
With my new cookbook well under way and keeping me very busy, I’ve lined up some fellow bloggers to do guest posts for me two Saturdays a month. My autoimmune condition is heavily fueled by stress, so in an effort to stay healthy, these friends will help relieve some of the stress and keep recipes still coming your way! Today we have Alta from Tasty Eats at Home. Alta’s recipes are not all Grain-Free, but today she is sharing a special Paleo Pad Thai recipe. Her recipes are all gluten and dairy free. Looking to make this into a whole Thai feast? Complete the meal with my Tom Kha Gai Soup, Yellow Curry Prawns, and Thai Iced Tea.
One of the first Thai dishes I ever encountered was Pad Thai. When I first went gluten-free, it was also one of the dishes I could eat at a Thai restaurant without making a bunch of substitutions. Besides, it’s delicious – a giant steaming bowl of rice noodles with the sweet-sour tang of tamarind, the salty peanuts, the heat of a few crushed red pepper flakes thrown on top, and the cool, crunchy bean sprouts. It’s definitely a dish worth craving. Thai food is definitely not subtle on flavor, and Pad Thai is no exception. But when I realized my body is happiest when I eat little grains, I didn’t want it to mean I had to go without those big, bold craveable flavors.
So I decided it was time to make a paleo version of this classic dish. It keeps the awesome explosion of Thai flavors, the pleasure of the sauce-coated noodles, without grains or legumes. The result is a lighter, but equally satisfying dish. I made a few substitutes. I used a pulp-free tamarind paste that you can find at Whole Foods, but you can also find it in well-stocked grocery stores in the Asian section, or in Asian groceries. I also opted to use anchovy fillets and coconut aminos in place of fish sauce, which is the traditional ingredient, but if you prefer to use fish sauce, go right ahead! Either will do – but that umami-laden flavor is what you want. I also used this new-to-me coconut palm sugar/jaggery, but you can simply use any coconut palm sugar, liquid or crystals. Here are the brands I used.
Lastly, I’m sure there is some debate whether mung bean sprouts are “paleo” or not. Personally, I don’t have issues with consuming them, but if you are looking for an alternative, thinly julienned jicama would do nicely to provide that cool crunch.
The best part? Once you have all the ingredients, this dish comes together in a flash. This means you can have your favorite Thai dish any night of the week!

About Alta
Alta is the founder of the gluten-free, dairy-free blog, Tasty Eats At Home. Even without gluten and dairy, Alta can show you that meals can be simple and healthy, and treats such as cake, bread, and cookies can be mouth-watering! Her goal is to share with you delicious, gluten-free, dairy-free food that can bring your heart joy and nourish your body, one recipe at a time.
Hilary
This looks amazing. Looks like I’ll be making a trip to the Asian grocery soon!
Alta
Thanks for having me today!
Alisa
What a creative recipe! I didn’t know you could get tamarind paste in a jar. I’d only seen it in Asian markets prior. Going to hunt for that!
Cara
Alta, this sounds fantastic! I don’t have any issues with bean sprouts either, but I happen to love jicama too. Awesome suggestion.
Beth @ Tasty Yummies
This looks amazing! Pad Thai is one of my absolute favorite dishes, I’ve never thought to make it without the noodles though. I have to try this. I bet it would also be great with some zucchini noodles, or maybe even some kelp noodles. Thanks for the inspirational recipe!
France @ Beyond The Peel
Beautiful recipe Alta. I love pad thai and what a fab idea to use vegetable noodles here. What are coconut aminos and can I leave them out since I have everything else?
Kate @ Eat, Recycle, Repeat
Oooo this looks dreamy!
Sherry Gregory
How much fish sauce would you use?
Rob
Tried this last night – it was awesome (the kids loved it!). Substituted pad thai sauce for the tamarind paste (couldn’t find it at local stores) – will order some tamarind paste for the next batch. Note that the recipe is for 2 servings, but scales easily. This will become a regular for us.
Johanna
We made this last night, and it was AMAZING! We used zucchini noodles, and fish sauce in place of the coconut amino/anchovy combo. We’ve just started going paleo, and this recipe surprised us by being so tasty, and so filling!
Caitlin
Oh my gosh this looks so good! Thank you for sharing!
Tracie Massey
I just made this tonight and it was sooooo good… Thank you so much!!
Zoe C
I made this with zucchini noodles and – it was amazing!!! Thank you so much!
Eunora Fralich
Although I could not find tamarind paste, I made some substitutions and made a family-approved dinner. This was very good. Because the sauce is completely mixed in with the spaghetti squash, you can’t even tell the rice noodles are missing from this classic dish. Yummy!
Mary Lee
How do you make zucchini noodles?
Against All Grain
Here’s the link! https://againstallgrain.com/2012/07/30/zucchini-noodles/
Yvonne
I am guessing the ‘coconut aminos’ goes in the pad thai sauce mixture of anchovies/cider vinegar/palm sugar? The recipe does not mention where or when to add the coconut aminos..?
Stephanie
How much fish sauce can subtistute the anchovy fillets and coconut aminos!?
Reena
did you ever get a response to this question? i am wondering the same thing. please let me know. thanks