Thai Peanut Chicken Quinoa Bowls have the signature flavors of Chicken Pad Thai in protein-packed, gluten-free form. Quick, easy, and delicious!
I confess to making a ton of bad Pad Thai in the past, your honor. It was thick, gloopy, and the furthest thing from appetizing. After finally mastering the homemade recipe though (made without Tamarind paste, no less!) I decided to toss the savory, homemade sauce with cooked quinoa to create this healthy, protein packed, gluten free version of Pad Thai.
Thai Peanut Chicken Quinoa Bowls are fresh, flavorful, and fast. A truly fun take on Pad Thai that will leave you full and satisfied for hours after eating!
Made with nearly all fridge, freezer and pantry staples, too! Raid the cupboards to get this gorgeous and flavorful meal on the dinner table tonight.
Start by rinsing quinoa under cold running water.
Quinoa is naturally coated in a bitter substance called saponin which needs to be rinsed off. Just add the quinoa to a fine mesh sieve and rinse under cold running water. I go an extra step and line my sieve with cheesecloth because hate to lose even a single seed through the mesh!
After rinsing the quinoa, add it to chicken broth then bring to a boil, place a lid on top, turn the heat down to low, and simmer until all the broth is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.
Fluff with a fork then set aside to cool slightly.
Meanwhile get the Thai Peanut Sauce ready. To a bowl add:
- Gluten-free tamari
- Rice vinegar
- Water
- Sugar
- Creamy peanut butter
- Gluten-free chili garlic sauce
Microwave for 20 seconds then stir with a fork until smooth. Set aside. Sauce = done!
Now get the rest of the ingredients ready including:
- Thinly sliced chicken breast
- Coleslaw mix
- Frozen shelled edamame
- Green onions
- Egg whisked with sesame oil
- Chopped roasted peanuts
My #1 rule for stir frying is to make sure all your ingredients are prepped and ready to go before you start cooking. The actual stir fry process goes too quickly to be chopping or measuring in the middle of it!
Time to start cookin’! Heat peanut oil (or vegetable or coconut oil) in a large wok or skillet over high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper then add to the wok and stir fry until no longer pink. Remove to a place then set aside.
Heat another teaspoon peanut oil in the wok then add the coleslaw mix, shelled frozen edamame, and green onions. Stir fry until just becoming tender then push to the outsides of the wok.
In the center of the wok add the egg whisked with sesame oil then stir until just barely scrambled.
Finally, add the cooked quinoa and chicken back into the wok along with the chopped peanuts and sauce.
Toss to combine, then serve topped with (LOTS of) extra chopped peanuts!
So savory from the peanut sauce, and I just love all the vegetables mixed with fluffy quinoa, and stir fried chicken. Oh and the chopped peanuts!! They’re not to be missed. I hope you enjoy every single bite of this truly delectable take on Chicken Pad Thai!
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1-1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons peanut oil or vegetable oil, divided
- 1 chicken breast, ~1/1lb, thinly sliced
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup coleslaw mix
- 1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped and divided
For the Thai Peanut Sauce:
- 1/4 cup gluten free reduced-sodium Tamari, or soy sauce if not GF
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon creamy peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons gluten free chili garlic sauce
Directions
- Add quinoa to a small saucepan with the chicken broth then bring to a boil, place a lid on top, turn heat to low and cook until quinoa has absorbed chicken broth, about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork then set aside.
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl then microwave for 20 seconds. Stir until smooth then set aside. Whisk together egg and sesame oil in a small bowl then set aside.
- Heat 1 teaspoon peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper then add to wok and stir fry until no longer pink. Remove to a plate then set aside.
- Heat remaining teaspoon peanut oil in wok then add coleslaw mix, frozen edamame, and green onions. Stir fry until tender, 2-3 minutes, then push to outsides of wok, creating a clear space in the center. Add egg whisked with sesame oil to center of wok then stir fry until soft scrambled.
- Add cooked chicken, quinoa, sauce, and half the chopped peanuts to wok then toss to combine. Serve with remaining chopped peanuts.
Notes
- Throw in any leftover veggies when you stir fry! You can also make extra quinoa earlier in the week to be ready to make this.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I just made this for dinner & it turned out nothing like the picture… Tasted good, but was too much liquid
I just made a vegetarian version of this recipe, substituting black beans and garbanzo beans for the chicken and it was fabulous!! Thanks for the great recipe once again :) This was a hit with all my family members!
Shared this one with my yoga peeps. Delicious and can be made Vegan with vegetable broth and tofu:) Made it tonight. Yummy Yummy!!!!! Next time I may garnish with cilantro like in your picture. Happy heat wave starting tomorrow:) Yippee!!!
Eating this right now, with a few swaps due to pure laziness and a sudden obsession with Brussels sprouts, and it is DIVINE! I could eat it every night.
Made this tonight- SO GOOD! Adding this into my monthly rotation of recipes for sure! Love that all the ingredients are staples, too!
This is such a great recipe, thanks for posting! :D
I will have to try this. I pretty much love anything covered in peanut sauce. I made another quinoa recipe with peanut sauce recently that you might like. I like to cheat and precook quinoa in my ricecooker so I can take a cup for lunches, add different veggie & sauces so I don’t get sick of eating a big batch of something.
http://vegangela.com/2013/09/27/asian-cashew-quinoa-salad/
This looks delicious! I am wondering how long things like balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, white cooking wines etc keep for once opened? I know they are not all in this recipe it just reminded me I meant to ask:-)
Olive oil can last 2 years if kept tightly capped – balsamic vinegar up to 5 years if kept in a cool dry place (per Old Town Oil: I’d go by the “use by” date on the soy sauce bottle!
Super good and quick! Very easy to change and swap ingredients
Delicious, made this tonight and substituted grated carrots and green beans as no slaw mix on hand. But delicious. Loved the sauce and am going to marinade some chicken in it for my daughter. Thank you for how to cook quinoa properly – came out perfect! Yum yum!
Made this today – totally delicious! My husband and I WOLFED this down…kinda embarassing, actually, but it was so amazing! Subbed in peas (that’s what I had) and I just finely sliced green cabbage and grated some carrots out the garden since I didn’t have the mix. It’s a keeper!
Oh yum! This looks delish!
Eating a bowl of this right now! So delicious and pretty simple to make once everything is prepped. I love the quinoa instead of heavy rice or noodles and the peanut sauce has a great consistency and flavor balance. Looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow!