Easy Lo Mein
by Chungah
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This easy lo mein comes together in 15 min with the most flavorful sauce and all the vegetables! So much better and healthier than take-out!
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Why you’ll love this easy lo mein
- Quicker than delivery. Believe it or not, this homemade lo mein comes together faster than takeout or delivery. We’re talking 15 minutes, start to finish, perfect for those busy weeknights!
- Healthier than takeout. Making lo mein at home gives you full control over all the ingredients, allowing for lower sodium, controlled heart-healthy oils, more veggies, and better protein choices.
- Flexible recipe. You can customize this dish completely and clean out the fridge with all kinds of leftover vegetables and proteins, making this so economical and budget-friendly for the family.
- Leftovers taste even better. Similar to lasagna, the leftovers taste even better the next day, really allowing all the flavors to meld and marry into the noodles overnight.
What is lo mein?
This is a popular Chinese-American takeout dish typically made with soft egg noodles mixed with protein such as chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp and various vegetables in a savory soy sauce mixture.
How to make easy lo mein
- Make the sauce. Combine the soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, and Sriracha.
- Cook the noodles. Add the egg noodles to a large pot of boiling water and cook according to package instructions.
- Cook the vegetables. While the noodles are cooking, sauté the garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper, and carrot in a large skillet over medium high heat until crisp-tender, about 3-4 minutes. Then stir in the snow peas and spinach until the spinach has wilted, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the noodles and sauce. Stir in the cooked egg noodles and sauce, gently tossing until the noodles are evenly coated.
- Serve. Serve warm.
variations and substitutions
- Noodles: Yaki-Soba, dried egg noodles, spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine
- Protein: chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, or tofu
- Vegetables: broccoli, baby corn, baby bok choy, or cabbage
- Soy sauce: tamari or liquid aminos for a gluten-free substitute
What to serve with easy lo mein
- Vegetable Potstickers
- Easy Hot and Sour Soup
- Chinese Orange Chicken
- Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
- PF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Tools For This Recipe
Easy Lo Mein: Frequently Asked Questions
Lo mein noodles are boiled and soft, gently tossed in a savory, thicker sauce whereas chow mein noodles are stir-fried in a wok until crispy and crunchy with little to no sauce.
While fresh egg noodles are ideal for their bouncy, springy texture, Yaki-Soba, dried egg noodles, spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine can also be used in a pinch.
Always add the hard vegetables (ex. carrots) first as they need more time to cook through, adding in softer, leafy greens (ex. snow peas and spinach) at the very end to avoid overcooking them.
Yes! Lo mein is highly versatile. Add any leftover protein such as shredded rotisserie chicken.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Easy Lo Mein
Video
Ingredients
- 8 ounces lo mein egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1 carrot, julienned
- ½ cup snow peas
- 3 cups baby spinach
For the sauce
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce, or more, to taste
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling water, cook noodles according to package instructions; drain well.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper and carrot. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in snow peas and spinach until the spinach has wilted, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in egg noodles and sauce, and gently toss to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Make ahead of time. Cut the vegetables one day in advance, stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Prep the ingredients beforehand. Have the sauce already mixed and vegetables cut and ready to go once you start cooking. This recipe comes together lightning fast!
- Coleslaw mix is the best time-saving hack. To cut down on prep time even further, use bagged coleslaw mix. It’s already pre-shredded cabbage and carrots, cooking very quickly in about 1-2 minutes.
- Hard vegetables get cooked first. Add dense, hard vegetables first (for example, carrots and bell peppers), then add soft, leafy vegetables last (for example, snow peas).
- Avoid overcrowding the pan. Cook the vegetables in batches if needed. An overcrowded pan will steam the veggies instead.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
WOW!!!??! This was a m a z i n g
I doubled the sauce and used a 1 lb pack of Chinese lo mein noodles. Added all kinds of veggies and shrimp!
I tasted the sauce when I mixed it up and it tasted soo salty but I went with it!! It was perfect when all mixed together don’t be scared of it!
Can’t wait to make this again !!! A def recipe keeper!!! So fast to make in a flash!!!
Thank YOU!!
My husband and I love this recipe for a great meatless meal. I use all 10 oz of Lotus Foods organic millet & brown rice ramen noodles. You can add a little extra veggies and either make a little more sauce I just add extra soy sauce. I use Bragg’s liquid aminos ( a lower sodium alternative ).
I used ramen noodles and added chicken. My 12 and 13 yr olds said it was perfect “don’t change a thing.” I was so excited and relieved. They are super picky eaters.
Very good!
I added an onion, used bagged cabbage with carrots, Simply Asia Lo Mein noodles. Came out great. Next time I will double the sauce, and maybe add thin sliced Bok Choy. Definitely delicious and easy! Thank you!
What are some of your fav brands of lo mein / egg noodles?
