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30 Minute Garlic Butter Chicken Pad Thai. An easy, weeknight dinner that’s better than any takeout. Quick-cooking rice noodles tossed with a Thai-inspired sauce, fresh vegetables, scrambled eggs, and garlicky chicken that’s pan-seared with a touch of butter. This Pad Thai is saucy, salty, and has just the right amount spice. It’s sure to become a family staple!
If there’s a cuisine my family loves universally, it’s anything Thai-inspired. Mexican too, but today we’re focusing on Thai since everyone has been requesting it nonstop lately. If it’s not some kind of rice bowl, then it’s stir-fry noodles. Or the most requested, chicken fried rice. Asher and Creighton can’t get enough Thai dishes.
I’ve made pad Thai a handful of times too, but each time I never felt the noodles were saucy enough. I always felt a little more flavor, spice, and color could be added.
Ω
After my younger brother Red requested Pad Thai a few weeks ago, I decided to perfect a good chicken pad Thai (I got the shrimp just right).
I took my time with this, like 3 or 4 weeks time, slowly making tweaks. In the end, a few tablespoons of salted butter ended up being the secret to the pad thai sauce.
And fewer noodles, which I certainly don’t usually recommend. But with this particular recipe, fewer noodles work better. It’s all about getting the portions just right!
Details
This recipe has a longer ingredient list but manages to come together in 30 to 40-ish minutes. The noodles should be a thicker-cut rice noodles, or find a box of Pad Thai noodles. Pretty much all grocery stores should carry one or the other.
Soak the noodles just as the box states. But I like to drain them for around 6 minutes to ensure they don’t get soggy while cooking.
While the noodles soak, make the sauce. It’s a pretty simple mix of tamari, maple (used to sweeten), fish sauce (don’ skip), rice vinegar, black pepper, and chilies.
Now we can cook! Cook the chicken and pepper together. Using ground chicken is ideal, it soaks up the sauce nicely and cooks quickly. Some other veggies that work nicely are carrots and broccoli.
Next, add the butter, toss in the shallots and some chopped garlic, and cook until golden.
Push everything to the sides of the pan and add the eggs to the center. Give them a scramble, then toss them with the noodles.
At this point, you should remove the noodles from the heat to ensure the noodles do not get overcooked. Add lots of sprouts, or you could use your favorite chopped greens, but sprouts are our first choice. And plenty of green onions!
Serve each dish of noodles topped with Thai basil, cilantro, roasted peanuts, and lime. Oh, and then I add Korean chili flakes too.
Yum!
If you plan to eat the noodles as a leftover, you can certainly add a touch of soy sauce to loosen the noodles back up. The noodles will be a little less saucy, but all the flavor is still there!
Looking for other dinner ideas?
Sesame Ginger Orange Chicken Salad
20 Minute Korean Beef Sesame Noodles
20 Minute Red Curry Basil Garlic Oil Noodles
Red’s Favorite Spicy Tuna Poke Bowls
Skillet Chicken Adobo with Coconut Rice
30 Minute Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice
Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice
Lastly, if you make this 30 Minute Garlic Butter Chicken Pad Thai, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
30 Minute Garlic Butter Chicken Pad Thai
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 567 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 6 ounces Pad Thai/wide rice noodles
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons real maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- black pepper and chili flakes, to taste
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil (or olive oil)
- 3/4 pound ground chicken
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly slice
- 3 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2-3 eggs, beaten
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or Thai basil
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1/3 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
Instructions
- 1. Soak the rice noodles according to packaged directions. Drain.2. To make the sauce. In a bowl, combine the tamari/soy sauce, maple syrup, fish sauce, rice vinegar, black pepper, and chili flakes.3. Add the oil, chicken, and red bell pepper to a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook until the chicken is browned all over, about 5 minutes. Add the butter, shallot, garlic, and a pinch of chili flakes and black pepper. Continue to cook the chicken in the butter until the garlic begins to turn golden, 1-2 minutes.4. Add the noodles and sauce, tossing to combine. Cook until the noodles are warmed through and begin soaking up the sauce, about 1 minute. Push the noodles to one side of the skillet and add the eggs to the other side. Let cook until the edges start to set, 1 minute. Roughly scramble the egg, then toss it with the noodles. Remove from the heat. 5. Add the bean sprouts, cilantro, and green onions, and toss again.6. Serve warm noodles topped with basil, green onions, peanuts, and chili flakes. Add a squeeze of lime juice.
This post was originally published on February 20, 2023
Hi! Trying to use what I already have. Would this taste good with ground turkey?
Hey Cara,
Totally, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this dish! have a great week!
Amazing flavor. Love the idea of using ground chicken instead of chicken breasts.
Hey Michelle,
Love to hear this! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment. Have the best weekend!
Would chunks of chicken breast work, instead of ground chicken? Thanks.
Hey Jim,
You bet, that would be just fine for you to use! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try!
This recipe is delicious, quick and easy!
We make it at least twice a month!!
Hi AJ,
Awesome! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad it turned out well. Have the best week! x
I found this meal really delicious but the only thing it was missing was that smoky phad Thai flavour like it was in your prawn Phad Thai. Or maybe I did something wrong. It was still good though.
Hey Julia,
Wonderful! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment, love to hear it was a winner! xx
Top notch! All of your recipes are amazing, this one will be in regular rotation. Thank you for sharing.
Hey Sara,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a winner! Have the best weekend:)
hi! this looks so good but my fiance is allergic to fish and i read you said not to skip the fish sauce- will it ruin the recipe if we have to skip it?
thank you!
Hi Allie,
If he can’t have it, then I would just omit it:) I hope you love this recipe, let me know how it turns out! xx
I love Pad Thai and this recipe looks amazing. I am curious if there is a way to reduce the calorie count and not jeopardize the integrity of the recipe? Any suggestions are appreciated!
Hi Lydia,
So sorry, I’m not really sure the best way to go about doing that for this recipe. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help! xx
The sauce was delicious! I added mushrooms to the bell pepper step and it was great. This was my first time cooking rice noodles and I did not do it correctly. There was nothing on the package directions about soaking them so I just did 20 minutes.. that was not long enough! Thankfully it was not ruined; I some extra water and boiled for a few minutes. I look forward to doing it correctly next time! Delicious flavor even with my mistake!
Love to hear this, Megan! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! Have a great day!
Delish, but definitely not anywhere near 30 minute meal unless you aren’t counting all the time it took to chop everything and prepare the noodles.
Hi Maria,
Yay! Love to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! Sorry to hear this took longer than expected. Have the best week:)
Hi, can I use toasted sesame oil or will it not turn out the same? I don’t have the plain one..
Hi there! Yes, you can absolutely use toasted sesame oil! Hope you enjoy! 🙂 xT
This recipe is soooo delicious! If you’re on the fence about making it, just do it! It’s super easy too! It’s become a rotation for dinner in our house and really good for leftovers too!
Hey Vata,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, love to hear it turned out nicely for you! xx
I don’t use these noodles often…should I soak, then cook separately then add to big pan with other ingredients?
Hey Alli,
So you are just going to follow the package instructions on your noodles, drain them, and then add them to the dish in step 4. I hope this helps! xx