Turkey Pad Thai
by Katie Webster
March 8, 2024 (updated 4/8/24) Jump To Recipe
This Healthy Pad Thai is made with ground turkey, simple ingredients and kitchen staples you can find at any grocery store! It’s even faster than takeout because you can get it on your table in 30 minutes flat!
I originally shared this recipe for Turkey Pad Thai on June 2nd, 2012. I have updated the recipe and content to share with you again today.
Table of contents
Why We Love This Turkey Pad Thai Recipe
Pad Thai is a popular Thai recipe of stir-fried rice noodles with eggs, tofu and typical Thai seasonings like Tamarind, dried shrimp, palm sugar and fish sauce. Our simplified (and healthified) version is made with basic ingredients you can easily find in any North American grocery store.
Why it’s healthier: We have cut back on the added sugar, fat and bulked up the serving size with the low-calorie but nutrient-dense addition of cabbage. It is lower in fat, and made with lean ground turkey instead of stir-fried tofu and eggs. Each serving has only 3 grams of saturated fat.
Ingredients For Ground Turkey Pad Thai
- Stir-fry rice noodles: I used Thai Kitchen brand of rice noodles. If you cannot find rice noodles you can also use linguini for this recipe.
- Cooking oil: I recommend a high-heat cooking oil such as organic canola oil or avocado oil. Vegetable oil is another option or if you have grapeseed oil or peanut oil, they’ll work too.
- Ground turkey: For the best texture do not use 99% lean ground turkey. Instead use 85% to 95% lean. Note: You can also make this recipe with leftover turkey, so if you’re wondering if it will work with chopped cooked turkey meat you can read how here.
- Scallions: Chopped green onions (or scallions) are used to cook with the turkey and cabbage and to finish the dish. When you slice the green onions make sure to separate the green parts from the whites.
- Napa cabbage or Chinese cabbage: To bulk up the amount of fresh veggies in this Turkey Pad Thai I added in about 1 small head of Napa Cabbage. Here’s a primer on how to cut cabbage. You’ll want to slice it so that it blends in with the Pad Thai noodles. If you have a large head Napa, use the leftovers to make sauteed Napa Cabbage, Napa Caesar or this Napa and Ramen Salad.
- Coconut milk: To cook the cabbage mixture down and help thin out the sauce a little so that it coats the noodles nicely. I use light coconut milk, but full fat works too.
- Brown sugar: The sauce is a little sweet which balances the tangy acidic flavors. You can sub in maple syrup instead of brown sugar
- Thai fish sauce and Salt: For the sauce we call upon a classic Thai ingredient: Fish Sauce. It has a funky smell but in small amounts it adds umami flavor to Thai cooking. I like Red Boat or Golden Boy fish sauce. Keep it refrigerated and it will last for years! We also add in a tiny bit of salt too to help bring the flavors alive. If you are on a sodium restricted diet, simply remove these items and only add to taste.
- Tomato paste: The tomato paste thickens the sauce
- White vinegar and Lime juice: For acidity we added both white vinegar and fresh lime juice to the sauce. This has to balance the sweet and savory ingredients in the Turkey Pad Thai.
- Garnish: To garnish, top off your Ground Turkey Pad Thai with chopped peanuts or cashews plus cilantro and Thai basil (or regular basil if you can’t find Thai basil.)
How To Make Turkey Pad Thai
Step 1: Prepare noodles
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the stir-fry noodles according to their package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Step 2: Combine the sauce ingredients
Meanwhile, whisk brown sugar, fish sauce, tomato paste, lime juice, vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
Step 3: Cook the turkey
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add turkey and scallion whites. Crumble and stir the meat with a wooden spoon as it browns. Cook until the meat is cooked through, 6 to 9 minutes.
Step 4: Cook Cabbage
Add cabbage and coconut milk and reduce heat to medium. Stir until the cabbage is just slightly wilted, 1 to 4 minutes. Transfer the turkey mixture to a large bowl.
Step 5: Cook noodles in Pad Thai Sauce
Add the reserved sauce to the skillet and the drained noodles and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the noodles are heated through, about 1 minute.
Step 6: Finish and serve
Combine the noodle mixture with the turkey, add the scallion greens and toss to coat. Serve each portion topped with the herbs and nuts.
FAQ’s and Expert Tips for the Best Turkey Pad Thai
Make Ahead, Leftovers, Storage, Reheating
- Make Ahead: You can chop the cabbage and whisk the sauce and keep separate in air tight containers (and the sauce in a jar) for up to four days.
- Leftovers: Any leftover Turkey Pad Thai can be stored in an resealable container in the refrigerator up to three days. Enjoy cold or reheat to serve.
- Reheating: To reheat place one serving in a microwave safe bowl with a tablespoon or so of water. Cover with parchment. Microwave on high in 30 second intervals (tossing with a fork to break up clumps) until steaming hot. Alternatively re-heat in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat with a little water, stirring often. Reheat while stirring until hot and the noodles are broken apart.
Serving Suggestions for Healthy Pad Thai
Serve this healthy Pad Thai with Turkey on its own or pair it with one of these dishes:
- Pair with a simple green veggie like Green Beans
- This Thai Green Mango Salad is a perfect sweet and tangy side dish for Pad Thai
- Serve the Pad Thai as a side dish with Broiled Thai Skirt Steak and Sesame Slaw.
