One Pot Pad Thai

One Pot Pad Thai is a quick 30 minute meal with chicken, veggies, rice noodles, and the best sauce. It has 36 grams of protein and is packed with yum!

These peanut chicken soba noodles are another tasty weeknight favorite.

We don’t love eating out because it’s very expensive for our family of four, and I truly love homemade food. In no way is this authentic Pad Thai, but it’s easy, tasty, and a cozy meal that keeps the kitchen cool.

I love one pot meals, getting a healthy dinner on the table quickly, and adding variety so we don’t get bored with the same thing.

Please note you can add whatever you want or have on hand so you can mix things up even with this one recipe.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Incredibly flavorful: Perfect balance of flavor and texture without being overly sweet.
• Protein packed: 36 grams of protein and healthier than take out.
• Quick and easy: Simple ingredients, easy prep, and just under 20 minutes of cooking in one pot.
• Easy variations: Switch up the protein and noodles, make it vegetarian, go nut-free, and add your favorite veggies.

Ingredients for One Pot Pad Thai

This Pad Thai recipe uses 8 main ingredients and 5 for the homemade sauce, all of which are easy to find.

• Eggs: Keeps the dish traditional and adds extra protein. You can easily leave them out if you don’t eat eggs.
• Bell pepper: I added red bell pepper for crunch, flavor, and a splash of color.
• Chicken: Boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into small bite-sized pieces.
• Chicken broth: Cooking in low sodium chicken broth instead of water really kicks up the flavor.
• Noodles: Flat wide rice noodles. I used Blue Dragon but Thai kitchen is a good brand too, or use brown rice noodles. You can also try regular spaghetti, see variations below. Or, for a low carb version try my Pad Thai zucchini noodles.
• Toasted sesame oil: It doesn’t have a high smoke point so it’s not ideal, but I love the taste of it in Pad Thai. You can use avocado oil or coconut oil.
• Soy sauce: Adds a rich flavor to the sauce that deepens the overall taste. Gluten free liquid aminos works too.
• Maple syrup: For a touch of natural sweetness. You can also use honey or brown sugar, coconut sugar, cane sugar or regular sugar.
• Lime juice: Use fresh lime juice for a more vibrant, aromatic flavor.
• Fish sauce: We like fish sauce, but if it’s not for you go ahead and omit.
• Sriracha: Adds a bit of spice that you can adjust to your taste.
• Garnish: Unsalted peanuts and cilantro keeps it simple but adds a nice crunch and a burst of freshness.

How to Make Pad Thai in One Pot

I love to make Pad Thai in this non-stick large pot because it is basically like a giant skillet and nothing sticks to it. Even better than a Dutch oven!

• Scramble eggs: Heat a large pot, Dutch oven, or deep skillet over medium-high heat and add a bit of oil. Whisk the eggs in a small bowl, pour them into the pot, and cook, breaking them apart until scrambled. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Saute bell peppers: Add a bit more oil and toss in the bell peppers. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes until they’re slightly charred, then add them to the bowl with the eggs.
• Brown the chicken: Add more oil to the pot, then add in the chicken. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring once to let it brown.
• Cook noodles: Add the chicken broth and the rest of the oil to the pot with the chicken, then bring it to a boil. Place the noodle nests on top, cover, turn the heat down to low, and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

• Make Pad Thai sauce: While the chicken and noodles are cooking, combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk them together.
• Add sauce: Stir the noodles, add the sauce, and cook for 2 more minutes or until the noodles are done, keeping the pot covered.
• Mix in eggs and veggies: Turn off the heat, then mix in the cooked eggs, bell pepper, peanuts, and cilantro. Give it a gentle stir and serve right away.

Tips for Best Results

This one pot Pad Thai recipe comes together in no time. Here are a few simple tips to keep in mind before you begin.

• Prep ingredients first: The actual cook time is very quick, so make sure everything is chopped and ready to go.
• Let pepper and chicken char: The caramelization from the charring adds depth of flavor and a tasty, smoky touch.
• Don’t overcook the noodles: They’ll turn mushy and stick together if you overcook them. Just cook them until they’re tender for the best texture.
• To thin it out: Add more broth to make it more saucy.

Variations

• Chicken thighs: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs, and there’ll be no changes to the recipe.
• Shrimp: Thaw, drain well, remove tails and quickly stir fry for 2-3 minutes.
• Tofu: Press to remove moisture, cube, and stir fry. Or use my crispy fried tofu recipe.
• Nut-free: Simply omit the peanuts.
• Add green onion and basil: These are common in Pad Thai but I wanted to keep the ingredient list shorter. You can add whatever you have on hand or love.
• Add other vegetables: You can add any quick cooking vegetables like bean sprouts, Bok choy, asparagus, green beans, snap peas, mushrooms, baby corn, or steamed broccoli.
• Regular spaghetti: You can use it, but might need to cook longer and add more broth.

How to Store and Reheat

Store: I think it tastes best fresh and should be consumed within 2 days because of the noodles.

I don’t recommend to freeze it because pasta and vegetables don’t freeze well.

Reheat: To heat Pad Thai simply do so in the microwave in 1 minute increments. Or you can stir fry it again, but you will need to use more oil.

FAQs

More One Pot Recipes to Try

• Cilantro lime chicken rice skillet
• Healthy hamburger helper
• Tuscan chicken pasta
• Chicken pasta primavera