Easy Vegetable Lo Mein
Craving take out but don’t want to wait?! This homemade vegetable lo mein recipe is quick, easy and full of flavor. Made with simple ingredients and no fancy sauces, this is the perfect simple weeknight dinner.
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.
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 my 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 since it’s wheat based, but also has egg. I, of course, can’t eat wheat, so I just used brown rice spaghetti which works really well.
Lo mein is also made of various 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!
Lo mein an authentic Chinese dish meaning “stirred noodles” that is traditionally served with vegetables or meat, but in this recipe we’ll be sticking to just vegetables! Please note, this is just my take on the dish, I have done my research and hope I am doing this classic dish justice! Try my curry noodles or pan fried tofu noodle bowls next!
How to make vegetable lo mein
COOK NOODLES. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions.
SAUTE VEGGIES. In a medium saute pan, add the finely minced garlic, green onion 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.
ADD SAUCE. 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. Combine the veggies with the noodles and combine together to coat the noodles with the sauce.
SIMMER. 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.
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SERVE. 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 hot and enjoy! If you want a non-vegetarian version, try my gluten free chicken lo mein!
What’s the difference between lo mein and chow mein?
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!
Add in other vegetables!
Definitely! 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! You can also use frozen veggies as well, just saute them a bit longer than if using fresh.
What kind of soy sauce is best?
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!
Speaking of which, 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.
Does it keep?
This vegetable lo mein only gets better as it sits while the noodles soak up all of the flavor. Once prepared, it will keep in the fridge for about 3-5 days. You can enjoy it hot or cold!
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Quick & Easy Vegetable Lo Mein
by: claire cary
Ingredients
- 8 ounces noodles of choice I used brown rice spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 inch thumb fresh ginger grated
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- 2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thin
- 1 large carrot julienned
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari*
- 1 tablespon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1-2 teaspoon sriracha
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, green onion 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, 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/tamari, 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!
Notes
Comments
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I am not typically a lo mein person, but a sweet, special friend is. I was looking for something that sounded easy and delicious, and you delivered!
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t have mushrooms (When do I never have mushrooms?!), so I substituted broccoli. I don’t know exactly how much ginger I added; it’s hard for me to tell when I grate a piece from the freezer. I just grated until it was “enough.” So flavorful!
I did have one question. In the directions, you mentioned scallions with the garlic, ginger, and olive oil, but scallions were not one of the ingredients listed. How much scallion/onion do I need?
Also, I added 1 TBSP hoisin to my sauce, and when I had my dish plated, I added a little drizzle of sriracha on my dish.
This recipe is a keeper! I can’t wait to make this dish for my friend!
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Scallions are the same thing as green onion! Will clarify that in the post. So glad you enjoyed it!
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Delicious, and very easy to make. Plus, super filling!
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YUM! I added broccoli and thinly sliced chicken for my meat eaters. I think next time I’ll double the sauce but everyone loves it! It’s on the meal rotation, thanks!!!
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Sounds perfect, thanks Christa!
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Excellent⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Very easy and super delicious. We subbed in a couple things we didn’t have on hand so we used white onion instead of shallots and we added broccoli and chili oil. Thank you!
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Sounds perfect, thanks Amy!
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SO FREAKING GOOD! Even my picky girlfriend loves this dish! Thanks so much!
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Ahhh-mazing!!! This dish tasted just like what I had at the restaurant! So very pleased. I will definitely be making this again. I have already shared the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
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Thank you for sharing!
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Thank you so much for this recipe. It came out perfect and my husband loves it!! So far I’ve made 3 dishes from your website and each one comes out so delicious! You’re definitely my go to now for vegan dinner meals! Thank you again ❤️
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Aww thank you so much Jessica!
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What can I sub for the sriracha, I do not keep on hand?
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Any other hot sauce you have, or you can just add a pinch of red chili flakes/red pepper flakes for spice! You can totally do without if you don’t have it.
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I had some cauliflower lying around and decided to make this for lunch. So glad I did, its absolutely delicious, with or without the crispy chickpeas. My husband even had seconds. Will definitely make this again.
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Delicious!
Made this, following the recipe except I did not put in the spinach and put in some roast duck I had for meat. The sauce was perfect. I used lo mein noodles. Thank you!-
Sounds delicious! So happy you enjoyed it!
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yum!!
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Sooooo delicious! Thank you for this great recipe and all the effort you put on this site!
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Thank you Filo! That made my day 🙂
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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.
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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!
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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. 🙂
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Thanks Nicole! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
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