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Sep 17, 2020 By Stacie Hassing

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai (Noodle-free!)

Dairy-Free
Gluten-free
Grain-Free
Paleo
Whole30
Jump to Recipe

Loaded with veggies and full of flavor, this one-skillet Chicken Pad Thai makes for a healthy, easy, and delicious weeknight meal! Strands of broccoli slaw, cabbage, and carrots stand-in for noodles, making this recipe a satisfying Whole30, paleo, and gluten-free meal. You won’t even miss the noodles!

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai in a large cast iron skillet with a serving tongs.

Whether you’re looking for a gluten-free pad Thai, a Whole30 pad Thai, a paleo pad Thai or a noodle-free pad Thai, you’ve come to the right place. This recipe is all of that and more.

One of my favorite recipes on this blog is our Easy Egg Roll in a Bowl which I make at least once a month and word on the street is that many of our readers love it, too! In fact, the creation of this Healthy Chicken Pad Thai was inspired by that recipe.

I wanted something similar, but a little different to change it up. And while I know this recipe is far from a truly authentic Pad Thai like you’d find in a Thai restaurant, I will say it’s insanely delicious in its own ‘veggified’, noodle-free way. You’re going to love it!

In addition, it’s made all in one skillet making for quick kitchen cleanup, it’s 100% meal-prep friendly, very satisfying thanks to all the veggies and it’s a great way to use up leftover chicken.

This healthy Pad Thai recipe makes for a perfectly balanced meal as it contains an adequate amount of protein, carbs, fats, and fiber. The sauce is SO good, and adds some of the flavors of your favorite Thai food takeout in a healthy, one-pot homemade meal!

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai ingredients in a large black cast iron skillet.

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Healthy Chicken Pad Thai Ingredients

Here is what you’ll need to make this Gluten-free Pad Thai. Included are appropriate substitution and swaps.

Skillet Ingredients: 

  • Cooking fat of choice – olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, butter, ghee are all great options. 
  • Whole eggs – omit for egg-free.
  • Chicken breast – chicken thighs or ground chicken make for great swaps. Leftover chicken also works great! We love ButcherBox for its quality meat options.
  • Broccoli slaw – found in the produce section in a bag. If you can’t find it, no sweat! Simply add additional cabbage and carrots or a coleslaw mix.
  • Shredded red cabbage – may substitute green cabbage or go with a mix. For a quick and easy option, use pre-shredded. 
  • Shredded carrots – for a quick and easy option, use pre-shredded.
  • Red bell pepper – any color of bell pepper will work. 
  • Yellow onion – adds flavor but feel free to omit if you don’t like onions.
  • Green onion – thinly sliced separating the white/light green parts with dark green parts as they are added at different times. 
  • Garlic cloves – fresh garlic is best in this recipe! For a quick and easy option, use pre-minced garlic. 
  • Fresh ginger – may substitute ground ginger. If you do, you’ll want to add the ginger to the sauce.
  • Optional garnishes – chopped cilantro, dry roasted cashews <–the best cashews, sesame seeds, sliced green onion, and fresh lime juice make for great garnishes.

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Noodle Free Healthy Chicken Pad Thai in a large cast iron skillet with the sauce pouring into the skillet.

Whole30 Pad Thai Sauce Ingredients:

  • Almond butter – drizzly almond butter works best. For nut-free, use tahini or sunflower seed butter. 
  • Coconut aminos – we love coconut aminos! Similar to soy-sauce but less processed and much less sodium. If you substitute soy sauce, I’d recommend using half the amount.
  • Lime juice – freshly squeezed is best!
  • Crushed red pepper – adds just a little heat.
  • Rice vinegar – a common ingredient in many Asian sauces. Note: Rice vinegar IS Whole30 compatible. 
  • Toasted sesame oil – adds such a nice nutty flavor and another common ingredient in many Asian sauces.

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Healthy Chicken Pad Thai in a large cast iron skillet before tossing everything together.

How to make this Healthy Chicken Pad Thai Recipe

A one-skillet, Whole30 Pad Thai is about to go down! Here’s how:

  1. Step 1: Place a large skillet (at least a 12-inch skillet) over medium high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the cooking fat. Once hot, add the whisked eggs and scramble. Remove from the skillet and set aside. 
  2. Step 2: To the skillet, add the additional 1 teaspoon of cooking fat as well as the cubed chicken. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Next add the remaining skillet ingredients, except for the dark green parts of the green onion. The skillet will be very full until it cooks down. Continue to cook for 8-12 minutes carefully stirring occasionally. 
  3. Step 3: Meanwhile combine the sauce ingredients and whisk until well combined and smooth.
  4. Step 4: Once the veggies are tender and cooked down and the chicken is cooked through. Add the eggs back to the skillet, the dark green parts of green onion, and the sauce.  Stir to combine and allow to cook for another 1-2 minutes or until heated through. 
  5. Step 5: Serve hot topped with cilantro, cashews, and green onion. Squeeze with fresh lime juice.

