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.
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More easy Instant Pot recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60 is the version I use in this recipe.
- I use these Thai Kitchen Rice Noodles and buy this Pad Thai sauce.
- I get grass-fed chicken from my monthly Butcher Box.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
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!
Comments & Reviews
Rachel says
Thanks for the recipe, Taylor! I usually make pad thai at home from scratch, but it takes longer than I’d like and clean up takes forever. This was much simpler and came out great. My husband devoured his dinner, so this is definitely a winner and will go on our rotation.
I used sesame rather than olive oil (and sauteed our the chicken for a few minutes first in the instant pot), homemade pad thai sauce (tamarind, fish sauce, black pepper, brown sugar, sambal oelek), added in scrambled egg, and also added chopped red cabbage and bok choy. At the recommendation of one your readers, I also soaked the rice noodles for about 3 minutes in cold water before adding them to the instant pot. Loved being able to make a noodle dish in the instant pot! Thanks again!
Taylor Stinson says
Looooove your homemade pad Thai sauce Rachel, sounds soooooo good! And easy too! So happy you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for sharing 🙂
KIM says
Made this tonight. Followed the recipe as stated, with the only exception being that I briefly sauteed the chicken when I put it in the pot. This turned out AMAZING!!! I cannot believe how easy AND tasty it turned out. it will be in my regular rotation.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you liked it Kim!!! Thanks for sharing with me 🙂
Shirley says
Made this tonight it was very good. I made the homemade pad Thai recipe in the comments above with the peanut butter in it, (I didn’t use the chilli sauce just added it to my own serving.) It made about a cup of sauce I used all of it in the recipe & all the water. I didn’t put the soy sauce in because it is in the pad Thai sauce. I think next time I make this I will add fish sauce not the 3 tbsp maybe half. I grated the carrot & it worked good also used three small to medium handfuls of bean sprouts & no peppers. I think next time I will add some snow peas. I will make this again! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Taylor Stinson says
So glad you liked the recipe Shirley 🙂
Victoria says
I just made this and wow! It will be part of our regular rotation. I love the egg idea for next time too. I confess, I don’t do rice noodles so I replaced them with half of a small head of cabbage thinly sliced. I’m happy to report, it was a great success! I think if using the cabbage again, I could cut the water down to 1 cup. Thank you!
Nick says
I’m going to make this tonight and add eggs, onions, mushrooms and siraccha!
Samantha says
Taylor! This is the second recipe I’ve tried of yours — the other being Pizza Quinoa — and both were easy and turned out perfect. The best part about your recipes is how easy they are to make and enjoy. Seriously, I found the cook times to be very reasonably short, with no watery sauces or thickening required (which tends to be an issue I run into with other IP recipes). Our favorite is definitely the Pad Thai but I also love how customizable the Pizza Quinoa is. All in all, I found both recipes to be fun and quick to complete, with totally flavorful results.
For the Pad Thai, I did use two chicken thighs instead of breasts, cut up into small 1″ pieces, which also turned out perfectly cooked using your timing. We used regular Thai Kitchen rice noodles, which were also cooked properly. We also mixed in a scrambled egg in after the QR since we prefer that in our Pad Thai. Myself and my husband (who is also from Canada and loves his Asian food) totally loved your recipe and we will be making it again this week!
Taylor Stinson says
Samantha you have seriously made my day!!!! I’m so happy you like my recipes! Please let me know if there’s anything else I can help with! Good call on the scrambled egg with the pad thai, that sounds amazing!
RITA says
I have a silly question. Did you cook the scrambled egg on the stove before adding it, or is there enough heat to cook it directly in the Instant Pot at the end.
Taylor Stinson says
I would cook it separately on the stove while everything is coming to pressure in the Instant Pot!
Pam says
Approximately how much did your chicken breasts weigh? Our store has giant size and small size and just not sure how much chicken you actually used. Thank you.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Pam – unfortunately I didn’t measure the weight! I would say one to one and a half giant size would probably be your best bet!
Pam says
when I clicked on the print icon I got the red screen warning that this is a dangerous site and has been linked to security issues including phishing. Do you know anything about this?
Taylor Stinson says
I honestly have no idea why you would get that warning Pam – maybe it’s your anti-virus. The print button works just fine for me and I can assure you that this is not a dangerous site.
Pam says
Thank you
Michelle says
Hello! this is my first instapot recipe im trying. I bought the big 8 qt duo and there is no manual setting. Do you know what button to do for this model?
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
That looks amazing! I’ve never made pad thai before. I’m going to have to try this.