This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.
Have you ever felt intimidated about making Pad Thai at home? I certainly did. But after several kitchen experiments, I’ve figured out a way to make this classic takeout dish with simple pantry ingredients (and a few extra veggies).
It’s not 100% authentic by any means, but it certainly is delicious. And more importantly, it’s easy to throw together for a fast weeknight meal.
Adding shredded cabbage to this dish stretches the noodle-like texture, so you get to eat a much larger portion for fewer calories. If you’d like to add your favorite protein on top, it’s easy to customize every time you make it.
âââââ Featured Review
These are absolutely delicious and should be called âMarry Me Noodles.â I overheard my boyfriend telling his guy friend just how amazingly delicious they were â ranting and raving about what a great cook I was, when your recipes are always the secret ingredient. Yummmm and thank you!” – Lola
Pad Thai Ingredients
Since I don’t typically keep tamarind paste or fish sauce in my pantry, here’s what you’ll need to make this easier vegetarian version.
- Rice Noodles. Pad Thai is traditionally made with rice noodles, which are thin, flat, and naturally gluten-free. They can be made with white rice or brown rice. I’ve also made this with traditional spaghetti noodles and chickpea linguine noodles, which is what I use in my popular Peanut Noodles recipe. Almost any noodles should work!
- Veggies. Traditional recipes usually call for shredded carrots, green onions, cilantro, and mung bean sprouts. I also like to take this dish a step further by adding shredded cabbage. It develops a noodle-like texture when cooked, so it blends right in with the noodles!
- Tamari. This gluten-free soy sauce helps add umami and a salty flavor to the vegan pad thai sauce.
- Lime juice. Fresh lime juice adds a tangy, refreshing flavor. (Lemon juice should work, too.)
- Sriracha. This spicy sauce is a staple in our fridge and an easy way to add a dash of spice. You can easily add another squeeze if you prefer things spicier, too.
- Maple Syrup. This sweetener balances the acidity of the sauce and is vegan-friendly. If you don’t need a vegan dish, honey could be used instead.
- Peanuts. These are added for crunch in the traditional dish. You can use any other nut you like, too.
How to Make Healthy Pad Thai
Step 1:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and prepare the noodles according to the package directions.
Step 2:
While the noodles are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the cabbage and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. SautĂŠ until tender, about 8 minutes.
Want to save this for later?
I'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Step 3:
While the cabbage and noodles are cooking, stir together the sauce in a small bowl. Combine the tamari, lime juice, maple syrup, and sriracha, and stir until smooth.
Step 4:
When the noodles are done, drain well, then add them to the large skillet with the cabbage. Add in the sauce, carrots, and green onions, and stir often, so everything gets heated and evenly coated in the sauce.
Taste and adjust any seasoning as needed. (See the section below for tips!) Stir in the cilantro right before serving, and sprinkle in the peanuts, so they’ll stay crunchy. Serve warm.
Storage Tip: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes to serve again.
Vegetarian Pad Thai (with Extra Veggies!)
Ingredients
- 4 ounces rice noodles (or noodles of choice)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound green cabbage , shredded
- 3 tablespoons tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 carrot , shredded
- 3 green onions , chopped
- 1 cup fresh cilantro , chopped
- Âź cup chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and prepare the noodles according to the package directions.
- While the noodles are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the cabbage and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. SautĂŠ until tender, about 8 minutes.
- While the cabbage and noodles are cooking, stir together the sauce in a small bowl. Combine the tamari, lime juice, maple syrup, and sriracha, and stir until smooth.
- When the noodles are done, drain well, then add them to the large skillet with the cabbage. Add in the sauce, carrots, and green onions, and stir often, so everything gets heated and evenly coated in the sauce. Taste and adjust any seasoning as needed. (See the post above for tips!)
- Stir in the cilantro right before serving, and sprinkle in the peanuts, so they'll stay crunchy. Serve warm. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes to serve again.
Video
Notes
- Nutrition information is for half the batch, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.
- If you don’t like peanuts, feel free to leave them out or swap for another crunchy nut, like cashews or almonds.
- The veggies in this dish can be easily substituted, so use what you have on hand! Green cabbage will be the least-noticeable veggie visually, but red cabbage tastes good, too!
Nutrition
More Vegetarian Recipes to Try
- Vegan Pho
- Kale Pesto
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Best Veggie Burgers
- Whole Roasted Cauliflower
- The Best Vegetable Stew
If you try this Vegan Pad Thai recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below to let me know how you like it!
This is a nice and flavorful addition to Meganâs already great portfolio of healthy but simple dishes! The âheatâ leaves you feeling satisfied without the guilt of a heavy dish or overeating.
Thank you for all that you do! Iâm enjoying your website.
Wondering if you tell me what cutting/chopping boards you are using?
I really need new ones.
Nachatr
Instead of adding the peanuts – I added about a tablespoon of peanut butter to the sauce.
I made this and it tastes good, and I will make it again. I just need to make sure I have some more veggies because I attempted to double the recipe on my first try and it did need some more veggies, but other than that it was good.
Also, I did use bok choy with some cabbage and I threw in some shredded lettuce that I had.
This dish is amazing! Twice I made it and we love the flavour and how healthy it is. I hate pasta made of lentils or chickpeas because they donât make good leftovers, but rice pasta is the bomb! Love eating it the next day cold.
Super easy delicious recipe!Thanks!
Amazing!!! Made this last night with Banza linguine, and it was UNREAL!
Entire family loved!! Even the kids đ I have been making a super complicated pad thai recipe for years that no one was enjoying anymore. This one was a hit! I modified the sriracha to make it kid friendly and used the Trader Joeâs organic cabbage and carrot bags. Thanks for this and all your fantastic recipes!
Excellent! I added a sliced red pepper at the same time as the carrot for a bit more colour & crunch. I also doubled the sauce. Great recipe, thanks!
I bought a bag of cabbage for burritos later in the week, but this recipe was calling me. And even though I didnât have green onions or cilantro, and the only carrots I had were baby and probably should have been tossed a while ago, I decided to give it a try. I used red onion instead of green, and although I am guessing it would have been even better without all of my missing and subbed ingredients, it was crazy delicious. In fact, I think this might be my new weekend dinner obsession. I made myself save half to eat the next day, and it was actually more delicious! I would like to add some additional vegetables like broccoli, mushrooms and maybe even some snow peas, so I am a wondering if I would need to cook those separately or can add them in with the cabbage? The best thing about this pad Thai is that, unlike the one I get at my favorite Thai restaurant, I didnât feel gross after eating it. Guessing itâs because itâs mostly cabbage, but also the sauce is undoubtedly better for you. Oh, and I used stevia instead of maple syrup.