This easy, less-than-30-minute recipe for Beef Pad Thai with Crunchy Peanuts is a beautiful bowl of tender beef and silky rice noodles with dry-roasted peanuts in a delicious creamy sauce.

Beef Pad Thai is a stir fry dish with savory, sweet flavor made with rice noodles and thin slices of steak. The sauce can be mild or spicy, depending on your preference.

Tamarind paste, a basic ingredient in traditional Pad Thai, is not always readily available at mainstream grocery stores.

Instead, to avoid a trip to the Asian market, my easy Beef Pad Thai recipe uses a tablespoon of ketchup, extra rice wine vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce to mimic the sweet, tangy tamarind paste flavor.

Not only that, these Beef Pad Thai noodles gets added umami (savory) flavor from a healthy splash of fish sauce, a staple in stir fry cooking.

Looking for more delicious 30-minute stir fry meals? My Sriracha Chicken Stir Fry with tender chicken and caramelized Brussels sprouts in a spicy sweet honey sriracha sauce is popular among my friends. Or, my Easy Orange Chicken Stir Fry cooks in a to-die-for homemade soy-honey sauce.

Why you’re going to love it!

Easy to make. Prep and cook, all in 30 minutes.
Salty and sweet. Irresistible flavor combination from the sweet sauce and salty peanuts.
Family friendly. Kids love these saucy noodles!

Beef Pad Thai: behind the recipe

Pad Thai is probably the most popular stir fry noodle dish served by street food vendors and restaurants across Thailand. Cooked quickly in a salty and sweet sauce, Pad Thai beef dishes have gained popularity here in the U.S. as well.

Today’s recipe will show you how to make easy beef pad Thai at home with ingredients you can easily find at your local grocery.

Bowls of pad thai ingredients on a table, with noodles, beef, peanuts

Key ingredients & substitutions

Dried Pad Thai rice noodles (or linguine) — Made with rice and water, Pad Thai rice noodles are soft and silky. They are not cooked like pasta, but instead are softened by pouring boiling water over them in a bowl to soak for about 10 minutes.
Sirloin steak, thinly sliced — or a flat iron steak will work
Rice wine vinegar — or use an equal amount of white wine vinegar, adding 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to replace the sweetness in the rice wine vinegar
Fish sauce — A bit pungent (it is made from FISH after all), fish sauce adds earthy, savory flavor. Red Boat Fish Sauce is the one I prefer.

Worcestershire sauce — added to the sauce (along with ketchup) instead tamarind paste to add tangy flavor
Ketchup — added to the sauce (along with Worcestershire sauce) instead tamarind paste to add sweet, tomato flavor
Peanut butter — to enhance the peanut flavor in the sauce
Carrots — julienned (or buy matchstick/shredded carrots in the produce aisle to save on prep time)
Bean sprouts — optional, but if you like them, add 1 can, drained
Dry roasted peanuts — for crunch
Fresh cilantro — or sliced green onions, for garnish

How to make Beef Pad Thai with peanut sauce

STEP 1 | Soak the rice noodles

Pour boiling water over the noodles in a large bowl and let stand 8 to 10 minutes, until soft, but still firm. Drain well.
Don’t be tempted to cook the rice noodles as you would regular pasta or they’ll become mushy.

tip

If Pad Thai noodles are not available at your grocery, you may substitute cooked linguine noodles.

STEP 2 |Prep the ingredients

Practice mise en place. The dish comes together so quickly that you’ll want to practice mise en place—measuring and gathering all the ingredients needed ahead of time—so that you’re ready to go once you heat up the wok.
- Whisk. In a small bowl combine sherry vinegar, fish sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, peanut butter, garlic, and red pepper flakes for the sauce.
- Slice. Cutting the steak across the grain is the secret to getting tender pieces of meat.
- Chop. Julienne carrots slice scallions, and cut a lime into wedges.

tip

How do cut across the grain in meat? First, look for long parallel lines or muscle fiber, in the meat. Hold your knife perpendicular to those lines — the grain — and slice.

STEP 3 | Stir fry

Heat up the wok. Specifically designed for fast cooking at a high temperature, a wok cooks on the bottom and even up the sides. Use canola oil, peanut oil, or avocado oil with a high smoke point.
Sear the meat. Add the steak and stir until it is cooked through.
Toss in the rest. All at once, add the carrots, bean sprouts, drained noodles, and sauce. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.

STEP 4 | Garnish

Ladle into bowls and top with dry-roasted peanuts, green onions or scallions, and chopped fresh cilantro, if desired.
Serve with a lime wedge — a squeeze of lime juice brightens up all the flavors.

beef pad thai in a blue striped bowl with a fork

Frequently asked questions

Is Pad Thai spicy?

Many Thai dishes are prepared with a variety of spicy hot chili peppers, but this Beef Pad Thai recipe is mild with a pleasant sweet and tangy flavor.

What meat is best for Pad Thai?

Obviously, for today’s recipe we’re using beef, specifically a sirloin steak. That being said, you could easily substitute slices of chicken breast, pork tenderloin, or even shrimp.

What if I don’t own a wok?

Although stir-frying is best done in the wok, a deep 12-inch skillet may also be used for cooking this recipe.

Please share!

Your shares are how this site grows and I appreciate each one. Do you know someone who would enjoy this recipe? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or on your favorite Pinterest board!

Yield: 4 servings

Beef Pad Thai with Crunchy Peanuts

This easy, less-than-30-minute recipe for Beef Pad Thai with Crunchy Peanuts is a beautiful bowl of tender beef and silky rice noodles with dry-roasted peanuts in a delicious creamy sauce.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

8 ounces thick rice noodles
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound sirloin steak, thinly sliced
½ cup matchstick carrots
1 (14-ounce) can bean sprouts, drained
½ cup dry-roasted peanuts
3 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, optional
1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

Instructions

Place the noodles in a large bowl, pour boiling water over to cover and let stand 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. The noodles should be soft, but firm. Drain well.
In a small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, fish sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, peanut butter, garlic, and red pepper flakes until smooth.
In a large skillet or a wok over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the sliced steak and cook, stirring, until cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the carrots and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the bean sprouts, the drained noodles, and the sauce mixture, cooking and stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the dry-roasted peanuts and scallions. Top with the cilantro, if desired.

Notes

Don’t be tempted to cook the rice noodles as you would regular pasta or they’ll become mushy. If you can’t find rice noodles, linguine can be used as a substitute.

Sheila @ Life, Love & Good Food

Recipe Developer, Food Photographer, Food Writer

Sheila Thigpen is the publisher of Life, Love, and Good Food — a Southern food blog — and the author of Easy Chicken Cookbook and The 5-Ingredient Fresh and Easy Cookbook. After 20+ years in the publishing industry, she retired in 2018 to focus on her own creative endeavors full time. She and her husband live near the beautiful Smoky Mountains and have a precious little granddaughter who has stolen their hearts. As an influencer, Sheila has collaborated with brands like Creamette, Kroger, HERSHEY’S, Hamilton Beach, Garafalo Pasta, OXO, Smithfield, Valley Fig Growers, and more.

Beef Pad Thai with Crunchy Peanuts

Why you’re going to love it!

Beef Pad Thai: behind the recipe

Key ingredients & substitutions