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Pad Thai Casserole
PIN THIS RECIPE!Well good morning, you little ray of sunshine! Do I have a tasty recipe for you! So get this. I’ve made lots of casseroles on the blog already (I shared some links below this recipe) and when I shared my last one, a reader mentioned me making a pad thai casserole. So that’s exactly what I did! And it came out super tasty and umami-y. Totally a word.
Omg, that reminds me of this burger place I went to while I was on book tour that had this burger called the umami burger and it was absolutely OUT OF CONTROL! Do I remember what the place was called or even where it was? Nope. So this conversation is absolutely pointless and 100% not helpful to you. Lovely.
After last weekend of partying, dealing with super drunk friends, and drinking too many mimosas myself – I need a chill weekend. Maybe 1 restaurant, but other than that, I think it’s time to chill. My friend is celebrating her 40th birthday, which I swear she’s being celebrating for 2 months straight, but you can do whatever the hell you want when you turn 40, right? Anywho, she won a free Cyclebar class for herself and all her friends, so a bunch of us are trying a class out this weekend! Which I’m excited about since I’ve never tried a class!
And the other thing I’ve been doing over the weekend is trying out a new gluten free bakery every other weekend or so. I have this new obsession with getting a good workout in then exploring a new place I’ve never been to and having a treat before I work the rest of the day. I spend so much time at home working from my computer that it’s nice to get out and explore, even just by myself. So this week I have a new GF bakery I plan on trying then adding it to my favorite GF restaurants in Denver, if it’s good! You can find that list here! Feel free to add to the list whether you live in Denver or somewhere else! I always check it before I travel somewhere to see if there is a delicious spot to check out when I’m out of town! Speaking of out of town, I leave for LA soon! So pumped, minus the flying in to LAX part. F*ck I HATE THAT PLACE WITH ALL MY SOUL!
But to leave on a high note, this recipe is delicious and I hope you enjoy it oh so much!
Pad Thai Casserole
- Yield: 4-5 1x
Ingredients
- 1 medium spaghetti squash
For the pad thai sauce
- 1/3 cup sunflower seed butter
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
For the casserole
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large carrot, julienned
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1 yellow bell pepper, julienned
- 1 pound ground chicken
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 eggs, whisked
For the garnishes
- 2 fresno peppers, sliced
- 1/3 cup cashews, chopped
- 3 green onions, sliced
- cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. Place the squash cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the skin gives when you press your finger to it. Remove the squash from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 baking dish.
- While the spaghetti squash cooks, place all ingredient for the pad thai sauce into a blender and blender until smooth. Set aside.
- Place a large saute pan over medium heat, add ghee along with the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until onion is translucent. Then add carrot and bell peppers and cook for about 10 minutes, until the carrots become soft. Add chicken along with salt, pepper, sriracha and red pepper flakes and cook until chicken has broken up into small pieces and is no longer pink, then remove from heat.
- Use a fork to scrape out the spaghetti squash strings and place in the greased baking dish along with the chicken mixture, the pad thai sauce (leaving about 3 tablespoons behind for garnish later on), and eggs. Mix until casserole is completely combine, then press the sliced fresno peppers into the casserole. Place in the oven to bake 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. When the dish has 15 minutes left, remove it from the oven and place the cashew pieces on top and place the casserole back into to finish cooking.
- Garnish the casserole with the leftover pad thai sauce, green onions, and cilantro!
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Oh, Hi! I’m Juli.
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117 thoughts on “Pad Thai Casserole”
I LOVE casserole day on your blog! I get a little giddy when I see a new recipe for a casserole posted because I love them!
Now a pad Thai casserole to boot, mind blown!
there is a brand new cyclebar opening near me, and they are offering free classes beginning next Friday! Can’t wait to give it a try and hear your thoughts too.
Pad Thai is one of my favorite “to heck with it, I’m eating what I want” meals – can’t wait to try this recipe!
This looks amazing!!!!! Can’t wait to try it! I was wondering if you could share with me what plugin you use to set up your ‘Shop’ pages on your website?
through liketoknow.it!