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai in a large cast iron skillet ready to serve.

How to store Veggie-Loaded Chicken Pad Thai

This recipe is a fabulous reheat-and-eat meal and makes for a tasty lunch in the days to come. Store the cooled leftovers in a glass container for up to 5 days. Because this recipe reheats nicely, it makes for a great meal-prep friendly recipe. I like to make Healthy Chicken Pad Thai on a Sunday and then divide it into 4-5 meal prep containers for an easy grab-and-go meal throughout the week.

To reheat: simply heat in the microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and heat for another 30 seconds or until heated through. You can also reheat on the stovetop over medium heat in a covered pan.

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai in a large cast iron skillet being served with a tongs.

Tips for making This Healthy Pad Thai Recipe

  • For the chicken, feel free to use what you have on hand or what’s on sale. The recipe calls for chicken breasts but you could also use chicken thighs or even ground chicken.
  • Change up the vegetables with what’s available to you. If you can’t find pre-bagged broccoli slaw, simply substitute additional cabbage and carrots.
  • Use the largest skillet you own. We recommend at least a 12-inch skillet, as the amount of vegetables will really fill it up to the point it’s almost overflowing. But no worries, it will cook down.
  • Garnish as you please – I love topping it with dry roasted cashews for crunch, cilantro, and fresh-squeezed lime juice. So good!
  • To make this recipe an especially easy weeknight meal, I recommend pre-chopping all of the veggies, cubing the chicken, and making the sauce up to 2 days in advance. That way when you go to make the meal, the bulk of the work is completed!

Confused about poultry labeling? Check this post out to learn all about how to choose the best chicken in the grocery store. 

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai in a white serving bowl topping with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge.

Other Thai Inspired recipes to try!

  • Salmon Burgers with Thai Cabbage Slaw
  • Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad
  • Thai Coconut Curry Rice
  • Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken

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Let's Get Cookin'

Healthy Chicken Pad Thai (Noodle-free!)

Loaded with veggies and full of flavor this one-skillet Healthy Chicken Pad Thai makes for a healthy, easy and delicious weeknight meal! Strands of broccoli slaw, cabbage, and carrots stand-in for noodles making this recipe a satisfying Whole30, paleo, and gluten-free meal. We promise you won’t even miss the noodles!

  • Author: Stacie Hassing
  • Prep Time: 20 min
  • Cook Time: 25 min
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4-5 servings 1x
  • Category: Entree
  • Method: Skillet
Veggie Chicken Pad Thai in a creamy bowl and topped with cashews and lime wedges.
Print Recipe
★★★★★ 5 from 5 reviews

Ingredients

Skillet Ingredients: 

  • 2 tsp. cooking fat of choice (olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, butter or ghee) 
  • 3 eggs, whisked 
  • 1 – 1 1/4 lb. chicken breast, cubed into 1 inch pieces (may substitute chicken thighs or ground chicken)
  • 1 (12 oz) bag broccoli slaw
  • 1 ½ cup shredded red cabbage (may substitute green cabbage)
  • 1 ½ cup shredded carrots
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced 
  • 1 small yellow onion (1 ½ cups, sliced) 
  • 6–8 green onion, thinly sliced white/light green parts divide with dark green parts
  • 4–5 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 tsp. fresh ginger (may substitute 1/2 tsp. ground ginger*) 
  • Sea salt & black pepper to taste

Sauce Ingredients:

  • ¼ cup almond butter (drizzly almond butter works best – like the Trade Joe’s one or Target brand) 
  • ¼ cup coconut aminos
  • 3 Tbsp. lime juice 
  • 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper 
  • 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil 

Topping Ingredients: 

  • Chopped cilantro 
  • Dry roasted cashews
  • Sliced green onion
  • Lime wedges
  • Sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Place a large skillet (at least a 12-inch skillet) over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the cooking fat (if the skillet is not non-stick, you may need more fat). Once hot, add the whisked eggs and scramble. Remove from the skillet and set aside. 
  2. To the skillet, add the additional 1 teaspoon of cooking fat as well as the cubed chicken. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Next add the remaining skillet ingredients, except for the dark green parts of green onion. The skillet will be very full until it cooks down. Continue to cook for 8-12 minutes carefully stirring occasionally. 
  3. Meanwhile, combine the sauce ingredients and whisk until well combined and smooth.
  4. Once the veggies are tender and cooked down and chicken is cooked through. Add the eggs back to the skillet, the dark green parts of green onion, and the sauce.  Stir to combine and allow to cook for another 1-2 minutes or until heated through. 
  5. Serve hot topped with cilantro, cashews, sesame seeds, and/or green onion plus a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Notes

*If using ground ginger, add it to the sauce.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/5 of recipe (made with 1 lbs. chicken - garnishes not included)
  • Calories: 345
  • Sugar: 10 g
  • Sodium: 350 mg
  • Fat: 16 g
  • Saturated Fat: 3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 28 g
  • Fiber: 6 g
  • Protein: 30 g

Pin now, make later!

