Are there healthy options at Thai Express?

December 15, 2025 •

4 min read

According to nutritionists who have analyzed the menu, Thai Express offers specific modifications and options that can significantly reduce the calorie and fat content of many popular dishes. While some menu items can be surprisingly high in calories and sodium, a strategic approach to ordering can transform a quick meal into a much healthier one.

Quick Summary

Thai Express provides numerous ways to create a nutritious meal by customizing dishes with lighter sauces, less oil, and more vegetables. Focus on healthy proteins like chicken or fish, opt for soups or salads, and make smart substitutions for noodles or rice.

Key Points

Customization is Key: Modify dishes by asking for lighter sauces, less oil, and more vegetables.
Sauces Matter: Opt for vegetarian or savory sauces like Ginger and Basil over rich coconut or peanut-based curries.
Smart Swaps: Replace noodles or rice with bean sprouts to significantly cut down on carbs and calories.
Lean Proteins: Choose plain chicken, fish, or shrimp over battered or fried proteins like General Thai Chicken and fried tofu.
Lighter Options: Consider mini soups or Pad Salads for excellent, lower-calorie meal alternatives.
Go Easy on Oil: Requesting less oil for stir-fries and fried rice can make a significant difference in fat content.
Avoid Battered Items: Dishes featuring battered protein are generally higher in fat and sugar, making them less healthy.

Navigating the Thai Express Menu for Healthier Choices

Thai cuisine is often celebrated for its fresh ingredients, vibrant flavors, and use of healthy herbs. However, as with many fast-casual restaurants, not all dishes at Thai Express are created equal from a nutritional standpoint. By understanding which items are inherently healthier and which can be modified, you can enjoy a delicious meal without derailing your dietary goals. Customization is the key to unlocking the healthy options hidden within the menu, allowing you to control calories, fat, and sodium.

Soups and Salads: Excellent Starting Points

For a light and flavorful meal, the soup and salad options are often your best bet. A mini soup, for instance, is a great low-calorie choice, while a full-size soup can be modified to be lighter.

Mini Tom Yum Soup: A spicy, sweet, and sour lemongrass-infused broth that offers a burst of flavor with relatively few calories.
Thai Soup: The regular chicken broth is a solid choice. You can ask for less broth to lower the sodium content.
Pad Salads: These are a fantastic way to enjoy your favorite stir-fry flavors over a bed of cold, fresh salad greens instead of rice or noodles, reducing calories and carbs.

Mastering the Stir-Fries and Noodle Dishes

Stir-fries and noodle dishes like Pad Thai are where most of the customization potential lies. They can be high in calories, sodium, and sugar due to heavy sauces and generous portions. The following strategies will help you make a healthier choice:

Select the Right Sauce: Avoid high-fat sauces containing coconut milk or nuts, such as curry and peanut sauce. Opt for lighter sauces like Ginger, Basil, or Soy Garlic, and ask for less of it. The vegetarian sauce is another good option, often lower in calories.
Choose Lean Protein: The best protein choices are plain grilled chicken or fish. Battered options like General Thai Chicken and fried tofu should be avoided, as they are significantly higher in fat and sugar. Shrimp is also a decent, lower-fat option.
Replace Carbs with Veggies: Thai Express offers generous portions of starch. To cut carbs and calories, you can ask to replace some or all of the rice or noodles with bean sprouts. Some locations also offer cauliflower rice.
Hold the Eggs and Oil: For a further reduction in fat and calories, ask for your fried rice or Pad Thai without egg and with less oil.

Healthy Thai Express Hacks

Ask for vegetarian sauce: A simple switch to the lighter vegetarian sauce can save calories and fat in many dishes.
Less broth: In soups, requesting less broth directly reduces the sodium content.
Half noodles, half sprouts: A great way to reduce your carb intake while still enjoying the texture of noodles.
Pad salad with chicken: Get the flavor of a stir-fry, but on a bed of greens instead of rice or noodles.
Plain chicken or fish: Ask for plain, grilled protein instead of battered or fried versions.

Comparison of Standard vs. Healthy Orders


Meal	Standard Order	Healthy Order	Nutritional Impact
Pad Thai	Chicken Pad Thai with full noodles, regular sauce, and egg.	Chicken Pad Thai with vegetarian sauce, no egg, and half noodles/half bean sprouts.	Significantly lower in calories, fat, and sodium.
Curry	Red Curry with coconut milk and beef on a bed of rice.	Mini Tom Yum Soup with plain chicken instead of battered, and less broth.	Drastically cuts calories and saturated fat from coconut milk.
Stir-Fry	Cashew Stir-Fry with fried tofu on rice.	Basil Stir-Fry with plain chicken on bean sprouts, and less oil.	Reduces fat from both the sauce and fried tofu, while lowering carbs.
Fried Rice	Standard Thai Fried Rice with egg and heavy oil.	Thai Fried Rice with vegetarian sauce, no egg, and less oil.	Cuts fat and cholesterol while still being flavorful.

Conclusion

Making healthy choices at Thai Express is not just possible, it's encouraged through menu flexibility. By focusing on smart modifications—such as choosing lighter sauces, swapping carbs for vegetables, opting for lean proteins, and being mindful of fat and sugar content—you can enjoy a satisfying and nutritious meal. While dishes like General Thai Chicken and coconut curries can be high in calories, the ability to customize stir-fries, pad salads, and soups allows diners to control their nutritional intake effectively. A quick-service Thai meal can be a genuinely healthy option, provided you order with awareness.

For more detailed guidance on modifying menu items, refer to Thai Express's official 'Lighter Choices' guide: https://thaiexpress.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2018-Lighter-Choices.pdf.

Frequently Asked Questions

A standard Pad Thai can be high in calories, fat, and sodium. However, you can make it healthier by asking for the vegetarian sauce, less oil, no egg, and substituting half the noodles with bean sprouts.

Some of the lowest calorie options include the mini soups, Pad Salads with a lighter protein like chicken, and stir-fries with vegetables and lean protein served on bean sprouts instead of rice or noodles.

To reduce sodium, ask for less sauce, less broth in soups, and avoid the extra broth option. The regular Thai soup is also lower in sodium than the Tom Yum broth.

Yes, Thai Express offers a 'Gluten-Friendly' menu with options like Gluten-Friendly Pad Thai, Fried Rice, and Stir-Fries. The vegetarian sauce is also gluten-free.

Curries, especially those with coconut milk, are typically higher in fat and calories. For a healthier option, nutritionists suggest avoiding them and choosing a broth-based soup or stir-fry with a lighter sauce instead.

Many of the stir-fries and noodle dishes can be made vegan by opting for the vegetarian sauce, holding the egg, and choosing plain tofu or extra vegetables. The Pad Salad with the vegetarian sauce is another good choice.

No, General Thai Chicken is not considered a healthy option due to the breading on the chicken and the high sugar and fat content of the sauce.