Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai
This Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai is a super quick and easy one pot pad thai recipe that is perfect for your weekly meal prep – the noodles cook in the pot along with the other ingredients for minimal clean up too!
So, I’ve made quite the miraculous discovery that I’m going to share with you all (besides this Homemade Hamburger Helper of course…)
You can make CHICKEN PAD THAI NOODLES in your Instant Pot (if you still don’t have one by the way, you can get your Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
OMG, my life is forever changed.
The idea actually came about quite by accident while I was first tinkering around with my Instant Pot and I made these amazing Honey Sesame Chicken Noodle Bowls.
I was *actually* trying to make regular old sesame chicken, and I had this dream of making this crispy coated chicken by sauteeing it in the Instant Pot first and then making the sauce separate, and the rice…and then I realized that there were just waaaaaay too many steps to the recipe I was trying to create. Like who has time for 4 separate steps when the Instant Pot is made for the convenience of dumping all the ingredients in and cooking?
So, I knew there had to be a better way, and round two of sesame chicken turned into me adding rice noodles (I buy Thai Kitchen Rice Noodles
Turns out, if you set them just above all the liquid and cook for only 2 minutes on high pressure, you’re good to go. And it was then that I had found out, by mistake, that you could do noodle stir fries in the Instant Pot.
Don’t you just love my accidents in the kitchen?
They’re so delicious!!!
So of course given how easy it is to work with rice noodles, I knew I had to try my hand at Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai. And yes, it turned out very similarly to the sesame chicken noodle bowls, except you have to know that I’ve cheated a bit when it comes to the sauce.
But I think you’re going to thank me for it, because this is the simplest pad thai recipe ever and it tastes pretty authentic too.
The secret is pre-made Pad Thai sauce LOL.
But seriously.
I actually love Thai Kitchen’s Pad Thai sauce (this is not a sponsored post, I just love this product), and I have made a version of homemade Pad Thai sauce that’s relatively easy, but when you’re looking to throw dinner together in a hurry sometimes you don’t wanna haul like 5 to 10 sauces out of your pantry.
And really, tamarind is the secret ingredient to Pad Thai sauce and you can’t always finds tamarind paste at the grocery store. But you can usually find Pad Thai sauce in the Asian and rice section. If you do want to try your hand at a homemade sauce though, you can always check out these Spiralized Pad Thai Meal Prep Bowls and add the ingredients to the Instant Pot instead!
Add a little bit of that, some soy sauce and garlic, and you’re on your own to Pad Thai land.
And what I also love about this Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai is that you can use up whatever veggies you have on hand in the fridge, as long as they are veggies that will get tender fairly quickly because the veggies themselves don’t go in with the chicken, sauce and noodles or they’ll get overcooked.
You could always sub in finely chopped broccoli, spinach, red cabbage and more – I used matchstick carrots and thinly sliced bell peppers because you can buy the carrots pre-chopped, and I really only like my peppers barely cooked so I find everything gets tender-crisp and not too overdone.
Top your Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai bowls chopped peanuts, green onions and cilantro and you’re set! Now enjoy the most delicious dinner or lunches all week long!!!
Will you be making this Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai?
This recipe is SO perfect for your weekly meal prep and will have you feeling as though you’re eating takeout all week long!
If you try any of my recipes be sure to let me know on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or in the comments – I’d love to see what you come up with!
The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
I use these Thai Kitchen Rice Noodles
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 15-20 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
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- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 chicken breasts, diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 cup jarred pad thai sauce (I like Thai Kitchen brand)
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 package rice noodles
- 1 cup Carrot matchsticks
- 1/2 each red and yellow pepper, sliced
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1/3 cup chopped peanuts
- 1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
Ingredients
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Rate this recipe!
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- Add olive oil, chicken, garlic, soy sauce, pad thai sauce, water and rice noodles to Instant Pot in that order, leaving noodles floating slightly above other ingredients. Set to manual and pressure cook on high for 2 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to pre-heat and then 2 minutes to cook. When complete, press cancel and do a quick release of the steam, waiting until the pressure gauge drops back down and the lid is safe to open.
- Add carrot matchsticks, bell peppers and half of peanuts, tossing carefully with tongs. Place lid back on and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove lid and serve, then top with green onions, remaining chopped peanuts and cilantro. Enjoy!
