Get excited for this non-traditional sweet potato chicken pad Thai! It’s one of our favorite things to do – make comfort food way healthier. This homemade pad Thai recipe is Paleo, Whole30 and easy to make. You’re really going to enjoy all the Thai flavors with this cleaned up takeout recipe!
Healthier Thai Flavors
Thai food used to be a go-to for me and a set of flavors that just always sounded good. To be honest, it is the one type of cuisine I’ve truly missed since going Paleo. Lucky for you guys though, Justin created this flavorful and vibrant sweet potato chicken pad Thai that is sure to be a new favorite. It has the Thai like flavors but with sweet potato noodles, creamy cashew butter and coconut aminos instead of peanut and soy. You will love how tasty and comforting this dish is.
What Are Some Other Noodle Options?
Basically, any veggies you can turn into noodles will be pretty great! Our favorites are sweet potato and butternut squash. Carrot noodles would be good, and zucchini would work, too. We think you’ll find that sweet potato or butternut squash are most satisfying though! So what do you think? What will you try first?
Tips For Making The Sauce
The first time we made the sauce for this homemade pad Thai recipe, we used a bowl and a whisk and it didn’t get mixed up super well. If this happens to you don’t even worry about it! Just do the best you can to mix it up. It will be thick and feel like you can’t quite get everything combined. Promise…it’s going to turn out great! When you go to add it to the rest of the skillet, continue to mix it up in the pan. The heat will help break down the cashew butter, and it will all start to mix together just fine.
But…….we did find an easier way to mix the sauce. Just add the ingredients to a jar with a lid and shake it on up! This way of mixing helps to combine the ingredients for the sauce much better than mixing with a spoon or whisk.
Some Other Asian Inspired Recipes to Try
- Coconut Lime Chicken
- Thai Larb Recipe
- Thai Basil Chicken Bowls
- Teriyaki Beef Recipe
- Homemade Cashew Chicken
- Pork Ramen Noodles
Your Turn To Try Our Sweet Potato Chicken Pad Thai
Go make this homemade sweet potato chicken pad Thai recipe! You will love the flavor combo and enjoy a new way to re-create Thai cuisine. Let us know how it goes by leaving a comment below. Also, take a photo and tag us on Instagram @realsimplegood, so we can check it out! Make sure to give us a follow if you don’t already – let’s stay connected!
Like this Recipe?
SHARE IT NOW OR PIN IT FOR LATER!
Homemade Sweet Potato Chicken Pad Thai (Paleo + Whole30)
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cut into small cubes, (about 3 breasts)
- 1 shallot, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 green onions, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, diced
- 1/2 cup cashews, chopped
- 3 sweet potatoes, spiralized into noodles
- 3 tbsp sesame oil, divided
- 2 eggs
- Salt and pepper
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup cashew butter
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos, (see recipe notes)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 lime, juice of
Instructions
- First, make the sauce by combining all of the sauce ingredients in a jar with a lid. Shake well to combine. Or, add the ingredients to a bowl and whisk well. The sauce will be thick using this method, but mix it up as much as you can to get a creamy consistency. Set aside.
- Chop chicken as noted. Chop shallot, garlic, green onions, cilantro and cashews.
- Turn sweet potatoes into noodles using a spiralizer.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add in 2 tbsp sesame oil. Once hot, add the sweet potato noodles. Toss with oil and season with a big pinch of salt and pepper (about 1/2 tsp each). Cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender but not too soft, about 6-7 minutes. Remove and place on a plate.
- In the same pan over medium heat, add in 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Add in shallot and garlic to saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add in chicken. Season chicken with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 5-6 minutes.
- Next, crack the eggs into the pan. Scramble the eggs and cook for a few minutes, until the eggs are cooked through.
- Add the sweet potato noodles back in. Pour in the sauce and mix.
- Add in green onions, cilantro and cashews. Toss to mix and then serve.
Notes
- If you don’t have any coconut aminos on hand, you can make your own using our DIY coconut aminos substitute recipe.
Dear Justin and Erica,
Thank you again for yet another wonderful recipe! I also used your terrific recipe for coconut aminos! Very delicious and we are so thankful we have leftovers for lunch today!
I’m disappointed in my spiralizer. Is it possible to recommend one that can handle sweet potatoes and butternut squash?
Thank you!
You’re very welcome, thanks for coming back to leave a rating and trying our recipes! We use this spiralizer and it seems to do well with harder things like squash and potatoes.
Thank you for your speedy response to my question! I appreciate your quick reply. I will try that spiralizer.
This recipe is incredible! I make this phad thai even when I’m not on whole30 becuase it’s so delicious and SO satisfying. 5 stars without a doubt!
YESSS! We love hearing that so much! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. We appreciate you! 🙂
Awesome recipe. We really enjoyed this healthy alternative!!
Pad thai, but make it healthy. 🍜
If you are craving some comfort food but want to stay on track, I love this version of Pad Thai more than I like the real thing.
Pro-tip-double the sauce and make it the day before if you want to save time. Actually, double the entire recipe because you’ll want to eat it for days.
