30 Minute Vegan Pad Thai
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30 Minute Vegan Pad Thai with rice noodles, tofu, veggies, peanuts and the most incredible, simple sauce. Talk about an easy dinner using everyday ingredients!
I’ve had Vegan Pad Thai on my list of recipes to create for probably a year now. It took me a couple of tries to get it just right, so we have had a lot of noodles to eat at my house the last few weeks! It was a bit of a challenge to get the sauce just right, since traditional Pad Thai recipes call for fish sauce. Vegan fish sauce apparently does exist, but I’ve never seen it.
Of course, this recipe isn’t traditional because it doesn’t contain fish sauce, oyster sauce or any meat.
I wanted this recipe to be as simple as possible, so I worked hard to get the ingredient list down and include only easy to find staples. I have broken down the instructions into easy to follow steps, and this Vegan Pad Thai really will be ready in under 30 minutes! I think you will love the result.
How to make 30 Minute Vegan Pad Thai
The first step is to gather and prep all the ingredients. Chop the carrots, green onions, cilantro and peanuts. Press your tofu, if needed (I like to buy the super firm variety for this recipe so no need to press it), and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
Next, prepare the noodles by bringing a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat and let them soak for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside. (I used these noodles.)
Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large pan, and fry the tofu on all sides until golden brown.
Next, add the noodles, sauce, carrots, green onions and some of the cilantro to the pan with the tofu. Stir well as it warms up.
Serve immediately, with lime wedges for squeezing, crushed peanuts, more cilantro, and mung bean sprouts. Enjoy!
I hope you love this Vegan Pad Thai as much as I do! It’s:
- Bursting with fresh flavor
- Sweet, savory and tangy
- Easy to make
- Made with simple ingredients
- Full of protein
Is Vegan Pad Thai Gluten Free?
This Pad Thai can easily be made gluten free by simply substituting gluten free tamari for the soy sauce.
Want more Asian inspired vegan recipes?
30 Minute Vegan Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 7 ounces stir fry rice noodles
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 16 ounce block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Sauce
- 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce
Vegetables
- 1 cup julienne sliced carrots, about 3 carrots
- 3 green onions, chopped
For serving
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup crushed or chopped peanuts
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts, optional
Instructions
- Prepare all of your ingredients before you begin. Slice the carrots, chop the green onions, cilantro and the peanuts. Press your tofu if needed (I like to get the vacuum packed extra-firm tofu so no need to press it), and then chop into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Cook the noodles: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat, and let them soak for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
- Make the sauce: Stir all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Fry the tofu: In a large pan (you can even use the same pot you boiled the noodles in), heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the tofu, and fry it until all sides are golden brown.
- To the pan with the tofu, add the noodles, sauce, carrots, green onions and half of the cilantro. Stir as it warms up.
- Serve immediately, sprinkling peanuts and more cilantro on the top of each serving, with lime wedges and mung bean sprouts on the side. Squeeze lime juice to taste before eating. Yum!
Notes
- For Gluten Free, use gluten free tamari instead of soy sauce.
- If you want vegetable only pad thai, replace the tofu with various veggies, such as red pepper strips and broccoli florets. Stir fry these in place of the tofu until tender, before adding the noodles and sauce.
- For the carrots, I buy the bag of pre-cut carrots, julienne style so it reduces my chopping time.
Nutrition
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92 Comments on “30 Minute Vegan Pad Thai”
Ever try a new recipe and kick yourself for not doing it years ago? I’ve always been intimidated by making pad thai, but this was really simple and so delicious! I bulked it up with 8 oz baby bella mushrooms and red bell pepper, which yielded 5 solid servings. I might try air frying the tofu next time to cut down on oil. Thanks Nora!
I’m so glad that you loved the Pad Thai! The tofu turns out great cooked in the air fryer! Thank you for taking time to share your wonderful review and comments! Happy cooking!
My mom begs me to make this once a week! My family of meat eaters is still getting introduced to tofu so I use your tofu scramble recipe for “eggs” in the pad Thai instead of cubes! This is our favorite recipe 🙂
Hi Sara! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review, ideas, and comments! I’m glad you guys are loving the Pad Thai!
