Last Updated on February 10, 2024
A healthy and nutritious Vegan Pad Thai with Tempeh, this simple dish is similar to the traditional Pad Thai, but Veganized!
There really is not much in the way of ingredients to Pad Thai which include rice noodles, eggs, vegetables, a stir fried meat or tofu, and a sauce.
Traditionally this dish is made with meat and eggs, I swapped those out by removing the eggs and replacing the meat with tempeh.
Not a fan of tempeh? Normally, vegetarian Pad Thai is made with tofu, which works great baked or fried.
What is so wonderful about making this Vegan Pad Thai with Tempeh at home is that you can customize it to you and your families favorites!
Such as the type of vegetables, the shape and color of the noodles, the nuts, and of course, tempeh or tofu? Or maybe neither.
Switch it up every time you make it!
Noodles
The common type of noodles used in Pad Thai are usually a thick rice noodle.
They are perfect for stir fries and have just the right amount of a chewy texture.
Rice noodles have to be cooked a bit different than the regular wheat or egg noodles, so make sure to follow the package instructions when cooking these noodles.
As with the common wheat or egg noodle, these rice noodles come in many varieties as well.
Such as white, brown, purple, and also in thickness. So pick your favorite.
Nuts
In this recipe I do use peanuts and peanut butter.
This can be switched out with a different nuts and nut butters of your choice, one example is cashews.
Or why not mix a couple different nuts to switch up the taste!
Vegetables for this Vegan Pad Thai with Tempeh
There really is no limit to the type of vegetables to add to Pad Thai.
I suggest switching up the vegetables to find you and your families favorites.
In this recipe I added, purple cabbage, why purple? I love the brightness this purple cabbage brings to this dish., But green cabbage will work just as well.
Fresh green onions or scallions, a onion that will not over power this dish, so mild with just the hint of a onion flavor.
Carrots will add just the right amount of crunch and of course more color.
And one of my favorite vegetables (fruit), the bell pepper.
The sweetness and flavor of this pepper adds so much to this dish, along with color!
This sweet pepper is available in so many colors; red, yellow, orange, green, white, and purple.
Tofu or Tempeh?
In looking over other vegan and vegetarian recipes, I did find a lot using tofu.
Tofu does absorb the flavors that it cooked or baked with.
It can be used in so many different ways, it can be coated and baked or it can be simply fried in cubes.
But for me, I am in love with the taste of tempeh.
It is a earthy, nutty flavor that is undeniably tempeh.
Tempeh will take on the flavor of what ever it is added to, which makes it a versatile choice as well.
And because tempeh takes on the flavor of what you fry with it, I used a avocado oil, with a splash of sesame oil for taste.
Avocado oil will give everything a slight buttery taste and it has a high smoke point, which makes it perfect for a stir fry.
The Pad Thai Sauce
Although there is many premade Pad Thai sauce available in the markets, I still like to make my own from scratch, and it really is not that hard to make.
This sweet, salty, and nutty sauce is what is what give the Pad Thai it’s unique and satisfying flavor.
In this recipe I used liquid amino, lime juice, rice vinegar, peanut butter, sesame seeds, onion powder, minced garlic, maple syrup, and sriracha.
The sauce needed the tang from the vinegar and lime juice.
And the nutty flavor from the peanut butter.
also when ever I can use maple syrup for a sweetener, I do!
My family loves the subtle spice of the sriracha sauce, as well as the nice flavor it brings to this dish.
The Vegan Pad Thai with Tempeh
At the bottom of this post is the printable recipe with the measurements and step by step instructions.
How this Vegan Pad Thai comes together
Clean and chop all the vegetables.
Dice the tempeh into bit sized pieces.
Preheat the wok with oil and add the vegetables, tempeh and saute until the tempeh is slightly browned and the vegetables are tender but still have a little crispness.
While the vegetables and tempeh are sauteing in the wok, cook the rice noodles to the package directions in a medium sized pan.
Once the rice noodles are done to the desired tenderness, drain, rinse, and set aside.
In a measuring cup add the water, aminos, lemon juice, sesame seeds, peanut butter, vinegar, maple syrup, sriracha, seasonings and then blend.
Add the rice noodles to the vegetables and tempeh, drizzle the sauce over everything in the wok.
Sprinkle the peanuts over the ingredients in the wok and stir to combine.
Cover and continue cooking for 5 or more minutes.
Remove from heat.
Serve in a bowl with a sprinkle of more peanuts or cashews, sushi ginger, fresh cilantro, aioli, and a slice of lime on the side.
If you have tried this Vegan Pad Thai Recipe, please don’t forget to rate this recipe!
Thank you for reading!
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Vegan Pad Thai with Tempeh
Equipment
- Wok
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 Tbsp Avocado Oil
- 3 to 4 Cups Cabbage I used purple cabbage.
- 1 Bell Pepper Any color will do.
- 4 Scallion
- 1 large Carrot
- 1 package Tempeh
- 1 package Rice Noodles I used white rice noodles.
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- 1 tsp Sesame Seeds
- 1/3 Cup Unsalted Dry Roasted Peanuts
Sauce
- 3 Tbsp Liquid Aminos
- 1/2 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 1 Tbsp Creamy Peanut Butter Chunky peanut butter will work as well.
- 1 tsp Rice Vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Minced Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Real Maple Syrup
- 1/4 Cup Water
- 1 tsp Sriracha This can be eliminated or add more to your taste.
- Salt to taste.
Toppings and garnishes
- dry roasted Peanuts or Cashews
- Fresh Cilantro
- Aioli
- Fresh Lime
- Sushi Ginger
Instructions
- Clean and chop the cabbage, carrot, pepper, scallion, and set aside.
- Dice up the tempeh into bit sized pieces, set aside.
- Preheat the wok with the avocado and sesame oil on medium heat.
- Add the vegetables and the tempeh to the wok, drizzle sesame oil over everything and saute until the tempeh is a toasty brown and the vegetables are tender but still have a little crispness.
- While sauteing in the wok, cook the rice noodles to the package directions.
- Once the rice noodles are cooked to desired tenderness, drain, rinse, and set aside until the vegetables and tempeh are done.
- In a measuring cup add the water, aminos, lemon juice, sesame seeds, peanut butter, vinegar, maple syrup, sriracha, seasonings and then blend.
- After the vegetables and tempeh are cooked to the desired tenderness, add the rice noodles and sauce.
- Sprinkle the peanuts over everything and stir until blended.
- Cover and cook for 5 or more minutes, so that everything can marinate.
- Remove from heat.
- Serve in a bowl with a sprinkle of more peanuts or cashews, aioli, sushi ginger, fresh cilantro, and a slice of lime on the side.
