My Low Carb Chicken Pad Thai is a quick and easy dinner that can be ready in under an hour. All the great flavor of takeout without the carbs! The recipe is filled with juicy chicken, low-carb noodles, crisp but tender veggies, peanuts, and a delicious sweet and tangy sauce.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links to products we use in our kitchen and this blog. When you order through those links we earn a small commission.

Let’s Talk All About Pad Thai!

If you’ve never had Pad Thai you may not be familiar with what the dish is. So I wanted to share a little bit about this tasty recipe before we dive into making this delicious meal. 

Pad Thai comes from Thailand, and I believe it is actually their national dish, not to mention it is one of the most popular dishes that people order when they dine at Thai restaurants.

Whether you’re lucky enough to visit Thailand or just dining here at your favorite spot in the United States you don’t want to skip out on trying this dish. 

Pad Thai is typically made with rice noodles, shrimp, tofu, eggs, some veggies, and a balanced sweet and sour sauce. The traditional versions will be flavored with things like a fermented fish sauce, maybe a tamarind paste, spices, and usually palm sugar.

Of course, if you’re eating low carb and trying to avoid gluten and grains this type of dish most likely won’t be something you enjoy often, but thankfully I’m here to share my modified version that my family loves.

This Low Carb Chicken Pad Thai will not be as authentic as the real deal Pad Thai recipes, since I am working with what I have access to and I have to swap out some of the standard ingredients for low-carb friendly ingredients. 

Even though it is a twist on a traditional dish, my recipe is delicious and will work for all low-carb diets and for all of my Trim Healthy Mama followers this recipe is an amazing “S”. Trust me it will satisfy your craving!

How To Make Low Carb Chicken Pad Thai

In this Pad Thai, I use cubes of juicy chicken breast and some fresh vegetables, a delicious sauce, and some low-carb noodles from Palmini noodles.

All the great flavors from simple ingredients you can find at your local Walmart or grocery store. The process of making this recipe is also very easy.

To begin you can boil the Palmini Noodles to soften them some if you desire. Many people think they are too crunchy if not boiled first. I boiled my noodles for about 10-15 minutes for this recipe and they are perfect.

You can multitask and chop your chicken and veggies while your noodles boil and that way the recipe will move fast when you are ready.

Once the noodles are cooking and the ingredients are chopped start by cooking the chicken in a large skillet and tossing in the veggies once the chicken is cooked halfway through.

All you need to do at this point is to let the chicken finish cooking and let the veggies soften some. This stage of the cooking moves pretty fast if your chicken is cut into even size pieces. 

Lastly, it is just a matter of mixing up the simple sauce and tossing all the cooked ingredients together. You’ll be amazed at how fast this all comes together and how delicious something so simple will be. 

Can I Use A Different Protein in This Pad Thai? 

Yes, of course! You can totally make this homemade Pad Thai recipe by using shrimp, pork, or tofu instead of chicken. This recipe is so flexible you’ll love how many options you can find to jazz it up.

Simply cook the proteins and then follow the rest of the steps in the recipe card and you’ll have dinner made your way in under an hour! How great is that?

What if I Can’t Find The Palmini Noodles For This Low Carb Recipe?

With the popularity of the heart of palm noodles growing in the low-carb community a lot of Walmart stores are now carrying these noodles in the gluten-free section of their grocery department. 

I’ve only been able to find them in cans at Walmart in my area but Palmini does also have all varieties in pouches instead of tin cans, which is my preference, on Amazon or their own website here. 

Prices at my local Walmart are around $3.98 per can, but prices will range widely when ordering online based on quantity and which site you order from. 

If you can’t find these noodles for the recipe at your local Walmart and you don’t want to place an online order you still have some good noodle options for this recipe.

Let’s look at a few noodle alternatives that would work nicely in this Low Carb Pad Thai, shall we?

• Veggie Noodles: you can always fall back on zucchini noodles. They are easily made a home to can now be purchased at most grocery stores in the frozen veggie aisle. 
• Miracle or Zero Carb Noodles: These are noodles that are often made from konjac root. They are found in the produce section in my local stores near the tofu or wonton wrappers. They will be in plastic bags in water. If you go this route be sure to rinse them well and cook them per the packaging before adding them to the recipe. 
• Dreamfields Noodles: now hear me out on these, I know there is a lot of controversy on these, but I say to each his own, right? If you don’t mind the gluten and the extra carbs then this pasta would work amazingly well for this dish. I have not tried it but how could it not taste good, right? Just cook the pasta per the directions on the box and then add them to the recipe. 
• Homemade Low Carb Egg Noodles: this is a great recipe from a blogger friend of mine. You can click on the link and follow her recipe to make the perfect homemade noodles. 