Also, you can buy the noodles prepped, or spiralize them the day before as well. This meal comes together so fast if you do that, but it’s certainly worth every minute spent in the kitchen.
However you do it, get this into your meal rotation. Even my kids love it. Easily one of my top five favorite meals. Thanks so much for creating this! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Thanks for the great review and tips Traci!
I made this last night for a date night meal for my husband and I and we are both obsessed! I really want to make it again for my whole family but my daughter is allergic to cashews. Are there any replacement ingredients for those things? Thanks!
You could sub any other nut butter/nut for the cashews. We hope the whole family enjoys it!
SO delicious! Our favorite homemade pad thai ever (seriously…husband and I can’t stop talking about it). Pretty easy to make, as well! Highly recommend!!!
We think this is a good one too, thanks for leaving a review 🙂
My husband and I were sooooo surprised at how delicious this was! We are making it again tonight! Second time in 2 weeks!
We LOVE hearing that! It’s an easy one to enjoy over and over! So glad you guys love it, too. Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and review. Tag us in a pic on Instagram @realsimplegood. We’d love to share on in our stories. 🙂
Love this meal! Do you by chance have the macros for it?
We don’t have the nutrition info, but you could get it from an online calculator like myfitnesspal.
We tried this for the first time tonight—it was an instant hit! My family loved the creamy cashew sauce, and the balance of sweet and salty is absolutely delicious! Can’t wait to make it again! 💛
We’re so glad the whole family enjoyed it! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and leave a review! We really appreciate it! 🙂
I am a huge fan of Thai food and this is sooo good! I might actually like it better than regular Pad Thai (say what?!) and will definitely continue to make this after Whole30 is over. Thank you!!
This was my first recipe from your blog that I tried. Well, we LOVED It! Even my bf who is not doing Whole 30, but is eating what I make for dinner loved it. This is going into the regular rotation. I didn’t have cashew butter, but I had almond butter and it worked great. I think next time I might add some water chestnuts for extra crunch with the cashews.
You started off with a good one Wendy! Glad you both enjoyed this recipe, it’s a favorite of ours too 🙂
Hello! I absolutely LOVE this recipe. I’m wondering if anyone has ever shared point values for Weight Watchers?
Glad you love the recipe! I’m not aware of anyone sharing point values.
This was fantastic! I used almond butter instead of cashew butter as that’s what I had available and it was delicious. Pinned to make again! Thank you for the tips and the video was super helpful.
I hope you enjoy this one over and over Andrea!
This recipe is definitely going to make a regular appearance in our house! It was fairly quick to make, but was full of flavour and was wonderful healthy comfort food for a cold January night. My little guy (almost 1yr old) loved it too and was happy to play with the noodles while he ate. I swapped almonds and almond butter for the cashew as it was what I had on hand and it still turned out delicious!
So happy to hear that your son liked this one! Thanks for coming back to leave a rating and review, we really appreciate it 🙂
Is the fish sauce necessary? If so, is there some kind of substitute?
It definitely adds more salty, umami flavor. You can substitute more coconut aminos if needed.
I was a tad skeptical but this recipe fully delivered!!! And it’s amazing!
I subbed butternut squash and zucchini noodles since I didn’t have sweet potatoes & and it totally worked 🙂
Will be making again !!
This recipe is so simple yet so delicious! My house is full of picky eaters and everyone (husband and toddlers) loved it! We will put this in our regular routine!
We absolutely love hearing this one was a hit for the entire fam! Thanks so much for sharing on IG and for taking the time to come back and leave a review! We’re so grateful to connect with you. 🙂
So yummy and colorful – on day 17 of Whole30, this was a nice change from what we’ve been having! Couldn’t find cashew butter anywhere in Boston so I used almond butter – tasted great.
So wonderful to hear! Thanks so much for giving our recipe a try, and for hopping over here to our site to leave a review! We appreciate it. 🙂
Hi Justin & Erica! Just wanted to drop a note saying how much I love your recipes. I’ve been meaning to leave a comment/review for a while, and I’ve been wanting to find the time to write out the perfect post. But figured I needed to stop waiting and just do it. So this comment definitely isn’t specific to this recipe. I love your Sweet Potato Chicken Pad Thai, but also your Instant Pot Sloppy Joes, Dairy-Free Coffee Smoothie, and so many others. I follow several popular food blogs, and they don’t hold a candle to the consistency of healthy, simple, great-tasting recipes I find on your blog. I love having a place to come to where I feel like I can try a new recipe and know it’ll (a) consist of wholesome ingredients, (b) be relatively easy to put together, and (c) turn out great (& just like the picture!). That combination is a biggie—I definitely don’t have that sense of trust with many other blogs & recipe sources!
Thank you for doing what you do! It’s extremely impactful to those of us who love making healthy, yummy food on a regular basis.
Wow, Jacqueline! What an amazing message to receive! Thank you so very much for your kind and thoughtful words. We are so grateful you’re here, and it truly warms our hearts to know that you find our recipes and website so helpful and delicious! Thank you again for taking the time to share and be here. 🙂