This is GENIUS!! I cannot wait to make it 🙂
I’ve been waiting all week for this recipe! Definitely going on my meal plan next week!!
off topic… but are you still listening to Up and Vanished?! OMGGGG It’s blowing my mind! I think he has more sponsors so there are a lot of really annoying ads in there but, man oh man! It’s pretty cool because things are happening in real life 11 years later! They have arrested someone!!! It’s so crazy! I think the podcast inspired someone who knew something to come forward with information.
omg i haven’t listened to it in FOREVER. i just get bored sometimes in certain episodes so i haven’t listened to it in a while. i’ll get back on it!!
Could it be called Umami Burger?? Great spot!
hahaha YES, i’m an idiot. i NEED that place in my life again!
Omg. Love love loved this!!!! This will be an absolute staple from now on. Thanks for the awesome recipe, Juli!!!!
awesome!! glad you loved it, kristen!!
Was it True Food Kitchen? They have a pretty delicious umami burger. I feel like I practically live off of their umami sauce with brussel sprouts.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for all of your amazing posts, recipes, podcasts, and workouts!
no, it was actually a place called umami burger lol!
Can this be made ahead and freeze it? Thaw and then bake? Thanks!
not sure, i haven’t tried to freeze it!
I’ve frozen her pizza spaghetti pie and it came out great! Just wait to add the eggs and garnishes until you’ve thawed and are ready to bake. I don’t think frozen eggs would work well…
This looks amazing! Been super into Asian-inspired dishes lately so I can’t wait to try it! I’ve been upping my carbs; do you think this would work with rice or rice noodles?
Also, off topic from this post but how did you figure out that eggs caused acne? Just experimentation/elimination? I’m thinking I might have the same issue…
I’ve been reading your blog for years and I love it! Thanks Juli 🙂
★★★★★
yeah, i’m sure it would! i haven’t tried but i don’t see why not! and a while back i mentioned something about my acne on my instagram and a woman mentioned eggs giving her acne and at that point, i was eating eggs every day. so i removed them and almost instantly had my skin clear up!
Sunbutter and not tahini? I am madly in love with your OMG sauce from a few years back, that one is made with tahini and I am just curious on the difference between the two. Keep up the good casserole/sauce work! 🙂
Juli, Umami Burgers are all over the LA area. Next time you are in town, go to the one in the Arts District in DTLA. You will love the area. Cool and artsy. =)
Can’t wait to try this new recipe! All your casseroles are delish!
AH i need to go there next week!!
Just for general information, I recently read an article by the man who started this whole gluten thing, and he is now maintaining that if you do not have celiac disease, then this whole gluten-free thing is not true. Instead, the real issue is about the wheat, with all the GMO modifications occurring, along with the pesticides (see Monsanto) that have been done. It appears that the whole gluten-free movement is going to become another variation of the “fat-free” debacle that many of us lived through. If you start looking into this more I think you will find out what I am talking about
i’ve definitely read these sort of articles and i can see where they are coming from! but i can for sure tell you that i feel completely sick when i eat a regular donut, with complete gut aches and cramps, and i don’t feel that way whatsoever when i eat a gluten free donut. not that either are good for me and i should be eating either on a regular basis, but i don’t feel sick when i eat something made from rice flour and tapioca flour vs eating wheat flour
Can’t wait to try this casserole! Looks amazing and who doesn’t love pad thai!?!
Have you ever thought of doing a paleomg app? Grocery list, recipes, conversions for the recipes, etc….. workouts would be good to add in too or fashion! I would definitely pay for that app!! I think a lot of people would for sure.
i’ve definitely thought about it and it’s on my mind A LOT. so you never know!!
Sorry if you’ve gotten this question before – but where’s that casserole dish from? It’s really cute.
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I’ve cycled a few of your casserole recipes for my work lunches and they are always SO great! I’m happy to have another one completely different from the rest to add to the rotation next!
I made this casserole last night and it was amazing! I used almond butter instead of sunflower butter, pulled rotisserie chicken, and no fish sauce as I can ALWAYS taste it. The spice level was great and my boyfriend loved it. I love your spaghetti squash casseroles.