Any of these noodle options would be a tasty replacement if you aren’t able to get Palmini, but I highly recommend trying the recipe with them if you have access to them. 

What Are Some Other Variations That Can Be Used For This Recipe?

As with any recipe, there are always ways to adapt this one to your preferences. Like adding more or different veggies or the proteins we mentioned above. There really are so many ways you can make this Pad Thai your own.

Here are some optional ideas and variations that help you:

• Add bean sprouts: if you can find them. I have trouble finding fresh bean sprouts in my area, but if you have access to them they make a wonderful and tasty addition to this recipe. I believe you can find them in cans as well but I prefer the fresh hands down. 
• Change up the crunch factor: If you don’t like peanuts or have an allergy you can swap them out for any nut you can eat or just leave them out and to them with some toasted sesame seeds. 
• Kick up the heat level: Add more of a spicy kick by upping the heat with extra sriracha and/or dried chili flake. Just keep in mind that on a lot of these spices a little dab brings the heat so start with a little and taste as you go!
• Add more fresh veggies: you can never have too many, in my opinion, anyway, when it comes to veggies, so feel free to add more like shredded cabbage, sliced mushrooms, lotus root, water chestnuts, broccoli, sugar snap peas, or carrots. Yum
• Up the protein: if you want to up the protein in this recipe you can also scramble up a couple of eggs in a bowl and pour them into the noodle mix right before the dish is done cooking. Then simply stir the eggs into the dish until they coat the other ingredients and are all cooked. Then not only do you have some more rich flavor but you just upped the protein that will keep you fuller longer. 

Also, if you love Asian-inspired recipes and would like to see more recipes of mine you can take a look at them Here.

Yield: 6 Servings

Low Carb Chicken Pad Thai

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Print

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds of boneless and skinless chicken breast
• 3 cans of the Palmini Linguini Noodles, drained
• 2 medium green onions or spring onions
• 1 small yellow bell pepper
• 1 small red bell pepper
• Olive Oil for sauteeing

For the Sauce

• 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons of Fish Sauce
• 2 tablespoons of Soy Sauce
• 2 tablespoons of lime juice
• 1 tablespoons of THM Super Sweet (or any erythritol blend)
• 2 teaspoons of minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon of red chili paste for heat (optional)

Optional Toppings

• Chopped Peanuts
• Chopped Cilantro
• Chipped Green Chilis
• Lime Wedges

Instructions

1. Drain the Palmini noodles and place them in a pan of water and bring them to a boil. Let them boil for 10 to 15 minutes depending on how soft you want them. Test one at 10 minutes and cook more if needed.
2. While the noodles are boiling cut the chicken breast into cubes and sautee it in a large skillet with the olive oil.
3. When the chicken is partially cooked add in the sliced peppers and onions and cook until tender but still crisp. You don't want them mushy.
4. Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl and taste to see if you need to adjust anything to your liking. If you want less salt only use 1 tablespoon of soy sauce then add more if desired.
5. Once the noodles are boiled drain them well and add them into the skillet with the chicken and veggies.
6. After you have the sauce mixed pour it over the chicken and noodles and stir until all the noodles are coated. Let the dish cook for a couple more minutes just to warm the sauce. You can thicken the sauce if desired with 1/8 teaspoon of Xanthum gum but that is optional.
7. Serve hot with some garnish like chopped peanuts and cilantro.

Notes

For substitutions, tips, and more check out the blog post right above the recipe cards for more information on this recipe.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1/6 th of the recipe
Amount Per ServingCalories 220Total Fat 5.7gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 82.7mgSodium 805mgCarbohydrates 12.6gNet Carbohydrates 6.4gFiber 4.1gSugar 2gSugar Alcohols 2.05gProtein 29.5g

I am not a nutritionist. If you have strict dietary needs I always recommend using an online nutrition calculator to calculate your totals using your exact brands you're using in this recipe as values may vary per brand.

Did you make this recipe?

Visit My Table of Three

Keri Bucci

I am a southern girl through and through that loves to laugh, cook, read and spend time with family. My passions outside of home schooling my son are ministering to those in need and creating art in the kitchen! Every day is an adventure in our little house and I wouldn’t trade it or the chance to share here with you for anything!