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
Desiree says
Made this tonight and it was delicious!!! This is only my 3rd meal that I have made in my IP and I’m hooked!! Will be making this again!!
Kristi says
Made this tonight. Flavors were really good, but my noodles didn’t cook all the way and were stuck together. I repressurized and cooked again for another min and that helped, but there were still some raw noodles in there. So I’m thinking next time I try this I’ll cook it for 3-4 min on the first time around and hope that helps. But all in all great recipe with good flavors.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Kristi – it can depend what type of noodles you’re using and how you’ve placed them in the pot. Letting them sit in the hot pot with the lid on for a couple minutes can help them cook all the way through. Hope that helps!
Emma says
I couldn’t find a jar of the Thai Kitchen pad thai sauce but I did find the box that has a bag of it with some rice noodles. I took a chance and used the box’s portion of sauce and the noodles inside (which looked to be half a normal rice noodle bag) I also threw the instant pot on saute once everything was done to scramble an egg inside, then quickly shut it off and let everything sit with the lid closed. My local Thai restaurant normally puts some chili powder on the top so I added this, and omg this recipe is heaven 😍 I gotta get my hands on that jar of sauce now!
Nathalie says
First recipe with my new instant pot…. so amazed…. I did half coconut milk and half water and also at the end, I added a BIG scoop of crunchy peanut butter…. Delicious….Thank you for the recipe.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you liked it Nathalie!! Love the addition of the peanut butter, great idea 🙂
Lindsey says
Does it matter if the chicken is frozen? Would that change the outcome or cook time?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Lindsey – I wouldn’t recommend frozen chicken for this recipe. The rice noodles can’t be cooked for that long and the chicken would need to be cooked a lot longer. It just wouldn’t work. Sorry about that!
Alejo says
Not normally one to comment on online recipes, but have made this multiple times and wanted to chime in that it’s a fantastic recipe! One of the few instant pot recipes I’ve found that lets you cook noodles + meat at the same time, making it a true one pot recipe!
For those looking for tips on how to double the recipe – every time I’ve made this recipe, I’ve doubled it. I double everything except the water (per above suggestions), and cook for the normal amount of time (2 minutes). After cooking, I add the veggies and let everything sit for 10-12 minutes instead of the stated 5, which gives me the texture I like for the noodles.
I also add ginger and chiles along with the garlic because more ginger and spice in my life is never a bad thing.
Thank you!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you like it so much and thank you for those tips on doubling it 🙂
Angie says
This was my second meal in the IP and it was a big hit with EVERYONE in the family. I doubled it and just broke up some of the noodles so I could spread them out a bit and they came out perfect. I made it exactly as directed but love the fact that you can easily vary the oil, sauce, or veggies according to personal preference and it will turn out amazing!! Thanks for doing all the hard work and putting together a winning recipe!!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you liked the recipe Angie, thanks for sharing with me and for your kind words, it really means alot 🙂
allison says
I am so glad I stumpled upon your site and this recipe. We eat it every week! it is easy and so good.
Samantha says
This was the second recipe I’ve made in my Instant Pot, and if everything turns out this well……..I’d be willing to dump every appliance in my kitchen!
Absolutely awesome.!
Thanks SO much!
Amy says
Made this for dinner tonight for my extra fussy 14 year old and it’s a definite keeper. I did add 2 scrambled eggs mixed in before serving otherwise followed to a T. My only question is are rice noodles usually heat or did they need to cook longer? I used Thai Kitchen Rice Linguine Noodles.
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you liked it Amy!!! It sounds like you used slightly different noodles than I used…the ones I use cook just by sitting in the mixture with the sauce after everything is cooked because they’re so thin. They should be al dente when finished. Hope that helps 🙂