Looks delicious Taylor! What brand of rice noodles do you recommend? I imagine if I used one that was thinner they could turn out too soft. Thanks!
Thanks so much Janice 🙂 The ones I buy are usually unbranded, something like these: https://www.amazon.com/Asian-Premium-Stick-Noodle-Large/dp/B01C6DSO56/ref=pd_sbs_325_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01C6DSO56&pd_rd_r=VVEYSA5C7RZ6BPP0Z5KQ&pd_rd_w=o92ju&pd_rd_wg=5V7i9&psc=1&refRID=VVEYSA5C7RZ6BPP0Z5KQ I find they are sometimes labelled “wide” but usually you can see the difference in thickness at most grocery stores because they usually carry a thin version and a thicker version along with the very thin vermicelli noodles. Hope that helps!
Does the chicken really cook in only 2 min?
As noted in the instructions., the chicken takes about 10-15 minutes to preheat and then 2 minutes to pressure cook. Because you are pressure cooking and the chicken is cut into small pieces, it cooks very quickly!
I’d like to add tofu (cut in cubes) to this recipe. When should I add it & should I saute’ it first? Thanks!
Hey Juliana! Unfortunately I don’t know how tofu would work with this recipe – if I had to guess, I would say you should add it first, saute it and then cook everything on high pressure for 1 minute. I’m just not sure what this would do to the tofu though since I’ve never cooked it on high pressure before, and you do need something underneath the noodles in the sauce to ensure that the noodles don’t stick and burn to the bottom. You could try what I’ve suggested but I can only guarantee the chicken version because that’s what I’ve tested. Hope that helps!
I have fallen in love with your recipes! Thank you for making cooking fun again despite two kids!
Aww you are so sweet Somaiah, thank you so much 🙂 If there are ever any suggestions you have or recipes you’d like to hear from me I’m all ears! So happy you loves my recipes!
Can you make a vegetarian version ? Using tofu instead of chicken?
Hey Alyse – I just responded to Juliana above – I’m just not sure how a vegetarian version would turn out because I’ve never done tofu in the pressure cooker and you need something underneath the noodles so they don’t stick to the bottom. If I had to guess, I would say you should add tofu first, saute it and then cook everything on high pressure for 1 minute. Again, I haven’t tested this so I can’t guarantee how it will turn out. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
If I double the recipe, how do you recommend altering the cooking time?
I would add one more minute or two – I can’t guarantee results because I haven’t tested it myself but hopefully that should do it!
Should step. 2 be mixed with everything else or jut mixed then left on top
Hi Sara – I’m not exactly sure what you mean. When the noodles are done cooking, you gently toss the raw carrots and bell peppers with the noodles, mixing it all together, then place the lid back on for 5 min to steam them. You want some of the veggies mixed in with the hot noodles so they cook slightly. From there, you serve the dish. Hope that helps!
I made this after work last night- between running kids places- it was easy and so delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that Emily!!! 🙂 Thanks for reporting back!
Many thanks, Taylor. Very tasty, “eazy, peazy” recipe: quick to prepare and very healthy ingredients. I do question use of olive oil, which I don’t recall in any Asian dishes. It tasted fine, but I think I’ll use vegetable oil next time.
Hey Tom! So happy to hear it turned out so well for you and that you liked it 🙂 I used olive oil because that and coconut oil are typically healthier oils and the only ones I really have on hand at my house. Once the oil reaches a certain heat point you often can’t distinguish the taste (at least with olive oil as compared to vegetable oil) but feel free to try the vegetable oil next time, it’s definitely more cost effective than olive oil!
Ok…. it’s cooking away! I’m excited to see the final product!
Yay!!! Hope you liked it Cindy 🙂
If I double this recipe do I also double the water? I’m new to instant pot and have found conflicting info online about doubling fluids.
Hey Nicole! As I told another reader above I’m not sure how it would turn out when doubled because I haven’t tried it myself. You could try doubling everything then adding another minute or two cook time and see if that works. I just can’t guarantee it would turn out though. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
I doubled everything EXCEPT the water and cooked the regular amount of time. I read an article that talked about doubling liquid only if it’s for consistency (like soup). And cooking doesn’t need adjusted because it’s hearing while it adjusts to pressure and doubling will take longer to get to full pressure (or something like that, lol). Turned out wonderful!!
