Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

Make a healthy dinner of Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai: a low-carb, vegetable-packed Thai-inspired noodle dish with spiralized zoodles, lime, peanuts and chili sauce. 

Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

Pad Thai has always been a heavily-requested recipe here on Inspiralized. From Shrimp Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai to Chicken Pad Thai with Daikon Noodles, I’m all about experimenting with new flavors, proteins and veggies in this easy-to-customize noodle dish. Whatever I do, I never skip the best part: the savory, spicy and nutty sauce.

This recipe takes a vegetarian spin without skimping on protein or flavor. Crisp, vibrant stir-fried zucchini noodles soak up all of the delicious flavors from hoisin sauce, chili sauce and eggs. This is a must-try recipe for any weeknight. Chances are you already have the ingredients at home!

Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

How to Make Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

This is a great recipe to use your Inspiralizer to make a lighter and healthier version of your favorite take-out order. Plus, thanks to all of the flavors, crunch and protein in the dish, it still is guaranteed to satisfy your pad that cravings.

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to know about the ingredients in this quick weeknight dinner:

  • Eggs. This is key to adding protein and texture to your pad thai. Of course, if you’re looking for a vegan recipe, you can substitute the eggs with crumbled tofu or an egg replacer.
  • Coconut flour. This is an unusual ingredient in pad thai, but here’s why you need it: coconut flour is highly absorbant. It helps absorb some of the water from your zucchini noodles. As a result, the pad thai sauce stays thick and coats the noodles beautifully. Coconut flour is also low-carb and keto-friendly!
  • Lime juice. You definitely want some acid in your pad thai sauce to brighten things up. If you don’t have lime, lemon will work.
  • Fish sauce. This is a key ingredient in pad thai. It adds delicious umami flavor. And now, you can even find vegetarian and vegan-friendly fish sauce. However, you can also substitute fish sauce for hoisin sauce in a pinch.
  • Chili sauce. I love chili garlic sauce because it adds an extra garlicky flavor along with the spice.
  • Peanuts. If you want to keep this recipe peanut-free, you can substitute cashews for crunch and use avocado oil instead of peanut oil.
  • Honey. Just one teaspoon of honey adds a touch of sweetness without making the dish taste sweet in the least. If you’re making vegan pad thai, you can swap the honey for maple syrup, brown sugar or coconut sugar.

Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

What’s the Best Way to Cook Zucchini Noodles for Pad Thai?

I’m so glad you asked. No one wants to sit down to a piping hot plate of homemade vegetarian pad thai, only to find a watery mess of soggy zoodles. To ensure that your zucchini noodles stay crisp and vibrant without falling apart, read my tips and tricks for the best ways to cook zucchini noodles.

Here’s an important one to get you started: don’t peel your vegetables before spiralizing!

Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

Storing Leftovers

Because the pad thai sauce isn’t too watery, you can easily store leftovers in the refrigerator. In fact, it tastes even better for lunch the next day. Store for up to four days in an airtight container.

Adding Protein

If you want to add a bit more protein to this plate, toss some shrimp in with the pad thai. It adds a natural flavor that compliments the fish sauce. You can also keep the dish vegetarian by topping it with crispy tofu or crumbled tempeh.

More Vegetables

If you’re really looking for a veggie-packed dish, it’s easy to add more nutrients and color to this pad thai recipe. Try adding:

  • Sliced bell pepper
  • Shredded or matchstick-cut carrots
  • Sliced mushrooms
  • Spiralized daikon
  • Broccoli florets

Can I Double the Recipe?

Yes, this recipe is written to feed two. For larger groups, you can scale the ingredients up (or down) with no changes to the recipe.

Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

More Quick and Easy Zoodle Recipes

What’s your favorite Thai noodle dish?

Watch our video to learn how to spiralize a zucchini and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos:

 

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Recipe and Nutritional Information

Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts
  • 1/2 tbsp peanut oil or oil of choice
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 1 shallot minced
  • 1 tbsp coconut flour
  • 1 tbsp roughly chopped cilantro + whole cilantro leaves to garnish
  • 2 medium zucchinis Blade C
  • For the sauce:
  • 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce or hoisin sauce, if you're strict vegetarian
  • 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp chili sauce I used Thai chili garlic sauce
  • 1 tsp honey

Instructions

  • Scramble the eggs and set aside.
  • Place all of the ingredients for the sauce into a bowl, whisk together and set aside.
  • Place the peanuts into a food processor and pulse until lightly ground (no big peanuts should remain, but it shouldn't be powdery). Set aside.
  • Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add in oil, garlic and shallots. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the shallots begin to soften. Add in the sauce and whisk quickly so that the flour dissolves and the sauce thickens. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until sauce is reduced and thick.
  • Once the sauce is thick, add in the zucchini noodles and cilantro and stir to combine thoroughly.
  • Cook for about 2 minutes or until noodles soften and then add in the scrambled eggs and ground peanuts. Cook for about 30 seconds, tossing to fully combine.
  • Plate onto dishes and garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve with lime wedges.
Make quick and healthy zucchini noodle pad thai with eggs, hoisin sauce, peanuts and spiralized zucchini for dinner tonight.

Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

Vegetarian Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai

with love, Ali

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Recipe Rating




comments

  • Fish sauce isn't vegetarian, as it is made from fish. This does look tasty, though.
    • I was thinking the same thing. However, there are vegetarian versions of fish sauce available (like this one: http://www.shoptheeast.com/vegetarian-goods/1000-wan-ja-shan-vegetarian-mushroom-oyster-sauce-53-oz-074261040105.html). Or, you can always make your own vegan fish sauce by Googling a recipe.
  • Flour? Did I miss an ingredient?
    • Recipes lists 1 t coconut flour
  • The instructions in step four state until flour dissolves but there is no flour in the ingrediants. How much flour is to be added?
  • You mention dissolving the flour, however I see no mention of flour in the list of ingredients. Love to try it. How much flour?
  • 88% DV of Sodium!! I'd suggest roasted unsalted peanuts; low sodium soy and low sodium fish sauce. I'm sure it'll still taste great.
  • Looks delicious!!! I need one of those spiralisers :) I normally cut all my zucchinis by hand and it takes forever
  • The flour is the coconut flour... Ali, do you have another nut suggestion besides peanuts? Allergy issues...
  • I think pistachios would work fantastically in place of peanuts!
  • I just ordered my own spiralizer and expect it tomorrow! I am anticipating it's arrival so that I can use it and I know my mother would love one of her own to experience healthy eating right along with me!
  • Just made this for dinner and it was fabulous! My veggiphobic husband loved it. Th only modification was that I used 2tsp of chili sauce rather than 2Tbsp. He's kind of a wimp. This is definitely a new favorite in our house. Thanks Ali
  • Made this tonight! It's delicious! Thanks for the recipe -- I'll be making this a lot!
  • I cannot wait to try this tonight with some shrimp and cashews (I don't have any peanuts) - this looks fab!
  • We love Thai food and this pad thai is incredible! So glad I found your blog.
  • This sounds super yummy! Just discovered your blog from Rachel Cooks' blog and I'm so glad I did...I have a brand new spiralizer I've been dying to try out, now I see tons of recipes, yay!
  • Where do I get those chopsticks?!?! I'm already gonna try this, but I'd love the chopsticks!
  • Coconut flour? Will regular flour work?
  • This was SO GOOD. My fiancé and I just demolished it in about two minutes. Leftovers? HA. Maybe if I quadrupled the recipe..
  • What would be a substitute for coconut flour???
    • If you're not Paleo/gluten-free, you can use a regular flour. Or, arrowroot powder.
      • Thank you! And thank you for making recipes for TWO!!
  • This is stunningly good, and simple to make. Thank you, Alissandra. My spiralizer arrived this morning and this is the first dish I've tried. What a terrific start!
  • Just made this and it was so delicious!! thanks so much! just one q - the noodles seemed to go quite soggy, is there something I could do to stop this from happening?
    • Don’t cook them Add to heated sauce & they are perfect
      • You can definitely do that!
  • I added the flour, but the second I added the zucchini my sauce became very watery, any suggestions?
    • Sweat the noodles!!! If you sprinkle with salt, let sit for 15-30 minutes it helps swear out the water!!! It also softens them! We do raw vegan 80% and use that to give it a "cooked" consistency!!
  • I made this with simple adjustments and it was fabulous. Hubby and I ate it up fast, probably too fast, lol! I used my spiralizer for the zucchini and a cucumber out of our garden. I mixed some natural peanut butter, the garlic chili sauce, maple syrup, soy sauce, a little sesame oil, and lime juice. Crushed a few almonds cuz that is what I had andserved it raw with some brown and wild rice. Yummy!
  • Followed the recipe exactly and like someone else said, as soon as I added the zucchini noodles it basically became a soup :( even worse when I added the eggs. Was it supposed to scramble them separately before adding it to the noodles on the skillet? A bit confusing. It tastes good though.
    • Yes, you are supposed to scramble the egg separately, as noted in the recipe (the first step)! I'm so sorry to hear it was soupy for you!
  • Made the Pad Thai last night and it was YUMMY! It was my second Spiralizer dish (zucchini noodles with pesto being my first). I used Hoisin sauce, as one of my dinner guests is vegetarian. I also added bean sprouts because I can't get enough of them. I tripled the amounts of all the ingredients and only had a little left over. I had to make it in two batches because my pan couldn't fit all the zucchini noodles at once. I used whole wheat flour, as I didn't have coconut flour, which worked fine. All in all, I think it took me about an hour to make this. I would definitely make it again. Oh and mine was kind of liquidy--moisture from the zucchini & bean sprouts--but we liked it. It was like gravy as you get in other stir-fries. (Could have added some brown rice to it to soak it up...maybe next time).
