Packed with hearty veggies and a spicy soy sauce, these Thai drunken noodles are fast to whip up in 40 minutes and better than any restaurant! You wouldn’t even know that these spicy noodles are vegan!
We’re taking a humble little weeknight dinner to the next level today! Drunken noodles take-out style made in the comfort of your own home in only FORTY minutes.
And yep, we’re packing this skillet with almost every veggie under the sun, loading it up with tons of noodles, AND keeping it vegan!
There’s no telling how many times a week you might feel inclined to make these noodles, but a fair guess would be at least twice.
And YES this is totally one of those dinners that won’t even miss the meat in! Drunken noodles are so easy to just skip the meat and load it up with tons of your favorite veggies instead.
And I’m telling you right now that it tastes SO much better than any Thai takeout we’ve ever had! No fancy ingredients or hours of your time necessary either.
These Thai Drunken Noodles feature…
- Tender wide rice noodles (perfect for soaking up the sauce!)
- A rainbow of sauteed veggies
- A flavorful soy-based sauce that delivers an incredible umami flavor
- Plenty of heat from Thai chili peppers (that you can dial up or down)
Making the Thai Drunken Noodles
(scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe!)
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sauce Ingredients – soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, light brown sugar, siracha, and sesame oil.
- Wide Rice Noodles – I recommend wide noodles for this recipe for soaking up more of the sauce!
- Vegetables – zucchini, yellow onion, sweet pepper, and mushrooms. – see below for different variations you can do!
- Aromatics – fresh garlic, ginger, Thai basil, green onions, and Thai chili peppers.
- Vegetable Oil – for sauteeing the vegetables in.
Choosing Your Vegetables
Many other types of vegetables work in this recipe if you don’t have the vegetables the recipe calls for or if you don’t prefer them! Check out these other veggie options –>
- Green beans
- Asparagus
- Summer squash
- Baby corn
- Shredded cabbage
- Bamboo shoots/water chestnuts
- Broccoli
- Shredded carrot
Tips for Adjusting Heat Level
In the recipe, I recommend 1-2 Thai chilis but you can adapt this based on your heat tolerance.
If you’re sensitive to spice, I would recommend starting with 1 tablespoon chili and going up from there by taste.
For heat lovers, 2 small Thai chilis adds a lovely little kick of heat to these noodles that you can adjust up to taste!
Drunken Noodle Adaptions
There are many ways you can adapt this recipe to make it different!
- Experiment with some of the different veggies I listed above and don’t be afraid to mix and match your favorites.
- If you like sweeter drunken noodles, feel free to up the amount of brown sugar in the sauce or add an extra drizzle of honey.
- For drunken noodles more on the savory side, you can increase the amount of soy sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce.
- If you would like to include meat in these noodles, do it! Thinly sliced sauteed chicken breast or steak works great in this recipe.
The amount of sweet + savory + spicy flavors we’re able to pack into these noodles in a mere 40 minutes is slightly unreal. These noodles are BRIMMING with the good stuff!
Plus the leftovers reheat amazingly. Jason and I make a big batch of these noodles at the beginning of the week and then reheat it as the drunken noodles craving hits throughout the week.
Sweet, spicy, saucy and just piled with so much good stuff. These noodles are about to earn a permanent spot on your dinner agenda!
A few more vegan dinners you will love!
- Crockpot Quinoa Black Bean Chili
- Blackened Butternut Squash Burrito Bowls
- Sweet Potato Kale Coconut Curry Lentil Soup
Watch these noodles made step-by-step on Google Web Stories!
Vegan Thai Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
- 3 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce (or regular oyster sauce if not vegan)
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar (or maple syrup)
- 2 teaspoons siracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Noodles and Vegetables
- 8 oz wide rice noodles
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced (about 1/4-in thick)
- 1 medium sweet pepper, core and seeds removed and thinly sliced into strips
- 8 oz button mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 1-2 Thai chilis, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup sliced green onion
- 1/2 cup Thai basil leaves, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk all sauce ingredients until smooth. Set aside.
Noodles and Vegetables
- Cook rice noodles according to package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- In a wok or large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until pan is hot. Add onion, zucchini, pepper, and mushrooms to skillet and saute, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Scrape vegetables into a bowl and set aside for a moment. In same pan, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until pan is hot. Add garlic, ginger, chilis, and green onions to pan and saute 2-3 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant.
- Reduce heat to medium and add sauce and sauteed vegetables to pan. Saute 3-5 minutes until sauce is bubbly then add noodles and cook an additional 5 minutes until noodles are coated in sauce.
- Remove pan from heat and fold basil into noodles. Season noodles with salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve noodles hot and enjoy!
JE says
Very underrated recipe. The best one I’ve tried…my new go-to for vegan-drunken-noodles. Deserves a lot more attention!
Sarah says
I’m so happy to hear that, JE! Thanks for reporting back. 🙂