Keto Pad Thai is a great healthy low carb meal to keep you full for hours. It has a toasty sesame oil base with layers of soy sauce and peanut butter in the keto pad thai sauce.
Is Pad Thai Low in Carbs
Regular pad thai is not low carb because it contains rice noodles. One serving, just 176 grams of rice noodles has 41 grams of carbs. And trust us when we say that’s barely enough to even fill you up. They nay be complex carbs, but that doesn’t mean they will be longterm satiating.
Substitutes like shirataki noodles help make this pad thai recipe lower in carbs and more enjoyable on a keto diet. However, traditional pad thai made with noodles just isn’t a viable option on keto.
Is Pad Thai Good for a Keto Diet?
Traditional pad thai, as we established above is not good for a keto diet. This low carb pad thai and pad thai sauce on the other hand is a great keto option. Our low carb pad thai has just 8.5 net carbs a serving, where regular pad thai clocks in at 48 net carbs a serving.
Almond Butter vs. Peanut Butter
We used peanut butter in this recipe as it is more traditional to the dish, however id you prefer to stay away from crushed peanuts and it’s creamy counterpart you may prefer an almond butter base.
Peanuts are technically a legume making them a little bit inflammatory and not truly keto. However, they can have keto macros if you buy a low sugar natural peanut butter without any cheap oils and fillers.
Peanut butter is pretty common in thai food so you may want to invest in a good one like this natural peanut butter from Santa Cruz with only 2 net carbs a serving. It makes the perfect peanut butter for any stir fry or thai dish.
How to Make Keto Pad Thai
Now that you know rice noodles should be subbed with shirataki noodles it’s time to get cooking our keto pad thai.
Ingredients
This keto chicken pad thai has two parts, the sauce and the base ingredients. To make this pad thai sauce you will need natural peanut butter, minced garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar substitute, two limes, salt + pepper, and xanthan gum.
Xanthan gum is used to thicken the sauce and isn’t recommended to skip. If you can’t have xanthan gum try thickening the recipe with a teaspoon of coconut flour or simply letting it evaporate longer.
To make the chicken you will need two pounds of chicken breast, sesame oil, eggs, red bell pepper, green onion, peanuts, chili flakes, garlic powder, and cilantro.
Making Keto Pad Thai
To begin, spiralize your zucchini noodles and set aside. If not using zucchini noodles you can use shirataki noodles and prepare them per package instructions.
Next thinly slice the red bell pepper and mince your garlic. Pad thai is normally made with carrots, onion, and peppers thinly sliced, , but for the sake of carbs we stuck to just bell peppers and optionally bean sprouts to keep the carbs low.
Next cube the chicken thighs or chicken breast into bite sized pieces and add into a preheated skillet over medium heat with sesame oil. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until the chicken breast is cooked through and reaches 165 degrees.
Remove the chicken from the pan and add in the peppers cooking for another 3-5 minutes. Add in the zucchini noodles and season with salt and pepper.
While the noodles cook mix together your sauce ingredients to season the keto chicken pad thai. In a bowl combine peanut butter, garlic, soy sauce/ coconut aminos, lime juice, and swerve for the sauce. If you don’t have coconut aminos soy sauce can be used but be mindful of the gluten and carbs.
Now push the vegetables to the side and scramble in two eggs. If desired add a like avocado oil or olive oil to the pan to prevent the eggs from sticking.
Add the sauce into the vegetables with the chicken and xanthan gum. Stir and continuing to cook for 2-5 minutes until thickened. Toss in the peanuts and green onions, then serve warm with mung bean sprouts, extra green onions, and chopped peanuts. You can also add lime juice on top, or a squeeze of lime juice into the pad thai recipe itself.
Storing Keto Pad Thai
This is a really good pad thai recipe that when made fresh tastes like it could very well be from a thai restaurant. However, unlike most low carb recipes the noodles in this dish don’t reheat the best. The flavor will still be amazing the next day, your noodles just might loose some of their texture.
Pad thai is made pretty easily so we reccomend making it fresh, or storing leftovers in a tupperware container for up to a week and just cooking new noodles with each batch.
Serving Low Carb Pad Thai
We love to serve our low carb pad thai with green onions, a drizzle of sesame oil, crushed peanuts, cilantro, and fresh lime. Feel free to change up the toppings to highlight your favorite flavors in the dish.
What to Serve With Keto Pad Thai
This low carb pad thai is a show stopper all on it’s own, but pair this stir fry with traditional noodles and you’ve got a winner. What do you do on keto though when a noodle dish isn’t an option? You make it one!
Keto noodles are plentiful nowadays and are super easy to prepare. Try low carb zucchini noodles, miracle noodles (aka shirataki noodles), or soybean noodles. All of these are great keto friendly options.
Another great pairing is roasted vegetables or cauliflower rice cooked over medium high heat to brown it slightly. Both of these options will soak up the sauce ingredients well so you get the whole flavor experience.
More Asian Keto Recipes
We love asian recipes. Everything from bean sprouts and green onion, to tamarind paste and soy sauce. This has led us to create tons of new asian inspired dishes to enjoy the diversity of flavors and blends. Some of our person favorite gluten free easy keto recipes are:
- Cauliflower Fried Rice– Cauliflower rice is a fantastic substitute for regular rice. When stir fried it soaks up all of your prepared sauce and blends perfectly with beaten eggs. Plus you can add chicken thighs for a more complete meal.
- Egg Roll in a Bowl– Egg roll in a bowl in the next best dish for a low carb lifestyle. Whether you enjoy a big, or small bowl, you can expect lightly browned cabbage and pork that stays juicy and flavorful throughout the whole dish. Plus, just like easy pad thai these healthy recipes are super quick and easy to customize.
