Make this wonderfully seasoned Pad Thai dish, packed with vegetables and noodles, in the Instant Pot for a simple, fast, homemade meal that's better than takeout.
INSTANT POT PAD THAI RECIPE
Pad Thai is a delicious Asian dish, that can be found and ordered from Thai restaurants everywhere. It's rice noodles tossed in a sweet and savory sauce, usually topped with chopped peanuts, hot peppers, and bean sprouts.
Traditional pad thai includes tamarind paste and fish sauce, but we're leaving both of those out in favor of using simplified, vegan ingredients instead.
This dish is slightly different everywhere you order it, and can very easily be customized with meat, tofu, and vegetable add-ins, especially when you make it yourself.
This Instant Pot Pad Thai recipe is gluten free, vegetarian, vegan, and full of veggies. I've included all of my favorites, including snow peas, carrots, and zucchini to make a colorful and flavorful Pad Thai that rivals dishes I've eaten at Thai Restaurants.
Making takeout dishes at home lets me control all of the ingredients, and eliminates any risk of cross-contamination of gluten, so I'm more than happy to do it. Using the Instant Pot makes quick, simple work of it too.
Prefer to make dinner using the stovetop? Try this recipe for Tofu Pad Thai.
INGREDIENTS IN INSTANT POT PAD THAI
Vegetable Stock - You can use water if you don't have stock. This is the liquid needed to operate the instant pot, and what cooks all of the ingredients.
Soy Sauce - Substitute with Tamari or coconut aminos if you like. This umami flavor is key to most Asian dishes as it's a staple in Asian cooking.
Brown Sugar - A bit of sugar gives our Pad Thai its distinctive sweet/savory flavor.
Sesame Oil - This nutty oil is used in the sauce to add a warm, savory flavor.
Lime - The juice of one lime gives us a fresh, citrus kick.
Minced Garlic - Mince your own, or use the jarred prepared kind. Both work perfectly.
Grated Ginger - You need about 1 inch of ginger to get the amount that we need for this recipe. Prepared ginger can also be found at most grocery stores in tubes and is very convenient, particularly if you only need a little bit of ginger every once in a while.
Green Onions - These mild onions add a home cooked flavor to Pad Thai.
Carrots - Slice your carrots into matchstick pieces so they are easy to eat with the noodles.
Zucchini - Slice the zucchini the same as you did the carrots.
Rice Noodles - For this recipe you'll need dry noodles rather than fresh ones.
Bean Sprouts - I love these crunchy sprouts, and they are a traditional Pad Thai inclusion.
Snow Peas - We'll add these in the end so as not to cook them too much. I love the color and crunch that they add. I cut them in half so they are easy to eat with chopsticks.
Chopped Raddish and Chopped Peanuts - Garnish the top of your Pad Thai bowls with these too for flavor and more crunch.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I will get back to you ASAP!
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT PAD THAI
- Gather all ingredients together, chop vegetables, and measure seasonings.
- Press Saute on the Instant Pot and add the vegetable stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, lime juice, and ginger. Whisk the sauce and allow it to cook until the brown sugar dissolves.
- Next, Add the green onions, carrots, zucchini, and pad thai noodles. Turn the Instant Pot to Pressure cook and cook on Manual as directed in the recipe card below. Release the pressure manually after cooking is complete. Be careful!
- Remove the lid and add in the bean sprouts and snow peas. Attach the lid and allow the vegetables to warm for 5 minutes using the steam already in the pot.
- Once finished, garnish with chopped radish and peanuts
- Enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.
These numbered steps match the numbered photos above and are for illustration purposes. For the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please see the recipe below.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH INSTANT POT PAD THAI
This is a full meal on it's own, but could benefit from some extra protein.
Make Air Fryer Eggs to serve on the side of the bowl, or top the dish with some Crispy Air Fried Tofu.
For a filling Asian meal, serve pad thai with these Vegetarian Thai Lettuce Wraps stuffed with crumbled tofu in a delicious sauce.
WHAT CAN I PUT ON TOP OF PAD THAI INSTEAD OF PEANUTS?
If you don't like peanuts or have an allergy, you can just leave them off. Your Pad Thai will still be delicious! Alternatively, you can top your dish with sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, or chopped almonds.
MORE DELICIOUS VEGETARIAN TAKE OUT RECIPES:
Sesame Tofu is one of my favorites. Crispy pan fried tofu is tossed with a sweet, savory and spicy sauce. It's delicious served with rice.
Need a quick and easy meal? Try Air Fryer Fried Rice!
Another instant pot Asian meal, Instant Pot Ramen is a favorite at my house. It's comforting and so tasty.
Make Air Fryer Edamame to enjoy this veggie snack in just a few minutes.
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Instant Pot Pad Thai
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- Ā½ cup Vegetable Stock or water
- Ā¼ cup Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tsp Grated Ginger
- 2 Green Onions thinly sliced
- 2 Carrots thinly sliced or in matchsticks
- 1 zucchini thinly sliced or in matchsticks
- 8 oz. Pad Thai Rice Noodles
- 1 cup Bean Sprouts
- 1 cup Snow Peas
- 2 tbsp chopped radish
- Ā½ cup chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Gather all ingredients together.
- Press Saute on the Instant Pot and add in the vegetable stock, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, lime juice, garlic, and ginger. Whisk the sauce and allow it to cook until the brown sugar dissolves-- about 2 minutes.
- Add the green onions, carrots, zucchini and pad thai noodles. Turn the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook-Manual for 3 minutes. Make sure the valve is in the sealing position. When the Instant Pot has finished cooking, release the pressure manually by switching the valve to the venting position-- be careful, it will steam.
- Remove the lid and add in the bean sprouts and snow peas. Attach the lid and allow the vegetables to warm for 5 minutes using the steam in the pot-- the Instant Pot can either be off or on the Keep Warm function.
- Once finished, garnish with chopped radish and peanuts and enjoy.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Video
Notes
- These proteins can be added after the Pad Thai has already cooked: Cooked scrambled or hard boiled eggs, cooked tofu.
Nutrition
All though this website attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, the information should only be considered an estimate. Varying factors such as different product types, different brands, etc. can change nutritional information. It is your responsibility as a consumer to read all labels to make sure the ingredients fit your dietary needs as well as calculate your own nutritional information as a double check.
This recipe is so easy and quick and my whole family loved it! I just love my Instant Pot and now that I know I can make Pad Thai in it, I'm in heaven!
Hi Emily! So glad your family loved it!
We love Pad Thai here. Looking forward to trying this recipe in my instant pot!
Oh wow, this looks so delicious. My family is going to devour it!
This recipe is so quick!! A great one pot meal. My family loved it so much there weren't any leftovers!
I love how the Instant pot makes everything so much easier! This recipe sounds super delicious, can't wait to give it a try!
Amazing flavors, But I was so disappointed, This was the first time using my new instant pot, when it was done my veggies were mushy and my noodles were stuck together in one big block, as of right now Iām not impressed with the instant pot :/
Hello Tamia, thanks for writing, I'd love to help you trouble shoot your new instant pot! š They can be a little tricky at the start but once you get the hang of it, I bet you'll love it! One of the biggest things for this recipe is to make sure you are doing the manual high pressure (if using the instant pot brand) And the quick release. The quick release is the force pressure release at the end. If you let the veggies and noodles sit in there while it naturally releases it continues to cook :). That could make them mushy. Do you remember if you did a quick forced release at the end? š