With the new year has come a renewed passion to get in the kitchen and whip up lighter versions of some of my favorite meals. Over the last few weeks, I’ve given a variety of my favorite dishes a delicious makeover and tried to find ways to substitute certain items in order to make our meals line up more closely with our healthy living goals. While I could go on and on about the easy swaps that I have discovered, perhaps one of my favorite ways to lighten up dinner without diminishing the flavor is by substituting veggies for noodles in some of my favorite dishes. Now, if you follow many of my recipes, you know this has been a favorite trick of mine for some time but I’ve recently discovered that with Green Giant® Veggie Spirals, creating lighter versions of my favorite meals is so quick and easy! In fact, just this week I was able to throw together a totally drool worthy Zucchini Pad Thai with Chicken dish in less than twenty minutes!
Let me tell you, this Zucchini Pad Thai with Chicken is bursting with flavor and I actually prefer it to my traditional recipe because it doesn’t settle heavy on my stomach, meaning I feel great enjoying it more often! While I’ll admit that I’ve been making a noodle variety of this dish for years, it’s only been recently that I discovered how amazing it could really be if I substituted Green Giant® Veggie Spirals in it! These Green Giant® Veggie Spirals are A New Take On Noodles and I was able to find them at my local Walmart. While so far I’ve only located the Zucchini Spirals (I’m on the hunt for the other varieties though!), I know that I’ll be using them time and time again because they are quick, easy and a perfect swap-in for traditional pasta! Here’s how I made this can’t miss dish!
What You Will Need
(Makes 2 Servings)
1 Package of Green Giant® Veggie Spirals in Zucchini
1 Large Pre-Cooked Chicken Breast
1/4 Cup Matchstick Carrots
3 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter
2 Tablespoons of Chicken Broth
1/2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon of Rice Wine Vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon of Sesame Oil
1/2 Teaspoon of Crushed Chili Pepper
1/4 Teaspoon of Ground Ginger
1/3 Tablespoon of Garlic Powder
Crushed Peanuts and Diced Green Onions for Garnish
How to Make It
This Zucchini Pad Thai dish is easy to throw together quickly, making it a perfect lunch or dinner on those nights when time is short but I still want something amazing! To start, I created my pad thai sauce by whisking together my peanut butter, chicken broth, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, chili pepper, ginger and garlic powder (*Tip: If you’re having a hard time getting the sauce to mix together, microwave it for 20 seconds and continue to whisk).
Once I had my simple pad thai sauce made, creating the rest of this dish only took a few minutes! To create the base of my dish, I pulled my Green Giant® Veggie Spirals in Zucchini out and opened them up. I adore that the Veggie Spirals are gluten free and come without sauce or seasoning, meaning that I can add whatever flavors I want to them to create really amazing dishes! Add to that the fact that they are made with 100% vegetables allowing me to have up to 90% fewer calories than pasta (varieties have 65 percent to 90 percent fewer calories per serving than the leading brand of spaghetti) and they are the perfect starting point for my Zucchini Pad Thai!
As if the ease of these Veggie Spirals wasn’t enough, there are multiple ways to cook them as well! You can pop them in the microwave or saute them on the stove with the lid on your pot, ensuring that no matter what dish I have in mind, my Veggie Spirals are a perfect addition. For my Zucchini Pad Thai, I chose to follow the directions for cooking them on the stove.
Once I had cooked my Green Giant® Veggie Spirals according to the directions, I drained them and added in my matchstick carrots, heating them just enough to warm them up without losing the crunch. Next, I placed my Veggie Spirals evenly on a serving dish.
I really loved that the Zucchini Veggie Spirals didn’t lose their crunch or their color in the cooking process, making them a delicious base for the creation of my dish. Once I had spread out my Veggie Spirals, I pulled out a piece of pre-cooked chicken (I grill breasts at the beginning of each week for easy meals), sliced it up and placed it on my bed of veggie spirals. After spreading out my chicken, I drizzled the Pad Thai sauce I had made earlier over the top of both my Veggie Spirals and my chicken.
As a finishing touch, I sprinkled on crushed peanuts and diced green onions on top for a bit of crunch and a burst of flavor and my simple Zucchini Pad Thai was ready to be served.
This easy weeknight dish was so simple to make and honestly, it’s perfect for night’s when I’m busy but still want to put a great tasting meal on the table. It’s light and flavorful and by substituting my Green Giant® Veggie Spirals in the place of pasta, I can enjoy it without any of the guilt!
Inspired by this new take on a classic dish and with a variety of lightened up recipes in mined, I’m stocking my freezer with Green Giant® Veggie Spirals. Available in varieties like the Zucchini I used as well as Carrot and Butternut Squash, they are a perfect starting point for an array of delicious dishes and sides!
