Thai Peanut Chicken and Sweet Potato Noodles are a healthy and gluten-free twist on your favorite Thai takeout order. Easy, colorful, and delicious!
We’re in the thick of the holiday season and the urge to eat baked goods for every meal of the day is very real at the moment. I’ve seen several ginger-molasses and snickerdoodle cookie recipes on social media that I’d straight up arm wrestle Santa for. Can you relate? That, coupled with the fact that Ben keeps bringing home full sized Snickers bars (why oh why do they have to pair so well with a cabernet night cap?!) means I’ve been even more intentional than usual about cooking healthy meals at home so I don’t have to think twice about indulging a little extra over the next month or so.
In addition to my Christmas cookie cravings, I’ve also been dreaming about a big bowl of gluten-free Pad Thai from my favorite Thai restaurant here in town. In the spirit of making healthy choices though, I decided to make a healthy, Pad Thai(ish) dish at home. Thai Peanut Chicken and Sweet Potato Noodles swaps rice noodles for vitamin-rich sweet potato noodles, and will curb your craving for take out in just 15 minutes!
If you’ve been on the fence about ordering a spiralizer, or asking for one for the holidays, this dish is going to send you over the edge. It. Is. Incredible! Skinny spiralized sweet potatoes are sauteed with broccoli and chopped chicken then tossed with an easy peanut sauce made with 100% fridge and pantry staples. Like I said, this dish goes from skillet to bowl in 15 minutes, which is a fraction of the time it takes to pick up take out or wait for the delivery driver to arrive – plus it’s a TON healthier.
If you’re like me and wanting to indulge without the guilt this holiday season, whip up this light and tasty dish tonight – and fight your dining partner for the leftovers to take for lunch the next day. Trust me when I say, if you don’t, you’ll regret it!
Start by whisking together the Thai peanut sauce ingredients, all of which I already had on hand! That’s 2 Tablespoons peanut butter, 3 Tablespoons gluten-free chicken broth, 1-1/2 Tablespoons low-sodium gluten-free Tamari or soy sauce, 1/2 Tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon each gluten-free chili garlic sauce and sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1 clove minced garlic.
Set the sauce aside then peel and trim 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, and then send them through your spiralizer fitted with the skinnest noodle blade. I used my Paderno Spiralizer for these guys. Psst! The Spiralizer would make such a great Christmas or holiday gift for the foodie in your life – it’s so fun and versatile!
Ok, time to cook! Heat a large, 12″ skillet over medium-high heat with 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil then add 2 chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper then saute until cooked through, and then scoop the chicken onto a plate and set aside.
Turn the heat down a touch then add 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to the skillet plus the sweet potato noodles and 2 cups broccoli florets. Season with salt and pepper then saute for 5 minutes. Next add 1/4 cup water to help soften the noodles and continue sauting, stirring occasionally, until the sweet potato noodles are al dente, another 3-5 minutes. If you want your sweet potato noodles on the softer side, continue cooking, but just know they might break up into smaller pieces.
Last step is to add the chicken back into the skillet along with the Thai peanut sauce then toss until everything is well coated and heated through.
Scoop the noodles into bowls then top with tons of chopped peanuts and green onions. Totally easy, right? And trust me, totally DELISH! Hope you love this lighter take out fake out recipe!
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Senegalese SoupThai Peanut Chicken and Sweet Potato Noodles
Description
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 chicken breasts (14oz,) cut into bite-sized pieces
- salt and pepper
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled then spiralized using thinnest blade, noodles slightly trimmed
- 2 cups (4oz) broccoli florets
- 1/4 cup water
- Toppings: chopped peanuts, green onions, chopped cilantro
- For the Thai peanut sauce:
- 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
- 3 Tablespoons gluten-free chicken broth
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons low-sodium gluten-free Tamari or soy sauce
- 1/2 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon gluten-free chili garlic sauce (or more)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Directions
- Whisk together Thai peanut sauce ingredients then set aside.
- Add 1/2 Tablespoon oil to a large, 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken then season with salt and pepper and saute until cooked through. Remove chicken to a plate then set aside.
