Low-carb Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles is crunchy, healthy, and packed with fresh flavors and ingredients for a healthy mid-week meal in under 30 minutes!
Best of all – swap out the shrimp for pan-fried tofu, cod, or chicken – for a versatile main that can be enjoyed meat-free too!
Oh my, this cold and saucy Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles Salad wow-ed me and I thought I can’t surprise myself anymore. Somehow, for the longest time I thought bean sprouts would go so well together with zucchini noodles, and I was right. Crunchy and fresh veggies, combined with lightly browned tofu, scrambled eggs, sweet shrimp, roasted peanuts and “drowning” in healthy version of Pad Thai sauce.
And this Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles Salad got even better the next day! This is a must try for a hot summer day with a lot of leftovers that you might be fighting for. Ladies, don’t give up!
This zucchini season, I’ve taken full advantage of this humble squash whipping up parmesan zucchini sticks, a shrimp and zucchini stir-fry, grilled zucchini, and a crustless zucchini quiche – and that’s only so far!
I used local in season produce. For protein, I added West Coast small shrimp (I try to stay away from Indonesian farmed shrimp), eggs (egg whites would work) and organic firm tofu (soy has to be organic for me). You can use chicken, skip tofu and/or shrimp for vegan or vegetarian versions of this salad.
What I loved about this salad is that it’s a full meal with variations to suit your family’s taste. Google “pad thai” and get a million of ideas for add-ons. Radishes would be great too but I forgot.:) I’ve even made a Pad Thai with sweet potato noodles too – perfect for meal-prep!
Zucchini noodles are all the rage these days. Frankly, I wasn’t sold on them until I tried zucchini noodles with chicken. They are mild tasting, low in calories and hit that pasta spot. You know what I mean?! It’s like cauliflower pizza crust recipe -> the most popular recipe on my blog for a good reason -> kills the craving on a Friday night.
To make zucchini noodles, use mandoline, spiralizer or a vegetable peeler. The last one is bit more time-consuming and yields less perfect noodles but is a cheap alternative. Who cares, right?!
The day I made this Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles Salad, Alex suggested we go to the lake after work. I packed it in individual plastic containers, along with reusable forks (which I wash and re-use by the way), a few gorgeous peaches, some healthy lemon bars, and sparkling club soda. Kids had some leftover pesto and broccoli pasta, too (delicious hot and cold!)
We had an amazing dinner on the beach and even grabbed a few dozens of eggs on our drive through “the boonies”. The eggs made my kids totally ecstatic by being real: covered in chicken poop, with a few feathers stuck to them and completely different shape, size and colour. They kept asking me what is wrong with the eggs. OMG, kids of the 21 century…
I’ll be using some of them later this week for a healthy egg salad and some sweet potato and eggs!
Anyways, this salad is truly amazing! And the sauce can be used for many other Thai dishes. Enjoy!
More Healthy Zucchini Recipes
- Chicken and zucchini with garlic corn
- Pasta with zucchini and tomatoes
- Zucchini potato bake
- Caprese chicken and zucchini
- Tex-Mex zucchini and chicken
- Tex-Mex rice and beans
You might also enjoy this Thai chicken salad, Thai meatballs, or browsing through this list of 30 healthy zucchini recipes!
Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles
Ingredients
Pad Thai Dressing:
- 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter unsalted
- 1/4 cup water warm
- 3 tbsp soy sauce I used Bragg liquid aminos
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce sub with soy sauce if necessary
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1/2 lime juice of
Salad:
- 3 eggs large (egg whites are OK)*
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or coconut oil
- 12 oz package firm tofu cut into small cubes**
- 7 oz shrimp cooked*
- 2 medium zucchini made into "noodles" using a mandoline, a spiralizer or vegetable peeler
- 1 large red bell pepper I used 2 medium Romeros
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1/4 cup peanuts unsalted
- 1 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/2 cup green onion chopped
- Dash of salt
- Cooking spray I use Misto
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, add Pad Thai Dressing ingredients and process until smooth. Set aside.
- Preheat large skillet on medium heat, spray with cooking spray and make scrambled eggs. Transfer to a large salad bowl.
- Wipe clean or rinse the skillet, return to medium - high heat and add coconut oil. Add tofu and salt, cook until somewhat golden brown, stirring occasionally and watching closely not to burn. Transfer to the bowl with eggs along with remaining Salad ingredients.
- Pour dressing over the salad, mix gently and serve cold.
Store: Refrigerate covered for up to 2 days.
Notes
- *Omit for vegan or vegetarian version.
- **You can skip tofu or substitute with cooked diced chicken.
Nutrition
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Hello and welcome to iFOODreal.
My name is Olena Osipov. I'm a mom to 2 boys, a wife to Alex and we reside on magical Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. This is our healthy family recipes blog. Originally from Ukraine, I grew up on real food. As an adult, I struggled with diets for years because none worked long-term. Now for over 10 years, I cook easy healthy meals for my family. I can help you with “What’s for dinner?” too.