Vegan Pad Thai Recipe (gluten-free)
April 1, 2020
Introducing my take on a vegan pad thai made with lots of colourful vegetables. This quick and easy dinner is ready in just 20 minutes!
With a lot of people WFH (working from home) at the moment there is more time to spend in the kitchen cooking up nutritious meals. This vibrant vegan pad thai is healthy, flavoursome, and a true celebration of vegetables!
What is pad thai?
Pad thai is a Thai noodle dish made with rice noodles, a tangy, savoury sauce, spring onions, beansprouts, and chopped peanuts. It is often served with meat, fish and/or egg, but this vegan version uses colourful vegetables instead!
This easy homemade pad thai is made by sauteing ginger and garlic in a little sesame oil before adding some crunchy fresh vegetables. Then we add soy sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, and of course the noodles! It’s a meal which comes together very quickly so is perfect for busy evenings.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- It comes together in less than 20 minutes
- It’s super customisable, and can be made with whatever veggies you have on hand
- It is packed with fresh flavours and spice
- It’s naturally vegan and gluten free!
What ingredients will I need?
The basic ingredients you will need for this recipe are noodles, vegetables, lime, soy sauce, rice vinegar and chopped nuts. But apart from that, it’s super customisable!
Which noodles are best for pad thai?
Traditionally, pad thai is made with rice noodles. This is great news for coeliacs, as it means pad thai is naturally gluten free!
Of course, when you are making this dish at home, you can use any noodles of your choice. I personally prefer using rice noodles as they are a lighter option than wheat noodles. Opt for a slightly thicker rice noodle (as opposed to the very thin and stringy variety) to avoid your noodles being clumpy.
Which vegetables can I use in this dish?
As mentioned, this pad thai is super customisable. I used baby sweetcorn, sugar snap peas, carrot, bean sprouts and spring onions (aka scallions) in this recipe. I highly recommend using beansprouts and spring onions in this recipe – you will see these two ingredients in a lot of pad thai recipes. Beyond that, you can use any vegetables of your choosing! Here are just a few options to get you started:
- Bell Peppers (use a variety of colours for extra rainbow points!)
- Mushrooms
- Edamame beans
- Spinach
- Pak choi
- Cabbage (white or red)
- Mange tout
You’re looking for roughly 1.5 cups of chopped veggies to make 2 portions of pad thai.
Other things you can add to vegan pad thai:
If you are looking to bulk up your pad thai you can add some plant based protein! I love serving this dish with some crispy tofu – check out my crispy tofu burgers recipe to find out how to make your tofu perfectly crisp!
You could also add in some quorn chicken, tempeh, or seitan to this recipe. The choice is yours!
Tips for making this recipe perfectly:
This recipe is so easy to make and its difficult to get it wrong! As I always say, when you are mixing lots of tasty things together, the end result can only be tasty, right?
Regardless, there are a few things you can do to make sure this recipe turns out perfect:
- Chop your vegetables into long sticks. Chopping your vegetables into similar shapes to the noodles not only makes it easier to eat, but it provides an exciting textural experience!
- Don’t burn the garlic and ginger. It’s best to simmer the garlic and ginger on low heat until fragrant before adding the rest of the vegetables. This helps to infuse the dish with tasty garlicky, ginger-y(?) flavour. But make sure not to burn it, or else the dish will taste bitter.
- Serve it hot. This dish is best served when its hot and fresh, but it can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 2-3 days. Make sure to add the chopped nuts at the last minute for extra crunch.
More quick vegan lunches to try:
I hope you enjoy this recipe friends. I make some version of this dish every week – it’s just too tasty! As always, if you try this recipe let me know by leaving a rating + review on the blog. You can also tag me on Instagram @shivanilf and use the hashtag #shivanilovesfood!
Vegan Pad Thai (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 4oz/ 115g Rice Noodles or wholewheat noodles if you'd like
- 4 Baby Corn
- 1/3 cup Sugar Snap Peas
- 1 Carrot
- 1/2 cup Beansprouts
- 2 Spring Onions aka scallions – save the green tops for garnish
- 1 clove Garlic finely chopped
- 1 thumbnail-size piece Fresh Ginger finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil or sunflower/vegetable oil
- 1/3 Lime juiced
- 1/2 tsp Chilli Flakes
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Rice Vinegar
- 2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts/Cashews roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cook the rice noodles according to packet instructions. Meanwhile, chop the vegetables into long thin sticks.
- In a large frying pan or wok over medium-low heat, saute the ginger and garlic in the sesame oil. Once fragrant, add the chopped vegetables, reserving some spring onions for garnish.
- Stir fry the vegetables for 3-4 minutes until they are cooked but still crisp and vibrant. Add the lime juice, chilli flakes, soy sauce, and rice vinegar, and toss to combine.
- Add the cooked and drained rice noodles to the pan and toss through. Serve the pad thai hot, topped with chopped nuts and the reserved spring onions. Enjoy!
Shivani’s Tips
- You are looking for ~1.5 cups veggies in total. You can use any vegetables of your choice!
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days and reheated in the microwave or stovetop.
NUTRITION
Serving size: 1/2 recipe Calories: 437 kcal | Fat: 15.4g | Saturated Fat: 2.2g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 920mg | Carbohydrates: 67.1g | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4.4g | Protein: 8g 
Did you make this recipe?
Tag me on Instagram @shivanilf and use the hashtag #shivanilovesfood!
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Yum! I love all the colors and the variety of vegetables. Will be making this again!
YAY this makes me so happy!
This sounds so flavorful! I love pad thai! 🙂
It’s one of my favourites!
This pad Thai is soooo good! Love that I can eat and feel great about it! The flavors are spot on. YUM!
So happy you like it Angela!
This Pad Thai recipe looks so delicious! Definitely pinning for later.
Hope you enjoy it Erika!
I love pad thai so much and your vegan version looks absolutely divine!!
Thank you so much Chris!