Veggie Lo Mein brings unbelievable food to your table in under 30 minutes. Love slurpy, noodle-y goodness? This quick and easy meal is sure to please.
If you haven’t already tried our beef lo mein dish, it’s a meat-lover’s dream.
Veggie Lo Mein isn’t just for vegetarians. It’s a great, light weekday lunch or quick dinner. The kicker? You can pack a TON of fresh produce in this dish and your kids won’t even notice. Yes, it’s that good…
From egg noodles to soba noodles and beyond, here at Momsdish, we love Asian noodle dishes. Some of our favorites include Korean Japchae and my Simple Yakisoba Noodles.
What is Lo Mein?
If you haven’t tried lo mein before, you are probably wondering what exactly it is. In short, lo mein is a stir-fried noodle dish that hails from the street food scene in China. Long, soft noodles are tossed with a savory and sweet sauce and either beef or chicken and a ton of veggies. The end result is a bowl of slurpy deliciousness!
How To Make Veggie Lo Mein
Ingredients for Veggie Lo Mein
Here, I will provide the basic ingredients for my Veggie Lo Mein. Feel free to bulk up the recipe with more veggies. You can add some fresh ginger, cabbage, bok choy, baby corn, mushrooms or even jalapeños to spruce things up. Here are the components I can’t live without:
- Lo Mein Noodles: Most grocery stores will carry lo mein noodles in the Asian aisle. You can find these wheat and egg based noodles dried or fresh. If you get lucky, you will find fresh lo mein noodles in the refrigerated section (sometimes in the produce aisle, sometimes in the Asian aisle).
- Broccoli: There’s just something about the way that the broccoli sucks up the flavors of the lo mein sauce. There’s a reason this veggie is a staple in Chinese cooking!
- Bell Peppers: Sweet, red bell peppers not only add a wonderful flavor to this dish, they also add a great pop of color.
- Onion: Use yellow or white for this dish.
- Carrots: You can shred carrots yourself or buy them pre-cut “julienne style”. These thin pieces stir fry much better than thick chunks.
- Garlic: It may be tempting to use garlic powder — but refrain! The fresh stuff is a must in Chinese cooking.
- Lo Mein Sauce: This sauce may taste complex, but it is actually super easy to make. Using just a few Chinese staples, you can make this a restaurant-quality dish.
Tips For the Best Veggie Lo Mein
- Layering is Key. It might be tempting to dump all of your ingredients in the pan at one time. But, in order for this dish to cook evenly, you need to cook all the veggies separately.
- Opt for Sesame Oil. It might feel natural for you to reach for olive oil when you are getting ready to stir fry. Try using sesame oil instead to add a wonderfully nutty flavor to your dish.
- Garnish it Up. Chop up some fresh green onions and sprinkle them on top right before serving.
How to Make Lo Mein Sauce?
My version only requires brown sugar, broth and soy sauce. You simply whisk all the components together and, just like that, you have a perfectly sweet and savory sauce.
A Few Other Asian Dishes to Try
- Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken – If this already isn’t one of your favorite Chinese takeout dishes, get prepared to fall in love with this tangy chicken.
- Egg Noodle Soup – A simple egg drop soup warms the soul. This is one of my favorite comfort foods.
- Korean Air Fryer Pork Ribs – These savory morsels come out tender and juicy in just a matter of minutes.
Recipe
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1/4 cup vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Lo Mein
- 8 oz lo mein noodles (cooked according to package instrucitons)
- 1 large carrot julienne
- 1 cup broccoli chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper sliced
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp oil for frying
Instructions
Sauce
- In a bowl combine together broth, brown sugar, sesame oil and soy sauce. Whisk until everything comes together. Set aside.
Lo Mein
- In a preheated skillet with oil, fry carrots until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Repeat this with onions, broccoli and bell peppers. Cooking veggies separately creates the best flavors.
- Add all vegetables back to the skillet. Press garlic into the vegetables and toss everything together.
- Add lo mein noodles and sauce. Toss together and let lo mein cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and serve right away.
I make this all the time for special purposes and everyone loves it. Layering the veggies when your cooking this is absolutely the key and the sauce is awesome.
I love that this dish is easy enough to make during busy weeknights, but flavorful and delicious enough for special meals too! Thanks for sharing Amanda.
It says it makes 8 servings, but does not indicate what a serving is. Could you please provide that information. Thanks 🙂
Hey Kimberly, The recipe calculator we use doesn't specify ounces or cups for serving size, just 8 servings. Sorry it isn't more specific.
This recipe is delicious! I've made it several times now. It's a great way to use up any veggies you have lying around that might be on their last leg. Ha.
LOL I totally agree Heather. Best way to use up veggies... and tasty too!
Taste good. But next time I'll make a double batch of sauce. Found it to be a little dry. Easy to make
Thanks for letting us know Bonnie. I hope you enjoy the Lo Mein with extra sauce next time!
This was so delicious!! I have a friend who doesn’t eat veggies and he ate 2 bowls! Thank you! Going to be my go to on Fridays during Lent❤️
I'm happy you got your friend to eat some veggies lol! Thanks for sharing Charlie! 🙂
Absolutely delicious! I used chicken broth instead of vegetable broth because I had some in the fridge that needed used! I have searched for a great lo mein recipe for years. This is the closest to restaurant flavor I have found. Thank you!