- Turn heat down to a little above medium then add remaining 2 Tablespoons oil. Add sweet potato noodles and broccoli, season with salt and pepper, then saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water then saute until noodles are al dente, another 3-5 minutes (if you like a softer sweet potato continue cooking but know that the noodles will break up a bit.) Add chicken back into the skillet along with the Thai peanut sauce then toss until the noodles are well coated and everything is heated through. Scoop into bowls then serve with toppings.
Notes
- I use a Paderno Spiralizer >
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
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This sounds delicious! What kind of peanut butter do you recommend? Natural?
You could use whatever you have in the house – stir or no stir!
Hi Kristin! I love spiralized zucchini, never thought of using sweet potato. Just curious, what olive oil do you recommend? Thanks, MJ
I’m actually not brand loyal to extra virgin olive oil – right now I’m using up a jug of Kirkland (Costco) oil!
Do you think this would reheat okay? This would be great for lunches for the work week.
Absolutely! I’m actually eating some cold from the fridge as I type – delicious. ?
Hi Kristin! Your dish looks awesome and I’m totally a Thai food lover! I just love spice. My husband not so much, but I don’t care, I’ll have to make this one night because right now I’m all turkeyed out. There’s only so much turkey left overs you can stand before it gets old. I hope no spiders creep out of your tree. That’s my kryptonite too! Ours was decorated the first week of November. (Yes we’re crazy, its okay to say it!)
If I had my way I’d decorate that early too – one month is never long enough to have Christmas decorations up!
This recipe did it! I’m finally going to cave and get a spiralizer! This recipe looks delish, and super easy to customize.
YAY!! You won’t regret it! Have fun! :)
I was thinking the same thing! I always see recipes with zucchini. The sweet potatoes are more motivating for me.
This looks seriously good! I never would have thought to go with sweet potato noodles, such a great idea!
I’m with Karla. I caved and ordered a spiralizer. Thanks for including the easy to access link! I went to an Asian grocery store today, but couldn’t find chili garlic sauce. I’m wondering if I can use chili sauce and some jarred garlic. I can’t wait to try this!
Wohoo!! I usually find chili garlic sauce in the Asian foods aisle of the regular grocery store. If you can’t find it, siracha or another chili sauce will work fine!
Need to invest in a good spiralizer. Debating between the Paderno mentioned in this post and the spiralizer attachment for a KitchenAid mixer. Any thoughts?
I haven’t tried out the KitchenAid one but I do really love my Paderno. I’ve had it for a couple years now and it’s zipped through everything.
What do you have for a spiralizer?
Here’s the one I have:
Did you know Cool Basil opened another place in West Glen? Banana Leaf… I ate there last week :)
I saw but didn’t think it’d opened yet! Thanks for the tip!
This looks so yummy! What a cool idea
Cab, I love…now just to try it with a Snickers bar!
This. is. PERFECT! I have literally everything to make this and am really trying to be more mindful about my meal planning and overall eating this holiday season. This looks delish and I was just thinking I need to dust off my spiralizer! Thanks for sharing. Glad your new family of 4 had a good turkey day!
I just had this for dinner and it was delicious. I didn’t have any ginger and overcooked my sweet potato, but the flavor is excellent.
*next time, I’ll just chop my potato small. My spirulizer really struggles with sweet potatoes.
*I used freshly ground black pepper and you could really taste it through the richness and heat of the sauce.
Great dish. Such a keeper. Thank you.
So glad you enjoyed it, Melissa!! Thanks for the great feedback! :)
This recipe was just what I needed this week! I am currently on the Whole 30 and needed something new to add to my meal plan! All I had to change was using almond butter vs peanut butter and found a compliant chili garlic sauce & unfortunately had to leave off the chopped peanuts – but cashews to the rescue. :) Still was totally delicious!
Oooo, I bet cashews were delicious in here. So glad you were able to make it work!
Made this last night. SO GOOD! A welcomed break from the heavy foods of Thanksgiving. This will be added into our meal rotation! Thank you so much!
