Vegetable Pad Thai is a favorite dish for vegetarians and meatless meals.
This recipe uses a colorful rainbow of carrots, zucchini, peas, radishes, and sprouts all simmered to tender perfection in a homemade sweet ginger soy sauce with rice noodles!
Veggie Pad Thai
- Why buy frozen Pad Thai from Trader Joe’s when you can make it homemade in the Instant Pot in minutes?
- Budget-friendly Pad Thai is a versatile recipe that’s perfect the way it is, but also allows for using vegetables that might be in the freezer or the pantry that you want to use up!
- This is a great recipe for getting veggie nutrition in the bellies of otherwise picky eaters, feel free to sneak in extra zucchini and shredded carrots!
- Uber-healthy veggie Pad Thai is not only delicious fresh from the pot, but it’s excellent as next-day lunch leftovers for school or work! Just like this recipe for egg roll bowls, the Instant Pot makes cooking Thai food easier than ever!
What’s in Vegetable Pad Thai?
Vegetables – Pad Thai is a versatile food that can be made in many ways. But the basics are almost always carrots, squash, peas, and bean sprouts. Broccoli or broccolini, chopped spinach, snap peas, baby corn, and water chestnuts are also classic additions to Pad Thai.
Sauce – Stock, sesame oil, soy sauce, and a bit of brown sugar cook down and practically glaze onto the vegetables! So easy! Add more or less ginger and garlic to your preference. Some sriracha or sambal (chili paste) will add an authentic spicy kick to Pad Thai as well. Store-bought Pad Thai sauce can be used but feel free to water it down since it’s often very thick and salty.
Noodles – Not everyone has Pad Thai noodles in the pantry, but you can still make the recipe and serve it over Instant Pot white rice, or scrambled eggs for fewer calories.
Add-Ins – Make it a protein dinner and add fried tofu, seitan, leftover chicken, shrimp, or leftover pork. Be sure the meat is cooked first and added at the end of the recipe so the meat doesn’t overcook.
How to Make Instant Pot Veggie Pad Thai
- Cook the sauce in the Instant Pot per the recipe directions below.
- Add green onions, carrots, zucchini, and noodles. Seal and cook for 3 minutes before venting.
- Add bean sprouts and snow peas, replace the lid, and let the steam warm them through.
- Garnish Pad Thai with radish slices and chopped peanuts.
Leftover Pad Thai
Keep leftover vegetable Pad Thai covered in the refrigerator for 2 days and reheat in the microwave.
More Instant Pot Inspired Dinners
Instant Pot Vegetable Pad Thai
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable stock (can substitute water)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 carrots thinly sliced or in matchsticks
- 1 zucchini thinly sliced or in matchsticks
- 8 ounces Pad Thai rice noodles
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 cup snow peas
- 2 tablespoons radishes thinly sliced
- ¼ cup peanuts chopped
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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