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This Healthy Drunken Noodles recipe is an easy stir fry noodle dish that your entire family will love. It comes together fast and works great for a weeknight meal.
Don’t worry, these noodles don’t actually contain alcohol. Legend has it that a “drunken man” in a Thai kitchen was hungry and threw together a variety of ingredients that tasted so delicious the dish caught on and is now served as Pad Kee Mao or Pad See Ew in Thai restaurants (as your server for what the difference is in their restaurant).
Where’s the Recipe?
To better serve all of my readers here at My Crazy Good Life, I’ve made a commitment to put a ton of helpful information in all of my posts.
If you’d like to skip over the information about the ingredients, multiple cooking methods, and diet information simply scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will find the recipe for these Healthy Drunken Noodles.
Ingredients in Drunken Noodles
These simple ingredients are ones that should be easy to find in your local grocery store.
- Chicken: A great source of lean protein. This can easily be swapped out with another protein.
- Carrots: Did you know that carrots are loaded with beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants?
- Red Bell Pepper: All color peppers come from the same plant at various levels of maturity. Bell peppers are a low-calorie vegetable packed with vitamins and antioxidants. If you prefer a different color, swap it out!
- Mushrooms: I love cooking with mushrooms. They have a meaty feel while still packing in the nutrients you can only get from vegetables.
- Bok Choy: This Chinese cabbage is loaded healthy benefits, including choline. Choline is an anti-inflammatory that helps improve sleep, muscle movement, learning, and memory. This highly nutritious vegetable contains more vitamin A and C than spinach.
- Garlic: You know I can’t cook anything without fresh garlic :) Added flavor and loads of antioxidants.
- Thai Chili Pods: You can usually find these in the ethnic food section of your grocery store or Asian grocery stores. They can easily be replaced in this recipe with dried red pepper flakes, or left out entirely to skip the spice. The spice level on them is medium.
- Whole Wheat Noodles: Using whole wheat noodles is an easy way to stay full for longer and get the health benefits of whole grains in your diet.
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce: A staple for any Asian cuisine. You can also use coconut aminos, or low sodium tamari (a gluten-free soy sauce). Read here about soy sauce substitutes and why you’d choose one.
- Honey: I try to find honey locally, but any raw form will work.
- Scallions: Or green onions.
- Basil: If you’re lucky enough to find Thai basil in your grocery store, I’d definitely grab that. If all you can find is regular basil, that works too. Fresh is best for this recipe.
Recipe Tips
- If you can’t find fresh basil, replace with dried. Reduce the amount to two and a half tablespoons and add to the pot with your vegetables.
- You can leave out the bok choy and replace with regular green or purple cabbage. It holds up well under pressure and gives you the same texture.
- This recipe is easy to customize. If you don’t like mushrooms leave them out and add more carrots and peppers. If you don’t like bell peppers, add more mushrooms.
- Easily swap dried Thai chilis with crushed red pepper flakes if you’d like.
- You can buy matchstick carrots or use a box grater to get your carrots small and evenly sized.
- Add salt and black pepper to your taste.
- For the stovetop method, you’re welcome to cook the noodles separate according to package directions if you’d like.
- Turn this into an easy Vegan Drunken Noodle recipe by using extra firm tofu instead of chicken – press out the liquid with a tofu press and swap the honey for a vegan sweetener like Stevia. I like to add extra fresh vegetables, as well.
How to make this Healthy Drunken Noodles Recipe in the Instant Pot
This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prepare and about 6 minutes of total cooking time.
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- Slice your chicken into thin strips, about 1/2 inches thick.
- Turn your Instant Pot to sauté, and lightly spray the inside of the pot with avocado or olive oil.
- Prepare your vegetables by peeling your carrots and cutting them into thin strips. Chop bell peppers, mushrooms, and bok choy. Try to cut all of your vegetables about the same size so they cook evenly.
- When the oil is hot, sauté the garlic, chili pods, mushrooms, and chicken for 2-3 minutes. Stir well to keep the chicken from sticking together.
- Add the noodles, soy sauce, honey, and water to the pot, and mix well to make sure everything is combined.
- Add the carrots, bell peppers, and bok choy on top of the chicken – do not stir this.
- Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to Sealing. Cook on manual or high pressure for 3 minutes.
- When the time is up, quick release the pressure. This means that you’ll move the valve from Sealing to Venting quickly and steam will come out fast. Be careful moving the valve and keep your hands clear of where the steam comes out.
- Once the pressure is released and you can open the lid, stir in the scallions and fresh basil.
- Serve and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
How to make this in the Crockpot
- Add chicken, chili pods, garlic, soy sauce, water, and honey to the slow cooker. Mix it together so that the chicken is covered.
- Layer the carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, and bok choy on top of the chicken.
- Cover the slow cooker with the lid.
- Cook on low heat for 2-3 hours until the chicken is cooked through. Add the dry noodles during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
- Mix in the basil and scallions.
- Serve and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
How to make this healthy Drunken Noodles recipe on the stove
- Lightly spray a large skillet.
- Sauté the garlic, red chili pods, mushrooms, and chicken for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Add the carrots, bell pepper, and bok choy to the skillet. Sauté until the bok choy is wilted.
- Mix in the dry noodles, soy sauce, honey, and water. Bring the liquid to a boil then, cover and reduce heat to medium/low.
- Let the pasta simmer for 12-15 minutes stirring occasionally until the pasta is cooked.
- Remove the lid and mix in the basil and scallions.