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I really love the creaminess of all of your casseroles, and I notice that this one doesn’t have eggs. Do you think the eggs would add to the creamy factor, or were they just used to bind everything together? Thanks!!
Nevermind! I see there are eggs! Sorry, apparently I can’t read.
Hi Juli! I made this recipe last night and let me tell you it took me FOREVER! A lot longer than the 15 min prep time that is listed. Making the pad thai sauce and chopping the veggies took me at least 15 mins on it own. Is that time not included in the prep time for a reason?
I normally don’t comment on blogs but DAMN was this recipe good. Thank you and keep doing you!
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yay!! glad you liked it, ryan! thanks for commenting!
AMAZING!!! I love the little hit of flavor. Do you think if I cut the Sunflower Seed Butter by half it will completely change the flavor?
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maybe somewhat, but it would mostly change the amount of sauce
This recipe is AMAZING. Just FYI – freezing and thawing out the spaghetti squash casseroles for this blog is not advised IMO. When I reheated after frozen it always turns really soggy. That being said, this and the pizza one are the bees knees so don’t miss out on them because you can’t freeze them!!
good to know! i never thought these casseroles would be very good frozen and reheated
I just finished a 6 week nutrition challenge through my gym (no added sugar or alcohol, limited grains and dairy). For 4 out of the 6 weeks I made two of your casseroles and split them up into 10 portions for me and my boyfriend to take to work for lunches. They work great for this. I made this one this week and the flavors are great. I used peanut butter instead of sun butter.
Maybe you can do a post on make ahead meals for meal prep?
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awesome!! maybe someday!
Made this tonight and it was amazing!! So many veggies and flavors!! I’m assuming leftovers are going to be even better!
Oh my gosh, Juli! This was AMAZING!!!! Definitely a new fave. You’re a gem. :-*
★★★★★
Absolutely loved this recipe! I made it not so paleo using Adams creamy peanut butter, liquid aminos and butter instead of ghee. The spice level is perfect. Can’t wait to eat this all week long! Can’t wait for more casseroles!
Jenna
★★★★★
Your feedly feed STILL doesn’t work. What gives? What do the feedly people say?
no clue. and they didn’t respond.
I made this yesterday and I’m so glad I did! My husband and I both gobbled it down… I also used almond butter since I didn’t have sunflower seed butter. This casserole tastes as good as it looks! <3 Another crazy excellent, yet also crazy healthy recipe, Juli :).
★★★★★
Julie, of all your spaghetti squash recipes, this was the BEST one yet! Thank you!!! Love the blog and podcast and your instagram feed – keep up the great and inspirational work!
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thanks for the love, beck!
I made this recipe on Sunday and I’ve been eating it for lunch every day since! I always thought that nothing could beat your Pizza Spaghetti Pie, but I stand corrected. Seriously, it’s shocking to me that this is healthy because it’s incredibly delicious. The sauce is like crack. I’ve sent this recipe to all of my friends–they might think I have a problem.
Anyway, thanks for everything you do, Juli!
★★★★★
I can’t eat chicken or turkey right now, I’m on an elimination diet. Do you think I could sub with shrimp? I never put shrimp in a casserole. I think ground beef would be weird.
that sounds gross to me personally haha but you do you boo boo! try it out!
I made this for dinner the other night. We decided to leave out the ground chicken and eggs (partly because I forgot to thaw the meat, and because my roommate has been wanting to eat more vegetarian lately). It was still delicious! I only baked it for about 40 minutes instead of a whole hour since I didn’t need to cook the eggs.
★★★★★
Made this yesterday for my work lunches this week. Yummy! Unique and delicious. Thanks!!!
★★★★★
Heck to the YES. Freaking love pad thai, and love all your casserole recipes!! Can’t wait to try this one out!
Made it. Loved it.
★★★★★
Just made this tonight with the intention of having the leftovers for lunches the rest of the week. No such luck because my boyfriend and I ate almost all of it! So good! I loved the sauce and it totally satisfied my constant craving for Thai food!