- Keto Teriyaki Chicken– We absolutely love pad thai, but we also love this keto teriyaki chicken made with chicken breast and brown sugar substitute so it tastes like the real deal.
- Sweet and Sour Pork– Who doesn’t love juicy pork smothered in sweet and sour sauce after being fried to crispy perfection.
Veggie noodles like zucchini noodles make the perfect addition to thai food so you can enjoy all your favorites without the extra carbs.
Keto Pad Thai
While this keto chicken pad thai may not use the same rice noodles as traditional pad thai, that doesn’t make it any less delicious. Enjoy this keto pad thai recipe with your own personal additions and variations.
Our keto pad thai sauce is sure to impress even the fanciest of culinary geniuses. It provides the sweet, salty, umami flavor you look for in a dish all while balancing a creamy texture with crunchy chopped peanuts as an accent.
Search “Ketoconnect – Keto Pad Thai” On MyFitnessPal.com. Net carbs can be reduced by omitting or substituting some of the vegetables
Keto Pad Thai
Ingredients:
Noodles
- 8 oz packet Tofu Shirataki Fettuccine
- 4 oz chicken thigh
- 1 large Egg
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 cup carrot(optional)
- 1/4 cup Green Bell Pepper
- 1/4 cup Onion
- 1/4 cup peanuts
- 2 tbsp green onions
Sauce
- 1 tbsp liquid aminos
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Low Carb Sugar Substitute
- 1/2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
Instructions:
- Drain Shirataki noodles and heat in a pan over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Thinly slice carrot, bell pepper and onion. Set aside.
- Slice up chicken thigh in long pieces like the vegetables. Heat coconut oil in a pan and cook chicken fully through.
- Add sliced vegetables to chicken and heat through for 3-5 minutes. Add egg and scramble together with chicken and vegetables.
- Add noodles to the chicken and vegetables.
- Combine all ingredients in sauce and pour over the noodle mixture.
- Mix well. toss in peanuts and green onions. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Written by
Megha Barot
Megha has always been a passionate cook, but she took this to a new level after starting her keo journey in 2015. She loves creating new recipes and producing educational content for KetoConnect, which she co-founded in 2016 with Matt. Her passion for healthy eating and personal development continues to thrive. She's the proud mom of two awesome kids.
Shari says
Is there any reason the regular Shirataki noodles (non-tofu) couldn’t be used in this recipe? (I cannot eat tofu.) Thanks!
Pam says
Will be trying later today
Tim says
No way this is phad Thai.
Where is the tamarind sauce?
Where is the fish sauce?
Nothing about this recipe is Thai. Should be renamed stir fried noodles.
Sarah says
This was soooo good!!! Hadn’t had any noodles in 3 months so it was heavenly! I substituted with fresh kelp noodles because I couldn’t find the other noodles anywhere. I highly recommend them! I also added a tbsp of organic natural peanut butter for some extra flavor.
Amy says
I made this and it was great! Just needed 1 tbsp of peanutbutter and some bean sprouts to make it taste like Pad Thai.
melanie says
ohhhh my god i try this recipe yesterday and i love it so much
it will be on my favorite list for sure
again thank you so much to share with us your incredible recipe
Sarah says
Yall…this is making me super happy!! I am making this for dinner tonight and I CANNOT WAIT!!!
Up now and go says
Awesome!!! I still used cauliflower rice with this on top !!
Really I can’t wait to make it again! It was like I was some type of starving dog. Lol
Ally says
I cannot wait to try this recipe!! Pad Thai is my favorite Asian dish also, and I am dying on this keto diet (15 days in), but will definitely keep it up because I love feeling so much healthier than pre-keto. Thank you so much for posting all these recipes 🙂
Andrea says
Does the chili garlic sauce differ significantly from their sriracha sauce? The sriracha seems to have a touch of sugar, but otherwise all ingredients are the same. I have a big tub of it going unused… I hate to let it go to waste, but am also wary of the <1g carbohydrates per 1 tsp serving.
Thanks!
jen says
I am afraid to try these noodles after reading the comments on amazon!!! It would be amazing to have a noodle substitute, though. I love pad thai- so I am going to order some and give it a try;)
Michelle says
Followed this recipe today!
It was good. Very light. Didn’t taste in any way like pad Thai which was a disappointment.
Still a decent dish tho. I would call it something else like… Asian-inspired noodle dish. Pad Thai title was misleading
Yanicka Hachez says
Do you mean Boil the noodles? I eat those but they do not have the same texture as wheat noodles.
Matt Gaedke says
No, we don’t boil the noodles. We cook them in a pan on high heat.
Cara McNulty says
Where does the egg come into play?
Matt Gaedke says
Sorry, instructions have been updated to include the egg!
yesenia says
No idea why my comment turned out jumbled.
yesenia says
Shirataki Noodles instead of cauliflower = brilliant!
I wanted to share a recipe I made today but can’t take credit for. Have you ever had creamed spinach? I don’t like it. It’s mushy. But have you ever tried creamed kale? I love it. It’s not mushy. This recipe is high fat keto because you USE…ALL your bacon grease.
When I made this today, I didn’t measure. I used a whole bunch of kale, a whole package of bacon (cut into pieces before cooking to crispness in the large skillet I made the whole dish in). Kale and bacon is a good start.
I also used ricotta instead of mascarpone and shredded mozzarella instead of parmesan.
This is so good, I’m glad I made enough to share and save for tomorrow (midnight is technically, tomorrow).
http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2015/12/low-carb-creamed-kale-with-bacon-and-walnuts.html