This easy Keto Pad Thai is made with cabbage noodles. A delicious and healthy alternative to the classic Thai dish. It’s sugar free and takes only25 minutes to make!
Who’s hungry for some Thai food? Because this keto pad thai has all the flavor of the original, with a tiny fraction of the carbs. That’s a huge win in my books.
Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines, and I love creating healthier Thai recipes, such as Keto Thai Chicken Soup or Thai Cucumber Salad.
But classic Thai takeout is not really a great option for the keto diet. There is a strong emphasis on combining savory with sweet, so many Thai dishes have quite a bit of added sugar.
There’s also a strong emphasis on noodle based dishes, which make it tough for people watching their carbs. So what’s a Thai Food lover to do?
Pad Thai with Veggie Noodles
Replacing the noodles is the first step in making keto pad thai, and you have a number of options.
You can try zucchini noodles, but I find that they release too much moisture. This can make the sauce too watery and it dilutes the flavor.
Another option is to use shiritaki noodles, but many people object to the flavor and the rubbery consistency.
Today, however, we’re going to use cabbage noodles. Which, let’s face it, is really just shredded cabbage. But it works really well as a healthier noodle replacement in Asian style dishes.
Shredded cabbage is a standard in the ever popular egg roll in a bowl and keto crack slaw. So I figured why not use it in keto pad thai?
Sugar-Free Pad Thai Sauce
The sauce used in classic pad thai also has quite a bit of sugar in it. So it’s time to whip up our own sugar-free version. You will need:
- Sweetener (I like Swerve Brown for recipes like this)
- Tamari, soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- Fish sauce (Red Boat is sugar-free!)
- lime juice
- peanut butter
- red pepper flakes (optional)
Many people feel that coconut aminos are more “keto” than soy sauce. But the reality is that coconut aminos is actually higher in carbs. It also has less of that unique umami flavor so you need to use more of it.
My preference is for tamari, which is a kind of gluten-free soy sauce. It has much more bang for your buck than coconut aminos.
Tips for making keto pad thai
Once you have the sauce whisked together, this healthy cabbage pad thai is quick and easy to make. A few tips to get you started:
Slice the chicken thinly
Thinly sliced chicken thighs will cook through faster and more evenly. One bonus tip is to slice the chicken when it’s still semi-frozen but not rock hard. It’s much easier to get uniform slices that way.
Cook the chicken first
The chicken should be fully cooked through before you proceed to the vegetables. Once it’s done, transfer to a plate or a bowl and drain off any liquid in the pan.
Sauté the vegetables
To keep the carbs down, I stuck with some garlic and a little thinly sliced red pepper. Sauté until the garlic is fragrant, then add in the cabbage.
The cabbage may seem like too much for your skillet. Don’t worry, it cooks down so just keep tossing it a bit until it is reduced.
Add the eggs
Push all the veggies to one side of the pan and add the eggs. Stir them until they are nicely scrambled but not dry.
Toss it all together
Now add everything back into the pan and toss well to combine the ingredients.
Garnish with green onion, peanuts, and lime
And now you’re ready to enjoy some delicious keto pad thai!
More delicious keto thai recipes
- Keto Thai Fish Cakes
- Thai Basil Chicken Lettuce Wraps
- Keto Thai Curry Chicken Wings
- Thai Seafood Chowder
- Keto Thai Coconut Soup
- Thai Chicken Satay
Keto Cabbage Pad Thai
Ingredients
Pad Thai Sauce
- 3 tbsp Swerve Brown
- 3 tbsp tamari
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) creamy peanut butter
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/4 tsp (0.25 tsp) red pepper flakes
Pad Thai
- 1/4 cup (54.5 g) avocado oil, divided, (can also use coconut oil)
- 2 lb (907.18 g) chicken thighs, thinly sliced, (boneless, skinless thighs)
- 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 cups (350 g) shredded cabbage, (about 1/2 a large head)
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 medium green onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup (36.5 g) salted peanuts, chopped
- Lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
Sauce
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
Pad Thai
- In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add the chicken and sauté until lightly browned and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove to a bowl.
- Drain off any liquid in the pan, and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Once hot, add the red pepper and garlic. Sauté 2 minutes.
- Add the shredded cabbage to the pan and sauté until tender, another 3 to 5 minutes. Push the veggies to one side and add the eggs to the cleared side of the pan. Cook, stirring often, until scrambled, about 1 minute.
- Add the chicken back to the pan, pour in the sauce, and stir everything together until combined and warmed through. Remove from heat.
- Top with the chopped onion and peanuts, and serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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I made this with raw shrimp instead of chicken and drained the liquid after cooking. Then proceeded with the remaining ingredients. I did not miss the pad Thai noodles at all and thought the slaw added a nice crunch. The flavors hit all the pad Thai traditional notes.
I also increased the red pepper flakes just a tiny bit and topped off our bowls with cilantro, crushed peanuts and siracha. Will make this again! It’s a favorite dinner now.
Fantastic!
Omg!! This is sooooooo good! I was skeptical but so glad I cooked it! Every bite is bursting with flavor and the cabbage noodles are tender and perfect! Who needs pasta?
Glad you liked it!
YUMMY! I used ground pork instead of chicken because that is what I had. This is going to be a regular thing in my rotation.
I love Thai food, and this just hit the spot. I absolutely loved the cabbage, and my husband said it was a great dinner. That’s says a lot coming from him. He has no idea how many Keto recipes of yours I use. 🙂
Boy, this was amazing! Never would have thought of cabbage noodles, but the flavor and texture are spot-on!
I get the weekly meals which gives me great ideas for the upcoming week(s). The Pad Thai was a recent recipe. Absolutely LOVE IT!!! My husband is not a picky eater but can be a little dramatic if he doesn’t care for something. This is now on a rotation as he thought it was fantastic!
Thanks again for another wonder recipe!
We love Pad Thai, and I have been super unhappy that it is no longer on the list of what I could eat. WELL HOORAH!!!!! Read this a few weeks on the meal plan and made it last week. Folks we have a winner. Not only did we not miss the noodles we actually liked it better.
Thanks, Carolyn, for another fantastic recipe.
p.s. Hubby ate the leftovers the next day for lunch – and agrees was even better the day after.
My husband said this recipe is a keeper!!!! Yay, he isn’t the easiest eater to please.
I used this as a guide for the dish I made, which dreamed of being Pad Thai but was actually all the same elements minus the Sauce lol. But I’m leaving a comment to share that I made some “zoodles” using diakon radish & it did the trick for the noodle mouth-feel I was going for. I promise to try the recipe again as it is written, but I already believe it’s a keeper! thank you xo
Lovely, savory dish and I forgot the peanut butter the first iteration of this dish! My husband, who does not need to eat low-carb enthusiastically dug in twice!
This recipe is excellent!!!! So good!!! I followed the instructions as written but added bean sprouts as one poster suggested. It’s one of my favorite recipes from Carolyn. Thank you!
this looks delicious, can’t wait to try it out