Easy Vegan Pad Thai (Low Carb)
This inspired easy vegan Pad Thai is naturally gluten free and low card! Made with rice and kelp noodles, this Pad Thai recipe comes together in under 30 minutes!
This inspired easy vegan Pad Thai recipe is made with rice and kelp noodles, sautéed with fresh veggies, and coated in a delicious peanut sauce that’s also completely gluten free!
The easiest Pad Thai recipe
This version of a pad Thai sauce is completely vegan and only requires 3 ingredients:
- Peanut butter
- Gluten free soy sauce (I recommend Kikkoman’s for this!)
- Rice vinegar
Takes all of 30 seconds to make, and it’s so delicious!
Now you’re probably wondering what else goes into a gluten free vegan Pad Thai that makes it both lower in carb and vegan? For this recipe in particular, you’ll need:
- Rice noodles (gluten free)
- Kelp noodles
- Bell pepper
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Garlic + onion
- Cilantro
You’ll notice that I didn’t include a protein for this pad Thai recipe, and that’s because I want it to be very customizable and inclusive of everyone’s needs.
So feel free to go with whatever you desire here!
Is Pad Thai gluten free?
So traditionally, with soy sauces used in America, Pad Thai is not gluten free. However, this vegan Pad Thai is specifically created to be entirely gluten free (and grain free if you want to opt out of the rice noodles and just use kelp noodles!).
How to make gluten free vegan Pad Thai?
Making vegan Pad Thai is really not complicated at all, especially when it comes to making it gluten free too!
First, you’ll just need to prep a few things:
- Make sure that all of your veggies are chopped! This makes for a really easy and simple process while actually cooking the Pad Thai. Feel free to also switch up the veggies too if there’s something you don’t like!
- Prepare the kelp noodles. Now, there’s a special trick for how to make your kelp noodles…more palatable. Because I’ll be honest, when you rip open that package, the last thing you want to do is put that into your body. BUT don’t let that scare you, because kelp noodles are actually quite delicious and highly nutrient dense. First start by rinsing your kelp noodles under warm water. Then place them into a bowl of lemon juice water or vinegar water, fully submerged, and let them soak until it’s time for them to go into the pot with the rice noodles.
Once you have those pre-steps taken care of, the rest is smooth sailing! All you’ll need to do is sauté the garlic and onion together until fragrant. Add in the veggies and cook them until they’re soft, then reduce the heat while you prepare the noodles!
For this step, just bring a pot of water to a boil, add in both the rice noodles and the kelp noodles, and cook them until the rice noodles are al dente (they’ll cook more in the sauté pan!).
Add the noodles to the cooked veggies, then when everything is tossed together, pour in the gluten free Pad Thai sauce, and give everything a stir.
Top with cilantro and peanuts, and there ya go!
Oh and don’t forget to add in your favorite protein too! 🙂
I hope you love this easy Pad Thai recipe as much as I do! It’s such a great recipe for during the week or whenever you’re craving take out but don’t feel like waiting!
If you make this pad Thai, let me know in the comments below, especially what protein you decided to go with! As always, I love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well 🙂
Happy Noodling!
More cozy and healthy comfort food recipes:
Paleo Vegan Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!
Easy Vegan Pad Thai (Gluten Free)
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 package rice noodles
- ½ package kelp noodles
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup chopped red cabbage
- 4 large carrots, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ white onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 2 tbsp Kikkoman Gluten-Free Soy Sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 4 tbsp cilantro
- 4 tbsp chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Prepare the kelp noodles first. Rinse them under warm water after removing them from the package. After you’ve rinsed them, place them in a bowl of water with 1 tsp vinegar to soak while you prepare the vegetables.
- In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp cooking oil with minced garlic and onions. Sauté until translucent and fragrant.
- Add in bell pepper, red cabbage, and carrots, and continue cooking until soft. Reduce to low heat and cover while you prepare the noodles.
- In a large pot, heat 4 quarts water with 1 pinch sea salt until it boils.
- Add in rice noodles and softened kelp noodles. Cook until the rice noodles are al dente.
- Strain the noodles and add them to the large skillet with the vegetables. Turn up the heat to medium and mix the noodles in with the vegetables.
- Cover the pot and reduce the heat back to low while you prepare the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, peanut butter, and Kikkoman Gluten-Free Soy Sauce until thoroughly combined.
- Add the sauce to the skillet and toss until thoroughly coated.
- Remove from heat and serve in bowls or on plates. Top with cilantro and crushed peanuts. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 11.7 g
- Sodium: 350.9 mg
- Fat: 13.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.7 g
- Protein: 6.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Mmmm this reminded me of my absolute favorite dish I used to take in at least three times a week in college haha. That sauce is insanely delicious!!
Aw I’m so happy to hear it!! Enjoy!