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.
YUM! And by fluke I have all the ingredients except the coleslaw mix. No biggie. I’m going to swap the peanut butter with PB2 to make this even healthier. Can’t wait to try it!
Can this be frozen?
Hey Erin! I’ve never tried, but I imagine it would be ok!
I have made this twice now and it is delicious.I made it exactly by the recipe and it is perfect. Thanks for a new standard at my house.
Made this tonight and it was FABULOUS!! Thanks for sharing!
Made this tonight. Unfortunately, as someone mentioned above, the vinegar is too strong and overpowers all the other flavors. I will try it again with half the vinegar. Not sure what I should sub it with, but I’ll play.
Finally got around to making this and oh dear god is it good! And really filling, too. Super Yum!!
this looks great but for some reason, after trying 3 different kinds of peanut butter (one made with only peanuts, one crunchy Jif, one creamy Jif) I could not for the life of me get the peanut sauce to combine! It was very watery and it seems like the soy sauce and rice vinegar are separated from the peanut butter. Would be interested to know if anyone else has had this problem or if there could be something I’m doing wrong
Hey Sarah! If you keep whisking it will come together. Just make sure the peanut butter has softened a touch in the microwave then whisk and it will eventually smooth out!
these look amazing! trying them this weekend….
We made this tonight and it was really tasty! The sauce was especially delicious but we would have been happy with about half of the amount. Overall very good!
Just made this last night, it was really good and received rave reviews. I’ll definitely make it again in the future
Made this on Thursday night and it was a hit! I love quinoa, and we all love Thai food so we will definitely make this again. My daughter suggested that next time we add a little more chicken (that girl loves her meat!) and maybe cut down a little on the rice vinegar. The chicken suggestion I can live with, but after re-heating the leftovers for lunch the next day I found that the vinegar flavour seemed to mellow after sitting in the fridge overnight. And it tasted even better the next day too, if that is even possible!
Thanks for another awesome recipe that quick, easy and delicious!
Oh my gosh, why can I not stop making this?
I first made this recipe a month ago, and have made it 1-3 times a week since. I started throwing in more veggies (mushrooms,peppers, green onions) and it just gets better and better.
YUM! Sounds delicious. I’m currently renting an apt in Malaysia for a month and was so sad when I didn’t find quinoa in 2 grocery stores here, but luckily was able to find it in a 3rd one! Now I’m all about bookmarking quinoa recipes to make : )