An easy, low carb version of chicken pad thai! This healthy pad thai recipe is made with zoodles instead of brown rice noodles.
I love making this easy pad thai recipe for my family and putting out bowls of cilantro, peanuts, green onions, and limes for their own DIY topping bar! We love to make meals like this once a week for our weeknight dinner rotation!
Pin this healthy pad thai for later!
Over the holidays I was lucky enough to have a few family members in town! I come from a very small family on both my parent’s sides so we never had a ton of people going in and out of our house. I always envy friends with a few siblings now, because as you get older I realize how much more family comes into play in your life.
I have a handful of family members here in California and I am so grateful for them! I was practically an only child since I was 11. My brother moved up to WA and I have pretty much been on my own since then. Which meant a lot of home alone time but honestly I feel like I made the most of it.
I’d like to think this is why I am so into creative stuff because I was always trying to keep busy. I was also super lucky to have a handful of close girlfriends that I am still friends with today! You probably see Abagail (my assistant), Sabrina, and Alex in my posts every now and then. They all came to the bohemian bash last spring 🙂
Since everyone was in town, I knew I wanted to have a little dinner at the house! My house is teeny tiny but I always seem to make it work! My brother had been saying during his whole two-week trip that he wanted me to make him some pad thai. I am a total people pleaser so of course, I said yes!
The only day they could all come over was Monday but I made it work! Entertaining people can be tough on the weekdays but I also think it’s totally doable!
After a full day of shooting, I made my way over to Trader Joe’s for the basics.
Honestly, I don’t know how I would throw half the parties I do without Trader Joe’s. Their cheese section saves me every-time. But for this dinner I knew I needed to get out of the box a little…
We were having an Asian dish, I put together the cutest little Asian appetizer dumpling board.
I basically grabbed every frozen dumpling, egg roll, and wonton package from the freezer section at TJ’s. Next, I picked out a large serving board and put out three different types of dipping sauces, piled the board up with steamed appetizers and egg rolls and let the fam go at it.
Honestly, they loved it and it was the perfect duo with our healthy pad thai.
There was hardly anything left and I very discreetly threw away my cardboard evidence lolz. It’s okay, they totally knew I didn’t make all the dumplings by hand. Serving something pre made on a fun platter instantly heightens what the appetizer actually is.
While everyone was nomming on the epic Asian appetizer board I threw on some music and mingled while I made some pad thai. When I’m having people over for dinner I usually try and stick to casserole type dishes or one pot wonders.
I don’t always do this because I love to switch it up, but if you’re short on time these are the best kinds of dishes to feed a crowd with!
This was our first meal together since the holidays and I think everyone was trying to be a bit more conscious of what they are eating.
Even my dear old Dad has taken a step in the right direction and trying to get his ‘health’ on.
An easy way to lighten up a regular pad thai recipe is to just swap out brown rice noodles for zoodles!
Do you guys like zoodles?! They are a bit tricky to cook but with a few easy tips, they are the perfect healthy alternative to noodles.
How do you keep zoodles from getting soggy?
- Pat your zoodles dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture and water.
- Cook them quickly: I add them into any dish at the very end or I cook them up in a hot pan with just olive oil for 2-3 minutes.
- Eat them right away! Eat zoodles right after they are finished cooking for optimum texture and flavor.
- Don’t reheat them: Zoodles aren’t the best food for reheating and can become soggy very quickly.
- You can put them in soup! Soup recipes help the ‘soggy’ problem and you won’t notice the excess moisture. Just be sure to add them in at the very end of cooking.
Ingredients for Healthy Chicken Pad Thai with Zoodles:
- Zucchini
- Olive Oil
- Bell peppers
- Onion
- Carrots
- Bean Sprouts
- Eggs
- Chicken thighs
- Honey
- Fish Sauce
- Red Chili Sauce
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Soy Sauce
- Apple Cider Vinegar
The extra veggies added in more textures, flavors and a healthier twist. I sliced up some pan-grilled chicken thighs for the protein but for this pad thai recipe, you can add in grilled shrimp, pork, or even scallops if you’re feeling fancy!
Right before serving I put out bowls of cilantro, limes, crushed peanuts, and green onions for people to top off their dishes with! I usually throw out a few different types of hot sauce too so that people can temper their own level of spice!
This healthy chicken pad thai recipe is awesome to cook up for your fam or even just as a healthy weeknight dinner recipe 🙂
Enjoy! xoxo
Other healthy delicious dinner recipes:
If you make this Healthy Chicken Pad Thai with Zoodles, be sure to tag me on Pinterest and Instagram! I seriously love seeing what you guys are making and sharing your creations with the College Housewife community!
Healthy Chicken Pad Thai with Zoodles
ingredients
For the pad thai:
- 3-4 Medium Zucchinis spiralized
- 4 Tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 Yellow bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 Red bell pepper thinly sliced
- ½ Yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 Carrots shredded or thinly sliced
- 1 Cup of bean sprouts
- 2 Whole eggs beaten
- 1 Lb of chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 Teaspoon of kosher salt
- ½ Teaspoon of black pepper
For the sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons of honey or agave nectar
- 4 Tablespoons of fish sauce
- 3 Tablespoons of red chili sauce
- 3 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 Thumb of ginger grated
- 2 Tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 Teaspoon of rice wine vinegar
- Squirt of sriracha if you like it spicy!
instructions
- Heat a grill pan or heavy bottom skillet on medium heat with 2 tbs. of olive oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper and cook for 4-5 mins on each side or until internal temp reaches 165. Let rest for 5 mins and thinly slice, set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add in thinly sliced onions, bell peppers, and carrots and cook for 5-6 minutes or until onions are translucent.
- Push veggies to one side of the pan and add in beaten eggs. Begin to cook eggs, moving them often until they are scrambled. Stir veggies and scrambled egg together and add in sauce mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until sauce has thickened a little.
- Add in zoodles and bean sprouts and coat well with sauce and make sure vegetables are well incorporated. Heat for 2-3 minute or until zoodles are tender but not mushy.
- Top with grilled chicken slices, cilantro, green onions, crushed peanuts and black sesame seeds.
For toppings:
- Put out small bowls filled with chopped cilantro, green onions, crushed peanuts, black sesame seeds and limes! OR for a weeknight dinner just sprinkle toppings over bowls evenly.
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Such an interesting and healthy take on pad thai 🙂
Thank you lovely! I love putting a healthy spin on classic dishes.
Any tips on cooking with zoodles? Mine tend to have a lot of moisture no matter what I do.
Hi Lindsey!
I try to cook them as quickly as possible on higher heat! This helps them from breaking down and turning soggy. I’ve also tried paper toweling them off before cooking to remove excess water.
Hi Elizabeth, Jen here! Popping in to say just how much fun your posts are. This one looks fabulous. One of my favourite dishes. Love that you are serving it over zoodles! Brilliant! Love Jen
Thank you so much Jen! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Zoodles always make for such an easy, healthy substitute!