  • This was so yummy! I used hoisin sauce and siracha sauce as that is what I had at home. I can't hardly wait to make this again!
  • This looks fantastic! (The video music is really LOUD, though. Ouch.)
  • I just made this again last night and it was just soooo good! I reduced the sauce, so it wasn't soupy at all. I didn't have peanuts this time, as it was a last minute dinner decision, so I used dry roasted almonds. Mmmm!
  • Thanks, I Don't have coconut flour and was wondering if wheat would work.. Am planning on making tonight...
    • Yes, it will! The flavor won't be as yummy (the coconut flour adds that slight coconut taste), but it will work in terms of overall dish!
    • I use whole wheat flour and it still tastes great!
  • I see you have 2 recipes for pad thai - why two? do you prefer one better than the other??
  • I made this last night and it was tasty but way too sweet, which was disappointing. However, I just looked at the ingredients again and realized I added 1 Tablespoon of honey instead of 1 teaspoon. That explains it. I will try it again and do it right this time! I also used cashews instead of peanuts.
  • This was great, thank you! It was a tad spicy so I think I'll use less chili sauce next time, but I admittedly am sensitive to spicy foods. It would also be easy to add chicken for those of us who aren't so vegan :)
  • Made this last night, with the Hoisin sauce. One of my new favorites!!!! Thanks again Ali!
  • Spiriziled zucchini retains moisture. Try draining in a colander for 30 minutes before adding to other ingredients.
  • Just received my spiralizer and have used it twice already. Love it. This recipe is great! I did add a jalapeno to the garlic and shallots and since I doubled the recipe, instead of adding 2 more zucchini, I added a yellow pepper and a yellow squash. I also added chopped rotisserie chicken for my husband and 20 year old. (They are my testers before I give it to my picky 13 year old twins!:-)
    • Lara - thank you so much for your support! I'd love you to leave a review here for the Inspiralizer when you have a moment: www.inspiralized.com/product/the-inspiralizer!
  • Hi Ali! Congratulations on your wedding! Reading from all the comments, i believe that i may be the only thorn amongst the roses here. I just made this recipe for lunch and the wifey surely loved it even if i left out the fish sauce. Keep those recipes coming! Rej
  • Yummy. Made my first Spiralizer recipe with this Pad Thai. I put extra hot sauce in and man it was kicking' So delicious. Looking forward to making more fantastic healthy meals
  • In response to the comment that this is not a vegetarian recipe if fish sauce is included. Many vegetarians do eat fish, eggs, cheese, etc. Vegans strictly eat vegetables and no animal products
    • Those of us who eat fish but no mammals or birds are not vegetarian, we're pescatarian.
    • No VEGETARIAN eats ANYTHING that had a face...
  • really was hoping this would have turned out for me, sadly the zucchini waters down the sauce and I was left with soup .
  • Recipe #2 since receiving my inspiralizer. Another win! My husband immediately asked for more but it was already gone. I will definitely double the recipe next time! And on a side note, I inspiralized an apple to include in each of my kids' lunchboxes and they really enjoyed eating "apple spaghetti" at school today.
    • This is AWESOME to hear, Shannon. We're so happy you're enjoying the recipes and your Inspiralizer!! Keep us posted on what else you're making and what you're spiralizing for your kids!! Apple Spaghetti sounds like a total hit.
  • Hi, I just made this and followed it to the T, but as soon as I put the flour in the sauce became a paste. So I went to look 4 a video and thank you for uploading one.... I realized the amounts that you have written in this recipe are different then the amounts you use in the video. Why is that? TIA
  • Loved it! But I'm confused on WHEN TO ADD COCONUT FLOUR.
  • Wow, I can't believe I made pad thai! This was amazing, and so simple! Thank you for such a tasty recipe for one of my favorite dishes. I was hoping to have leftovers but I couldn't help myself. Can't wait to make it again:)
  • The spiralizer in the photo above is not a Paderno brand. It's a knock-off. I know, I own both kinds. You can search on Amazon for Paderno and that one will come up, but it's like a Paderno, not the same. Go to a high-end bricks/mortar store like Sur le Table or Williams-Sonoma and ask to see a Paderno.
    • Ummmm, are you serious? The "knock off" is the Inspiralizer, which is the best spiralizer out there. Do you even know what blog you are commenting on?? There isn't a person on here that would search Amazon for a Paderno. We have all gone on Amazon to order the Inspiralizer though.
