A healthy and refreshing salad, this raw Pad Thai is made with zucchini noodles, carrots, bell peppers, and fresh herbs. All topped with a homemade jalapeño almond sauce for a delicious and hearty meal. Made in under 30 minutes!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Friends! We’ve done it. We’ve finished the 30-day cleanse! If you want a recap of the incredibly fresh and delicious recipes we’ve been eating this month, make sure to check out the Best of January highlights. My personal favorite is this Detox Salad.
But there is no reason to wait for a cleanse to be chowing down on a detox salad!
For my final recipe of the 2019 cleanse I’m bringing back an oldie; a recipe from nearly 6 years ago. Wouldn’t you say it is time to freshen up this beloved recipe?
Let’s take a look at the new and improved Raw Pad Thai.
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
This recipe is light, refreshing, and delicious. You’re going to love the combination of zucchini with fresh vegetables and a Thai almond sauce. So good!
Here is everything you need.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Zucchini
- Carrots
- Red Bell Pepper
- Bean Sprouts
- Green Onion
- Cilantro
- Cashews
- Lime
- Thai Almond Butter – This is a blend of raw almond butter, lime juice, melted coconut oil, Nama Shoyu (raw soy sauce), cilantro, agave nectar, jalapeño, and garlic. Feel free to taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.
Recommended Equipment
Most importantly, you will need a spiralizer. I love my spiralizer because:
- They don’t take up a lot of room. Yay for tiny kitchens!
- They are simple to master.
- And they turn almost any vegetable into beautiful ribbons or noddles.
In addition to a spiralizer, you will also need a food processor, a large salad bowl, and basic kitchen utensils. (<<affiliate links)
Check out the full list of my recommended kitchen tools and gadgets.
Benefits of Spiralizing Vegetables
Spiralizing vegetables allows people on all kinds of diets to enjoy pasta dishes.
Whether your raw, low carb, gluten-free, keto, or paleo, vegetable noodles offer comfort food without compromising on health. Some of my most popular recipes on this blog feature vegetable noodles such as my Mushroom Bolognese and Pesto Pasta (both made with zucchini noodles) and this Ginger Peanut Sweet Potato Noodles recipe.
If you’re new to spiralizing, check out this article on Spiralizing Vegetables Like a Pro to learn how and why we should spiralize all the vegetables.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
How to Make Raw Pad Thai
Step One: Prepare the Vegetables
This salad is made with a base of vegetables. To prepare them start by spiralizing the zucchini. Most spiralizers come with several different settings. For this recipe, look for your smallest setting as we want our noodles to be thin, resembling rice noodles.
Shred the carrots. Chop the red bell peppers and onions. De-stem and mince the cilantro.
Once the vegetables are prepared, toss them together in a large salad bowl along with bean sprouts, cashews, and jalapeño (if using).
Step Two: Make the Almond Sauce
Traditionally Pad Thai is tossed with a Thai Peanut Sauce but for this raw pad thai we are using raw almond butter. If you can’t find raw almond butter at your local grocery store, you can pick some up online. (<<affiliate link)
The almond butter, along with the remaining ingredients, is blended together in a small blender or food processor until smooth and creamy.
Step Three: Toss and Serve
Toss the vegetables and raw almond sauce together until the Pad Thai is evenly coated. Top with green onions, cilantro, and fresh lime and serve.
Serving and Storing
Serving – Toss vegetables with almond sauce and divide between two plates. Top with garnish and lime wedges and serve immediately. Serve with Sweet Potato Spring Rolls or Teriyaki Mushroom Lettuce Wraps for a complete vegan and gluten-free Thai dinner.
Storing – If you are not going to eat it right away or plan on having leftovers, store Pad Thai and Almond Sauce separately in the refrigerator. Eat leftover Pad Thai within 3 days. The sauce will remain good for up to 7 days.
Tips and Tricks
- The almond butter sauce is quite spicy. If you are sensitive to spice, reduce the amount of jalapeño or omit it altogether.
- Because this is raw, it’s important to use the best vegetables. Make sure they are healthy, perfectly ripe, and unbruised.
- Wait to toss together the Pad Thai and sauce until ready to serve to prevent soggy vegetables.
