Vegan pad thai is going down in the HealthyGirl Kitchen. It’s super easy to make too! Typically, pad thai has fish sauce and egg which makes it non-vegan.
I wanted to veganize this dish by removing the egg and fish sauce but keeping a lot of the authentic elements such as rice noodles, bean sprouts, cilantro and chopped nuts on top. To be honest, this vegan version of pad thai is the closest to the classic version that you’re going to get!
I promise you will be eating out of the pan! Absolute heaven.
How do you make vegan pad thai?
First, boil the rice noodles. Make sure to get rice noodles because this makes it more authentic. I used brown rice pad thai noodles but white rice noodles work just as well. While the noodles boil, make your pad thai secret sauce.
The sauce is the best part and I can’t believe how good it turned out. Strain the noodles.
Nest, saute the mung bean sprouts in a large pan. Add the noodles in with the mung beans once they’ve cooked for a few minutes.
Whisk all of the sauce ingredients together then add the sauce into the pot with the noodles. Keep on medium heat and stir until the sauce has thickened up nicely.
Chop up cilantro, lime wedges, scallions, cashews or peanuts. Garnish! Enjoy.
What makes this vegan pad thai healthier than traditional pad thai?
The pad thai you’d find in a restaurant is going to be way higher in sodium and sugar than this recipe. I used just a touch of maple syrup for sweetness, but otherwise this recipe has zero added sugar.
I used coconut aminos as the bulk of this sauce which is much lower in sodium than soy sauce and fish sauce.
This is also 100% plant-based, gluten-free and has no animal protein. Feel free to add tofu to this to add some more protein!
Will my non-vegan friends and family enjoy this?
Absolutely.
This is a recipe that is loved by all and the perfect recipe to impress your meat-eating friends and family members. In addition, noodle dishes are always enjoyed by everyone, no doubt about it. I’ve made this for so many people and I can say honestly, it’s gobbled up quickly every single time.
You won’t even have to preface that this is a vegan dish. The flavors are outstanding, the noodles are delish, the toppings put it over the top and I promise it will be the star of the show.
What are the best garnishes for this pad thai?
- Fresh lime juice
- Cilantro
- Chopped cashews
- Chopped peanuts
- Scallions
- Extra mung bean sprouts
- Red chili flakes
If you like the idea of this recipe: try pairing it with my air-fryer vegan wontons!
What is the best way to store this?
Store this vegan pad thai in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. This makes the best leftovers and can be reheated to have for lunch or dinner throughout the week.
Also, I love meal prepping a big batch of this to then have as my meal-prepped meals! Add tofu for more protein.
A few important tips:
- Do not let the noodles sit in the strainer for any length of time! They will clump together. Make sure to strain and immediately toss in the pan with pad thai sauce.
- Keep the cilantro fresh. Make sure to not cook the cilantro, add it as a fresh garnish!
- Make sure you are using coconut aminos not liquid aminos (they are different and liquid aminos are much saltier!).
- You can find coconut aminos at a lot of groceries store including Trader Joe’s, Sprouts and Whole Foods.
- Only keep in the fridge for max 4-5 days.
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Vegan Pad Thai (easy!)
the ingredients
- 12 oz pad thai rice noodles I used brown rice noodles
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts
Pad Thai Sauce
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp chili garlic sauce or sriracha
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil sub sesame paste if you're oil-free
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Garnishes
- Cilantro fresh
- Chopped cashews or peanuts
- Scallions
- Fresh lime juice to squeeze on top
instructions
- Boil noodles in a large pot then strain when ready. Whisk all sauce ingredients together, set aside.
- In large pan, saute the mung bean sprouts for 5 minutes. Pour in the noodles and the pad thai sauce. Cook on medium heat until the sauce thickens up, continuously stirring or moving around with tongs.
- Garnish with cilantro, scallions, chopped nuts and a squeeze of lime juice! Serve and enjoy.
Made with love,
Danielle
My family loved this. I added red pepper strips and air fried marinated tofu. It was perfect with those additions.
It was so good! Perfect amount of flavor and spice. My only thing was I couldn’t find pad Thai noodles to save my life. I found some at my local Japanese store that were pretty similar and I didn’t feel like there was a big difference to be too concerned. I’m totally making this again!
I found this dish good, however, I felt the rice vinegar to be a bit strong, I would suggest adding half the recommended amount. It is a solid recipe and easy to add other vegetables or protein options!
This was amazing and truly easy! This is a great base recipe that you can add more veggies into easily. Some modifications I made simply because I didn’t have the exact ingredients the original recipe calls for were using lo mein noodles instead and broccoli in place of bean sprouts. Everyone in my house loved this meal, including my 1.5 year old daughter, so that’s a huge win. Thanks for the great recipe!
I made this yesterday and it was a hit! Even better the second day for leftover ers. I will definitely be making this often.
This turned out great! My family loved this recipe and it will be a staple for sure. Thank you!
This recipe was DELICIOUS! I was surprised by how flavorful the sauce was, and it was enough that it coated the tofu that I added as well. 100% will make this again, and recommend to anyone. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! So glad you loved it!