Faster than any takeout, this Easy Pad Thai Recipe is sure to become one of your absolute favorite weeknight clean eating dinner recipes. It’s made with a mildly sweet, savory, teensy bit salty, umami-flavored cashew cream sauce and loads of veggie “noodles”. And if you have our Clean Cuisine book and do Meat Free Mondays like we do, this makes the perfect Monday night dinner…
Easy Pad Thai Recipe Beats Takeout In Taste Everytime
One of Thailand’s national dishes, Pad Thai is having a big moment here in the States. Whether you are specifically at a Thai restaurant or not, this is one dish I keep seeing variations of on menu after menu at all sorts of places.
One of my absolute favorite Pad Thai restaurant dishes is the “Super Pad Thai” at Christopher’s Kitchen, a plant-based organic restaurant in our local downtown Palm Beach Gardens area. Made with rice noodles, julienned vegetables, bok choy, mushrooms, ginger, basil, cilantro, sesame seeds and a cashew-based Thai sauce, Christopher’s is definitely a clean eating Pad Thai concoction all the way. The problem is, Pad Thai is one of those dishes that really does not travel very well. You really need to eat it right from the stovetop for best results. So, unless you want to get dressed and head out to a restaurant, your best bet when you are craving Pad Thai is to skip the Delivery Dudes and stick to an Easy Pad Thai Recipe instead.
And I promise this one will not let you down! Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients either because the number of actual steps required to pull the dish together is minimal….
No Harm Done Doubling Up On the Sauce…
Pad Thai is also one of those dishes where the sauce most definitely makes the meal, so there’s no harm in making a double batch of sauce. You can always use the sauce the next night to flavor chicken, tofu, stir-fried veggies over quinoa, eggs, you name it. With a great Pad Thai Sauce the options are endless…
Ok, let’s get cooking!
Prep Time:
Yield:
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PinIngredients
- For the Sauce:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce (such as Thai Kitchen brand)
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
- 1 tablespoon unpasteurized soy sauce (such as Ohsawa brand)
- 1 tablespoon unrefined sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup water (plus more to taste)
- For the Noodles:
- 1 package (8 ounces Brown Rice Noodles (such as Annie Chun’s brand))
- 3 cups zucchini “noodles” (see notes below)
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 2 cups shredded carrots
- 2 scallions (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- Red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
- For the Sauce: In a high speed blender (such as a Vitamix), add the cashews, fish sauce, honey, lime juice, ginger, Sriracha sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic and water; process on high for about 1 full minute, or until ingredients are well blended. Set sauce aside.
- For the Vegetables & Noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the rice noodles and cook for 1 minute. Add the vegetables (zucchini noodles, bean sprouts and carrots) and cook for about 2 1/2 minutes, or until vegetables are soft but not mushy. Strain the rice and noodles and immediately transfer to a large skillet.
- To the skillet, add the sauce and stir fry over medium heat until the noodles and vegetables are coated in the sauce. Turn off the heat, stir in the cilantro and sprinkle in the red pepper flakes (optional). Serve at once.
Notes
To make zucchini noodles you need a vegetable spiralizer. If you have a good spiralizer, you can crank zucchini noodles out in minutes. Here’s a video that shows you just how quick and easy zucchini pasta is to make.
As for where to buy a spiralizer, you can pick one up at Williams-Sonoma or order one online on Amazon for around $40.00. I personally prefer the Paderno Spiralizer as it is both lightweight and durable but also incredibly easy to use.
Want More Healthy Dinner Recipes?
If you liked the Easy Pad Thai recipe, be sure to check out a full month’s menu of delicious healthy dinner recipes (including weekly shopping lists!) in our Clean Cuisine Dinners digital cookbook.