I followed this recipe exactly and it was AMAZING. Super skeptical on the texture of the noodles when done but it turned out restaurant-good! Even my picky 7 year old loved it…including the veggies. Win win! I chopped everything on Sunday so Monday after work was just dump dump cook cook. Dinner in 15 mins. Thank you for such a great post!
Hey Bonnae! What a great idea to have everything chopped up and ready to go ahead of time! I’m going to have to steal some of your meal prep tips, haha. I am soooo happy you loved this recipe – thanks so much for reporting back 🙂 I find rice noodles typically do very well in the Instant Pot, I was just as surprised as you when I first tested it!
Made this dish last night. I wish I’d gone with broccoli and cabbage instead of pepper, to me the pepper didn’t fit with the rest of the dish. Also, I used half a pack of pad thai noodles and it wasn’t enough to feed four of us so next time I’d use the whole package (I used Annie Chung’s pad thai noodles, which is all my store carries). Perhaps it would help if the recipe specified which size package of noodles should be halved? Otherwise I thought the taste was good and I’ll be making it again with a few changes to suit my family.
So glad you enjoyed Cathy! Typically you don’t find broccoli in Pad Thai but I love the idea of using that for some extra green 🙂
Made this just as written, even though I had reservations about using the Thai Kitchen Pad Thai sauce since the first ingredient is sugar. Sorry to say, this recipe was underwhelming, flavor-wise. If I make this again, I’d try it with the Thai Kitchen Peanut Sauce, which was right next to the Pad Thai sauce on the grocery shelf. I’d also use chicken thighs instead of breast meat.
Thanks for your feedback Barbara! You could always try adding a bit of extra soy sauce or tamari, I find a pinch more savoury flavour usually helps! The peanut sauce sounds delicious!
Hi Taylor,
I am curious to know if you have to soak the noodles before adding into the instant pot? I have seen some recipes that require it and others that don’t. Thanks! Can’t wait to try this. 🙂
Hey Ashley, I didn’t soak the noodles. I tossed all the ingredients in and then placed the dry noodles on top. They came out al dente. Good luck!
Hi Ashley – you don’t need to soak them at all, just place them on top of the other ingredients as written below in the instructions 🙂
OK, the only rice noodles I could find are actually fully cooked. should I not add them to the PC and maybe just add them at the end or with the carrots and peppers?
How many ounces of rice noodles? The packages vary in size! Mine is a full pound
It should be a 16oz package – so 8 oz for this recipe!
Loved this recipe! Pad Thai is my favorite takeout and now I can make it at home! I had to let the noodles sit a little longer because they weren’t fully cooked through, but once they were done it was absolutely delicious. Thank you!
So happy to hear you loved this recipe Shannon 🙂
Made this recipe tonight and it was very delicious. Noodles came out al dente and not mushy!! I doubled the recipe and used a full pack (14oz) thick rice noodles. The noodles were 5mm wide. Doubled the water to 3 cups and added an entire jar (8oz) of pad Thai sauce. I saw a few different brands of pad Thai sauce and decided to just try the “Richin” brand. Thank you again for this recipe. Now I can enjoy this wonderful dish at home and save some money.
So happy to hear that Jackie!!! And glad to know you can double the recipe as well – I hadn’t tried that yet and I know some readers were asking. Thanks so much for reporting back, so glad you enjoyed! 🙂
HI can’t you do is recipe with frozen chicken?
I meant to say can you do this recipe with frozen chicken
Hey Sarah! I haven’t tried it myself so unfortunately I couldn’t tell you
Just got an Instant Pot, and I made this for dinner tonight. Delicious! Thanks for your great recipes!
I’m curious – what’s Bloor?
The street I live on in Toronto, Canada 🙂
I made this recipe last night and it was awesome! I did make my own Thai sauce, so easy.
3 T Soy Sauce, 1 T Sriracha sauce, 2 T lime juice, 2 T canola oil and 2 T brown sugar and a couple of shakes of fish sauce. The recipe tasted exactly like a Thai restaurant Pad Thai. Thank you
Thanks for sharing your recipe for Thai Sauce.