- A crunchy Thai Cucumber Salad would be great with this too.
- Grilled Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers.
- Serve Watermelon Sorbet or Coconut and Pineapple Sorbet as a dessert course
Variations To Try
- Use leftover turkey. Instead of browning the turkey in step 3, simply sizzle the scallion whites for a minute or so. Then add your chopped leftover turkey with the coconut milk and Napa cabbage in step 3.
- Instead of Napa cabbage, shave down your prep time and use bagged coleslaw cabbage mix.
- Use thinly sliced yellow onion or red onion instead of scallions
- Add some spice by finely chopping a Thai bird chili and adding it to the skillet with the scallion whites. Alternatively, add some Sriracha to the sauce or pass hot sauce at the table
FAQs
Pad Thai is a Thai noodle dish made with cooked rice noodles with a sweet and tangy sauce, meat, poultry or vegetables and crushed peanuts. Lo Mein is a Chinese noodle dish where the wheat noodles are parboiled, tossed with a light sauce, and added to a wok after the veggies and protein have been cooked.
The overall flavors of this dish are a combination of sweet, savory, salty, nutty, tangy and acidic.
The best way to reheat leftovers is to place the Pad Thai in a covered microwave-safe dish, add a bit of water and reheat in 30 second increments.
More Recipes With Thai Flavors
- This vegan Thai pumpkin soup recipe comes together in 15 minutes—really! Plus, it’s paleo-friendly and gluten-free.
- This Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Coconut Soup is loosely based on the classic Thai soup- Tom Kha Gai, but I’ve loaded it up with veggies and rice noodles to make it a easy, hearty and healthy weeknight meal.
- Thai-style fish cakes with herbal salad made with Tilapia, cooked in coconut oil and served with a flavorful shredded salad with fresh lime, mint, cilantro and basil. It’s a flavor explosion!
- I marinated this Grilled Skirt Steak in an easy Coconut Lime combination that gives it Thai-inspired flavor.
- Just a simple platter of sliced tomatoes with 4 ingredient Thai Basil dressing.
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!
Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Healthy Turkey Pad Thai Recipe
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Healthy Pad Thai is made with ground turkey, simple ingredients and kitchen staples you can find at any grocery store! It’s even faster than takeout because you can get it on your table in 30 minutes flat!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces Thai stir-fry rice noodles
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons canola oil
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced and whites and green parts divided
- 8 cups sliced Napa cabbage or Chinese cabbage, (about 1 small head)
- 1/2 cup lite coconut milk
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted cashews or peanuts
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil, preferably Thai
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil the stir-fry noodles according to their package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Meanwhile, whisk brown sugar, fish sauce, tomato paste, lime juice, vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add turkey and scallion whites. Crumble and stir the meat with a wooden spoon as it browns. Cook until the meat is cooked through, 6 to 9 minutes.
- Add cabbage and coconut milk and reduce heat to medium. Stir until the cabbage is just slightly wilted, 1 to 4 minutes. Transfer the turkey mixture to a large bowl.
- Add the reserved sauce to the skillet and the drained noodles and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the noodles are heated through, about 1 minute.
- Transfer the noodle mixture to the bowl with the turkey, add the scallion greens and toss to coat. Serve each portion topped with the herbs and nuts.
Notes
How to reheat leftovers:
Place the Pad Thai in a covered microwave safe dish, add a bit of water and reheat in 30 second increments.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Thai
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups each
- Calories: 365
- Fat: 13
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 21 g
Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
Made it and used almost the whole can of coconut milk also seasoned the meat well with salt , dried basil , garlic and pepper.
Also added siracha
Was tasty
Loved this recipe and so did the family. I added some hot pepper flakes because we like a little heat. It was fresh, light, and so yummy. Something different.
We loved the combination of textures with the fresh Napa, smooth noodles, crunchy nuts, etc, but there seemed to be very little Thai flavor in the overall dish. We made it strictly according to the recipe, only substituting extra basil in place of cilantro, but were disappointed by its bland taste.
Hi Tracy, Thank you for your honest feedback. I really appreciate it. It sounds like this is a recipe I may need to revisit!
Really liked this recipe.
Will make it again, and again.
Tastes fresher and healthier than most take-out Pad Thai.
Was wondering what additional spice to add to give it a wee bit more punch? Thoughts?
Otherwise, happy with it like it is.
Glad you like it! You can add some sriracha and soy or tamari.
Fine recipe – the tomato paste actually ends up making it taste quite a bit like spaghetti. I ended up adding much more fish sauce and including sesame oil, which was not originally included, to cover up the tomato taste. I also had to add quite a bit of spice (Sriracha) to cover the sweetness from both the tomato paste and the brown sugar. My advice would be to add half the tomato paste and half to 2/3 of the brown sugar in this recipe, as well as include your favorite Pad Thai spice (in my case, the Sriracha). I also thought the coconut milk came out too strongly tasting like coconut, so again, had to incorporate more fish sauce and sesame oil.
What a terrific use for ground turkey! Everything looks beautiful!
I just happened on your website and read both this great sounding recipe and about Linke. I too have occassional flashbacks of his critiques (and appreciate them).
Fellow Skiddie Class of 1990
Looks wonderful. Haven’t tried anything like this. I love the combination.
Looks fantastic. It was all worth the effort you put into getting it right. We go out for Pad Thai once a month and I just inhale it.