This Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai is a quick and easy one-pot dinner – the noodles cook alongside the other ingredients for minimal clean-up!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like canola or avocado oil.
- Chicken breasts – you can also make this pad thai with frozen shrimp or add in some tofu chunks after cooking.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best. Jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Jarred pad thai sauce – I use Thai Kitchen’s sauce but you can also make your own using this recipe.
- Water
- Rice noodles – use flat-top rice noodles or vermicelli rice noodles for the best results.
- Carrot matchsticks – if you can’t find any carrot matchsticks you could grate a carrot instead.
- Yellow and red bell pepper – use any colour combination of bell peppers of your choice.
- Green onions – chives would also be good or you can leave these out.
- Peanuts – leave this out altogether if you don’t like peanuts.
- Cilantro – leave this out altogether if you don’t like cilantro. You could also garnish with a lemon or lime wedge.
How to make chicken Pad Thai
Step 1: Add the first 7 ingredients to the Instant Pot in order.
Add the olive oil, chicken, garlic, soy sauce, Pad Thai sauce, water and rice noodles to Instant Pot in order.
Step 2: Cook on high pressure.
Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure.
Step 3: Toss in the veggies and peanuts.
Add in the carrot matchsticks, bell peppers and half the peanuts (about 2 tablespoons), and toss the mixture carefully with tongs. Add the lid back on and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Step 4: Garnish and enjoy!
Top with green onions, remaining peanuts and cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
variations of this chicken pad thai
There are a few different ways you can customize this chicken Pad Thai recipe to your liking:
- Meat: Swap out the chicken breasts for chicken thighs or frozen shrimp. For a vegetarian option, stir in some tofu chunks after cooking.
- Noodles: Rice noodles or Pad Thai noodles are best, but vermicelli rice noodles will also work.
- Vegetables: Stir in more veggies like broccoli, green beans, peas, bean sprouts and more.
- Sauce: You can use a store-bought sauce or try making homemade sauce – add 1/4 cup tamarind paste, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 cloves garlic, 2 tsp fish sauce and 2 tsp lime juice.
- Spiciness: This recipe isn’t spicy as is, but if you want to add a bit of heat to your pad thai, top with some sriracha, Sambal Oelek or red pepper flakes.
- Eggs: Scramble a few eggs on the stovetop then stir into the finished chicken Pad Thai.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pad Thai sauce is traditionally made with fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and tamarind. I find it’s easiest to use a store-bought sauce like Thai Kitchen’s Pad Thai sauce, since the taste is just as good and it’s hard to find tamarind paste at the grocery store (which you need for the umami flavor). If you want to try making homemade sauce, add all the ingredients from my spiralized Pad Thai meal prep bowls into the Instant Pot instead.
If your noodles come out of the pot with a gummy or sticky consistency, they likely cooked unevenly. Add in some more water so they can cook longer, and make sure to give everything a good stir to help separate them. You could also cook the noodles separately by soaking them in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and toss them in the chicken and sauce.
Yes! As long as you don’t go over the maximum line in your Instant Pot, you can definitely double this recipe. Cooking time should remain the same, but you might need to experiment and add 1-2 minutes to the cooking time.
If you want to make this recipe vegetarian, you can stir in some tofu chunks after the Pad Thai has finished cooking. For a pescatarian option, swap out the chicken breast for frozen shrimp.
I personally haven’t tested this recipe on the stovetop, but you should be able to! Sauté the chicken, veggies, garlic and soy sauce in a skillet or wok over medium-high heat until the chicken is cooked through, and boil the noodles in a pot of water on the stovetop until al dente. Add the drained noodles to the chicken mixture, then stir in the Pad Thai sauce and cook for 2 minutes until combined and warm through.
Storing and reheating
You can store any leftovers of this easy Pad Thai in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Sprinkle a little bit of water over top before reheating, then microwave for 1-2 minutes until heated through. You can also reheat it in a pan on the stovetop for a few minutes. Garnish with fresh green onions and cilantro to keep the dish feeling fresh!
Freezing this recipe
I have not tried freezing this easy chicken Pad Thai recipe but based on the ingredients, I’d say it’s worth a shot! Store everything in airtight glass containers and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, let it defrost in the fridge overnight then sprinkle a tiny bit of water over top to keep everything from drying out. From there, you can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
More easy Instant Pot recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Store any leftovers in these glass meal prep bowls.
- This Instant Pot is the version I use in this recipe.
- I get grass-fed chicken from my monthly Butcher Box.
Instant Pot Chicken Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 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
- 7 oz 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
Instructions
- 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!
Video
Comments & Reviews
Lara Spahr says
Just got an Instant Pot, and I made this for dinner tonight. Delicious! Thanks for your great recipes!
Sarah says
HI can’t you do is recipe with frozen chicken?
Sarah says
I meant to say can you do this recipe with frozen chicken
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Sarah! I haven’t tried it myself so unfortunately I couldn’t tell you
Jackie P. says
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.
Taylor Stinson says
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! 🙂
Shannon says
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!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy to hear you loved this recipe Shannon 🙂
Diana I says
How many ounces of rice noodles? The packages vary in size! Mine is a full pound
Taylor Stinson says
It should be a 16oz package – so 8 oz for this recipe!
Cindy says
Please add this to the recipe. Annie Chung brand i use only comes in 8 oz. Thanks
Ashley H. says
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. 🙂
Jackie P. says
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!
Taylor Stinson says
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 🙂
Gail A says
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?
Barbara says
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.
Taylor Stinson says
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!
Cathy says
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.
Taylor Stinson says
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 🙂
Bonnae says
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!
Taylor Stinson says
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!
Phil says
Did you have too cook the chicken ahead of time then dump or you just dump the raw chicken in?
Taylor Stinson says
You don’t cook it ahead of time – you put it in raw!
Nicole says
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.
Taylor Stinson says
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!
Nicole says
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!!
Rachel says
Thanks, Nicole! Helpful to know. 🙂