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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
I made this last night- WOW- it was delicious! Had to make the following adjustments: I added snap peas because I didn’t have sprouts and chopped up chicken thighs I had on hand. Kept the chicken separate and fried tofu (For vegetarian) and par boiled the noodles then finished in the sauce. The sauce is so good! Thank you for this recipe I had never attempted Pad Thai before.
Hi there,
Wonderful!! I’m so glad to hear this dish turned out well for you, thanks for trying it out! Happy Friday! xx
Amazing! Family loved it. Super quick. I sauteed some shitakes in it and used a pound of pad thai. Also a little sembal chili paste. Will make again for sure.
Hi Erin,
Happy Friday!!☘️ Thanks a bunch for testing this recipe out and sharing your review, I’m so glad to hear it was delish! xx
Hi- I made this and everyone enjoyed it including my picky eaters. I couldn’t find fish oil so I left it out. I do plan to make this again. Should I find the fish oil? Do you have other recipes with fish oil? I have never used it before.
Hi Bridget,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! Fish sauce adds such great flavor and I use it in a bunch of recipes! I would grab some for next time:) xx
easy to follow, amazingly delicious thank you so much! I sliced chicken instead of using ground chicken and used soy sauce instead of tamari to save some money! Thank youuuuu! 😀
Thanks so much Moises! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you making it! xx
hi do you mean 16oz of wide pad thai noodles ? i think it say 6oz
so excited to try!! thank you!
Hi Heather,
You can purchase the 16 ounce package, but I only used about 6 ounces of noodles. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I used 16 oz, added some chicken broth and it worked great.
Made this last night – quick, easy, delicious!
I did skip the butter part and just used sliced chicken thighs.
Still a great recipe without.
Hey Kelly,
Fantastic!!🌻 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
I have made many recipes from your collection, and I’m not going to lie… I was questioning this one as it came together. It was so delicious! We regularly have dinner with a crew of 4 adults and 5 kids – this one was loved by all. That’s not an easy task!
Hey Jennifer,
Lol thanks for making so many recipes, I love to hear that this one turned out for you and your family enjoyed! Have a great day! xx
While chopping made this over 30 minutes, it was easy enough and delicious! All of the things I love about Pad Thai with a fresh taste!
Hi Katherine,
Wonderful!! I am so glad to hear that this dish turned out well for you and thanks for sharing your comment! xx
Best recipe of yours I’ve made to do and I’ve made A LOT! The flavor of the sauce is next level. I added some broccoli too to up the veggies. I did find on medium heat I needed more time to boil off the water from the ground chicken so I’d personally recommended cooking the chicken for 2-3 minutes before adding the veggies so they still have a nice crunch. TJs chili onion crunch on top was sublime!
Hey Emily,
Happy Wednesday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was tasty! xx
This recipe is so delicious. I had to make a few slight substitutions to the sauce ingredients (subbed some sherry for the rice wine vinegar and oyster sauce for the fish sauce) but everything else I kept the same. I was even worried I didn’t soak my noodles long enough but this recipe seems very forgiving. It is actually really quick and I’ll definitely make it again. I don’t think it tastes like pad thai – my version didn’t have the same sweet/sour flavour usually from tamarind paste but I think this recipe is delicious in its own right. Definitely try it.
Hey Stephanie,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for giving this dish a try and your comment, I love to hear it was a hit! 😊
Thumbs up to this recipe. I subbed shrimp for chicken and added more veggies but super easy and tasty.
Hey Beth,
Great idea! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed with the shrimp! Thanks for making it! xx
The crunch of the nuts on top is absolutely key (I used cashews). Next time I’ll add double the veggies but it was so good. I was expecting take out pad Thai flavors but it was a little more full of depth and I’m a fan.
Hey Marissa,
Happy Tuesday! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it:) xx
Loved this recipe! A little salty for me but my husband loved it. I may try low sodium soy sauce next time but will definitely make again! I also used thinly sliced chicken breast since I didn’t have ground chicken. I can see this being a new go to recipe.
Hi Shannon,
Awesome!! So glad to hear that this dish was enjoyed, I would definitely use low sodium soy sauce next time, that should definitely help! xT
Delicious!! I used ground pork because the store didn’t have chicken. It was still excellent!
Hi Dori,
Happy Monday!!🌞 Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Made this tonight. Super easy and delicious. Added in some ribbon carrots for a little extra veggies. Will definitely add this to the dinner rotation. Even my younger son who eats around certain vegetables devoured every last bite.
Hi Amber,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this dish turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xx