Ready to lighten up dinner the easy way by using Green Giant® Veggie Spirals? Click here to find out more information about this deliciously simple substitution for pasta as well as recipe ideas and more!
Then tell me, which of the Green Giant® Veggie Spirals will you use to recreate a lighter version of your favorite pasta dish?
Wow, that sounds like an amazing meal! I love asian inspired foods like this and I am excited to make this for my family!
I’ve got to try these veggie spirals AND your awesome looking recipe. It looks like something my family would go crazy over. The peanut butter sauce looks yummy!
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Looks and sounds delicious. Thought it was going to be harder to make but see you used frozen to came together really fast. Love meals like this one.
Those veggie spirals look great! I’ve been using a spiralizer, and I love it. BUT… It’s a pain in the butt sometimes. I’d much rather just get them from the frozen section. Thanks for the heads up on this!
I used to do the same thing and Green Giant made it so much easier! I use Veggie Spirals all the time now that I don’t have to actually do the work to spiralize them myself!
This recipe looks delicious and easy enough for me to make, LOL 🙂 Perfect for a date night at home.
I love swapping veggie noodles, I do it all the time. This recipe looks delicious, my kids love Asian inspired food.
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I love a good pad thai dish and this one sounds delicious. I totally like the idea of using frozen veggie spirals. I need to look for this product at the store.
I love those zucchini spirals and making them in pad thai looks so good. I will definitely save this recipe because the sauce is so unique and a change from my usual.
I had no idea that they offered premade zucchini noodles in the freezer section. I need to pick some up for a healthy dinner.
That looks so good I love when the recipes are part of the post because now I can try this. Im adding it to my list of new foods to try.
I’ve yet to try those Green Giant veggie Spirals but they are on my shopping list. Definitely a new spin on stir fry but I would love to make a garlic shrimp and veggie spiral dish. Yummy!
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I will have to try this recipe some time/. IO have never made pad thai before.
I keep hearing different bits about pad thai but I have to admit I’ve never tried it myself. I may just have to give your recipe a go so I can then say I’ve tried it as the mix of zucchini and chicken sounds good.
Woah, this looks amazing! I have never had this before but really want to give it a try. The flavor combination seems like it would be so good!
Oh I love Pad Thai! I want to try this! Adding to my meal plan for next week!
Okay I have to find this because I don’t have a spiraler! I definitely want to try it like this first and see if its a hit with the fam before I purchase a spiraler. Thanks Green Giant!!
Looks delicious. Thought it was going to be hard to make but see you used frozen vegetables so that makes the whole process a lot easier!
I have been seeing those veggie spirals but didnt’ have any great ideas for using them. Now I do. I can’t wait to try this.
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I had no idea you could buy zucchini noodles in the freezer section! I make them several times a week – this is a huge time saver!
I am really excited to try these veggie spirals. These will save me some time in the kitchen and some calories.
Love this recipe! I think it’s easily done especially since I have almost all the ingredients in our kitchen right now. Mixing it with peanut butter makes the dish more interesting.
Looks incredibly delicious! I’ll eat zucchini if it’s mixed with something. I’ll have to keep an eye out for spiraled veggies!
What a delicious recipe without all the carbs. I love zucchini noodles. These sound convenient.
Your food presentation is just… wow! Even if I were to prepare this pad thai, I don’t think I could make it look as good as yours!
Lisa Favre recently posted..Super Easy, Super Creamy, Super Tasty Chia Seed Pudding
This looks delicious! When we cook with veggies we always use Green Giant products.
Having just returned from Thailand, I have been really missing traditional chicken dishes with that fab Thai peanut sauce. Your Zucchini Pad Thai Chicken looks delish and I can’t wait to try this recipe.
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Hey Jeannette…! I also read your post and am so glad read your recipe, these looks soooo good & delicious, I will try to making this in some few days later. Thanks for sharing …..!
Pad Thai is indeed an iconic dish. I would look to making something along the lines of Zucchini Pad Thai with Chicken, substituting with vegetarian ingredients.
I love using zoodles in place of regular noodles. I’m sure this recipe was amazing and I need to try it for myself soon!!
That looks very good! My kids aren’t crazy about zucchini but I don’t think they can resist this one.
I plan to be using these spirals a lot this spring and summer. I am ready for the fresh veggies. It is nice to know that I can have them all year around though, with these frozen spirals.
Yum! I love Pad Thai. I love zoodles! I’ve had to watch my carb / sugar intake with being pre-diabetic. I live finding more varieties of food to eat!
I love Pad Thai. The flavor of the dish is so unique and I have been trying my best to re-create it at home. I will try your recipe using zucchini noodles. It does look delicious!
I love substituting veggies for noodles when I can but it is not always possible, I am loving this recipe and can not wait to give it a try
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