Wohoo!!! Glad to hear it, Megan! Thanks for leaving feedback! :)
I made your Fall Brussel Sprouts salad for thanksgiving, and it was a huge hit! The fried shallots were awesome! Yum, yum! I had two recipe requests!
Love it!! Thanks for sharing the recipe, Emily!
I cut this in half (ish, maybe more like 2/3 than a half portion came out) for myself tonight. It’s amazing!!! I followed it to a T but used a little but less oil and just added chicken stock as it dried out. MY sweet potato noodles also broke down quite a bit because I forgot and got caught up playing with my dogs. Whoops. Still freaking amazing. Thanks !!!!! I love making my Friday night – just me and no husband – dinner from your site. Very approachable cooking even for a seasoned cook like me. LOVE YOU
THANK YOU, Cori!! So glad you loved it and found the dish easy to make! :)
I bought a spiralizer months ago but really haven’t used it. This sounds awesome. My kids won’t like it (and one can’t do soy or coconut aminos), but I’ll make it for myself! I need lunches during the week anyway.
I can’t do chili sauce (no nightshades) so I’m thinking just a bunch of garlic? That sound suitable?
For sure! It mostly adds heat, so you’d probably be fine with just the one clove in the sauce recipe!
Just made this tonight and it was soo good!! Hubby and I loved it. :)
So glad to hear it, Candy! :) Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback!
[…] definitely making this Thai Peanut Chicken and Sweet Potato Noodles (from Iowa Girl Eats) for […]
Great recipe! My spiralizer struggled a bit with the sweet potatoes but this recipe was delicious and reminded us of a healthier pad thai. I also mixed in some zucchini noodles for a green veggie. Thank you for another great recipe.
You bet, Briana! Love your suggestion of cutting the sweet potato noodles with zoodles to lower carbs if you need it, and to pump up the health factor. Great idea!
This looks terrific.
Quick question. I have a small little handheld spiralizer. (I think it was $10 from BB&B) I have noticed that harder vegetables like carrots don’t do as well with it.
Do you think that I could put the sweet potato in the microwave to parcook it slightly to make it a bit softer to go through the handheld?
(Trying to not go out and get the bigger counter spiralizer at this time.)
For sure – I think that’s a great idea! I’d lightly pierce with a fork before microwaving for maybe a minute to start with?
Great dish, loads of flavor. You don’t miss the noodles at all!
So glad you agree, Kelly!
Nom nom nom. Made this for dinner tonight and it was awesome. My kiddo (in his 20s) wasn’t impressed with the sweet potato noodles at first (“Are you sure these aren’t just really long pieces of carrot, Mom?”) until he realized how much healthier they were in comparison to actual noodles. Then he had two helpings and put up the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow. Thanks for another great recipe, Kristin. Not only healthy and delicious, but filling too!
[…] Thai Peanut Chicken and Sweet Potato Noodles […]
[…] Spiralizer for Christmas and I’m loving it as a way to get more veggies in my diet. This Thai Peanut Chicken with Sweet Potato Noodle recipe is my fave so […]
Seriously delicious and I, too, plan to add this into the approved family meal rotation. Both my husband and my 2.5 year old loved it! Borrowing my sister’s Paderno spiralizer and having so much fun with it!
Great recipe! This meal had SO much flavor! I really enjoyed it but I have to say this fed us for dinner and had leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Can’t wait to try it!
Just whipped this up for dinner and YUM!! That sauce is killer!! I took the easy way out and got the pre-zoodled zoodles from Whole Foods so it was nice and quick after a long day at work. Thanks!!
[…] Find the recipe here: Iowa Girl Eats […]
I just made this. It is fantastic! My 11 year old is literally eating out of my bowl while I type this begging me to make more. Love it, thanks for the great recipe!! Also I think I have a new found love of sweet potato noodles.
Ahh, haha! I love it! Yes, I am constantly looking for excuses to use them too. :)
I made this for dinner tonight and was not disappointed. It was easy to make and very delicious. My husband and I ate the whole meal!
