Our amazing low-carb Pad Thai Shrimp with Zoodles is a gluten-free version of the classic take out dish with a fresh and flavorful spin. This recipe uses “noodles” prepared from zucchini instead of the traditional rice noodles.

Pad Thai Shrimp and Zoodles Recipe

Pad thai is a classic Thai stir fry dish that combines rice noodles with a spicy peanut sauce, veggies and your choice of protein. It is that perfect blend of sweet, salty, umami and even sour flavors. While most pad thais are not spicy, you can ask for it “phet mak” if you want some chili sauce thrown into your dish.

Pad thai is one of my favorite dishes to order out on a lazy weekend, but it’s admittedly not the healthiest with plenty of simple carbs and sodium.

After trying multiple healthy Pad Thai recipes that just did not measure up to the taste and satisfaction of my beloved take-out classic, I can confidently say that this Zoodle Pad Thai is the best healthy pad thai recipe that I have tried!

This low-carb Pad Thai recipe tastes like authentic Pad Thai with perfectly cooked shrimp and veggies in a sweet and not too spicy sauce. It takes literally 15 minutes from start to finish in ONE pan.

It looks fancy, smells amazing, and tastes great. Just you wait!

OK, so hold up: What are zoodles? Zoodles are simply zucchini that has been “spiralized” (or shaved) into noodle shapes and then sautéed or steamed slightly for texture. It is incredibly easy to make zoodles at home with either a hand-held julienne peeler or a spiralizer. Personally, I just use the hand-held julienne peeler because it’s smaller to store in my kitchen, but if you end up making zoodles (or the various other vegetable noodle options out there) often, it may be worth investing in a spiralizer.

Now, you do have two options for this recipe: make your own pad thai sauce from scratch or use a low-carb, gluten-free sauce. I really like the Thai Kitchen Pad Thai sauce as it’s low in sodium while still having incredible flavor. It’s a huge time saver on a busy weeknight, without sacrificing health or taste – however, it is not low carb (please see below for low carb notes).

How to Make Low Carb Pad Thai

For my low-carb friends, there is one thing to keep in mind when making this recipe. Using a homemade or low-carb pad thai sauce is going to make the difference between this recipe having 7g net carbs per 2 cup serving or 15g net carbs per 2 cup serving.

Now, this recipe delivers 22g of protein per generous 2 cup serving, and if you’re just low-carb and not keto, 15g of net carbs might not be a deal breaker – so go for the pre-made sauce!

However, if you need to cut those carbs in half, making the pad thai sauce from scratch is going to go a long way.

BONUS: I’ve just added a video for how to make our homemade, low carb pad thai sauce – check it out and then don’t forget to scroll down to grab your free printable recipe:

Can zoodles be frozen? Honestly, thawed zucchini or zoodles just turns to mush so I do not advice freezing this recipe. It will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge after cooking.

If you need to prep a bit of this recipe in advance, I recommend making the pad thai sauce and freezing it with or without the shrimp in an airtight container up to 3 months.

Low-Carb Pad Thai Shrimp Ingredients

Scroll down to the free printable recipe card for exact measurements.

For the homemade pad thai sauce:

• Lime juice
• Lemon juice
• Garlic, minced
• Tomato paste
• Red chile paste
• Natural Peanut Butter
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Fish Sauce
• Rice Wine Vinegar
• Liquid Stevia, optional

For the Pad Thai:

• Jumbo shrimp, peeled & devained
• Snap peas, julienned
• Red bell pepper, julienned
• Zucchinis, spiralized
• Sesame oil
• Olive oil
• Ginger, optional

How to Make Pad Thai with Zoodles

For the pad thai sauce, simply whisk together all ingredients: lime juice, lemon juice, minced garlic, tomato paste, red chile paste, peanut butter, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce and rice wine vinegar. Taste and adjust the sauce by adding a dash more of ingredients you feel are lacking, and add stevia if you need increased sweetness.

Julienne and spiralize your veggies.

Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a non stick skillet or wok over medium high heat.

Add the veggies (including the zoodles). Stir fry until they slightly soften and gain some nice browning, about 4 minutes.

Remove the veggies from the pan and saute the shrimp until pink and translucent inside, about 3-4 minutes. (Add a bit more oil, if needed.)

Add the veggies back into the skillet and stir in Pad Thai Sauce (and ginger, if using).

Heat thoroughly, about 2-3 minutes and adjust seasoning to taste.

Pin this Low Carb Pad Thai recipe for the next time you’re craving take-out!

Yield: 7 cups

Pad Thai Shrimp & Zoodles

Print

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

For the Pad Thai Sauce:

• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (1 1/2 teaspoons)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon red chile paste
• 1 Tablespoon Natural Peanut Butter
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Rice Wine Vinegar
• Liquid Stevia, optional

For the Pad Thai:

• 1 Tablespoons olive oil
• 20 jumbo shrimp, peeled & devained
• 1 cup snap peas, julienned
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, julienned
• 2 medium zucchinis, julienned
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Fresh ginger, optional

Instructions

1. For the pad thai sauce, simply whisk together all ingredients: lime juice, lemon juice, minced garlic, tomato paste, red chile paste, peanut butter, Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce and rice wine vinegar. Taste and adjust the sauce by adding a dash more of ingredients you feel are lacking, and add stevia if you need increased sweetness.
2. Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a non stick skillet or wok over medium high heat.
3. Add the veggies (including the zoodles). Stir fry until they slightly soften and gain some nice browning, about 4 minutes.
4. Remove the veggies from the pan and saute the shrimp until pink and translucent inside, about 3-4 minutes. (Add a bit more oil, if needed.)
5. Add the veggies back into the skillet and stir in Pad Thai Sauce (and ginger, if using).
6. Heat thoroughly, about 2-3 minutes and adjust seasoning to taste.

Notes

Julienned and spiralized are the same process of cutting the vegetables into long strips.

Zoodles cook fast so take care not to over cook. This is why we saute them in this recipe.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 146Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 976mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 10g

For more delicious low-carb take-out classics, check out our Oven Roasted Butter Chicken or our Jamaican Instant Pot BBQ Pork.