My entire family, including the fussy teen, loves this recipe. The sauce is what makes it truly delicious. I add more vegetables – 1 cup each julienned red pepper and zucchini. The teen, who hates tofu, says the tofu is excellent. Thank you!
I’m so happy your family loves the pad Thai recipe! Thank you so much for sharing your review and fun comments!
Loved this Pad Thai! Wanted to make it again but realized I ran out of rice vinegar, do you have any substitute recommendations? Thanks!
Thanks Vanessa! Gosh that has happened to me before. There isn’t a great replacement, but I have subbed a little bit of white vinegar before. Not quite the same though!
I felt like I was eating pad thai at the restaurant, this turned out so good! Thanks Nora!
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! I’m so glad you enjoyed the Pad Thai!
Really good! This is a keeper.
Made this for the first time last night, yummy 😋😋😋 I made enough for left overs and therefore made extra sauce for reheating. I’ve shared this recipe with my vegan and non vegan friends and family 🤗✌️
I’m glad you like the pad Thai! Thank you for sharing your great review, as well as the recipe with friends and family!
Probably the best meal I’ve ever cooked at home! We added a some courgette and bock Choi to get rid of some spare veg and it worked well.
So glad you loved the Pad Thai! I love this meal! Thanks for sharing your review!
This was absolutely amazing! So simple yet so much better than the pad Thai kits at the grocery store. This tasted so authentic I was shocked! Definitely will be making this a lot in the future. Thank you very much for this great recipie
Hi Katie. I’m glad you loved the pad thai and will be making it lots! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! Happy cooking!
I never comment on recipes online… But this is the second recipe that I’ve made by noracooks and I’m really impressed. I get takeaway pad thai all the time and this is one of the best I’ve ever had. And it was so easy to make at home! I love that I can make this myself, with ingredients I usually have, and be certain it’s vegan. Like some others, I added a tablespoon of peanut butter. I also popped in a bit of tamarind since I think that’s traditional.
Side note – I can’t recommend enough the vegan lasagna recipe on this site… seriously amazing. Thanks, Nora! You’re a genius.
Hi Kendall. I’m thrilled that you love my recipes that you’ve tried! I appreciate you taking your time to share your comments and experience! Thank you! Have fun exploring more Nora Cooks recipes, and happy cooking! Let me know how it goes!
Love this recipe 😍 i also added mushrooms, edamame and green beans, will definitely cook it again ♥️
Hi Kathrin. Your additions sound yummy! Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you love the recipe!
Delicious!! Even my non vegan husband loved it. I doubled it and added peppers and mushrooms👍🏻
Hi Lori. Yum! Thank you!
This recipe is great! I add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter to the sauce. The sauce looked thin to me at first, but it thickened up really nice after stirring it in with the noodles for a couple extra minutes.
Hi Kayla. I’m glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Nora, you always hit these recipes way put of the park! I’ve loved all the recipes I’ve tried from you. Pad Thai is one of my favorites and this was absolutely delicious!!!
This was excellent. Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Delicious recipe!! Make it often. Easy and so yummy. 😋
I’ve made this twice now! Excellent recipe! Ty so much 😊
You’re welcome!
My family loves this recipe. ? They call it a “do over”.
We cook this weekly and add a heaping tablespoon of sriracha. So amazing!
Really enjoyed this. Easy to make and so delish! Making it again (2x in one week).
Hi Nora!
Thank you for your recipes! For this one, I am not a big fan of sriracha. If I leave this out will the taste be greatly affected? Do you have an recommendations for a substitute? Thank you !
Just leave it out, it won’t affect anything other than your pad thai won’t be spicy at all. 🙂
Just made this for lunch and was like, “Omg! It tastes JUST like pad thai!”. I am not vegan, but my boyfriend is, so we…I mean I…have been making a lot of your meals. All have been spot on AMAZING and makes it easy switching over to vegan. Thank you so much!
You’re so welcome!!
The best tasting! Nutritious and easy!
Excellent! We were so happy to find this simple recipe as we do miss Pad Thai and this is so good!! Like others we add 1-2 tbls of peanut butter. YUM!
I’m so glad to hear you liked it!