THIS WAS INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS. That is all 🙂
Made this a few nights ago and my family has already demolished the pan. It is amazing! It is perfect to prep for lunches and dinner for the week because it tastes amazing reheated. I also saved some extra sauce for the top because it tastes that good!
Thank you Juli!
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glad you loved it!
Do you think this would be okay if I left the ground chicken out?
i’m sure
I made a costco calculation error and now have a shit ton of liquid egg whites. Do you think it would work with just whites? I have to use them up!
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not sure, i haven’t tried it that way. it would still act like a binder, just taste a little different
I might have missed it…but when do you add the eggs? I’m going to go on and add them after the chicken is cooked and I remove it from the heat and see what happens…
Thanks!
step 4!
I’ve been following you for over a year but this is the first of your recipes I’ve actually tried (hangs head I shame). Wowsa! We loved it! This is going into our regular rotation of meals. Thank you!!!
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DELICIOUS! That is all. Simply delicious.
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You’re recipes are always incredible. Thank you for sharing your creations, I can’t imagine the amount of work it is to create a recipe. And then to share it for free is so incredibly generous of you. Thank you.
You’re super awesome and insipiring.
????
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awwww thank you so much for the kind words, becca!! you are the best!
SO excited to make this tonight – thanks Juli for posting! Your recipes are pretty much the only home-cooked food my boyfriend will eat…
Not sure if you’ve answered this q before, but can the pad thai sauce be made ahead of time?
absolutely!
Made this last night as-is, no changes except no onions or peppers on top because I didn’t have them…so obviously I did make changes but not to the main recipe 🙂
VERY good. Flavors were amazing, might make a little more sauce next time for the topping…it was really, really good.
As a tip for anyone, I actually made this on Monday, stored it in the fridge unbaked (without toppings) and then baked it last night (Tuesday). Made Tuesday dinner so quick and easy. Also, I read some questions above about freezing this. I haven’t frozen this yet, but I have frozen other spaghetti squash casseroles in 1 serving sizes AFTER baking, and it always works out. I freeze each piece separately, then vacuum seal them with my FoodSaver.
★★★★★
All I have to say is paleo OMG!!!!!!!!!! This was the best casserole I have ever had!! My whol family loved it and my 21 month old son asked for 3 servings!! AMAZING!! Thank you!!!
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yayyyy!! glad you loved it!
I made a double batch of this for a group coming over for supper. I cheated by shredding a rotisserie chicken instead of using ground, and i used about a quarter of the spicy goodness because toddlers were coming over. A smash hit! 🙂 Toddlers, 5 year olds and all grownups (even those averse to health food) agree, this casserole is delicious!!
I finally made this and it was great! I love your spaghetti squash casseroles!
I used cashew butter because that’s what I had on hand. I also did not have any sriracha, so I ended up subbing red curry paste, which I thought would work with the thai flavors. And it did!
★★★★★
Do you think this would work with zuchinni noodles instead of spag squash?!????????
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you could try!
This recipe was AWESOME. I lived in Thailand for 6 months and pad thai was my favorite staple meal. I’ve failed miserably at trying to remake most of the thai dishes but this one was easy and tasted just like real deal. You da bomb Juli! Keep em comin!
★★★★★
yay!! that’s so cool to hear!
Do you think this would work with ground pork instead of chicken?
absolutely!
Let me just say….holy YUMMO!! Casseroles are never very pretty, but this one can look as ugly as it wants to because it is DELISH. I don’t know how you consistently come up with these incredible recipes! I’m allergic to peanuts and cashews (had to leave them out – sad) so I love the use of sunbutter in this, perfect way to kill a Thai craving…which I have all the time. I’ll definitely be adding this casserole to my regular rotation!
This is an easy casserole recipe that delivers great flavors!
I have a lot of food allergies so I’m sharing my substitutes in case anyone else has similar –
Almond butter instead of sunflower seed butter
celery instead of peppers
lemon herb spice mix instead of onions
turkey instead of chicken
thanks for sharing your substitutions! glad you liked it!
This was so stinking good! Thank you!
When you made one of my fave Thai dishes as a casserole I had to try, and it was super tasty. Reheats well, too.
glad you liked it, donna!
