This is the BEST vegan Pad Thai recipe! It’s incredibly easy to make, ready in just 30 minutes and naturally gluten free. This recipe is full of flavor and features an easy tofu scramble.
It’s no secret I’m a big fan of pretty much any noodle dish ever. Traditional pasta, noodle salads, peanut noodles and more.
Pad Thai is, you guessed it, a Thai dish that consists of stir fried veggies, noodles, scrambled egg and some sort of meat like chicken.
This vegan Pad Thai uses scrambled tofu instead of egg and keeps the tofu on the noodles and veggies instead of meat. Of course, you’re always welcome to add in any other protein source if you choose!
Likewise, if you aren’t vegan, this recipe is also delicious with regular scrambled egg in place or, or in addition to, the scrambled tofu.
While Pad Thai traditionally uses vegetables like bean sprouts, carrots and bell peppers, there are lots of other options that are commonly found in Thai food. Broccoli, pok choi, cabbage or kale to name a few.
A lot of Pad Thai recipes call for fish sauce, so you will see some vegan versions include a vegan fish sauce, but I find it easiest and most accessible to do it without.
Fish sauce does round out the flavors well, so I often include it when making a non-vegan version, but I promise it’s just as good without it! If you love this recipe, try my peanut tempeh next!
How to make vegan pad thai
This recipe has a few different parts, so it might seem complicated at first, but I like to break it up into three phases to keep it really simple!
Think of it as the stir fry base, sauce and tofu. All you need to do is prep those three things, combine them and you’re done!
Make the Noodles/Veggies: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions.
Shred or julienne the carrot, thinly slice the bell pepper and add to a saute pan with the oil. Add in the white parts of the chopped green onions, the bean sprouts and garlic.
Saute for about 5-7 minutes or until the bell pepper has softened and the garlic is slightly golden brown. Transfer to a bowl, we’ll reuse that pan for the tofu.
Make the Tofu: Remove the tofu from the package and cut it in half. Take the half you’re using and wrap in a towel and lightly pat to remove excess moisture.
Use your hands to crumple into the pan, or mash with a fork until you get a scrambled egg consistency.
Add in the oil and spices and saute for 5 minutes.
Make the Sauce: Whisk together all sauce ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust flavors as desired.
Put it all together: Combine the cooked noodles, veggies and sauce and toss/stir until well combined.Fold in the tofu scramble.
Serve with the remaining chopped green onions, crushed peanuts and cilantro if desired.
Does it keep?
Yes! This vegan Pad Thai keeps well in the fridge for about 3 days.
Rice noodles tend to clump together in the fridge and dry out a little bit, so I suggest heating this up on the stove with a splash of oil for best results.
Is it gluten free?
Yes! We’ll be using rice noodles for this recipe and gluten free soy sauce, also known as tamari, to keep it gluten free.
If you’re not GF, regular soy sauce does the trick! As always, I recommend low sodium to prevent the sauce from getting too salty.
Is Pad Thai healthy?
It totally depends! Pad Thai can be made with a lot of processed oils which doesn’t always make it the healthiest dish.
However, this homemade version is made with really simple ingredients, lots of veggies and packs a lot of protein from the tofu.
Try these next!
- Red Curry Noodles
- Peanut Butter Noodles
- Vegetable Lo Mein
- Teriyaki Tofu
- Edamame Salad
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5 from 14 votes
Vegan Pad Thai
by: claire cary
This is the BEST vegan Pad Thai recipe! It's incredibly easy to make, ready in just 30 minutes and naturally gluten free. This recipe is full of flavor and features an easy tofu scramble.
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Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 20 minutes mins
Total: 30 minutes mins
4
Ingredients
Noodles/Veggies:
- 8 ounces pad thai noodles
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 carrots
- 1/2-1 cup bean sprouts
- 3 green onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp oil I used olive
Tofu:
- ½ block extra firm tofu
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp salt
Sauce:
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce/tamari
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp hot sauce more or less to taste
- 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter low or no salt
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
Make the Noodles/Veggies:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions.
Shred or julienne the carrot, thinly slice the bell pepper and add to a saute pan with the oil. Add in the white parts of the chopped green onions, the bean sprouts and garlic.
Saute for about 5-7 minutes or until the bell pepper has softened and the garlic is slightly golden brown.
Transfer to a bowl, we'll reuse that pan for the tofu.
Make the Tofu:
Remove the tofu from the package and cut it in half. Take the half you're using and wrap in a towel and lightly pat to remove excess moisture.
Use your hands to crumple into the pan, or mash with a fork until you get a scrambled egg consistency.
Add in the oil and spices and saute for 5 minutes.
Make the Sauce:
Whisk together all sauce ingredients until smooth. Taste and adjust flavors as desired.
Put it all together:
Combine the cooked noodles, veggies and sauce and toss/stir until well combined.
Fold in the tofu scramble.
Serve with the remaining chopped green onions, crushed peanuts and cilantro if desired.
Notes
As always, I recommend low sodium soy sauce/tamari to prevent the sauce from getting too salty.
As with almost all of my noodle dishes, I like to add extra soy sauce to the final dish, but this is optional. The sauce is very versatile, so feel free to play around and see what you like best.
Serving: 1bowl / Calories: 436kcal / Carbohydrates: 61g / Protein: 13g / Fat: 17g / Saturated Fat: 2g / Fiber: 7g / Sugar: 11g