More Vegan Zucchini Recipes
- Vegan Zucchini Fritters
- Mexican-Style Stuffed Zucchini Boats
- Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Classic Zucchini Bread
- Vegan Zucchini Noodle Lasagna
Raw Pad Thai
Ingredients
Pad Thai
- 1 large zucchini
- 1 small carrot, shredded
- 1/2 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup bean sprouts
- 2 green onions thinly chopped (plus more for garnish)
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped (plus more for garnish)
- 2 tbsp cashews
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Dressing
- 1/4 cup raw almond butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 fresh lime
- 1 tbsp coconut oil melted
- 1 tbsp Nama Shoyu (raw soy sauce)
- 1 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1 tsp raw agave nectar
- 1/2 small jalapeño chopped
- 1 clove garlic
Instructions
- Cut off the ends of the zucchini and discard. Using a spiralizer, spiralize the zucchini for the thinnest noodle. Place in a salad bowl. Shred the carrots and chop the red bell peppers. Toss them into the salad bowl along with bean sprouts, green onions, and cilantro. Mix to combine. Set aside.
- In a blender or food processor combine all the ingredients for the dressing, blending until smooth. Pour over the Pad Thai and toss to coat.
- Divide evenly between two separate plates and top with cashews and extra cilantro and green onions. Squeeze fresh lime juice over pad thai and enjoy!
Notes
- The almond butter sauce is quite spicy. If you are sensitive to spice, reduce the amount of jalapeño or omit it altogether.
- Because this is raw, it’s important to use the best vegetables. Make sure they are healthy, perfectly ripe, and unbruised.
- Wait to toss together the Pad Thai and sauce until ready to serve to prevent soggy vegetables.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
all Hungry says
A quick and delightful meal that’s as nourishing as it is delicious.
Kathy says
Wonderful. I was extra hungry so I added kale and snow peas. I will have again soon. Jalapeno’s are all different – so in may case 1/2 was not enough. I used 1/2 of a large one, but will add the other half to the next serving. Fun to use the items just harvested from the garden.
Jess Karma says
This is my second go at this recipe – it’s that good! I omitted the water from the sauce completely this time, though. Since the zucchini gives off its own liquid, this minimized the soupiness that occurred last time.
Kathy says
I cut my zucchini first and by the time I got past all distractions and ready to add I just squeezed out the excess water with my hands. I think the size of the zucchini will also impact how much water wants to release.
Margaret says
I have been raw vegan for three months now. I found your site while looking for a raw nutella recipe. I have also been looking for raw Thai recipes like this one. Do you happen to have a recipe for raw pad see ew ? Ps my three-year-old daughters name is also Eden I thought that was pretty cool. Can’t wait to try this recipe!!!
Cyndi says
I made this for my not-so-raw-loving husband. He wanted more! It is a hit in our house for sure. I made the dressing to toss over shredded veggies last night by request from my husband. He is hooked. THANK YOU!
Willis Cherrie says
Now that is going to be my favourite meal, my kids actually love it aswell. Thanks.
Tony Nguyen says
This is definitely one of my favourite Thai dish, I love this so much and I love to try your recipe soon, it looks so yummy.
Thess says
Oh, I love Pad Thai – makes me long for Thailand and the endless beaches over there. Great recipe 🙂
Sarah says
I want to go to Thailand! Bring me with you next time you go 🙂
jodye @ chocolate and chou fleur says
Yum! I love the flavors of Pad Thai, but I’m not so keen on noodles. This sounds like the perfect alternative for me! Thanks for a beautiful recipe!
Sarah says
Your welcome Jodye! I hope you like it!
The Raw Food Sisters says
Looks and sounds delicious! We are looking for dinner inspiration and this one is saved as a must try 🙂
Sarah says
Great! Let me know what you think.
Johanna says
That looks great, and so much easier than a raw pad thai i’ve made before. It used fresh coconut, and tamarind that I had process from the the pulp.
Cheers!
Joy//For the Love of Leaves says
I love pad Thai! This looks so good and relatively simple to make. I’m adding this to my recipes to try!
Sarah says
Great! Please let me know what you think!
Emma says
This is just what I need right now. It’s really warmed up here too so I was thinking a yummy crunchy but satisfying salad would be perfect. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Sarah says
It really does the trick to cool one down!