I’d never eaten Pad Thai until I started eating a vegan diet. I had never even heard of it – can you believe that?!
After so many different recipes on so many different blogs, I thought I’d give it a try myself.
That was 6 months ago, and this is the vegan Pad Thai recipe I seem to make the most. It’s just so easy, so delicious and so – SO – filling!
If you like your veggies to be a bit crunchy, don’t let them cook as long. If you don’t like cilantro, add parsley (that’s what I did). If you don’t have red peppers, use orange or yellow. If you don’t… you get the idea. This dish is very versatile! One time I was out of rice noodles, so I just doubled the amount of spiralized zucchini – YUM!
All I know, is that if you love Pad Thai, this simple recipe is definitely a must-try (LOOK MOM! I RHYMED!).
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- ½ block super firm tofu, drained and chopped into cubes*
- 1 cup/8oz. rice noodles
- 1 medium head of broccoli, very small chopped florets
- 2 large zucchini, spiralized
- ½ small red pepper, sliced thin
- 1 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 4 green onions, chopped small
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ cup peanuts
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped
- Heat a large pan over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and cook your tofu until browned on all sides, 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add your rice noodles and cook according to package directions.
- While your noodles are cooking, heat another tbsp of olive oil in the same large pan you used for the tofu. Then add in your broccoli, zucchini and red pepper. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, or until softened. Add in the minced garlic and cook for another minute or two more. Drain the rice noodles and add to the pan of veggies. Add the tofu, as well, and toss everything together.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until well combined. Pour all over the noodles, veggies and tofu.
- Divide between bowls, and top with peanuts, sesame seeds and chopped cilantro or parsley. Serve warm.
Craig says
August 14, 2016 at 10:37 PMMade this tonight for my girl friend who is vegan. She loved it! The sauce is amazing! Love the taste of lime it adds to it. Added 1 cup mushrooms, 1 cup carrots slices, 1 cup snow peas. Super delicious.
Craig says
August 14, 2016 at 10:39 PMOh also, subbed 1 tbsp curry paste rather than tomato paste.
Virginia says
August 10, 2016 at 4:24 PMOk so.. I’m hooked.. Just started going vegan a week ago and this recipe was the bomb.. Amazing sauce and I actually like tofu.. YAY! Thanks for the recipe.
Angela says
July 21, 2016 at 2:08 PMThe thought of making pad thai at home has always been intimidating. Thank you for this delicious, simple, vegan recipe!! Helps curb my pad thai craving without breaking the bank 😉
Lauren says
April 10, 2016 at 8:38 PMHi Cassie,
What a delicious recipe! Even though I eat pad thai in restaurants, I’ve always been kinda squeamish about using fish sauce myself — so this recipe is perfect! I made a couple adjustments for my personal taste, but that’s just ’cause I can’t resist the fried egg!
Cassie says
April 11, 2016 at 8:13 AMGlad you thought it was delicious, Lauren!
barbara cecchini says
April 4, 2016 at 10:02 PMI made this for my son who is a vegetarian. I personally do not like pad thai. Guess what?
We both just loved this dish. I constantly search for recipes I can cook for him and the majority are terrible. This is an outstanding exception, and I would recommend it to anyone without reserve. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Cassie says
April 5, 2016 at 8:21 AMWow! That means so much to me, Barbara. Thank you for commenting. 🙂
Aimee says
March 8, 2016 at 10:45 AMHI Cassie, I tried your vegan pad thai recipe last week. What a hit and how delicious it was! My husband who is on the other spectrum absolutely loved it. Thank you for sharing all your delicious recipes!! Will be making again tonight! Cheers to you and all the best :))
From Mississauga, ON
Cassie says
March 8, 2016 at 4:29 PMSo happy you and your husband loved it!
Jan Bancarz says
January 6, 2016 at 3:12 PMCan you please help me? I am not sure what one cup of rice noodles means? One cup doesn’t sound like much. I bought a whole pack of Pad Thai noodles from Zehrs. (They are folded in half when not cooked). This recipe looks amazing. My two sons are vegans – so I can hardly wait to try. Thanks for clarifying.
Cassie says
January 7, 2016 at 8:25 AMJust make the whole pack. 🙂
Ausrine says
November 21, 2015 at 7:20 AMI’m 15 vegan and I made this dish for my whole family who are non vegans, but everyone just LOVED it! Super easy to make and super delicious! Thanks!
Frances says
September 28, 2015 at 5:53 PMJust made this and it tastes so delicious 🙂 A big hit even for my picky eaters. Thanks for the recipe.
Rhoda Ayotte says
April 8, 2015 at 8:29 AMHi Cassie, You’ve given me courage to think I might be able to go vegan. After 22 years vegetarian, the only thing really holding me back has been my love of cheese. Can’t wait to try your recipes. The price of veg cheese is out of my budget but these look really doable. Thanks.
Elle says
September 7, 2015 at 10:11 PMHey I was the same about cheese and I did fold a couple of times but I just was easy on myself and now I never see cheese as food so it doesn’t bother me. There are tons of alternatives and seriously vegan cheese doesn’t have to one of them
Lovefoodibiza says
March 28, 2015 at 3:22 PMThe recipe looks very simple and very tasty! I would try to avoid frying in olive oil, better coconut oil or even sunflower oil as a last option. I will make your Pad Thai today for dinner. Thanks!
malti says
December 7, 2014 at 6:15 PMI did not know there is such thing as non soy tofu!!!!
What is non tofu made off??!!!!
Anna says
April 11, 2016 at 2:19 PMBurmese tofu you can make yourself its using chickpea flour (besan) boiled up with water and flavourings and then left to set. It’s delicious and great soy tofu alternative.
Trish says
November 8, 2014 at 6:35 PMLove the simplicity of the recipe and that it uses common ingredients! Could you say when the green onions are supposed to be added?
Rhianna says
September 2, 2014 at 7:48 PMHi Cassie,
Thank You so much for this great website. I made your Pad Thai this evening and the whole family enjoyed it. My 3 year old cleared her plate. I also made the Butter Cauliflower. Yummy! Love that everything is so easy to make. Looking forward to trying other receipes:)
Cassie says
September 3, 2014 at 6:52 AMThank you for your kind words, Rhianna! So happy that you and your family loved the Pad Thai and Butter Cauliflower!
Jan says
June 24, 2014 at 11:00 AMHi Cassie,
Just discovered this site after using Mrs. January for about a year. You may wish to correct spelling of: tomato pasta and nice noodles. My daughter and I will be giving this a try this week as it looks easy enough for us. Thanks.