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This fresh and tasty whole-food, plant-based twist on a classic Thai takeout dish is easy to make and full of good-for-you ingredients. A zesty, slightly spicy peanut sauce coats tender noodles, crunchy veggies, and velvety tofu for a meal that will have you reaching for a second helping. Turn up the heat a little with a sliced Thai chile and squeeze some lime on top for a bright kick of citrus!

By Nancy Macklin, RDN,

Ingredients

  • 1 12-oz. package extra-firm light silken tofu
  • ⅓ cup no-salt-added peanut butter
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 16-oz. bag frozen mixed vegetables
  • 4 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 8 oz. wide brown rice noodles
  • Sea salt, to taste
  • 1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup shredded carrot
  • ¼ cup sliced scallions
  • 1 fresh Thai chile, thinly sliced (optional)
  • Lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

  • Place tofu between paper towels; add a weight on top and press 15 minutes. Cut tofu into ½-inch cubes.
  • For sauce, in a small bowl whisk together peanut butter, lime juice, garlic, crushed red pepper, and 1 cup water.
  • In an extra-large skillet cook onion over medium 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to prevent sticking. Add mixed vegetables; cook 3 minutes or until almost tender. Stir in spinach; cook until wilted.
  • Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain well. Add noodles, tofu, and sauce to vegetables, tossing to mix well. Season with salt.
  • Arrange noodle mixture, cucumber, carrot, scallions, and Thai chile (if using) in bowls. Serve with lime wedges.
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Comments (32)

(4 from 14 votes)

Recipe Rating

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Marian Ryan

My husband and I found this recipe very bland.

Dennae

Very nice. Used extra firm tofu instead of silken extra firm tofu.

karen fulbright-anderson

oops I put my comments about the banana oat waffle recipe on this recipe by mistake....sorry!

karen fulbright-anderson

Very tasty and my husband who is vegan and sort of but not completely wfpb liked it as well and said he'd eat it again. We got about 3 tsps of lemon zest from our lemon so added all of it to the batter. The first couple of waffles were dense...still good but quite dense so I added a bit more almond milk to the last of the batter and it was much fluffier so I'll add more milk next time I make them. I'm also thinking I might add blueberries to the batter next time since they complement lemons so well.

Jenny

I accidentally added these comments to a dufeent recipe if you add soy sauce or braggs aminos, grated or sliced ginger and some hot sauce to the peanut mixture it will be much tastier. Also you can use sweet potato starch noodles if you’re gluten free. I buy mine from 99Ranch online as my area doesn’t have south Asian groceries in our stores

Michelle B

Brown rice middle are gluten free ☺️

C.

This was terrible. I don’t know what went wrong. Followed recipe. Noodles were a weird texture, so was the tofu. Slimy almost. Flavor was off…. Did not taste like restaurant quality pad thai. I am not used to it being this spicy, but otherwise extremely bland. Probably won’t make this one again.

Shannon

Please stop saying "silken" tofu for your recipes that need firm tofu. This is confusing for people who don't know the difference. Recipe is good. Left out the carrots and added peanuts to sprinkle on top.

Andrea

Thank you for the clarification I was confused!

Chris

Just wondering if Halloumi can be used instead of tofu? I have used it for veggie tacos and enjoy the flavour although it is salty.

Michele

Forks Over Knives is a 100% plant-based meal organization so, understandably, they will not recommend Halloumi (cheese) for that reason.

monica

i will try this recipe for sure, but if i understand well these amounts of ingredients give 9 servings?

Michele

It always confuses me, because FOK's recipes don't give # of servings. Rather, they give the volume or quantity for the recipe. E.g., they say that this recipe yields 9 cups but they don't say how many servings that is. I guess they're leaving it up to us how much of each recipe to eat and to serve?

holly elizabeth

I would add extra lime wedges for serving along with a sprinkle of peanuts. Otherwise this was fantastic! quick and delish! Thank you!

Naomi Lau

allergic to peanuts

Christine

then obviously this isn't for you (SMH)

Mary Kober

Could you please post Anne Essylstens recipe for peanut sauce made with PB2 for those who can’t use regular peanut butter?

Holly Godard

I can’t print recipes from my iPhone.

C

I’m new to WFPB and I think this recipe is very good! I tried it with and without the raw vegetables on the top and like it best without.

C

Oh and I just used an extra firm tofu. Not the silken type

Michelle Teichner

Recipe tasted great Didn’t read it all the way through Would have saved time boiling the noodles first It was yummy

Shaari

For those who don't want tofu, I would suggest keeping a legume in the recipe for their nutritional advantage. Take a can of rinsed and drained (or cooked) white beans and whir/blend into the sauce itself. Adding rinsed and chopped/shred jackfruit would be great texture.

Jane

What vegetables would you substitute for the mixed frozen vegetables?

Noemi

I would use broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Or really, any veggie.

Milene

Can we use jackfruit instead of tofu? Thank you for the wonderful recipes!

Dee

This sounds delicious! For health reasons I was told not to eat tofu.

Dee

Can the tofu be substituted.? This sounds delicious but was told not to eat tofu for health reasons. Thank you.

Noemi

I would think you could use any vegetable, or simply leave it out.

Lena

Why would anyone be told not to eat tofu unless they were allergic to it?

Lisa Lima

Easy prep. I doubled the red pepper flakes and Thai chili for extra spice. Delicious!

Susan

How many servings is this recipe? It’s hard to judge how to modify when cooking for one and trying for a reasonable amount of leftovers.

Lydia

The recipe says it makes 9 cups. I could very easily eat 1.5 cups on my own, or 2 cups if I were very hungry. So... about 6 moderate-sized servings I would guess? You could halve it if you're cooking for one and see how that goes. Plant-based resources (as you probably know) often don't give traditional serving sizes and other info because the theory is to just eat to satisfaction a variety of foods, mostly plants and you'll be set (in consultation with a plant-based physician).

About the Author

Headshot of Nancy Macklin

About the Author

Nancy Macklin, RDN

Nancy Macklin has a bachelor of science in dietetics from Iowa State University and a Master of Science in health services administration from the University of Saint Francis. Macklin worked as a hospital-based clinical dietitian, providing counseling for diabetes, heart disease, and weight loss and as a food service director in health care dining sites. She now serves as a test kitchen dietitian, developing 500+ recipes per year. She is a member of the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics and International Association of Culinary Professionals. Find her on LinkedIn.
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