweaked the recipe over the years to include ingredients that I often have on hand otherwise. For example, I don’t purchase a lot of rice noodles since that can get pricey but I always have rice on hand. You can dress this up and add extra spices and toppings if you have them on hand or appreciate the additional flavor and we sometimes do. However, I have created this basic recipe to make it an easy weeknight meal to whip up. I often make a double or triple batch since it reheats well and makes for great leftovers.
3 Things To Love About Easy Pad Thai
- Simple Ingredients: Many authentic Pad Thai dishes have a long list of ingredients that you may find you don’t typically have on hand or use in other dishes. This recipe is simple and adaptable to include things can be easily stored in the pantry. Even though there are still some ingredients that I only use for this dish, we make it so often that I still go through it quickly.
- Quick Meal: This dish can be whipped up in 20 minutes or less. I love cooking with ground meat because it thaws and cooks up quickly meaning you don’t have to do a lot of advanced planning. This is even easier if you have leftover shredded chicken from cooking a whole chicken.
- Nourishing and Filling Ingredients: A healthy balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats make this dish extremely filling and satiating.
Ingredients
- Rice or Rice Noodles
- Ground Pork or Shredded Chicken
- Garlic (minced)
- Onion
- Shredded Carrot
- Red Pepper
Ingredients for the Sauce:
- Sesame Oil
- Coconut Aminos or Soy Sauce
- Rice Vinegar
- Peanut Butter
- Honey
- Salt
- Red Chili Paste (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of fat to the pan such as sesame oil, lard, tallow, ghee, or butter.
- While the pan is heating, cook one cup of white rice according to instruction on the rice packaging.
- Add diced red pepper and onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the minced garlic to the pan and sauté another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- If you plan to use ground pork, add it at this time and fry until fully cooked through. If using shredded chicken, add it to the pan and fry until warmed through.
- Mix in all sauce ingredients and stir until fully combined. If you want to make sure the sauce ingredients are mixed well, you can mix them separately and then add. I usually just add them directly to the pan and stir well after to make this a one dish meal.
- Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors develop and add in the rice when it is finished cooking.
- Top with sesame seeds, a fresh squeeze or lime, cilantro, and peanuts and enjoy!
Common Questions
What meats can be used in easy Pad Thai?
While traditional Pad Thai is made with shrimp, I most often use ground pork or shredded chicken as my protein of choice. I have in a pinch done 50/50 ground beef/ground pork and that also tasted great.
Do I have to let it simmer for 10-20 minutes?
Nope! You can totally skip this step if you’re in a rush. The flavor may not be quite as well developed but it will still be quite tasty. In this scenario, I usually find the leftovers taste even better as the flavors have a little more time to soak into the meat, rice, and veggies.
What if I don’t have all the ingredients?
Missing an ingredient? No problem. Regular white vinegar can be substituted for rice vinegar. Rice vinegar has a more mild taste than white vinegar, so use a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar when substituting. Additionally, if you don’t have peanut butter, any nut butter can be substituted although peanut butter is definitely my favorite! I also use whatever veggies I have on hand including onion, carrots, kale, or peppers. You can also choose different types of meat. I used to make this exclusively with chicken but we most often make it with ground pork these days since it is something we have in the most abundance. I will even add in ground beef with the ground pork on occasion.
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The Best Easy Pad Thai Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Large Frying Pan
- 1 Medium Sauce Pan for cooking rice or rice noodles
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rice or Rice Noodles cooked
- 1 lb Ground Pork or Shredded Chicken
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 Medium Onion diced
- 2 Shredded Carrots
- 1 Red Pepper
Sauce Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp Coconut Aminos or Soy Sauce use coconut aminos for gluten free
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tsp Rice Vinegar
- 1/4 cup Peanut Butter
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- Salt to taste I usually use 1/4-1/2 tsp
- 1 tsp Red Chili Paste optional – add more or less according to your spice preference
Instructions
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add a tablespoon of fat to the pan such as sesame oil, lard, tallow, ghee, or butter.
- While the pan is heating, cook one cup of white rice according to instruction on the rice packaging.
- Add diced red pepper and onion and sauté for 1-2 minutes until soft and fragrant. Add the minced garlic to the pan and sauté another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- If you plan to use ground pork, add it at this time and fry until fully cooked through. If using shredded chicken, add it to the pan and fry until warmed through.
- Mix in all sauce ingredients and stir until fully combined. If you want to make sure the sauce ingredients are mixed well, you can mix them separately and then add. I usually just add them directly to the pan and stir well after to make this a one dish meal.
- Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors develop and add in the rice when it is finished cooking.
- Top with sesame seeds, a fresh squeeze or lime, cilantro, and peanuts and enjoy
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