 

 

Healthy Pad Thai made noodle-free in a large cast iron skillet ready to be served.

 


All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!

Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter. 

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About Stacie Hassing

Stacie is a Licensed and Registered Dietitian from rural southern Minnesota where she, her husband and daughter reside with their two pups. She’s a co-founder of The Real Food RDs and content creator of simple and wholesome recipes. She loves all kinds of fitness and has a passion to inspire as many as she can live a healthier and happier life both in and out of the kitchen - the driving force behind the co-development of the The Real Food RDs brand.

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Reader Interactions

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  1. Gayle Wheeler says

    September 18, 2020 at 9:18 am

    Yum! Can’t wait to give this a try!

    Reply
  2. Jillian says

    September 20, 2020 at 4:46 pm

    I just made this for dinner and it’s delicious! I didn’t have the broccoli slaw handy so I used a mix of red and green cabbage. This will be in my rotation. Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. Jess says

    September 23, 2020 at 9:27 pm

    This was SO good and super easy to make! I substituted a few things based on what I had— peanut butter instead of almond butter, added mushrooms, and left out the toppings, but it still came out delicious! The fresh lime juice was a great touch! I’m wondering if this would be okay to freeze?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      September 25, 2020 at 12:27 pm

      Thanks, Jess! I would not freeze it as the broccoli slaw mixture would get very soggy once thawed.

      Reply
  4. Catherine says

    October 1, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    Just fixed this for dinner tonight. Easy, easy, easy. And delish to. Had to leave eggs out . Allergic to them and wheat. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      October 7, 2020 at 7:32 am

      Glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  5. Emily says

    October 7, 2020 at 5:24 pm

    This recipe is so easy and the flavor is so rich! And that sauce!! I just want to drink it! Lol.. I will definitely be making this again.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  6. Elizabeth says

    October 9, 2020 at 7:16 am

    Very tasty–even better than expected–and quite easy. I did a couple of the optional substitutions (ground chicken instead of cubed, and green cabbage instead of purple b/c I had a bunch). It’s great to get SO many veggies in in a meal and then ready to go for leftovers. I didn’t think I needed another Whole30 pad thai recipe, but apparently I did. (Unlike every other W30 pad thai recipe I have seen, this does not contain spaghetti squash and I liked that change, both for taste and ease of preparation).

    Only thing I would say about the directions (for the literal recipe-followers like me) is that scrambling 3 eggs in a 12″ skillet with only 1 tsp. of fat to cover was a waste for me (at least one egg’s worth stuck to the pan and then I had to scrape the skillet for about 5 minutes). Probably not an issue if you’re using cast iron or non-stick, but the only thing I have that big is a heavy duty stainless skillet. In the future, I’m just going to dirty another (smaller) frying pan ;).

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      October 9, 2020 at 10:36 am

      We’re so glad you loved this. Thanks for sharing your experience with the eggs. We’ve updated the recipe with a note to add more fat if using a large pan that isn’t non-stick.

      Reply
  7. Olivia Bodart says

    October 22, 2020 at 9:44 am

    This stuff is amazing!! I served it to my fiancee (who is not a huge veggie eater) and he asked how I made the noodles!! hahaha 10/10 will be making again

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      October 22, 2020 at 10:35 am

      We’d call that a serious recipe win!!

      Reply
  8. Heather says

    December 19, 2020 at 7:59 am

    This looks fantastic! Could I use equal amounts of soy sauce instead of coconut aminos? Soy isn’t exactly my friend, but I’m allergic to coconut.

    Reply
    • Jessica Beacom says

      December 19, 2020 at 3:57 pm

      You can use soy sauce (or tamari) but since it’s saltier than coconut aminos you’ll want to use a little less. If a recipe calls for 1/4 cup coconut aminos, I’ll use 2 Tbsp. tarmari or soy sauce + 2 Tbsp. water then adjust for taste after the dish is finished (i.e. a splash of soy sauce or a pinch of salt)

      Reply
  9. Danielle Tung says

    January 10, 2021 at 8:55 pm

    So yummy! I will definitely be making this again. We all loved it.

    Reply

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