Awe! You just made my day Crystal! Nothing better than homemade food that tastes like restaurant quality! 🙂
I absolutely Love this recipe! I make it alot. Using Hoison sauce adds so much flavor. Once I have the ingredients for this .. it’s soo quick and easy to remake it. Delicious the next day too!!
Hey Rosita, I agree, the leftovers are great! I'm glad you love this recipe as much as I do!
This was delicious !! Will definitly make it again.
I'm glad you enjoyed it Makey!
Is this served hot or cold?
It's best served hot! Enjoy!
Omg!!! This was amazing!! Insanely good! So much flavor. Will for sure make again and again
Hi Iris, It's so good to hear you loved it! Enjoy!
Made this last night for the first time and everyone loved it!! It was so simple and quick. I'm an awful cook but this turned out perfect!!
Hi Jennelle, You're a great cook now! 😉
Could honey be substituted for brown sugar?
Hi Angela, I have not tried it with honey. Let us know what you think if you do try it as a substitute! 🙂
This is so good and so versatile! The sauce is amazing
Hi Kimberly, I'm happy to hear you loved it!
I was feeling a little lazy with the veggies, used a half a bag of cole slaw mix in addition to a pepper on hand. It was amazing!
Hi Tuesday, We all have those "feeling a little lazy" days! Thanks for sharing this tip, and I'm glad to hear it turned out great!
I love lo-mein,but I do not have noodles.can I use speghetti instead or any pasta?thanks
Hi Patty, Yes, you can use whatever you have on hand, thin spaghetti would be a good option. However, keep in mind the texture and flavor of the dish will be different. 🙂
Love it
Hi Susan, Thank you! 🙂
So much better than take out!!
Hi Cheryl, I can't argue you on that! Homemade is best!
Made this for dinner tonight and it is so good! Omitted the sesame seed oil due to allergies.
Janice, thats great to hear. Thank you for sharing your feedback, it will be helpful to those with allergies.
So good! I pretty much followed directions.. added some fresh ginger to the sauce and some water chestnuts and baby corn to the veggies. Everyone from the kids to the grandparents loved it!
Hi Maci, Sounds like it turned out amazingly! Thank you for sharing your process and feedback with me. Enjoy!
How much is a serving?
Hi Victoria, This recipe makes 8 servings. The recipe calculator doesnt tell us exactly how much a serving is because results can vary. I hope this helps!
I don't really like lo mein, but my family does, so I oblige.
I made this with chickpea pasta, added bok choy and scrambled egg. It's delicious. The sauce makes it. So yeah, I don't like lo mein, but I love this recipe.
Hi Stacey, I am thrilled that you found a recipe that you and your family love so much. Thank you for sharing your process and feedback. Enjoy!
I made last night, it was so simple and delicious. I added some leftover pork tenderloin, only used 2T aminos (instead of soy sauce) and 3 garlic, chicken broth, along with carrots, onions and peppers, and leftover spaghetti. Can't wait to make again, better than takeout.
Hi Nani, It sounds like it turned out delicious! Thank you for sharing your process and feedback. Enjoy!
I made this tonight and my family was very happy with how it turned out. I omitted the sesame oil from the sauce due to food allergies and used low sodium soy sauce. I added bok choy and snow pea pods prior to adding the lo mein. So delicious!!
Hi Arlene, I am so glad to hear that the recipe was a success! Sounds like it turned out amazing!! Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. Enjoy!
This was so delicious and so easy!! We added tofu to it for our protein. Will make it again!!
Hi Britt, I love that you put your own spin on this recipe! Thank you for sharing your feedback. Enjoy!!
Absolutely delicious! All 3 of my kids enjoyed it and asked for seconds. I loved how quick and easy it is to make! Thank you!
Hi Dana, I am so overjoyed to hear that your kiddos loved and approved of this recipe! Thank you for sharing your feedback. Enjoy!
A fantastic basic recipe for us just dipping our toe into Asian-inspired dishes. We doubled the recipe, added a touch more broth, subbed cabbage for broccoli, and added a tablespoon of hoisin. It was FANTASTIC!
Hi Kat, I am thrilled that you found a recipe you loved and that it was a success Thank you for sharing your process, enjoy!!
This was wonderful! We loved it so much! I cooked the broccoli in the microwave for a couple minutes and used green onion instead of yellow. I used 14 ounces of noodles and doubled the sauce! Perfect recipe!
Hi Crissy, I am so glad to hear that the recipe was a success! Thank you for sharing your process. Enjoy!
I would like to make ahead of time for a party tomorrow. What is the best way to reheat?
Hi Melissa, you can re-heat it on a skillet with a little bit of oil, otherwise I would recommend that you prep all of the ingredients and sauce ahead of time and cook it fresh before the party for best results. The cooking part doesn't take up a lot of time at all. I hope this helps. Have a wonderful day!
Made this tonight and it was fabulous! Was a hit with the family also. Thanks for sharing your recipe ❤️
Hi Vickie, I am thrilled that the recipe was a success! Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback. Enjoy!
This recipe is outstanding! I added 3 eggs and 1/4 head of cabbage (only add in the last two minutes of cooking). I replaced shallots for regular onion and rice noodles for lo mein noodles. I served with crushed peanuts on top. This recipe has the potential for many variations. I've been looking for a great lo mein recipe for months, and this is it! Excellent! Thank you for sharing.
Patty, you are way ahead of me and I love love your version. I love rice noodles and the combo you shared sounds incredible, almost like Thai influence. I need to try your version asap! Thank you for sharing.