Annika AngeloEnjoy Chicken Pad Thai at home, any time! This peanut butter chicken Pad Thai is a favorite in the Angelo household. Not only is it packed with flavor, but it’s packed with protein!
My motto with cooking is to “cook with your heart.” As you read the recipe, I encourage you to follow it loosely, taste constantly, and make it truly your own! This is part of the beauty and joy of cooking – it is a creative process that can always be tweaked. When you make this yourself, think about what flavors you want to eat. If you don’t like spice, don’t add siracha! If frozen veggies are more accessible to you, use those. The purpose of cooking is to love it. Because when you love it, you’ll eat it. And when you eat it, you’ll feel loved.
Making this recipe budget & time-friendly
Let’s be real: we don’t always have the time to make everything from scratch. Inflation is also soaring, and making sure we eat healthily on a budget is important. Here are some quick swaps you can do to make this recipe serve you best.
- Swap fresh chicken for frozen, pre-baked chicken. I buy these grilled chicken breast strips from Aldi every week, and they are a godsend.
- Choose any rice or bean noodle over a Pad Thai noodle. Sometimes Pad Thai noodles specifically can get expensive, especially if you aren’t shopping at an Asian grocery store. (This being said, I 100% recommend going to your local Asian grocery store if you’re lucky enough to live by one. Their fresh Pad Thai noodles are not only cheap, but they also elevate your dish. You’ll never go back to dried noodles for your Pad Thai again!)
- Use frozen, pre-chopped veggies instead of fresh veggies. Sometimes, it’s just really hard to chop our veggies. That’s ok. Fresh veggies not only have the same exact nutrients as fresh ones, but they taste essentially the same as well! It can even be argued that frozen vegetables contain better nutrients since they were frozen at peak season. There’s no shaming here!
- Skip making your peanut sauce and just buy it from the store. While I personally like making my own because I can control the flavor, it does add at least 20 extra minutes when you add the prep-work time.
Peanut Butter Chicken Pad Thai
Ingredients
Peanut Sauce
- 1 TBSP Sesame oil
- 2 TBSP Peeled + chopped fresh ginger Sub 1tsp ginger powder if needed
- 2 TBSP Chopped garlic Sub 1tsp garlic powder if needed
- 1/2 cup Peanut butter
- 2 Small limes, squeezed
- 1 TBSP Rice vinegar
- 1-2 TBSP Sriracha sauce
- 1/2 cup Soy sauce
- 1/2 cup water May need more, depending on your thickness preferences
Pad Thai
- 1/2 package Pad Thai noodles
- 1-2 cups Chicken *I used frozen pre-grilled chicken!
- 2 cups Shredded cabbage
- 1 cup Julienned carrots
- 1 TBSP Sesame oil
Instructions
Peanut Sauce
- Sauté ginger, garlic, and sesame oil together in a small pot until browned
- Add peanut butter, lime juice, rice vinegar, sriracha, and soy sauce to the pot
- Cook down until everything is mixed well. Add water to the mixture and cook until the sauce is the thickness you prefer.
Pad Thai
- While you are cooking the peanut sauce, start a pot of water boiling immediately. Skip this step if you are using fresh Pad Thai noodles. If you are using fresh ones, soak them in water while you make the sauce.
- Cook your chicken strips in a wok, if available. Any oil can be used, but for the best flavor use sesame oil.
- Add your vegetables, starting with the hardest types first. I usually begin with my carrots first, then about 5 minutes before compiling all ingredients, I will add my leafy greens.
- Cook vegetables down until the texture is preferrable. Add your cooked (or uncooked, if they are fresh) noodles to the chicken and vegetables. Pour the peanut sauce over everything.
- Mix together and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Serve warm and fresh! Top with cilantro, chopped peanuts, and lime for extra flavor.