I actually don’t have a favorite brand. I typically use what’s readily available at my grocery store. 🙂
The 99 Ranch carries a lo mein & chow mein noodles by Prime Food Corp. I’ve tried both, and they both come out great.
I am so thrilled to have found your site. 1st recipe I tried was pineapple rice….wow. I serve it with bbq ribs. Big hit with my family. Now tried your Lo Mein, so good. Tastes like I bought it from a restaurant. Thank you for the easy direction. So delicious.
I love your recipes, I have followed your site and have tried some of your recipes and have really loved them. Thank you for sharing! My family loves them as well!
I make this all the time. It’s one of the few recipes my extremely picky eater BF enjoys. I modify it by doubling the amount of sauce, using frozen stir fry mix veggies from the store (steam for a couple minutes to thaw before putting in the pan) and spaghetti noodles (which I was skeptical of but I tried it after seeing the note at the bottom and it works great). LOVE IT!
I made this recipe and it was amazing! I put too much sriracha. Is there anything I can do to make it not so hot?
You can try to add additional soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil to dilute it a bit. Hope that helps, Amy!
I doubled the noodles and tripled the sauce because I used a TON of veggies – cabbage, broccoli, carrots, and shitake. My husband was skeptical at my making this with linguine but I was at the main stream grocery and not keen on spending $6 for asian noodles when linguine was only 89 cents. It was a hit!
This is a great, easy recipe with a LOT of flexibility – use whatever veggies you like. The sauce is what ties it all together. It’s quick, easy, and, well… damn delicious. Two of my kids not only ate it fresh, they devoured the leftovers. My kids NEVER eat leftovers. 😮
The other two kids weren’t fans, but they hate everything. I consider this a keeper.
Hellooo! Sounds like a delicious recipe! Is there a way to add scrambled egg into this the way you can sometimes get it in the restaurant lo mein? I LOVE it that way. It’s okay if not, I was just curious. Thank you for a wonderful recipe <3 Looking forward to a yummy dinner!
Absolutely! 🙂
Look out, PF Chang’s! This was so yummy. I made a few variations, and it came out really good. I have big eaters, so I doubled the noodles (I used dried soba noodles, boiled 3 min and rinsed with cool water); tripled the sauce and used honey from our bees instead of sugar, and chili paste because I was out of sriracha. For veggies, I had onion, carrot, fresh garlic and grated ginger, mushrooms, broccoli, and snow peas. I also stir fried some diced chicken tenders with onion to serve on the side because we have vegans and carnivores in the family. Thanks for the recipe!!
Now that was Damn Delicious!
We will be making this again and again. Though for our tastes we are going to cut the Sriracha in half down to 1/4 tsp. Though this isn’t too hot in the least and I can imagine some would even want to double the heat.
I like a hint of heat and this was a hint and a half. Thank you so much.
Excellent and I enjoyed it even more the second day! Easy quick recipe. I used rice noodles as I need gluten free. Just like take out!
Hello again! I finally got to make your recipe; it was pretty good! I have some questions, though… Do you store an opened bottle of sesame oil in the fridge? And do you need to drain off the liquid created(supposedly from the mushrooms) before the snow peas and spinach are added? I am somewhat of a new cook, so I was wondering…
Opened sesame oil can be kept in the refrigerator but it may cause the sesame oil to become cloudy and solidify, but this will not affect the quality or flavor. Once the oil is brought back to room temperature, it will return to its normal consistency and color.
You can drain off the liquid if you prefer but is not required.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. My favorite Chinese restaurant closed and I had been trying to to recreate their lo mein for several years. With your noodle sauce I finally nailed it! I use a mung bean sprouts, carrots and green onions for the veggies in my version. I also thin slice beef (usually flank or sirloin steak) and marinade it in equal parts soy sauce, cornstarch and veggie oil. Your noodle sauce was this missing piece of the puzzle for me and now lo mein is in regular dinner rotation in my home. Thanks again!
When would I add chicken or shrimp to this? And how much should I add for your 4 serving recipe? I’m hoping to try this recipe in the coming week!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried these modifications myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Really good recipe and tasty dish. Would heat it up a little next time, that’s to suit me and my tastes. Thanks for the great recipe, it reminded me of how good food doesn’t have to be complex to make.
I don’t normally give reviews, but I’ve decided when I come across something that has brought a positive, I’m going to take the time to acknowledge it. Acknowledge it I will. This recipe is DAMN DELICIOUS! I might have added a higher amount of the veggies because I used my eye rather than a measuring cup, but everything else was followed to the T, including the “how to cook”. Is there a word that can describe the deliciousness of this meal? If so, it’s escaped me!!!
Can’t wait to try other recipes!!!
Thanks so much for sharing with us!
Made this along with the korean bowl. So so good. May just have some for breakfast! Lol
This looks delicious. I’m making homemade Asian food for New Years Eve which is tomorrow night. This is one of my dishes. I made dumplings and a Tia chicken salad with a peanut butter dressing. I even bought Chinese food containers. So much fun