I’ve probably made this at least 10 times and it doesn’t get old, Juli. Obsessed with this recipe.
On another (albeit random) note, my adorable, new financial advisor recently related a money-investment concept in simple terms for me, using a Nordstrom sale analogy. Needless to say, she was speaking my language and I thought of you. Naturally, I suggested that she check out your website. She’s now e-mailing me with gratitude!
This afternoon, she e-mailed me business / financial info, and ended her e-mail, “The Taco Lasagna Casserole is amazing! Thank you for suggesting paleomg!” LOLzzzz
yayyyyyyy!! so glad you guys are both loving the casseroles! thanks for spreading the word!! and that’s so damn cool you’ve made this casserole so many times!! xoxoxo
Is there a way to cook this in the crockpot?
haven’t tried so i can’t say for sure
When/how are the eggs added? I see eggs listed as an ingredient but not in the recipe steps.
it’s there! check out step 4!
Could you use Almond butter for this recipe? or is it just better with Sunflower seed butter?
i personally think it’s better with sunflower seed butter because it has more of a peanut taste that you would be in a pad thai sauce, but you can totally use almond butter if you’d like to!
What about using tahini in place of sun butter?
go for it!!
I just made this and wanted you to know it’s one of the best pad Thai recipes I’ve ever tried. Amazing.
yayyyyyy!! that’s awesome!
Any idea about the nutritional information for this dish? Hubby is doing macro counting so needs calories, carbs, protein, fats, and fiber info please. Making tonight, half with zucchini noodles and half with spaghetti squash – can’t wait! 🙂
no clue, but you can add any of my recipes to a nutritional calculator online and it will give you that information!
Another great casserole! You’re right. People crap the bed over casseroles. I never used to because of cream of whatever soup and they are loaded with cheese, sour cream, mayo…but I’ve been finding paleo remakes, and yours are some of the best.
thanks Lauren!! so glad you liked this one!
Has anyone tried this with shrimp?
Could I leave out the fish sauce? My husband is allergic to fish & nuts? We love your pizza pie & this looks great!
yes! the taste will be just a tad different, but it should still be delicious!
I want to try but my husband is allergic to nuts & fish, would it be good still without fish sauce & cashews? Any other subs you would make? Also Can I do soy sauce instead of coconut aminos?
yes you can, the flavor will just be a little different. and i would be careful subbing soy sauce for the coconut aminos. soy sauce is MUCH saltier than coconut aminos so it could throw the whole dish off
This was great. Very labor intensive, but that aside, good for meal prepping as I’m sure it freezes well for lunches. Great idea, healthy, and I subbed almond butter for the other type mentioned and it worked out fine. I had way too much spagh squash for the pan and it leaked over a bit, but that’s because I had a huge squash. I used 5 cups of spaghetti squash – would recommend 4 cups for the 8×8 pan.
glad you liked it Steve!
I’m such a sucker for a good casserole. And ALL of your casserole recipes are soooo good!
I have to admit, Juli, I was a little terrified when I put this one in the oven, because it was really soupy. I thought I minghtbend up with a watery mess. But nope, I should have had faith, because it baked up great and held together perfectly. My husband, who is frankly a little over my casserole obsession, liked it so much he went back for seconds! Thanks for the great recipe!
so glad you liked it!
i’ve been wanting to make this and finally have. mad at myself for waiting so long! perfect kickoff to fall! came out delicious. as always, thanks 🙂
awesome!! glad you liked it Micha!
This is hands-down my favorite casserole. We’ve been making this one for some time, and I’m always excited to eat it. So healthy, it makes yummy leftovers, and it just has wonderfully comforting, but also complex flavor — sweet and savory, silky and crunchy, fresh and yet bursting with umami!! Sometimes I change up the vegetables depending on what we have on hand — for instance, using a poblano pepper in place of one of the bell peppers is a nice change-up. I also can almost never find fresnos, so I usually use jalapenos.
My pro tip: roast the squash and chop and cook all the vegetables the day before, then do everything else the next day. We usually prep on Sunday, finish up Monday, and eat the leftovers most of the week!
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