If you love the taste of take-out Pad Thai noodles, then you’ve got to try our guilt-free and grain-free version! This easy Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai is so flavorful and delicious that you’d almost swear it’s the real thing! We’ll even show you simple swaps to make Keto Pad Thai and Paleo Pad Thai too!
Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
Pad Thai might just be my favorite dish on the entire planet. In fact, when I was pregnant, it was one of the few things I could eat and keep down!
Though I generally avoid wheat, I’m a self-confessed rice and rice noodle addict. However, sometimes I cut back on all grains when I start to feel my jeans getting snug.
This Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai recipe is the perfect compromise, because it doesn’t taste like a compromise at all! Seriously, this stuff is out-of-this-word amazing!
What You Need to Make Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
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- Spaghetti squash — Swapping spaghetti squash for traditional rice noodles cuts down on carbs in a big way!
- Rotisserie chicken — Saves a lot of time!
- Coconut oil — One of our favorite oils for cooking
- Yellow onion
- Eggs
- Pad thai sauce — We sometimes use a store-bought sauce to save time (Kroger actually makes a really tasty Pad Thai sauce); see cooking tips below for a homemade paleo sauce recipe and keto Pad Thai recipe.
- Cashews — You can also use peanuts, but we just love the taste of cashews.
- Green onion and/or cilantro
Cooking Tools Used
- Silicone baking mat — These are one of our favorite cooking tools because they are so versatile, nothing sticks to them, and you can wash and reuse them over and over again!
- Medium saute pan — We love these Kila Chef copper bottom fry pans because you get the benefit of cooking with copper without the hefty price tag.
How to Make Paleo Pad Thai
It’s fairly easy to make our spaghetti squash pad thai paleo with the following swaps:
- Omit the cashews
- Try a Paleo Pad Thai sauce alternative like this one from Well Fed
How to Make Keto Pad Thai
Our original recipe for Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai contains about 19 grams of carbs per serving. While this could work on the maintenance phase of a low carb diet, it might be too many carbs for a strict keto diet.
My husband and I started eating keto in 2019 and love the results, so we made a few modifications to this recipe to make it keto-friendly.
Our Keto Pad Thai recipe clocks in at around 10 grams net carbs per serving. Here’s how to do it:
- Make your own Keto Pad Thai sauce (recipe below).
- Reduce the amount of cashews by half.
- Use half an onion instead of a full onion.
Whisk together the following to make a Keto Friendly Pad Thai Sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 1/2 teaspoons)
- 2 Tablespoons sugar free ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon chili paste
- 1 teaspoon Coconut Aminos
- 1 Tablespoon Natural Peanut Butter
- 2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Swerve (erythritol)
This low carb Pad Thai sauce recipe was inspired by our friends at Sizzle & Salt – click here to see their original recipe for Shrimp Pad Thai Zoodles. If you prefer zucchini noodles to spaghetti squash, this could be just the recipe for you!
More Tips to Make the Perfect Pad Thai with Spaghetti Squash
- Save money and make your own rotisserie style chicken.
- Cook your spaghetti squash in advance to save time.
- Use both halves of the spaghetti squash and double the other ingredients to serve 4-6.
Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai Recipe (Printable Copy)
If you like this recipe, rate it! We’d also love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Best Ever Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai
Ingredients
- 1/2 spaghetti squash (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup chopped rotisserie chicken
- 1 onion sliced
- 4 eggs
- 1/3 cup pad thai sauce
- 1/3 cup cashews chopped
- 1/4 cup green onion chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place facedown on a silicone baking mat and bake for 45 minutes.
- Once spaghetti squash is cool enough to handle, use a fork to remove from shell.
- In a medium frying pan, brown onion. (Use your choice of cooking oil; we love coconut oil). Once onion slices are caramelized, add 4 eggs to pan and scramble. Remove eggs and onion from pan and set aside.
- To the same pan you used to cook eggs and onion, add chopped chicken and stir to heat. This also allows the chicken to absorb some of the juices left in the pan.
- Add spaghetti squash, Pad Thai sauce, eggs, onions and toss to coat evenly. Remove from heat and garnish with green onion and chopped cashews.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Pin Our Spaghetti Squash Pad Thai on Pinterest:
Love Spaghetti Squash? Try These Recipes Too!
We love using spaghetti squash as an ingredient substitute in gluten free cooking! It is extremely mild on its own, and absorbs all the flavors of the recipe in which you use it.
Gluten Free Crab Cakes made with Spaghetti Squash
Italian Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Sausage & Kale
And be sure to check out our original Authentic Pad Thai Recipe (one of our most popular dishes ever!)
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Ashlee @ The Normal Mom's Guide says
This looks seriously delicious! We just tried spaghetti squash for the first time a few weeks ago and now I’m thinking we will definitely have to try this.
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
This totally hit the spot and satisfied my noodle cravings! It’s a keeper in our menu rotation 🙂 Hope you love it too!
Denise says
I can’t believe how amazing this is. I made the Keto version of the sauce. Thank you so much for giving that option! Definitely a keeper!!!!!!
sarah says
this isnt paleo. the pad thai sauce contains sugar.
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
Hi Sarah, the recipe offers a paleo-friendly sauce option too in the ingredients list.
Dana says
Do you add water to the baking dish to roast the spaghetti squash? It shows in the video but isn’t in the recipe-just wondering bc I’ve never cooked one before. Looks delist-can’t wait to try this recipe
Stacey aka the Soccer Mom says
Hi Dana, We also make ours on a baking sheet — no water needed. Either way will work!