Craving Chinese take out but don’t want to wait?! This homemade vegetable lo mein recipe is quick, easy and tastes just like the real deal. Made with simple ingredients and no fancy sauces, this is the perfect simple weeknight dinner.
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I’m probably going to turn into a noodle one of these days. I’ve eaten more pasta, sesame noodles, peanut noodles, and now vegetable lo mein in the past 3 weeks than I think most people do in a year. But I’m kind of going crazy being locked up in my house so I think that’s ok?!
Anyway, this lo mein recipe couldn’t be easier or more delicious. It all comes together in under 30 minutes and is perfect on it’s own but also delicious served with maple glazed salmon or a side of chicken.
For this recipe, you can use virtually any kind of noodle you want. Lo mein traditionally uses Chinese egg noodles which is kind of like spaghetti being wheat based, but also has egg.
Lo mein is also made of a bunch of stir fried veggies, fresh garlic and ginger for lots of flavor, and a simple sauce made with soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and sriracha for spice!
How to make these noodles
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions.
In a medium saute pan, add the finely minced garlic and freshly grated ginger. Saute with the olive oil for 2-3 minutes.
Add in the sliced mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes, allowing the mushrooms to wilt slightly.
Add in the snow peas, julienned carrot and sliced bell pepper. If you notice anything sticking, add in a splash more oil. Cover the pan and let the vegetables steam for 5 minutes to soften.
Remove the lid and add in the soy sauce (starting with 3 tbsp), toasted sesame oil, brown sugar and sriracha. Stir well to combine.
Combine the veggies with the noodles and combine together to coat the noodles with the sauce.
Let simmer for 5 minutes to absorb all of the flavor. If you can let it sit for longer (about 15 minutes) great, because the noodles will soak up more flavor.
Stir in the chopped green onions. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. I usually add an additional tablespoon of soy sauce because I love it so much, but you can add red pepper flakes, extra sriracha for spice etc.
Though their names sound similar, the main difference between lo mein and chow mein is the cooking method.
Both dishes use similar types of noodles (wheat and egg noodles) but lo mein noodles are boiled to be nice and soft like spaghetti, whereas chow mein noodles are stir fried to make them crispy!
Tips & tricks
- I may or may not be kind of obsessed with soy sauce, so I usually add 1-2 extra tablespoons to the final recipe. The recipe calls for 3-4, so I recommend starting with 3, following all instructions to the end, and then adding more if you want a little more flavor.
- I always use low sodium soy sauce in all of my recipes. Regular soy sauce can make recipes really salty really quickly, so for best results, stick with low sodium. You still get all of the delicious flavor, I promise!
- This vegetable lo mein only gets better as it sits (to a certain point) as the noodles soak up all of the flavor. Once prepared, it will keep in the fridge for about 5 days. You can enjoy it hot or cold!
- To make this recipe vegan, you can use regular spaghetti, and to make it gluten free, use brown rice spaghetti! I’ve used all of these noodles and the recipe still turns out perfectly!
- Feel free to swap in or out any veggies of your choice. Don’t like mushrooms? Just leave them out or swap in some broccoli!
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Quick & Easy Vegetable Lo Mein
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Chinese egg noodles (can sub for regular spaghetti or brown rice spaghetti for vegan/gf)
- 2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1 red bell pepper (sliced thin)
- 1 large carrot (julienned)
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 inch thumb fresh ginger
- 3-4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or tamari*
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1-2 tsp sriracha
- 2 green onions (scallions, chopped)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions.
- In a medium saute pan, add the finely minced garlic and freshly grated ginger. Saute with the olive oil for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the sliced mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes, allowing the mushrooms to wilt slightly.
- Add in the snow peas, julienned carrot and sliced bell pepper. If you notice anything sticking, add in a splash more oil.
- Cover the pan and let the vegetables steam for 5 minutes to soften.
- Remove the lid and add in the soy sauce (starting with 3 tbsp), toasted sesame oil, brown sugar and sriracha. Stir well to combine.
- Combine the veggies with the noodles and combine together to coat the noodles with the sauce. Add in the spinach and chopped green onions and stir well. Let simmer for 5 minutes to absorb all of the flavor and let the spinach wilt. If you can let it sit for longer (about 15 minutes) even better because the noodles will soak up more flavor.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. I usually add an additional tablespoon of soy sauce because I love it so much, but you can add red pepper flakes, extra sriracha for spice etc.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Mary
Made this for supper tonight, amazing. I used what the recipe called for with the sriracha and it was plenty hot for me! I used Soba, buckwheat noodles. Tastes great. I like Nicole’s comment too, use any veggies on hand. I also love that you include nutritional information with your recipes as my husband is counting calories. Thanks and keep up the great work. Love your site and blog.
Claire Cary
Thank you Mary! So happy you enjoyed it. If you don’t mind leaving a star rating with your next review, I would really appreciate it!
Nicole
This recipe was great! Came together quickly and easily and was super tasty. We thought we would have leftovers… but nope!
I used whole wheat spaghetti noodles to make it vegan. And I subbed maple syrup and chili flakes for the brown sugar and sriracha. I also used used whatever veggies I had on hand that sounded good (mushrooms, carrots, celery, bell peppers, broccoli) and also added some air fried cubed tofu. 🙂
Claire Cary
Thanks Nicole! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