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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!
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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
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.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Hi!
I was wondering whether I could use shrimp / king prawns for this?
Thanks!!
Hi Nat,
Sure, that sounds like a great idea! I hope you love this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! x
WOWZA!!!! My husband couldn’t stop raving- This is such a great recipe! I couldn’t find mung bean sprouts, so I followed another reviewer’s suggestion and added broccoli slaw with the chicken and peppers- Absolutely delicious!!! Will definitely be on repeat!
Hey Lynn,
Happy Monday! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear it turned out well! Happy Halloween week! 🎃
My Mister is a huge fan of Pad Thai… but I am not. I tried this on a whim to make him happy ❤️ and OMG… it’s SOOO good! I made a few tweaks like adding shredded carrots, and used yellow onion instead of shallots, but it’s the bomb!
Lol love to hear this, Patricia! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try and your feedback! xT
Delicious and simple! I’ve made this recipe several times, occasionally swapping out the ground chicken for chicken breast instead.
Hey Kendra,
Fantastic! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try and your feedback, so glad to hear you have been enjoying it! xT
This is a huge hit in our house! My teenage boys request it on the regular. I double the meat for them and have used ground pork to switch it up. Your recipes are always our family’s favorites! Thank you!
Hey Tiffany,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe is always enjoyed, thanks for making it so often! xT
Make this recipe!! Seriously so so so so good! I added a little too much fish sauce (I don’t measure anything, I just eyeball it all) so I added a spoonful of peanut butter & it was delicious!
Hey Ali,
Happy Friday! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for trying it and your feedback! xT
Delicious, I subbed the bean sprouts with a 12 ozbag of broccoli slaw, and used 1 lb of ground chicken. Keeper!
Hey Patricia,
Happy Friday! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it was a winner! Xx
Amazing. I just started to get serious about cooking and this was right in my skill zone. Not hard to make and delicious to eat. I always ask myself if I would pay for whatever I cook and hands down I would for this recipe.
Thank you so much Quinn:) Love to hear that this dish turned out well for you and I appreciate you making it! xT
Well another great recipe! We loved it! It reminds me of your better than DanDan noodles. Thanks for great recipes!
Thanks so much, Debbie:) Love to hear that this dish was enjoyed, I appreciate you making it! xT
Excellent meal! Thank you for the recipe. It was a big hit!
Hey Jeanne,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad to hear it was a hit! xT
Wow that was great… just the right amount of spice.
My husband said it was better than at any Thai restaurant we been to and we frequent Thai restaurants a lot.
Hey Denise,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! xT
Love this recipe – it will definitely become a regular rotation for us. Only note is I wish the Ingredients list mentioned the lime. I didn’t have any on hand and would have loved to be able to serve this with a lime wedge as suggested 🙂
Hey Olivia,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try and your comment, so glad to hear it turned out nicely for you! xT
This recipe is AMAZING! Sooooo flavorful and easy to make!
Hey Christopher,
Wonderful!! I am so glad this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for trying it out! Xx
Would this work with ground turkey?
Hey there,
Totally, that will work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
I am so excited to try this recipe since I am a HUGE fan, but was thinking of making it without the eggs? Do they add something as a component that I would miss if I omit them?? Thanks!
Thanks so much Carrie!! Totally fine to skip the eggs if you don’t want to add them:) I hope you love this dish! xT