Turkey Pad Thai
by Katie Webster
June 2, 2012 (updated 5/9/22) Jump To Recipe
With a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salt and fat all tossed together with the comfort of noodles, the crunch of peanuts, and an unexpected fresh burst of herbs this Turkey Pad Thai has it all! And ready in just 30 minutes making it an awesome weeknight meal!
Table of contents
Why We Love This Recipe For Turkey Pad Thai
The perfectly balanced flavor profile of this Ground Turkey and Rice Noodle dish is just one of the things that makes it special. Being able to get it on the table in just 30 minutes is a major bonus, too.
It is healthy, in part, because the Napa cabbage bulks up the serving size and takes place of some of the calorie-dense noodles. Each serving has only 3 grams of saturated fat. So at long last, here is the healthy seasonal Pad Thai!
Key Ingredients For This Ground Turkey Pad Thai
Ground Turkey
Ground turkey provides protein, fat and a variety of nutrients and minerals. It is lower in saturated fat than beef.
Brown Sugar
The caramel notes of brown sugar add a much needed sweetness to balance the tangy acidic flavors.
Lime Juice, Thai Fish Sauce and White Vinegar
Lime juice, thai fish sauce and white vinegar work together to add a fresh, tangy acidic flavor profile that complements the sweet creamy notes.
Napa Cabbage
The mild and slightly sweet taste of Napa Cabbage is perfect for this dish. It is low in calories, but full vitamins and antioxidants making it a great way to bulk up each delicious serving. Try our sauteed Napa Cabbage, Napa Caesar and this Napa and Ramen Salad for more ways to use this favorite low-cal veggie!
Lite Coconut Milk
Lite coconut milk contains less fat than regular coconut milk, but still adds a creamy texture and delicate flavor.
Nuts and Fresh Herbs
Roasted cashews or peanuts and fresh cilantro and thai basil are a great way to top off this dish. The crunchy nutty flavors and fresh brightness of the herbs complement the overall sweet and sour flavor profile.
Other Ingredients For This Recipe
- 6 ounces Thai stir-fry rice noodles
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 teaspoons canola oil
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced and whites and green parts divided
Step By Step Instructions For Healthy Pad Thai
Step 1: Prepare noodles
Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place noodles in a low wide baking dish. Pour boiling water over the noodles to completely submerge them and swish them around a little bit. Let sit 10 minutes to soften, agitating gently once or twice to prevent clumping. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Step 2: Combine the sauce ingredients
Meanwhile, whisk brown sugar, tomato paste, lime juice, fish sauce and vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
Step 3: Cook the turkey and veggies and transfer to a bowl
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add turkey and scallion greens. 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 2 minutes. Transfer the turkey mixture to a large bowl.
Step 4: Finish and serve
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.
FAQ’s and Expert Tips
Pad Thai is a Thai noodle dish made with softened rice noodles that are cooked with a sweet and tangy sauce, protein and topped with 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 a #stupideasy 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
Print
Turkey Pad Thai
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
With a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salt and fat this Turkey Pad Thai has it all! And ready in just 30 minutes making it an awesome weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces Thai stir-fry rice noodles
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 4 teaspoons canola oil
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 bunch scallions, sliced and whites and green parts divided
- 8 cups Napa cabbage or Chinese cabbage, (about 1 small head)
- ½ 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 kettle of water to a boil. Place noodles in a low wide baking dish. Pour boiling water over the noodles to completely submerge them and swish them around a little bit. Let sit 10 minutes to soften, agitating gently once or twice to prevent clumping. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Meanwhile, whisk brown sugar, tomato paste, lime juice, fish sauce and vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add turkey and scallion greens. 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 2 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
- Sodium: 494mg
- Fat: 13
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 21 g
Keywords: Turkey Pad Thai,Healthy Pad Thai, Ground Turkey Pad Thai, Ground Turkey and Rice Noodles
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.
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.