  • It's stupid to list fish sauce for a vegetarian recipe. Fish isn't a vegetable.
    • It's stupid to preclude fish sauce just because it isn't a vegetable. I'm a vegetarian, but I'm not stupid about it - Pad Thai requires fish sauce, period - otherwise, it's not Pad Thai. I even (gasp!) reduce some anchovies to make zucchini noodle puttanesca, which is also delicious. So I'm no longer a vegan Eagle scout - although I consider myself one. I try to truly enjoy my food, within health bounds that are based on an actual medical requirement, not by zany limits prescribed by some intolerant zealot. Sheesh. Taste your food. Your organic zucchini was probably fertilized with animal-derived manure, worm castings, and fish meal. Get over it.
  • I just want to say that this recipe is really good. My husband and I made it for supper a few weeks ago and it was fabulous and my husband keeps on telling people what I made for supper and we plan on making this again this weekend when we have some friends come over for a meal. This wonderful recipe will be in our rotation of meals. (I just discovered the Zoodler and loving it).
    • We're so so happy to hear this!!
  • This receipe is absolutely amazing! I was a bit sceptic about the different quantities first, but everything is exactly the right amounts and created a Pad Thai as good as from my favourite Thai restaurant. I couldn't even notice that there were no "real" noodles in there. This is going to be a firm favourite in our kitchen. And all that even though neither I nor my partner are huge fans of zucchini!!
  • This recipe didn't work for me :( It became very pasty and then the egg never actually cooked into pieces of scrambled egg but just made everything even more pastier. Shame :(
  • Hi, Ali. Just bought your new inspiralizer and enjoying it so far. We're making this recipe tonight, and since my wife is on weight watchers, we try to be very aware of the nutritional values of dishes. We've looked at this recipe a couple of different ways, and are having trouble with some of your numbers and thought that you might be able to enlighten us. The biggest difference that we're getting is in the carbohydrate/sugar area. We can't see what in the recipe could be bringing such a high value. Obviously, the honey seems to be the primary culprit, but that won't bring nearly what you are reflecting. Can you help us understand, please. Thanks.
    • I was on Weight Watchers and it works great. It turned me onto a new way of thinking of food as fuel. Anyway I think the answer to your question is in the hoisin sauce. The bottle I have listed 20 grams of sugar for 2 tablespoons. Healthy luck to you.
  • Recipe was awesome and easy to follow. Also added shrimp and baby bok choy to the mix. Made an amazing valentine's dinner for my girlfriend, thanks again!
  • Do you think sweet potato noodles would work? What adjustments would you suggest?
  • Hello! I am counting calories and the nutritional information says there are 2 servings of 308 calories in this recipe. But then the recipe says it is 1 serving? How many calories in the whole recipe as given, please?
    • Yes, we always list calories per serving. We recommend only enjoying one serving if you're concerned - that will only be 308 calories!
  • Tried this recipe and this was just amazingly tasty. instead of the eggs I added some leftover cooked chicken and was just perfect. can't ask for more. thank you
    • Yay! We love to hear that!
  • Tried this recipe and this was just amazingly tasty. instead of the eggs I added some leftover cooked chicken and was just perfect. can't ask for more. thank you
  • Mine didn't look like yours at all, certainly was just a veggie on the side
  • I am not a good cook - but I was able to make this dish and it was delicious! I'm so happy to have found a healthy substitute for Pad Thai. I will make this again and again!
    • So happy to hear Jennifer!
  • It said "scramble the eggs." I did so. It did not say to cook the scrambled eggs. I ended up with a Pad Thai omelette!
    • oh no! We're so sorry for any confusion. Yes! Cook the scrambled eggs first. Thank you for your feedback.
  • This was a seriously wonderful dish! I guess it's bad that I ate all of it??? I usually only eat one meal a day, so, it's alright. LOL Thanks for the great keeper recipe!!!
    • This is one of those meals that there's no need to feel guilty about!! Enjoy, Elle!
  • Hi, I made this last night and it was amazing.
    • Isn't it the BEST?! Goodbye, boring pad thai!
  • I enjoyed this tremendously! I've never had zoodles, and it was about time I dug out my spiralizer! Thank you - it's going into my Favorite Recipes Cookbook!
    • This is so fantastic!!! And what an awesome compliment. Thank you so much for sharing and we're glad you enjoyed this one!
  • When you say scramble the eggs, fo you mean cook them?….., or do you cook them at the end
    • Cook them using the scramble method first & then set them aside to be added to the rest of the dish later.