Vegetable Pad Thai is amazing mix of rice noodles and ALL the veggies, coated in a tangy and nutty Thai sauce. It may seem like there is a large list of ingredients, but they come together pretty quickly, making this Pad Thai an amazing dinner for a weeknight or weekend!
Another great Asian noodle recipe we love around here is this Instant Pot Beef Ramen recipe… it’s SUPER fast and easy!
Why This Recipe Works
- The sauce is made with just the right combo of ingredients, leaving it a little spicy, herbaceous, nutty, and tangy.
- There are a lot of ingredients, but once they come together this is quite an easy recipe.
- Cooking the rice noodles separately ensures that everything cooks perfectly and nothing is over-cooked.
What is Pad Thai
Pad Thai is rice noodle dish that is commonly served as street food or in restaurants around Thailand. It can also be called Phad Thai.
It is traditionally made of rice noodles, chicken/beef/tofu, assorted vegetables, peanuts, scrambled egg, and bean sprouts all tossed in a sauce made with tamarind, fish sauce, sugar and other ingredients.
Here we are making a Veggie Pad Thai, however we have left the tofu out of this version and are letting the veggies shine!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you need to make Vegetable Pad Thai at home, plus some tips on a few ingredients like Tamarind Past and Fish Sauce.
Ingredients and Garnish
Pad Thai Sauce
Tamarind Paste – Also called Tamarind Concentrate, this is a dark syrupy paste made from the tamarind fruit. It is used in cuisine around the world, and specifically in African, Asian, and Indian foods.
Tamarind Paste smells very sweet, almost like dates or raisins, but has a very, very tangy flavor like intense limes or lemons.
You can find Tamarind Paste at Whole Foods in the Asian foods section. If there is not a Whole Foods nearby, call your local grocery store or order online at Amazon – Tamarind Paste.
Fish Sauce – You can find fish sauce in or near the Asian food section at your grocery store. It is made with fermented anchovies or fish and it does have a very strong flavor!
If fish is not your jam or you are making this recipe for vegetarian/vegan purposes you can sub vegetable or chicken broth for the fish sauce.
You can also pop over to this recipe for Vegan Fish Sauce!
Rice Noodles – made with rice flour and water, these are the noodle traditionally used in Pad Thai.
I like to use the Thai Kitchen brand of rice noodle.
Vegetables
In this recipe we are using broccoli, red peppers, and bean sprouts. However, feel free to use whatever combo of vegetable you like or have.
Some other veggie options could be:
- carrot sticks
- bok choy
- bamboo shoots
- sugar snap peas or snow peas
- edamame
- savoy cabbage
Step by Step Picture Instructions
Start by combining all the Pad Thai sauce ingredients and mixing/whisking them together: vegetable broth (or chicken broth), tamarind paste, fish sauce (or broth if you are subbing), soy sauce, brown sugar, creamy peanut butter, garlic, fresh minced ginger and red pepper flakes.
Set the sauce aside.
Pro Tip – I like to do this in a large liquid measuring cup for easy pouring later in the recipe.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the rice noodles per package instructions. Rinse the noodles in cool water and toss with 1 tbsp vegetable oil.
Pro Tip – make sure you rinse your noodles with cold water after they cook. This will stop them from turning to mush!
Meanwhile in a large non stick skillet (or wok) heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil over high heat. Add the broccoli florets, red peppers, minced garlic clove, salt and ¼ cup water.
Sauté while stirring the veggies for about 2.5-3 minutes until the broccoli is crisp-tender and bright green.
Push all the veggies to the side of the skillet/wok. Pour in the beaten egg and scramble in the pan until it is set – about 1 minute.
Go ahead and push the eggs to the side with the veggies.
Pour the remaining 2 tbsp vegetable oil in the hot pan. Add the cooked rice noodles, bean sprouts, green onions.
Now pour the sauce over everything.
Toss everything together and simmer/cook for about 2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for a couple minutes.
Serving
Serve your Vegetable Pad Thai warm/hot garnished with fresh cilantro, chopped peanuts and lime wedges.
You can also offer a side of Sambal or red pepper flakes for people that like a lot of spice/heat!
Recipe Tips
- After cooking your rice noodles make sure you rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking. You want an al dente noodle, not mush!
- Cut your veggies roughly the same size. This will create a better mouth feel / eating experience. It will also have better visual appeal.
- Don’t skip the garnish! The crunchy peanuts add great texture and the tang of the lime and freshness of the cilantro add the perfect brightness.
- To add more heat serve this dish with a side of Sambal or toss more red pepper flakes into the sauce.
Related Recipes
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Vegetable Pad Thai
Equipment
- large non-stick skillet or wok
- large pot
Ingredients
- 8 oz rice noodles (I like Thai Kitchen brand) cooked per package instructions, then rinsed with cold water
- 5 tbsp vegetable oil divided
- 3 cups fresh broccoli florets cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 red pepper sliced into ½ inch pieces
- 3 garlic clove minced
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ cup water
- 2 large eggs lightly whisked with a pinch of salt
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 5 green onions light and dark green parts sliced into ½ inch pieces
Pad Thai Sauce
- ½ cup vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 4 tbsp fish sauce ** see notes about subs for fish sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp (heaping) creamy peanut butter
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger peeled and minced
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Garnish
- ½ cup roasted peanuts chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- fresh lime wedges
Instructions
Rice Noodles
- Cook your rice noodles per package instructions.Rinse under cold water and then toss with 1 tbsp vegetable oil. Set aside.
Pad Thai Sauce
- In a bowl or large glass measuring cup whisk together all the Pad Thai Sauce ingredients. Set aside.
Vegetable Pad Thai
- In a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat add 2 tbsp vegetable oil.Stir in the broccoli florets, red peppers, garlic, kosher salt and water. Sauté, while stirring, for about 2.5-3 minutes until the broccoli is crisp-tender.
- Push the veggie mixture to the side of the skillet/wok. Pour the beaten eggs into the empty side. Scramble in the pan until they are set up, this will only take about 1 minute. Push the eggs to the side with the veggies.
- Add the cooked rice noodles, bean sprouts, green onions to the skillet. Pour the Pad Thai Sauce over top. Toss everything together.
- Sauté for an additional 2 minutes.
- Remove the skillet/wok from the heat and let the Veggie Pad Thai cool for a few minutes.
- Serve garnished with cilantro, chopped peanuts and 2 lime wedges.For people that like additional heat/spice, offer extra red pepper flakes or Sambal.
Notes:
- After cooking your rice noodles make sure you rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking. You want an al dente noodle, not mush!
- Cut your veggies roughly the same size. This will create a better mouth feel / eating experience. It will also have better visual appeal.
- Don’t skip the garnish! The crunchy peanuts add great texture and the tang of the lime and freshness of the cilantro add the perfect brightness.
- To add more heat serve this dish with a side of Sambal or toss more red pepper flakes into the sauce.
If nutrition facts are provided they are calculated as an estimate to the best of our knowledge.
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