Since then, I’ve become a huge Pad Thai lover – both of healthy pad thai and not so healthy. I love noodley dishes, I love heat, I love texture and I love the balance of sweet and sour.
Contrary to popular though, healthy Pad Thai shouldn’t have ketchup in it. It also is not made with peanut sauce. Pad Thai at its simplest is a sauce based around tamarind paste, and at its most complex, has dozens of hard to find ingredients.
How to Make Zucchini Noodle Healthy Pad Thai
Now, I’m a busy working woman who often just wants to get healthy food on the table in a hurry that my fiancé and I think taste great. I’m not one to fuss over authenticity and rules, so my zucchini noodle healthy Pad Thai recipe breaks a lot of them. First of all, I super simplify everything so you don’t need to go to five Asian markets to find dried fish and other less common ingredients.
And second of all, I didn’t use the traditional rice noodles in my healthy pad thai. Actually, I didn’t use any sort of noodles in an effort to seriously cut down on calories and carbs. I made my “noodles” with a combination of zucchini noodles (zoodles) and carrot noodles, as well as some crunchy beans sprouts thrown in towards the end. The result is a super easy, low cal, crazy zoodle healthy Pad Thai that my fiancé ate 3 portions of in one sitting (actually).
Give it a try and let me know what you think! What favourite noodle dish do you want me to make with zucchini noodles (zoodles)?
Zucchini Noodle Healthy Pad Thai
Ingredients
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup tamarind paste
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1/2 tbsp Sriracha or to taste
- 1 1/2 tbsp reduced sodium tamari
- Juice of 1/2 small lime
- 1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken stock
Noodles:
- 4 large zucchini with ends removed
- 2 large carrots peeled with ends removed
Pad Thai:
- 2 tsp olive oil divided
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 large skinless boneless chicken breasts sliced
- 3 cups bean sprouts
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp finely sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup finely chopped peanuts
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
Sauce:
- Mix together the sauce ingredients in a bowl, and set aside.
Noodles:
- Spiralize into circular ribbons and set aside.
Pad Thai:
- Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add in the eggs. Season with salt and pepper, spread it to the edges, then scramble until cooked through. Remove and set aside in a bowl.
- Heat another teaspoon of oil in the pan. Add the chicken breasts over medium high heat and season with salt and pepper. Stir-fry until golden and cooked through. Remove to the egg bowl and set aside.
- Add the sauce to the pan over medium and allow to cook for a few minutes to bubble and get syrupy. Add in the zucchini and carrots and cook until slightly softened and coated about 5 minutes. Then add in the sprouts, chicken and egg and toss until the sprouts slightly wilt and are coated in the sauce.
Assembly
- Divide between four bowls, topped with sliced green onions, peanuts and lime wedges for serving.
Nutrition
Updated on June 23rd, 2017
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Patsy says
Does anyone have a suggestion for a spiralizer. I hear some of them are cheaply made and don’t work well.
Thanks
Patsy
Abbey Sharp says
I swear by my kitchen aid spiralizer!
Olga Morselli says
Ciao from Chianti, Tuscany. It was a dreary day Fall day, and I wanted to make a cheerful dinner and found your recipe. I had the perfect zucchini and carrots, no coconut sugar to be found here, so used dark brown sugar instead, and actually had the tamarind paste and the Sriracha sauce, and of course the spiralizer which is a wonderful addition to our kitchen. Also used mushrooms rather than chicken as we did not have, and did not miss it. This dish was absolutely delicious! Thank you, Abbey for your fun and innovative recipes that we make and enjoy across the ocean.
Abbey Sharp says
Hey Olga and hey Tuscany! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and I definitely wish I was across the ocean in Tuscany 🙂
Sophia Gusmano says
This recipe was so good that I just had to leave a comment. Since I’m a vegetarian, I swapped out chicken for mushrooms and broccoli. It was incredible. This is the first time I’ve used my spiralizer, and it was so easy! Thanks for the recipe!!
Abbey Sharp says
aw this makes me so happy!! so glad you liked it Sophia! Be sure you’re on my mailing list because I have a cookbook coming out with lots more great recipes like this!
Meg Aquino says
I haven’t tried cooking Pad Thai yet. I also love Thai cuisine which my
friend introduced to me in the Philippines. I learned the Pineapple
Fried Rice from Hot Thai Kitchen, which I paired with Lemongrass Ice Tea
for dinner. I’m learning to cook rice dishes now but, plan to also
learn noodle dishes. I love that your recipe is easy to follow. I’ll
tweet when I get to do this as I’m wondering how to make the vegetables
into ribbons without a spiralizer. Thank you for sharing this gluten free vegetable noodles Pad Thai.
Abbey Sharp says
Enjoy Meg! Its very easy and delicious.
Fan Rakhim says
I wanna try these Zucchini noodles, just got my Spiralizer, looks fantastic!
zucchini
Abbey Sharp says
enjoy! its like my favourite tool in the kitchen
Elizabeth Friesen says
I simply must get a Spiralizer! I keep giving hints to my children, in an attempt to make gift shopping easier, but still no Spiralizer! I honestly think I’d spiralize everything I could get my hands on!!! 😉
Abbey Sharp says
you must!