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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!
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-fried noodles. Or the most requested, chicken fried rice. Asher and Creighton can’t get enough.
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 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.
Next, add the butter, toss in a shallot 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 bowl 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
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 567 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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.
I e made this several times with a few modifications. We love it. I add fresh sautéed sliced mushrooms and ditch the scrambled eggs. Always use both fresh Thai basil and cilantro. Also sometimes change up the rice noodles. Sometimes I’ll use flat noodles. Sometimes the vermicelli style,. Either way, we love it. Thank you!
Hey there,
Happy Thursday! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it:) Thanks for sharing what works well for you! xT
The first time I made this recipe, my whole family thought it was good, but missing something. My son recommended adding a bit of peanut flavor and a little spice. I made this recipe again last night, but added 2T of peanut butter and a 1/2 tsp Thai red curry paste — and it took this recipe from good to great! If you don’t like spicy, I still recommend adding just a bit of peanut butter! It becomes more of the typical fantastic Tieghan recipes that we know and love!
Hey Renee,
Happy Friday!!😎 I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it and your comment! Thanks so much for sharing what worked well for you! xx
One of your other Pad Thai recipes was what first drew me to this site. I was happy to try this one out and it did not disappoint! I didn’t have any bean sprouts, but I didn’t really miss them.
Hi Djienne,
Perfect!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Happy Mother’s Day!💐
Loved it the first time even w out the sprouts! (couldn’t find any at the store) Will be making it again do you have any recommendations for something besides the bean sprouts??
Hi Jenni,
Happy Wednesday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! Another veggie that you enjoy like beans would be great!☀️🌈 xT
Just made this and it is divine!! We are big Pad Thai lovers and this is my first attempt to make it at home. So so good. We used unsalted butter and low sodium soy sauce and still was just a touch too salty but not enough to change anything. The lime juice helped cut the saltiness as well. Highly recommend.
Hey Amy,
Love it!!🍪🍦 I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it and sharing your review!! xx
Hey! I made this dish and it came out wayyy too salty. I used soy sauce–would subbing for tamari help with that? Thanks!
Hi Tommy,
Thanks so much for trying this dish, sorry to hear it was salty for you! Next time, try using the tamari or low sodium soy sauce. I hope that helps! xx
This was amazing!! I was a little worried at first because it didn’t look super saucy but it’s so flavorful! Will be adding it to our dinner rotation 🙂
Hi Cassidy,
Amazing!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try!🥑🥝 xT
I love Pad Thai, and this recipe was delicious! Love that I can make from home now. My whole family enjoyed and asked for seconds!
Hey Jamie,
Happy Monday!! 🍋🫐 I truly appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it was a hit! xT
We can’t have eggs in our house, is there something you can think of that would add/substitute that would add some bulk to this dish?
Hey Tracy,
I think it would be just fine to skip the eggs, there’s plenty of chicken and other veggies in here! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
DELICIOUS!!!!
Hey Mandy,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it:)
Looks awesome and will try tonight- fish sauce?? Yuck- any alternatives?
Hi Lisa,
Have you ever tried fish sauce? It really adds so much depth to a dish! If not, just skip it:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
Thanks- I did use it – half portion actually- and it was great! I love so many of your recipes. Thanks for giving this 61 year old some motivation to add more recipes to ‘my “same olds.” It is hard to stay motivated when only cooking for two!
Awesome!! Thanks so much Lisa:)
It adds a great flavor.
Wow! My husband could stop raving about this dish the entire time we ate. We’re big Thai food fans and this recipe is leaps and bounds above any takeout we get, even in the city. I doubled the recipe to have leftovers, and I wouldn’t change a thing!
Hey Laurene,
Happy Sunday!!☀️🧁 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
Could you sub honey for the maple syrup?
Hi Kylie,
Totally, that will work well for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xx
Do you think this same recipe would work with tofu? Thanks
Hi Tracy,
Totally! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
I don’t know where to even begin with this amazing dish!!! Thank you to start!!! Such deep, satisfying flavors that keep you reaching for another forkful of goodness! The only change I made was using chopped up chicken thighs (because I had time) rather than the ground meat. We are having guests over for dinner next week and this will be what I’m serving. Can’t wait to have it again and share this recipe!!
You are my second favorite chef, I hope you don’t mind being in line behind Bobby Flay?!
Awe, thanks so much for your kind message!! I’m so glad to hear that this dish turned out well for you! Thanks for giving it a try! xx