This Vegan Pad Thai recipe is bold, tangy, and packed with tofu, rice noodles, and a peanut sauce—ready in 30 minutes! A quick and healthy plant-based meal.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• 🌱 Completely Vegan & Gluten-Free – No fish sauce or egg, but still packed with umami!
• 🍜 Kid-Friendly – Sweet, slightly sticky noodles make it a hit for kids.
• ⚡ Quick & Easy – Ready in just 30 minutes.
• 🔥 Customizable – Adjust spice levels to your taste.
Growing Up with Thai Food (Personal Story)
Even though I’m not Thai, I grew up eating Thai food with my family at least once a week. Pad Thai was always my favorite—that perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty, and umami made it an unforgettable dish.
Now, my 4-year-old son loves noodles, and this vegan Pad Thai is a great way to get some nutrients into him while letting him enjoy that sticky-sweet goodness. He gets the tofu and bean sprouts, while I add extra Thai chilis for myself!
Pad Thai
4
servings30
minutes40
minutesIngredients
- Tofu
14 oz firm tofu
1 tbsp vegan oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp tomato paste
- Pad Thai Sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp water
3 tsp tamarind concentrate
3 tbsp vegan oyster sauce
- Pad Thai
8 oz pad thai noodles
2 cup oyster mushrooms (pulled apart)
1/4 cup chopped shallots
2 cup bean sprouts
1/3 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
1 lime
3 stalk green onion
4 clove garlic
Directions
- Tofu
- Cube tofu and add to oiled pan on medium to low heat.
- Periodically flip the pieces of tofu until browned on most sides.
- Add the rest of the tofu ingredients to the tofu and mix around, set aside.
- Pad Thai Sauce
- Add sugar to small pan on medium heat, keep stirring until melted and changes color, and then add the rest of the sauce ingredients
- Keep stirring for a minute and then turn off heat. The sugar will properly dissolve while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- Pad Thai
- Add oyster mushrooms to lightly oiled pan. Stir occasionally until it somewhat browns. Set aside.
- Soak noodles in hot water for 10 minutes.
- Add garlic and shallots to oiled pan on medium heat. Stir occasionally for a few minutes to let the flavors infuse in the oil. You can optionally add chopped chilis at this point.
- Add in the tofu and oyster mushrooms. Stir around until everything is heated up.
- Add in the noodles and sauce. Keep cooking and stirring until the noodles are cooked. Taste every minute or so to make sure it’s cooked all the way. If not, add a little bit of water and keep doing that until the noodles are properly cooked.
- Add the bean sprouts and half the peanuts and turn off the heat.
- Serve with lime and sprinkle peanuts on top.
