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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.
This recipe was a flavor bomb!!!! Seriously so good! The entire family loved it. I didn’t have ground chicken so I just sliced chicken thighs into small strips and cut them in half to make thin bite size pieces. Turned out amazing!
Hey Aimee,
Love to hear this!! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing with your family:) xx
I made this with 1 1/4 pounds of ground turkey because that’s what I had on hand. When that was browned, I drained the fat because it was kind of a lot. I only added 2 tbsp. of butter and subbed in part of a red onion for the shallot. It all worked. The whole family really liked it. Thanks!
Hey Kelly,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for sharing what worked well for you and giving this recipe a try! So glad to hear it was enjoyed!! xx
So very tastey!!! I changed it up a little I used small cubed chicken breast and I didn’t have the beans used baby peas instead! So tastey!!! Love all the recipes that I have tried! My daughter turned me on to you wonderful tastey meals, desserts and yummy bread/ rolls!!!
Thank you for making dinners fun!!!
Hey Marilynn,
Happy Friday!!🍀 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your comment, so glad to hear it was delish! xT
Disappointed in lack of flavor.
Hi Angie,
So sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed, please let me know how I can help! xT
Amazing! I used only 2 Tbsp of maple syrup, thinly sliced chicken breast instead of ground chicken, and I used the white parts of the green onion instead of shallot. It still tasted great. I love this recipe because it’s a great way to clean out your fridge/pantry and get rid of those herbs that are close to their expiration date. This recipe is going into my normal rotation. If you’re making this for people not used to the taste of fish sauce then I’d maybe cut that in half. Regardless, delicious! Please make it for yourself!
Hey Emily,
Happy Thursday! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and thanks so much for making it! xT
The 30 Minute Garlic Chicken Pad Thai is a winner. But Tiegan is right about the noodles….don’t use too many!
Hey Kristina,
Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
Made this recipe tonight and it was excellent!!!!
Hey Laura,
Fantastic!!🌺 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and thanks so much for making it! xT
So good! My noodles said to cook not soak … too mushy but the flavor is ah-mazing of the dish. Next time I will soak them no matter what the instructions say on the box. I did add more garlic because I love it. My husband wanted to know what to call this recipe so he could ask for it again. It’s a keeper.
Hey Lisa,
Awesome!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try, sorry to hear about your noodles! So glad to hear everything else turned out well! xT
I make pad Thai and Thai food often, but I’ve never made pad Thai completely from scratch! I was so excited to see the ingredients for the sauce were all things I usually keep in stock. This tasted great!! I only added a tbs of Siracha and a tbs of ketchup to the sauce but I’m sure it would have been great just as is. 10/10 recommend.
Hey Alicia,
Happy Thursday!! Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that this was enjoyed! xx
This recipe was amazing!! My boyfriend and I couldn’t get enough of it. This will be a dinner staple recipe for sure!!
Hey Emily,
Amazing!! Thanks so much for making this dish, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Excellent flavors and a nice supper that comes together in not much time. The butter does add a beautiful element that other recipes lack. Of course, we had to add a dab of sriracha sauce to our bowls!
Hey Karen,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was a winner! Have a great Wednesday! xx
First time ever making Pad Thai – so easy and so delicious. Definitely adding this to my HBH rotation!
Love to hear this Steve!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your review:) xx
Very good and pretty easy! Left out the fish sauce and added chopped fresh mint!
Hey Colleen,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Sooooooooooo good. I bought the wrong kind of noodles so they completely fell apart when I mixed it up (stir-fry instead of pad thai) but the flavors are unreal. Super easy, all ingredients I had minus the fresh stuff, and came together quickly. I’ll be making this regularly!!
Hey Kathleen,
Wonderful!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was a winner! Sorry to hear about your noodles! Have a great Wednesday! xx
This was delicious. Any failure was my fault. We live in FAR UPSTATE NY… I just call it South Canada. Not used to different cuisine, tho I love it. Love your website – beautiful photography and family! Thank you!
Thanks so much for your kind message Lil!! I love to hear that this dish turned out well for you! xT