This keto pad thai is made with cabbage noodles. A delicious and healthy alternative to the classic Thai dish. Sugar free and it only takes 25 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 tablespoon Swerve Brown
- 3 tablespoon tamari
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Pad Thai
- ¼ cup avocado oil, divided (can also use coconut oil)
- 2 lb chicken thighs, thinly sliced (boneless, skinless thighs)
- ½ red pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 cups shredded cabbage (about ½ a large head)
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 medium green onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup 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.
Mallie says
Delicious! I was a little skeptical but it tastes like pad Thai and not fishy at all like some things made with fish sauce. The cabbage added a nice crunch and I didn’t even miss the noodles. We’ll definitely be making this one again!
Carolyn says
Yay! Glad you liked it!
K. V. says
The sauce was actually very tasty and pretty close to the Pad Thai I know and love. I substituted Healthy noodles for the cabbage noodles but still added cabbage to the other vegetables. My niece who isn’t Keto gave 10 out of 10. Would highly recommend this recipe and I’ll be making it again. Your recipes are always a hit in my house. I have two of your cooks and they are both my go to for recipes, especially for keto Desserts.
Thanks for all your hard work developing these fabulous recipes.
Lr says
Delicious, dont miss the noodles at all!! The only things I changed was I do not like fish sauce so I subbed extra soy sauce in its place, used Lankanto brown sugar, and I had precooked sliced chicken from the grill that I added instead for ease. Will be added to my regular rotation for sure. Thanks for a great, healthy recipe!!
Aggie Sutton says
Carolyn, we love this recipe and so many of your other recipes!
I am wondering if you could devise a recipe for gfree, dairy free, chocolate covered key lime pie bars??!! Would be so wonderful! I can buy gfree ones in Key West, but not dairy free!!
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes you share, and thank you for considering this one. ???? aggie
Nancy says
I adore pad Thai, and this was a great substitute. As good as the real thing, in my opinion. Everything I’ve made on your site has been a hit. Thank you so much for your recipes!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Kathleen says
If I had more than two thumbs, I’d give it many thumbs up in approval. Delicious, and all the textures and flavors you’d expect for Pad Thai. The cabbabge makes a great noodle substitute. The recipes halves nicely for 3 servibgs too.
Highly recommended!
Carolyn says
Thank you!
Bev says
THANK you for another amazing recipe. So glad I have found you, you make keto so easy with all your amazing and easy recipes! ????
Graydon gillette says
Good recipe! I triple the dried hot peppers to get some heat added a little fresh lime juice before eating and added fresh bean sprouts for the little bit of crunch…just about a cup of tgem at the end.
Thank You