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?
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This is amazing!! I’m not much of a cook but this was pretty easy and delicious! I didn’t use sriracha because I can’t handle any amount of kick, but I did add baby corn because I love them 🙂 Thank you for this recipe! My boyfriend and I love lo mein and now I’ll be able to make it for him
I made this exactly as directions say. It’s great and I love it!
I made my first lo mein using this recipe and it came out great thank you very much
Made lo mein for the 1st time today and used this recipe, plus or minus the vegetables I had on hand. I added shrimp that I had sauteed in olive oil with scallions, minced garlic and a pinch of ginger powder and fresh ground black pepper. It was delicious! Best of all, I know there was no msg, an ingredient popular in Asian cuisine. Thanks for a quick and scrumptious recipe.
This was really good! I added more sauces just cos I like mine saucier haha…any idea on how many calories per serving in this dish? I tried looking it up but I couldn’t find calories in homemade veggie lo mein. Thanks!
Nutritional information is provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, it is best that you use free online resources at your discretion (you can gooogle “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information.
OMG so good thanks!
Eating this now! So yummy! Used yakuza a noodles since that what I could find at my grocery store tonight and used chop suey vegetables so I didn’t have to prep anything. My teenage son inhaled it, he loved the kick the sirachi gave it.
Made these tonight. OMG so good. I’m not a fan of sesame oil because I find the taste overwhelming. I’ve made a few noodle recipes before that I didn’t enjoy because of that reason, but this one was delish. You can’t taste the sesame , yet it’s there. I didn’t have lo mein noodles so I used spaghettini. Noodles and it was perfect. Definitely a keeper. Thanks
Wow I am making this right now my favorite dish by far I hope it comes out great only I’m going to add some of those baby corns because my husband loves them!
This is perfect and I love your style of photography! I love your sauce recipe as well!
different veggies every time too! We had it with lots of green pepper, onion, and mushrooms and then even used whole grain spaghetti. My roommate and her boyfriend love the sauce, though I omitted the sriracha for their delicate palate
I know it will be good because I love, love, love your recipes! Thank you.
This has made my life so much better. I crave Lo Mein while being pregnant and it can cost a bit when you want this a lot. So glad that I found this recipe!! I also add grilled chicken for my spouse…Something that I use to love….
Thank You!!!
This is delicious every time I make it, and with different veggies every time too! We had it with lots of green pepper, onion, and mushrooms and then even used whole grain spaghetti. My roommate and her boyfriend love the sauce, though I omitted the sriracha for their delicate palates.
Lo mein is my absolute favorite, I used this recipe as a guide but put my own spin on it and it came out SO delicious.
I can not help saying this, but your recipes are “DAMN DELICIOUS” and you are damn cute!!!!!!
I don’t usually comment, but I have noticed that everything I like is from Damn Delicious!! Thanks!
This is a great recipe. I’ve made it twice. The first time I made it just as the recipe instructed and it was delicious. The second time that I made it I substituted the ground ginger for fresh ginger, added half an onion, green onion, and crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper (to taste). I like spicy food so this was what was needed for me to put this in my recipe book.
BTW, the sauce is delicious and deserves its own accolade. Thank you for the recipe!
My son who loves all things ridiculously spicy (I am talking 1.5M scoville units lol!) LOVES Chinese/Vietnamese/Korean and all Asian inspired dishes. Being a vegetarian family, this recipe hits the spot! Once again, simple ingredients that I have at home and I can make it healthier without MSG 🙂 Thanks so much for the mouth watering pics and recipes!
I loved this!! Came to it through a buzzfeed post about quick and easy healthy recipes and it was both of those things and soooo tasty!!! Making it again tomorrow for lunch with a friend!!