- Serve and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Healthy Eating Plans
This easy Thai Drunken Noodles recipe is the perfect meal to make when watching your diet and craving takeout. Whether you make it with chicken breast or tofu, it’s full of vegetables, whole grains, and minimally processed ingredients.
Weight Watchers
1 serving (about 2 cups) of this recipe is 7 2025 Points | 7 2023 Points | 4 Blue Plan Points | 6 Green Plan Points | 1 Purple Plan Point.
21 Day Fix/Portion Fix
- The entire recipe is 8 Green Containers, 4 Yellow Containers, 4 Red Containers, and 3 Sweetener Teaspoons
- Per serving (about 2 cups), count 2 green containers, 1 red container, 1 yellow container, and ¾ sweetener teaspoons
2B Mindset: This is a perfect lunch recipe as written.
More healthy recipes similar to takeout
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
- Chicken Lo Mein
- Instant Pot Pad Thai Recipe
- Healthy Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta
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Healthy Drunken Noodles Recipe
Approximate Serving Size: 2 cups
Servings 4 Servings
These healthy Drunken Noodles are a traditional Thai favorite! This easy recipe walks you through how to make this recipe using simple healthy ingredients.
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Equipment
- Instant Pot 6 qt
- Kitchen Knife
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast cut into thin 1/2-inch strips
- 2 carrots peeled and cut into strips, about 2C
- 1 bell pepper red, chopped
- 2 cups mushrooms
- 3 cups bok choy chopped
- 4 tsp garlic minced
- 2 Colorado red chili pods Thai chilies are best! or you can substitute with 1 tsp crushed red peppers
- 2 cups whole wheat pasta dry
- ½ cup low sodium soy sauce I prefer coconut aminos, but you can also use low sodium tamari.
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup scallions diced
- ½ cup basil fresh, chopped
Instructions
Instant Pot:
- Slice your chicken into thin strips (about ½ an inch). 1 lb chicken breast
- Lightly spray the inside of the pot with oil.
- Peel your carrots and cut into thin strips. Chop bell peppers, mushrooms and bok choy. Try to cut all of your vegetables about the same size so they cook evenly. 2 carrots, 1 bell pepper, 2 cups mushrooms, 3 cups bok choy
- When the oil is hot sauté the garlic, Thai chili pods, mushrooms, and chicken for 2-3 minutes. Stir well to keep the chicken isn’t sticking together. 4 tsp garlic, 2 Colorado red chili pods
- Mix in the noodles, soy sauce, honey, and water. 2 cups whole wheat pasta, 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey , 2 cups water
- Add the carrots, bell peppers, and bok choy on top of the chicken, but do not stir.
- Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- When time is up quick release the pressure.
- Garnish with scallions and basil. Serve and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. 1/2 cup scallions, 1/2 cup basil
Stove top:
- Lightly spray a large skillet.
- Sauté the garlic, red chili pods, mushrooms, and chicken for about 2 minutes over high heat.
- Add the carrots, bell pepper, and bok choy to the skillet. Sauté until the bok choy is wilted.
- Mix in the noodles, soy sauce, honey, and water. Bring the liquid to a boil then, cover and reduce heat to medium/low.
- Let the pasta simmer for 12-15 minutes stirring occasionally until the pasta is cooked.
- Remove the lid and mix in the basil and scallions.
- Serve and enjoy! Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Video
Notes
This recipe will only work with chicken that is defrosted and sliced into thin slices. If the chicken is cut into thick pieces, it will not have enough time to cook completely.
Nutrition
Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 89mg | Sodium: 696mg | Potassium: 1024mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 8756IU | Vitamin C: 70mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 3mg
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Could I use pre-shredded carrots for the convenience? Thanks! this dish looks amazing! I’m so glad I stumbled on to your website, thank you for listing the WW colored plans points. I LOVE the purple plan.
Absolutely use shredded carrots! I hope you love this recipe as much as we do :) Welcome!
This recipe was pretty good! I made it in the slow cooker and used pre-shredded carrots and cabbage mix so it was really easy. My chicken came out a little dry but my slow cooker cooks like its on high even when it’s on low. The only bad about it was measuring the noodles, its impossible to measure long noodles into cups. I’m not sure if I was able to measure correctly but I ended up separating the food into 6 food prep containers instead of 4 because it just looked like a lot in one bowl, so hopefully my yellow count wont be higher.
My husband made this up last night. It was delicious. He used sirloin steak cut into strips for the meat. He used regular green cabbage shredded instead of bok choy, tamari for the soy sauce, 1/8 tsp of the chilis (I would have liked it hotter). It was tricky to figure out 2 cups of pasta.
I made this tonight and I may have messed it up. The grocery store didn’t have bok choy so I substituted it with Swiss chard. I also had a ton of liquid leftover. This was my first time using my Ninja Foodi pressure cooker and when I went to quick release it, it’s like I had to hold it for it to properly vent. Any ideas what could have happened?
Swiss Chard should have been fine! Did you use wheat pasta? That could have been it. And for your Foodi it sounds like maybe you didn’t turn it all the way to release?
How can you make this recipe gluten free? What kind of rice noodles would you use and how would that change the recipe?
I’d look for rice based noodles instead of wheat, and I’d cook them for 1/2 the amount of time as listed on the package, minus two minutes :)
Can this recipe be doubled in the instant pot?
I made it once and everyone devoured it! I want leftovers! LOL
Hey Kris! I’m so glad everyone loved it! Yes, it can be doubled. I’d double the liquid (because the noodles need it to cook), but don’t worry about doubling the time :)