Like Thai food? I do. Perhaps more than most, but I just like good food any way you give it to me. I had never made pad Thai before have had a hankering for a while now for it. Now, for those if you who have never had it and like peanut butter….you simply must try it! Deliciously rich peanut sauce with tender chicken that literally falls apart. Try it out or try this at home. I found a recipe for this on Pinterest (it’s pinned on my entree’s board if you want to check it out) but if course I had to tweak it to my liking by adding and removing items. One of the things I liked about this recipe was how incredibly easy it was to put together. On the days where I get to actually take a shower in the evening I don’t want to have to mess in the kitchen too much so we don’t have to eat too late and I don’t go to bed with a wet head (can I get an amen from all the new moms out there?) So, the crock pot gets brought out. I would not leave this cooking all day though. For those who work outside the home this would be one for the timer or one to put on over lunch. I also think this would be excellent as a vegetarian dish with either tempeh or tofu added when the peanut sauce is added. This is another great gluten free, dairy free and sugar free meal to warm your body and fill your belly with a protein punch. As always if you try it come back to let me know what you thought! Enjoy!
4-6 chicken breasts (see instructions for making vegetarian)
2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth (or 1/2 cup water w/1 bullion)
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
1 Tblsp ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 Tblsp. fresh ginger, minced/grated
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
4 green onions, chopped
rice noodles, rice or udon noodles
Cut chicken breasts into strips. Place the chicken breast strips and onions into a slow cooker. Pour in the chicken broth and 1/4 cup of soy sauce, add cumin, garlic, red pepper and ginger. Stir to blend, then cover and cook on Low for 4 1/2 to 5 hours. Remove 1 cup of the liquid from the slow cooker, and mix this with the cornstarch, peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and lime juice. Blend well. Stir the sauce back into the slow cooker, and place the lid on the pot. If you wanted to omit the chicken and use either tofu or tempeh now seems like the time to add that. Cook on low for an additional 15-30 minutes. Send hubby to garden to pick green onions planted in fall. Put medium pot of water on to boil. Once boiling add noodles (I used udon, however rice noodles are traditional and better…I just didn’t have them and used what I had). If you use rice noodles this is a dairy free, sugar free, gluten free meal. 
Once noodles are tender, drain them and portion out. Add pad Thai on top of noodles. Top with green onions (also add peanuts, sprouts or cilantro if you want!) Enjoy good company and a good healthy meal. As always, if you try this dish come back and let me know how you liked it!
I cannot wait to try this! Both versions, with the chicken and also meat free.
It was wonderful! Come back after you try it and let us know how you liked it!
This was really terrific thanks so much it was simple and directions spot on.
so glad you liked it and thanks for coming back!
i made this today for us and there are hardly any leftovers! thanks for the heads up about such a great crock pot recipe!!! i will be making it again
Wonderful!! So glad you liked it!
It’s not gluten free if you use soy sauce, but I have tamari to substitute. Can’t wait to try!
Ahah! Thanks for the catch there! I will add that in! I hope you enjoy it! Come back and let us know.
Unless you buy gluten free soy sauce, this is not gluten free most of the time.
Also, many chicken broths also contain gluten.
And thirdly, many times cornstarch is not gluten free simply because of where they are manufactured.
I have added tamari in with the soy sauce for those who wish to substitute to make it gluten free. I would imagine that most people doing a gluten free diet would have ingredients on hand (cornstarch and broths) that are gluten free by their own picking. However, if gluten free cornstarch cannot be found arrowroot powder works wonderfully as well! I can imagine that coconut flour would also be a great thickener for this recipe. Thanks for the catch!!
Yum!! I am pinning this!!
Thanks! Enjoy!
How much chicken?
I used roughly 2 lbs, but you could always add more or less.
Made this tonight, it was delicious! Didn’t have time for the crockpot, so I just baked the chicken, sauted onion and garlic in a pan, then did the rest- even omitted the cornstarch as we were out, and it turned out fine. our kids are finicky eaters but they love Thai food. Thanks for a great recipe!
Wonderful revision you made Jennie! I’m so glad it was good and it worked well outside the crock! Thanks for coming back to let us know how you liked it and what you did. Come back again please!
How much is a serving size?
…a bowl full.
Not loving the flavors. This wasn’t very spicy and just tasted like pure peanut butter
I didn’t think it was very spicy either but didn’t taste like ‘pure peanut butter’ on my end. Pad thai has a very distinct peanut taste to it and it can be strong for some people (definitely have to be a peanut butter fun to enjoy this). A lot of times I will add extra red pepper and lime to mine to kick it up a notch but my hubs prefers it the way it is written. So sorry you didn’t like it!! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know though. I hope you enjoy some of my other recipes and info better.
With the short cooking time on low, I’m a little concerned about undercooking the chicken. Is the shorter time designed to keep the chicken from falling apart? Otherwise, I can’t wait to try this!
When I cook this it is all but falling apart and without a doubt well done! If you use a larger amount of chicken you may want to up the time but for a few pounds this works just fine.
Hi, this looks great but I am confused by the meat free version. As the onion/chicken/broth and spices cooking time is four hours (presumably for the chicken), if doing a meat-free version, do I still need to cook the onions, spices and broth for 4 hours before I add the tofu?
oh no need to cook for that long if there is no raw meat involved. You would not even need to do this in a crock pot either, you could do it on your stovetop. cook long enough for the vegi’s to be tender and the tofu to absorb flavor. Use extra firm or firm tofu. I’d say simmering for 30-45 min would be adequeate Let us know what you did and how you liked it!
I like my pad thai spicy. Would I add some curry? Red pepper? About how much? I normally just order this in restaurants, but this looks delish.
I would add red pepper, I think that curry flavor may overpower the other flavors. Let us know what you did and how you liked it!
This was a hit at my house and I have since shared it with two girls at work who also loved it! Thank you!
sooo glad you enjoyed it!!