This has all the flavors of pad Thai but my noodles did not cool correctly, they were still hard. We have an 8qt IP so maybe the 1 1/2 cups wasn’t enough for the diameter. I guess you need to make sure they are submerged before starting. I’ll try it again.
I just made this tonight and I’m not sure where I went wrong. To my knowledge I followed the instructions to a T… however the majority of my noodles stuck together and didn’t cook properly, was there supposed to be enough liquid to cover the noodles? because there wasn’t. Most noodles were way above the liquid… I also double checked that I used all the right measurements… the flavor was nice, but I couldn’t get past the hard bits of noodle.
I tried this for a second time. I had issues with the noodles clumping in my 8qt instant pot because the majority of the noodles were sitting way above the liquid.
This time I used one large chicken beast rather than 2, I also added a 1/2 cup of water so used 2 cups total and poured it over the noodles so they were all wet. I also spread the noodles out in all directions and broke them I half. This time was a success!!!
I’m so happy to hear that Kath!!! Sorry you had trouble the first time around…the noodles are sometimes finicky! Thanks for your feedback and posting your tips!
Do you think this will work in my 3Qt IP? Thank you!
Hey Nora – I would recommend cutting the recipe in half and keep the cooking time as is. I did this in an 8 quart Instant Pot so I think it would be too much food for the 3qt. Hope this helps!
I just made this in my instant pot and I must of messed up. I followed the directions but I have much water left over and the noodles don’t look good. I need help. I am a guy. Can I say that? I put it on poultry to start and then chose 3 minutes. The putting it on poultry was the only thing not in the directions. I can’t figure what else could have gone wrong. It seems like everyone else had a great turnout.
My fiancé and I liked this recipe. We doubled the recipe since we had to feed 4 of us. I am a huge fan of spicy and Thai food. Unfortunately, we didn’t feel it was at all spicy and it was more tomato tasting than we had expected. I think I agree with one of the other reviewers when they said they may try peanut sauce next time. We also added red pepper flakes for spice. Thanks for the recipe, Taylor!
Hey Kristine! Thanks so much for your feedback, so glad you liked it! The taste really will depend on the pad Thai sauce that you use. I don’t find the Thai Kitchen one to be too tomatoey, but you’re right in that it’s not really spicy. You can add sriracha and toss at the end if you want some more spice. Hope that helps!
Made this tonight – it was great! We added in some scrambled eggs right at the end, and served it with some hot chili paste to add some spice. This’ll be going into our rotation!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Laura!!!
Wow! Awesome recipe! So glad I tried this. I did tweak the ingredients and added fresh bean sprouts with the carrots, peppers and peanuts at the end. I fanned out the noodles in a circular fashion but found the middle not to be cooked enough. No worries. I just stirred it up and flipped over the noodles to the bottom, added the remaining ingredients and let it sit for the remaining 5 minutes. By the time we finished with our salad, it was ready. Wish I had taken a picture, but it was so good, I couldn’t wait.
Thank you for posting this recipe! We had a craving for Thai food, but with the ice storm we wanted to stay in. I had seen your post the other week and picked up a jar of pad thai sauce. So glad I did, this was amazing and so easy to make. Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
I have a question regarding the cooking time. In the video you show 3 minutes on the IP but in the recipe you indicate 2 minutes. I ask because when I did 2 minutes, my noodles came out chewy.
I really enjoyed this recipe, chewy noodles and all!
Thank you for this recipe! I just made it tonight and it turned out so good- like I could’ve been eating takeout from a restaurant. Can’t wait to try making your honey sesame chicken noodle bowl!
I’m so happy to hear that Tonya!!! Thanks for sharing with me 🙂
Love, Love, Love this recipe. Made it twice now. I did not buy pad thai sauce this first time but made it with:
1/4 cup honey, 1/4 cup peanut butter (creamy) 1/4 cut low sodium soy sauce, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar and 1/2 tablespoon chili sauce.
2nd time I made with store bought pad thai and we didn’t care for it as much.
Have shared you recipe many times, only other change I made is I soak the noodles in cold water for a couple of minutes to make them just a little less firm
Thank you so much