This Whole30 Thai chicken zoodle bowl with “peanut” sauce is light yet filling, refreshing, and full of flavor. Perfect for spring and summer! Low carb and paleo, this Whole03 Thai chicken zoodle bowl have a rich “peanut” sauce (that’s peanut-free, of course!), marinaded chicken, fresh mango, crunchy red cabbage, and refreshing zoodles. The ultimate Whole30 zoodle bowl!
I’ve said it before: I’m not the world’s biggest Thai fan. Sure, I love a good curry from time to time, but my obsession with Thai food can honestly be boiled down to two key dishes: tom kha and peanut sauce. I just can’t live my life without them.
Or, well, if hyperbole isn’t your thing, then let’s say, I’d really, really rather not live my life without them.
It’s easy to understand the tom kha Thai coconut soup (And my Whole30 Thai coconut chicken soup recipe will be coming out shortly, so make sure you subscribe to my new posts!): creamy, salty, spicy, sour, sweet, savory, and filling? It’s literally everything your mouth can even experience, all in one dish. One bite and I was done.
The Thai peanut sauce, though? It’s something else. I can’t even quite explain it, how peanut butter blends with coconut milk and palm sugar and chiles and lime juice to create this otherworldly sauce. In fact, it might just be the same genius as tom kha: it’s everything all at once! Creamy and sweet and spicy and salty and a tiny bit bright and sour.
All I know is… I want it on everything. And I had an amazing recipe for it until recently! I used brown sugar and soy sauce and peanut butter, and it was oh so sweet, salty, and rich. Then, of course, we did a Whole30, realized it was absolutely the missing piece for us, and stayed paleo after that. In other words? No más peanuts, man. Or brown sugar. Or soy sauce.
But that’s OK. Pretty much everything else about our lives post-Whole30 makes it worth it.
So a while back, I shared my peanut-free chicken satay recipe (Whole30 + paleo!), having stumbled upon a way to mimic the peanut flavor without the peanut funkiness. In fact, I think I even like it better than peanut sauce, and not just for health reasons! The combination of rich almonds with sesame oil creates a complexity that you simply don’t get with plain peanuts, and I’m so into it.
I decided to take the same sauce and create a Whole30 Thai chicken zoodle bowl with my Whole30 peanut sauce (or “peanut sauce,” if you prefer): something light yet filling and flavorful and bright and bursting with freshness. Perfect for the warmer weather.
This Whole30 Thai chicken zoodle bowl has everything good I could think of loaded into one bowl: tender chicken marinaded in my Whole30 peanut sauce then broiled for a nice, smoky char; chunks of sweet mango; refreshing zoodles; crunchy red cabbage. And if you’re fancy? Microgreens! Not required, but hey, they’re especially Instagram-worthy, right?
You’ll love this Whole30 Thai chicken zoodle bowl because it’s the ultimate Whole30 zoodle bowl. The zoodle bowl with everything, yet all of the flavors somehow blend so beautifully. It’s light but filling, which I’m all about during spring and summer.
Whole30 Thai Chicken Zoodle Bowls (With "Peanut" Sauce, Low Carb, Paleo)
This Whole30 Thai chicken zoodle bowl with "peanut" sauce is light yet filling, refreshing and full of flavor. Perfect for spring and summer! Low carb and paleo, this Whole03 Thai chicken zoodle bowl has a rich "peanut" sauce (that's peanut-free, of course!), marinaded chicken, fresh mango, crunchy red cabbage, and refreshing zoodles. The ultimate Whole30 zoodle bowl!
Ingredients
Whole30 "Peanut Sauce"
- 1/4 cup creamy almond butter
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- 1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice juice of about 1 lime
- 2 Tbsp. coconut aminos
- 1 tsp. dried ground ginger
- 2 garlic cloves smashed and peeled
- 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes
Whole30 Zoodle Bowls
- 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 small zucchinis spiralized
- 1 cup red cabbage shaved
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 large mango peeled, pitted, and diced
- fresh cilantro for garnish
- microgreens for garnish
- chopped almonds for garnish
Instructions
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Make your Whole30 "peanut sauce": combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until very smooth. Pour 1/4 cup sauce in a large plastic bag or medium bowl; transfer the remainder to a jar and chill while you make the rest of the dish.
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Season the chicken breast with plenty of salt and lots of black pepper. Place chicken breast in bag or bowl with the 1/4 cup peanut sauce and turn to coat. Marinate for 15 minutes while you prep other ingredients.
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In a medium bowl, combine shaved red cabbage, lime juice, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Massage cabbage until softened - the cabbage should look almost pickled and uniformly fuschia.
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After marinating the chicken for 15 minutes, preheat broiler. Remove chicken breast from marinade and place on a baking sheet. Broil 6 minutes, then carefully turn chicken breast. Broil another 6 or 7 minutes, or until surface is browned and beginning to darken in spot. Move chicken breast to middle rack and bake another 4-6 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 161º F. Remove from oven, transfer to cutting board, and let rest 5 minutes. Slice into 1/2" slices against the grain.
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Assemble your Whole30 Thai chicken zoodle bowls: place half of spiralized zucchini on one side of an individual serving bowl. Place half of cabbage in the other half. Top with half of sliced chicken down the middle of the bowl, then arrange half of mango to the side of chicken. Garnish with plenty of fresh cilantro, microgreens, and chopped almonds. Serve with lots of chilled sauce. Repeat for remaining bowl.
This was amazing! I added a little coconut sugar to sauce and a little apple cider vinegar to the cabbage and it turned out amazing! I also added some sliced cucumbers and shredded carrots to the bowl because I needed to use them up, but 10/10 will definitely make again!
YUM! I am having a bowl as I type. I omitted the mango just because I’m not a big fan, added jalapeno and green onion. So delicious. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Those sound like great additions!! So glad you liked it 🙂
OH MY GOODNESS, this is one of the best recipes on your site!! I’ve been trying your recipes for a while now, and they are usually delicious, but this one just completely blew me away. It’s everything a healthy meal should be; colorful, nourishing, and absolutely delicious!
I also brought it for lunch to work the next day, and it was still just as good the second day.
Wow, wow, WOW!!
Wow indeed. Thank you so much! I’m so glad you liked it!
This was so delicious! This was the perfect dinner to get me back on the healthy-eating train. My family loved it too – no leftovers!
The colours in this are so vibrant, it sounds delicious. Perfect for lunch!
Yes! So nourishing!