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
Elise says
Hello! If I have left over cooked chicken already, do I follow the recipe and add the chicken at the end?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Elise – I haven’t tried it this way, I hesitate to not add the chicken in at the beginning because it can impact many things from possible burning on the bottom to changing the liquid to solid ratios. But then I believe the chicken will be overcooked if you do add it in at the beginning so I’m not exactly sure what advice to give. I’m sorry about this – I would recommend that for best results, you follow the recipe as written and use raw chicken. However, you can experiment if you’d like and report back on your results!
Penny says
Hi, thank you for this recipe!! it will save me a lot of time. I have a question, there is sometimes egg in the recipe. Do you know if I can crack an egg or two in the pot as well before cooking or should I put the Instant pot in sauté mode and scramble the egg and mix it in? Thank you so very much!
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Penny – I recommend cooking the egg separately outside the pot.
Chris M says
I am new to Instant Pot and came across your recipe. I’d like to try it but I have an 8 quart which calls for min. Of 2.5 cups of liquid. Do you know if I could just increase the water in your recipe or would I increase all ingredients? TYIA for your help.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so sorry Chris but I’m afraid I’m not sure of how I can help tweak this – what you could try doing though is doubling the recipe in its entirety. That would be your best bet!
Annie says
This is one of my favorite recipes! Love how easy it is. Thanks for sharing!
Kirsten Pynsky says
Hard rice noodles or cooked rice noodles?
Taylor Stinson says
Hard rice noodles!
Maria Dardano says
My daughter made this first and had to cook it longer after the two minutes, so when I made it, I used three minutes as a more appropriate Maria time and it cooked perfectly. I honestly am not being rude but the next time I make it I will make my own version of the Pad Thai sauce.
All in all this is a great IP recipe and I thank you for sharing it.
Taylor Stinson says
Glad you enjoyed it Maria! Times can vary depending on elevation and other factors but glad you were able to tweak it to your liking! 🙂
Stephanie says
Do you think I could use a peanut sauce instead of pad Thai sauce?
Taylor Stinson says
You could for sure! It would change the flavour but I imagine would still taste pretty good!
Ruth says
This dish is delicious! I was a little concerned about not sautéing the chicken first but it turned out perfect. I did have to try 4 stores before I could find the Thai Kitchen brand pad thai sauce. Publix had it. Thank you for creating this recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed Ruth 🙂
Jessi says
If I’m making a double batch, do I need to increase the cooking time at all?
Taylor Stinson says
I don’t believe you do but I haven’t tried it myself!
Chelsea says
Sounds yummy! Do you have to cook the chicken first or just dice it up raw?
Taylor Stinson says
You just dice it up raw!