Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles
This Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles recipe is drizzled in a spicy, tangy sauce and topped with chopped peanuts. Zucchini noodles are fresh, tasty, and easy, and just in time to get fit. This Pad Thai zoodles dish is ready in 10 minutes and is vegan, too!
If you love using vegetables to replace your carbs, like rice, be sure to check out my Cauliflower Rice Sushi and my Vegan Zucchini Boats. It’s all good stuff!
Zucchini noodles may alo be referred to as:
- Zoodles
- Spiralized Zucchini.
Why This Recipe is a Winner
- LOW CARB — Using sweetener in the pad Thai sauce, creates a distinctive flavor to every bite
- HEALTHY — Almond butter adds healthy fats and a more neutral flavor to the sauce
- FLAVORFUL — Zucchini noodles pad thai are cooked in sauce, making tender, delicious noodles.
What Zucchinis are Best?
Select zucchinis that have smooth skin that’s thin. To tell if the skin is thin enough, scrape a little bit with your fingernail. It should come off easily. Zucchinis with pitted skin are older and not as fresh. Select smaller zucchini, around 6 inches in size. Large zucchini may look nice, but they can be bitter and watery.
Key Ingredients
You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.
- Lemon — We’ll use both the zest and the juice of the lemon.
- Oats — I used rolled oats for this recipe, but you can substitute instant oats.
- Chia — We’ll add some ground chia seeds to create a thicker texture. You can use whole chia seeds; I just prefer ground because it creates a smoother finished texture.
- Syrup — I used maple syrup, but you can substitute agave nectar.
- Milk — We’ll use almond milk for the best overnight oats! Substitute your favorite plant-based milk.
- Yogurt — I love adding some plant-based yogurt (plain, unsweetened) for an even more tangy flavor.
- Protein Powder — I add some vanilla protein powder for increased flavor and nutrients. If your protein powder is not sweetened, you may want to add an extra teaspoon or two of sweetener.
- Cornstarch — We’ll use cornstarch to thicken the lemon curd topping.
- Turmeric — A pinch of turmeric makes that lemon curd sunny yellow.
- Almond butter — You can substitute peanut butter.
- Tamari — This is a gluten-free soy sauce you can find in health food stores or even the health food section of many grocery stores. Substitute soy sauce if you don’t have issues with gluten.
- Miso paste — I use a mild white or yellow miso paste. You can substitute 1/2 teaspoon of vegetarian Better Than Bouillon.
- Sweetener — You can use a bit of agave nectar, maple syrup, or even stevia to make this sauce slightly sweet.
- Lime juice — I prefer the distinctive flavor or lime in this recipe. You can use freshly squeezed or bottled.
- Sriracha — If you’re not into spicy, you can leave this out, but we’ll use just a bit and it does add some amazing flavor. You can substitute chili sauce of your choice.
- Onion — You’ll need one green onion.
- Garlic — Use one clove of garlic for this recipe. You can substitute a tender clove from garlic confit or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Red bell pepper — You can cut off slivers from a whole bell pepper or use one or two mini bell peppers.
- Zucchini — This is the star of the show. You can use one zucchini or double the recipe and use two.
- Carrot — You’ll need one whole carrot.
- Peanuts — You can use roasted chopped peanuts here or substitute your favorite nuts, such as cashews.
Making Zucchini Noodles
The best way to make zucchini noodles or zoodles, is to use a spiralizer. You can get these in so many places now. This Tri-Blade Spiralizer (paid link) is our favorite, and it’s so easy to use when you’re making things like pad thai noodles and zucchini. I always cook zoodles until tender. You can do this in a saucepan or even in the microwave.
Healthy Noodle Alternative
If all you’ve ever had is wheat-based noodles, I have some good news for you. Zucchini noodles are a nice, healthful replacement. I love having a gluten-free noodles that are naturally low in carbs and high in plant-based nutrients.
These vegan pad thai zucchini noodles is an amazing recipe to have and only takes minutes to make!
But don’t take my word for it. Here are some of the reasons this vegan pad thai with zucchini noodles recipe is oh-so-good for you:
- Zucchinis are lean, green machines, full of Vitamin A, magnesium, folate, and more
- Carrots are a great source of beta carotene, a carotenoid that your body converts into Vitamin A
- Red Peppers provide lots of Vitamin C
- Garlic is rich in Vitamin C, manganese, and more.
Keto Pad Thai Zucchini Noodles
If you’re paying attention, keto, or low carb, is all the rage! This recipe fits perfectly with your keto vegan goals because it’s made with zucchini noodles which are naturally low in carbs. Here are the nutritional estimates per serving:
Calories: 143 Protein: 6g Carbs: 12g Fat: 8g Fiber: 4g Net Carbs: 8g
More Zucchini Recipes
Zucchinis are so versatile, and so are the recipes made with them. Here are some more zucchini recipe ideas:
I hope you love this pad Thai zucchini noodles recipe as much as we do!
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Zoodle Pad Thai
Ingredients
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1 tablespoon Bragg or Tamari*
- 1 teaspoon mild miso paste
- 1 teaspoon stevia
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sriracha (or chili sauce of your choice)
- 1 medium green onion, root removed, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ medium red pepper, cut into slivers
- 1 medium zucchini
- 1 medium whole orange carrot
- 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Combine the water, almond butter, tamari, miso paste, lime juice, and sriracha in a bowl. Stir to combine.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, minced garlic, and red pepper slices and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the sauce mixture and continue cooking over medium heat.
- Use a spiralizer to create zucchini noodles. Repeat this process with the carrot to create long strands of carrot noodles.
- Add the zucchini and carrot noodles to the sauce and veggies and cook over medium heat until the noodles are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Pour into two bowls and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.
Recommended Equipment
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Notes
The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
National Zucchini Day
Here are some fun recipes for National Zucchini Day:
- Vegan Spicy Sesame Zoodles by Namely Marly
- Italian Zucchini Noodles One Pot Dish by Ashlee Marie
- Cheesy Zucchini Tots via Life Made Simple
- Zucchini Fritters by The Baker Upstairs
- Savory Zucchini Bread by Namely Marly
- Butterscotch Zucchini Blondies via Creations by Kara
- Crispy Zucchini Fries by Food with Family
- Instant Pot Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread from 365 Days of Slow Cooking
- Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake from Namely Marly
Whatever zucchini dish you’re dishing on, enjoy!
Zucchini season is the best season!
Thanks, Jennifer! I agree! I love making zoodles and it takes a lot of zucchinis to make that happen!
This was a great alternative to eating my spaghetti sauce with rice. The zucchini has great taste. And your picture is awesome, that attracted me first..
Thanks Yael! So glad you like it. Oh yes, spaghetti sauce over zucchini noodles is better than rice. I once had spaghetti sauce over a baked potato! Actually…I kinda liked it! In fact, I added some vegan mozz and I call it a “PoPizza”!
I’ve never made zucchini noodles before, but your pictures look so delicious that I’m gonna have to try it. Thank you for sharing the details!
I hope you give them a try. We love them!
Thanks, Diego! I keep my spiralizer on hand and ready to make zucchini noodles all the time now! Hope you love them!
I bought a spiralizer but haven’t used it yet. I need to try this!