Thank you so much for the feedback, Susan, I’m so glad you guys loved it!
I made this recipe this weekend and was OMG delicious. I didn’t feel like making a trip to the grocery store, so I substituted water for the chicken broth and cinnamon for the ground ginger and used Frank’s sweet chili sauce. I used my Paderno angel hair blade for the sweet potato, but I may try the next size larger the next go-round, and there most definitely will be a next time for this recipe. Thanks!!
[…] when cooking. I usually go for 1 to 2 zucchinis per person. Another favorite recipe would be Thai Peanut Chicken with Sweet Potato Noodles. And if you just don’t have the time or patience for any of the above noodle variations, […]
Trying this tonight as I anxiously await a Cyclone victory! :-)
I tried this tonight and it was delicious! I didn’t have the chili garlic sauce so I left that out and just added a little more of the other liquids. So healthy and tasty! I will definitely make this again :)
[…] image via Iowa Girl Eats […]
This is so delicious! I used a sweet chili sauce I had on hand, and didn’t have broccoli so I used bok choy. I doubled the sauce, because I love sauce, and I’m glad I did. I could eat the sauce with a spoon! Fantastic recipe, definitely a keeper!
Where, oh where, has this recipe been all my life? Made it for the first time tonight and have already forwarded the recipe to three people! The noodles are so delicious, they really taste like noodles (maybe because they’re starchy?). I substituted almond butter for the peanut butter and cashews for the chopped peanuts because we have an allergy in the house, but I am already looking forward to repeating this one! Thank you!
Oh my gosh – awesome!! I’m so glad you loved the dish as much as I did!!
This was AMAZING! I made dinner for gluten free/Paleo friends and the devoured a massive plate of this dish. I have made another round to take with me for lunch at work. What peanut butter do you use? I used basic JIF and wondering if a natural PB without all the junk added to it would be better? Thank you for sharing your talents!
Yesss, so glad, Meg! I use Jif Naturals but you could use fresh ground/sugar free peanut or almond butter. Might just need to add another drizzle of honey – or not – totally customizable to your tastes! :)
This is truly delicious, and I had all on the ingredients on hand. I made the recipe vegetarian by leaving out the chicken and using vegetable broth. Thanks for a great meal!
Thanks for the great feedback, Erin, I’m so glad you loved the recipe!
This recipe was sooooo good! I think next time I make it I may do 1/2 sweet potato noodles and 1/2 zucchini noodles and maybe add some more vegetables like red pepper and snap peas! I also doubled the sauce which turned out to be a great idea because it was so tasty! Thanks!!
[…] 5. Thai Peanut Chicken and Sweet Potato Noodles […]
I just made this tonight and I love it! I would not have thought I’d feel so satisfied from a ‘fake’ noodle meal :) I will be enjoying my leftovers for lunch tomorrow!!!
Best we’ve ever eaten, you’re brilliant! and the vegetation was a bonus! A new staple for us! 5 stars!
Thank you so much, Ronda, I’m so so glad you loved it! :)
One of the best and most flavorful healthy recipes I’ve come across on Pinterest! I added sauteed red pepper and sweet onion to the mix. My husband and I were both so excited for our leftovers for lunch the next day…and then quickly disappointed when they were gone. Thanks so much for sharing.
So glad you loved the dish and I love that you were able to make it your own! Thanks for the review, too!
We made this recipe because we wanted to try the sweet potatoes in the zoodle maker. WOW. It has a great combination of taste and healthiness. It was simple and easy with a little prep (made the peanut sauce last night and prepped the chicken and broccoli). And speaking of the peanut sauce. It beats any Vietnamese place I have been to. Thank you!
That is so, so great to hear, Matthew! Thank you so much for your feedback!
Wondering how many calories in the thai peanut chicken sweet potato noodles
Just bought my spiralizer and this was the first recipe i made. Since my vegetarian daughter came over for dinner, I substituted the chicken with Tofu. It was a hit, everyone loved it!!! Will be making this again…with chicken 😋