Easy Vegan Pad Thai (Gluten-Free, Allergy-Free)

Name: Easy Vegan Pad Thai (Gluten-Free, Allergy-Free)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 8 oz Pad Thai Rice Noodles; 1 Cup Julienned Red or Green Bell Pepper; 1 Cup Julienned Carrot; 1 Cup Shredded Red Cabbage; 1/2 Cup Julienned Snowpeas; 1/2 Cup Chopped Scallions (more to top); 1 Tsp Minced Garlic; 1/4 Cup Coconut Aminos; 2 TB Sunflower Oil (or other neutral oil); 2 TB Erythritol (or preferred granulated sweetener); 1 TB Unsweetened Sunflower Seed Butter; 2 Tsp Lime Juice; 2 Tsp Tamarind Paste; 1 Tsp Chili Paste (to taste, optional); 1 Tsp Dried Lemongrass; 1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds (more to top)

Published: May 13, 2019 by Rebecca Pytell · This post may contain affiliate links.

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A healthier homemade version of your takeout favorite! This Easy Vegan Pad Thai recipe is gluten-free and allergy-free, meaning no nuts or soy! With authentic rice noodles, veggies, and a delicious Pad Thai sauce, you'll have dinner on the table in a flash and the best leftovers for lunch!

There's nothing a big plate of lusciously flavored noodles can't solve! A pile of vegan pad thai that's just loaded with stir-fry veggies and a homemade Asian sunflower seed sauce is just the thing to end a stressful workday with (and end up with some drool-worthy leftovers the next day for lunch!) The best part? You don't have to go to a fancy restaurant or order Thai takeout to have your favorite pad thai noodles right at home, on demand! Saves money and time! This quick and easy pad thai recipe only takes 10 minutes!

Is Pad Thai gluten-free?

You would think a noodle dominate dish would have no chance of being gluten-free, but authentic pad thai noodles are gluten-free! Why? Rice noodles! Pad thai noodles are just rice flour and water, making them super celiac-friendly. However, the pad thai you may order up at a restaurant or find in your takeout container will typically contain soy sauce. Regular soy sauce is not gluten-free as there is wheat. Just when you think you're safe with ordering the pad thai, think again!

Is Pad Thai be allergy-friendly?

Again, no. There is much more to the rice noodles and veggies; the key component making the dish so mouth-watering, the sauce and flavor components are not allergy-free. Besides containing wheat and gluten, there is soy in the soy sauce, you'll also find fish sauce being used and crushed peanuts. Authentic pad thai typically contains egg and possible shellfish, like shrimp, as well.

Is Pad Thai vegan?

No, traditional pad thai is NOT vegan. Not only does it contain eggs, but this Thai noodles dish typically contains meat like chicken and shellfish like shrimp which I mentioned above. Not to mention the fish sauce too! Not exactly a great vegetarian option, but these ingredients can be swapped out and replaced by a bigger dose of vegetables instead! While "authentic", these ingredients are not essential when you're making some delicious homemade pad thai!

How to make the best vegan pad thai

I told you this was a quick and easy recipe, and I'm not letting you down! A few easy steps and it won't take you more than 10 minutes!

Boil a pot of water and pad thai rice noodles for 4-5 minutes.
Chop an assortment of veggies (snow peas, bell pepper, carrot, red cabbage, and scallions) and add them to a pan to saute.
Whisk together the homemade pad thai sauce and pour that over the sauteing veggies.
Add in your cooked and drained rice noodles and toss everything together, making sure all the noodles are coating in that special sauce!
Plate it up and top with extra sunflower seeds and scallions to be fancy!

Super easy and you can't mess it up! It's so much healthier than what you'll get ordering out and top allergen-free so you don't need to worry about any hidden allergen lurkers! Plus, you can customize the veggies to fit whatever you have in your fridge! When it comes to stir-frys, using up all the odds and ends of veggies you may have forgotten about in your produce drawer is a "no food waste" lifesaver! You can also swap white rice pad thai noodles with brown rice noodles if you prefer!

What is Pad Thai sauce made of?

Since we're leaving out the fish sauce, which is a major component, we are balancing the sauce out with the tamarind and lime juice to give it that perfect sour hit along with the salty coconut aminos! This pad thai sauce is far from bland and although we are making swaps, it is loaded with flavor!

Swaps to make pad thai allergy-friendly

Soy sauce is swapped with coconut aminos (the best soy-free and gluten-free soy sauce!)
Eggs are simply left out
Peanuts are replaced with sunflower seeds (and some sunflower butter!)
Fish sauce is left out and not needed with the flavorful ingredients in our homemade pad thai sauce (lime, chili, sweetener, garlic, tamarind, lemongrass, coconut aminos)
Shellfish is also not a problem and just left out

Then, you have a perfect top 8 allergen-free pad thai recipe on your hands! Bonus points for Thai food being one of the Asian cuisines that is not so sesame seed dominate either!

Pad Thai for lunch or dinner

A fresh hot plate of easy vegan pad thai that only takes 10 minutes is perfect for a busy weeknight meal. But, when it comes to Asian cuisine, they tend to gain their flavorful magic as day old leftovers! Whether you intentionally make this pad thai ahead of time as a meal prep dish or you use the leftovers for your lunch the next day at work, you're going to be making your coworkers jealous!

More allergy-free takeout classics to try: