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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
Delicious! My husband made this tonight, and we absolutely love it. We didn’t find it salty at all. This will go into our regular dinner rotation. Thank you, Tieghan!
Hey Terri,
Happy Sunday!!🌸 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a winner! xT
Very salty! Will definitely use less fish sauce (if any)
Hey Mel,
So sorry to hear this was salty for you, thanks so much for giving the dish a try! Have a great Sunday! xx
Definitely a repeatable recipe! My husband and I both enjoyed it, had seconds and still some leftovers. Thank you for sharing!
Hey Donna,
Awesome!! I love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe and appreciate you making it:) xT
Soooo good! No peanuts( I forgot). No Thai basil, doubled the cilantro. Tons of freshly squeezed lime. Your detailed instructions were what really helped me. There was not a bit of leftovers for 2 people.
Going in the rotation, with a little more self control
Hey Donna,
Perfect!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and thanks for giving it a try! xx
Any advice on making this dish vegetarian?
Hey Rachel,
You could use additional veggies in place of the chicken! Let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Really enjoyed this one thank you.
Hey Taylor,
Thanks so much for making this dish! I’m so glad to hear it turned out well for you! Happy Sunday! xx
Perfection! Easy to follow & so delicious.
I love trying your recipes❤️
Hey Susan,
Happy Sunday!!🌸 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a winner! xT
Absolutely delicious! And quick and easy to make. Everyone loved it and this is one of our favorite recipes to date.
Thanks so much Rosanna! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
This recipe is super salty. If I make it again I will use 1/2 of the fish sauce and use low sodium soy.
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for making this dish and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was so salty for you! xx
Delish! Next time I will decrease shrimp in half and double yhe sauce but we absolutely love this recipe!
Hey Beck,
Happy Sunday!!🌸 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a winner! xT
This was easy to throw together and delicious. I followed directions as written. I added a bit of chili crisp on top for a bit more kick! Next time I make it I want to throw shrimp in to keep the ground chicken company! Love your recipes!!!
Hey Jeanne,
Happy Sunday!!🌸 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was a winner! xT
So easy and absolutely delicious! I used diced chicken breasts as that’s all I had on hand and it turned out great!
Hey Jen,
I appreciate you making this recipe and I’m thrilled to hear that it turned out well for you! Have a great weekend! xx
Easy to make! The whole family liked it 👍🏻👍🏻
Hey Molly,
Happy Friday!!⛄️ Thanks a bunch for giving this dish a try, I love to hear that it turned out well for you:)
Made your garlic butter chicken pad Thai tonight and it was delicious. So easy to make and the flavours just pop. My son loved it so much he asked me to pack leftovers for lunch 😀. Thank you!!
Thanks so much Maria! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Happy Friday! xx
The sauce is what makes this dish! Hubby forgot to stop at the grocery store. I had all the ingredients for the sauce, but I substituted ground pork for chicken, carrot and broccoli for the red bell, and even maifun for the pad thai. It was delicious! Thank you!
Hey Kim,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it! xT