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This vegan pad Thai with tofu recipe has rice noodles, tamarind, lime juice, vegan fish sauce, sprouts, and crushed peanuts on top—all the delicious flavors of the classic version made completely vegan and vegetarian.
What Makes This Recipe Great
Growing up, I spent a lot of time in Thailand, and pad thai was a go-to meal for me, so this is an inspired Vegan Pad Thai Recipe with Tofu! Pad Thai is a classic Thai dish comprised of rice noodles, a tangy, savoury, and sweet sauce, and protein. Is Pad Thai vegan? Well, authentic pad Thai is typically made with fish sauce, so while it’s common to find a pad Thai made with tofu, chances are the sauce is still fish based.
Pad Thai noodles are rice-based, so they are gluten-free, but often the sauce contains gluten. This easy vegan pad Thai is not only fish sauce free but also made with a gluten-free pad Thai sauce. Same taste with fresh ingredients, just vegan and vegetarian friendly!
We’ll use traditional pad Thai ingredients, including tamarind, preserved radish, and mung bean sprouts, with a plant-based twist. The best part? From start to finish, this vegan version takes about 30 minutes or less to make these pad Thai noodles with tofu, and it comes together in one pan.
Get ready to transform your kitchen into your favorite Thai restaurant with this delicious dish.
Ingredient Notes
- flat rice noodles
- garlic cloves
- shallot
- Thai chili peppers
- chives
- dried preserved radish
- baked tofu cubes or vegan chicken
Sauce
- vegan fish sauce: Vegan fish sauce is an alternative to conventional fish sauce, which is, of course, made with fish. Fish sauce adds umami flavor and funk to the vegan pad Thai sauce, and you can find plant-based alternatives made from kelp and mushrooms, also sources of umami.
- tamari or gluten-free soy sauce
- tamarind purée: Tamarind is a fruit that grows in pods, with a pulp inside that is sweet and sour at the same time. It is native to Africa but found in Southeast Asia and is often used in Thai cooking. You can find tamarind in full pod form, a pressed block of tamarind paste, tamarind concentrate, and purée form, which resembles syrup. For this recipe, we’ll work with tamarind syrup, which I find easiest to make pad Thai sauce with. It’s also much easier to preserve for future use
- lime juice
- rice wine vinegar
- coconut palm sugar
- garnish: Crushed roasted peanuts, mung bean sprouts, dried chili flakes, and fresh lime wedges.
Step-by-Step Instructions
To make a vegan pad thai, we’ll be primarily following the traditional method but making ingredient swaps to make it both vegan and gluten-free.
- First, soak or prepare your rice noodles in cold water according to the package instructions.
- In a large pan or wok, sauté shallot, garlic, and chili peppers over medium-high heat until fragrant. Then add radish, garlic, chives, and either tofu or plant-based chicken and sauté again in the large skillet.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar with the other pad Thai sauce ingredients, add into the pan, and stir fry for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Drain cooked noodles and add to the pan, tossing to coat.
- Once ready, serve noodles with roasted crushed peanuts, mung bean sprouts, red pepper flakes (or chili paste), and fresh lime.
Expert Tips
- Protein: Typically, pad thai is made with egg and chicken or seafood as the primary protein. When making vegan pad thai, I like to use a super firm or dried tofu, however, if you’d like to choose from a plant-based meat alternative, vegan chicken or vegan shrimp make great stand-ins! You can also use tempeh, vegan eggs, seitan, or other plant-based proteins.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add extra veggies, such as julienned carrots, onion, green onions, red bell pepper, snap peas, snow peas etc.
- Sourcing Ingredients: You can find tamarind at Southeast Asian and Indian grocery stores if there are any near you. You might also check your local Asian grocery store or the Asian/International section of conventional grocery stories. If all else fails, you can find tamarind online! If looking for a substitute, I recommend using date syrup, as it’s similar (minus the tang).
- Vegan Fish Sauce: Many Asian grocery stores carry vegan fish sauce alternatives, but it is trickier to find a vegan fish sauce that is gluten-free friendly. I like to use this gluten-free, soy-free vegan fish sauce.
Serving Tips
- Serve your vegan pad thai with roasted crushed peanuts, mung bean sprouts, chili flakes, and fresh lime wedges!
- You can serve this as a full meal or alongside additional dishes such as Pad See Ew, Takeout Style Fried Rice, Peanut Curry with Smoked Tofu, stir-fry, and more!
Storage Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat over the stove or in the microwave.
Recipe FAQs
If you prefer, you can make your own vegan fish sauce at home. Here’s a recipe by my friend Chez Jorge for homemade vegan fish sauce and another by Feasting at Home. You’ll find that both call for kombu or kelp and mushrooms for that umami flavour.
It’s actually made from many of the same ingredients as regular pad Thai! There are a few swaps (like the fish sauce) to make it completely vegan! Plus, it has the same delicious flavors!
More Vegan Noodle Recipes
Vegan JapchaeSpicy Chili Crisp Noodles (via Okonomi Kitchen)
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know what you think with a star rating and comment below! Follow me on Instagram for more delicious recipes!
Homemade Vegan Pad Thai Recipe (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 2 servings flat rice noodles
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large shallot sliced
- 1-2 thai chili peppers minced
- 2 garlic chives green parts, julienned
- 2 tbsp dried preserved radish
- 1 cup baked tofu or vegan chicken
- sauce
- 2 tbsp vegan fish sauce
- 1 tbsp tamari or gluten free soy sauce
- 3 tbsp tamarind purée
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- to garnish
- 1/4 cup crushed roasted peanuts
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts
- dried chili flakes
- fresh lime to serve
Instructions
- First, soak or prepare your rice noodles according to the package directions.
- In a large pan or wok, sauté shallot, garlic, and chili peppers over medium-high heat until fragrant. Then add radish, garlic, chives, and either tofu or plant-based chicken and sauté again.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the pad thai sauce ingredients, add into the pan, and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Drain cooked noodles and add to the pan, tossing to coat.
- Once ready, serve noodles with roasted crushed peanuts, mung bean sprouts, chili flakes, and fresh lime.
Video
@veggiekins Reply to @linneaskarlsson a childhood fave of mine 🙂🇹🇭 #vegan #glutenfree #foodontiktok #healthyrecipes #veganrecipes #dinnerparty #homecook #tofu
♬ Over the Moon – The Marías
Notes
Expert Tips
- Protein: Typically, pad thai is made with egg and chicken or seafood as the primary protein. When making vegan pad thai, I like to use a super firm or dried tofu, however, if you’d like to choose from a plant-based meat alternative, vegan chicken or vegan shrimp make great stand-ins! You can also use tempeh, seitan, or other plant-based proteins.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add additional veggies, such as julienned carrots, onion, green onion, bell pepper, etc.
- Sourcing Ingredients: You can find tamarind at Southeast Asian and Indian grocery stores if there are any near you. You might also check Asian grocery stores or the Asian/International section of conventional grocery stories. If all else fails, you can find tamarind online! If looking for a substitute, I recommend using date syrup, as it’s similar (minus the tang).
- Vegan Fish Sauce: Many Asian grocery stores carry vegan fish sauce alternatives, but it is trickier to find a vegan fish sauce that is gluten-free friendly. I like to use this gluten-free, soy-free vegan fish sauce.
Serving Tips
- Serve your vegan pad thai with roasted crushed peanuts, mung bean sprouts, chili flakes, and fresh lime wedges!
- You can serve this as a full meal or alongside additional dishes such as Pad See Ew, Takeout Style Fried Rice, Peanut Curry with Smoked Tofu, stir-fry, and more!
Storage Tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat over the stove or in the microwave.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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