30-Minute Veggie-Packed Pad Thai
This one-pot Thai-inspired healthy dinner packs in a colorful array of veggies — with less dishes and no sides!
The star of this dish is the rainbow of vegetables, which gives a nice crunch and balance to lean chicken, rice noodles, and a lightened Pad Thai sauce. Its sweet, tangy, and spicy and topped with scallions, cilantro, basil, and crunchy peanuts. This Rainbow Pad Thai is protein-packed and perfect for a Summer weeknight meal, ready in 30 minutes.
Overview:
1. Brown chicken
Browning the chicken in sesame oil adds flavor and cooking the tenders whole prevents the meat from drying out.
2. Whisk sauce
Skip buying the sauce (or go ahead and buy it if you’re super short on time)! This take on a lightened Pad Thai sauce uses all easy-to-find ingredients.
3. Sauté together
This dish comes together in just one skillet, so the noodles soak up all that good flavor, and cleanup is minimal.
4. Garnish
Top with fresh herbs and add finely chopped peanuts for a yummy crunch. Customize the heat level for each person with extra Sriracha.
Knead to Know
Vegetable timing is everything
Not all vegetables require the same amount of cooking time. In particular, bok choy, shaved carrots, and bell peppers are tender, cooking much faster than larger and tougher veggies in this recipe. To keep the crunch of this dish, avoid cooking the thin vegetables together with the larger ones. Instead, wait until the end to add bok choy, shaved carrot, and bell peppers, just before turning off the burner.
Recipe:
Colorful Veggie-Packed Pad Thai Recipe | 30-Minute One-Pot Dinner
Yield: 6 servings
Difficulty: Easy weeknight meal
Time: 30 minutes prep to mouth
This 30-Minute Veggie-Packed Pad Thai is a colorful one-pot meal that combines crunchy vegetables, tender chicken, and rice noodles. It’s fresh and delicious.
Ingredients
7 ounces (1/2 package) rice noodles (medium width for Pad Thai)
1 lb chicken tenders
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 T sesame oil, divided
2 small shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 small yellow squash, cut into thick “noodles”
2 small zucchini, cut into thick “noodles”
1 medium size head of bok choy, white stems removed and chopped
1/4 of a small head of purple cabbage, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 carrots, shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts or 1/2 a can, washed and drained
2 eggs, whisked
Sauce:
3 T fish sauce
1 T soy sauce
4 T brown sugar
1 T rice vinegar
1 T fresh lime juice
1-2 T Sriracha hot sauce
1-2 tsp. peanut butter, to taste
For topping:
2 scallions, sliced
2 T finely chopped cilantro
2 T finely chopped basil
2 T finely chopped peanuts
1 lime cut into wedges for squeezing
Sriracha to taste
Method
Step 1:
Pat chicken between paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 T of sesame oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Season the chicken tenders with salt and pepper and brown them in the sesame oil for a few minutes until they're lightly golden brown on one side. Then, flip them and cook for a few more minutes on the other side until they're fully cooked through (reaching 165 degrees internal temperature). Once done, remove the chicken from the skillet and allow it to cool. Turn skillet heat off, but don’t wash the pan. We’ll use it again soon!
Step 2:
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice noodles by filling a bowl with warm water and soaking the dry noodles for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the noodles from the water. They might still be slightly crunchy, but don't worry; they'll continue to cook in the sauce.
Step 3:
As the chicken cooks and the noodles soak, make the sauce. In a mixing bowl, combine the fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, fresh lime juice, Sriracha hot sauce, and peanut butter. Whisk the ingredients together, then set it aside.
Step 4:
Now, back to the skillet. Heat the same pan you used for the chicken back to medium. Add 2 T of sesame oil and add the finely chopped shallots for a few minutes until they turn golden and translucent. Next, add the pressed garlic, thinly sliced purple cabbage, and the thick "noodles" made from yellow squash and zucchini. Sauté everything together for about 1-2 minutes before adding in the prepared sauce. Also, add the drained rice noodles and 1/4 cup of water from their soaking bowl. Stir everything gently and sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
Step 5:
Slice the chicken. Add the cooked chicken, chopped bok choy, shaved carrot ribbons, and thinly sliced red and yellow bell peppers to the skillet. Turn off the heat immediately and pour in the whisked eggs, mixing everything together. The residual heat will cook the egg into the Pad Thai without overcookking the delicate vegetables. Finally, toss in the fresh bean sprouts.
Step 6:
Plate the Veggie-Packed Pad Thai, and serve with lime wedges on the side for squeezing. Top your Pad Thai with sliced scallions, chopped cilantro, basil, peanuts, and a drizzle of Sriracha for an extra kick if desired.
Hope you love it!
Hope you enjoy this Veggie-Packed Pad Thai that comes together in less than 30 minutes. Let me know if you make this colorful, weeknight dinner!
