Contents
Veggie Lo Mein Recipe
Why order take out when you have this perfect veggie lo mein recipe that you can put together in less than 15 minutes? Healthier and tastier than any to-go lo mein, you will surely love this easy weeknight meal.
Homemade Vegetable Lo Mein
Vegetable lo mein is probably one of the most popular Chinese food take out dishes out there and it is easy to see why. It is flavorful, not too expensive and it is also full of vegetables so you can feel like you are eating something healthy. However, you may be surprised at how much sugar and calories, in general, are in a bowl of take-out lo mein.
Making this fantastic Chinese food dish at home will enable you to make it healthier, faster and even cheaper than if you simply placed an order from your local restaurant. Keep reading to find out more and learn exactly how to make this delicious recipe.
How Many Calories in Vegetable Lo Mein?
While we are on the topic of nutrition, you may be wondering exactly how many calories are in a traditional bowl of veggie lo mein. On average, there can be upwards of 900 calories in a pint of vegetable lo mein. Most of these calories come from the sesame oil and the carbs that are in the dish. Noodles have lots of carbohydrates and so does soy sauce. Many take out restaurant may also put pure sugar into the mix to sweeten it up.
In order to make your vegetable lo mein healthier when making it at home, our recipe uses liquid coconut aminos rather than soy sauce which is much lower in both calories, sugar and sodium. We also opt for whole wheat spaghetti which has fewer calories and more nutrients like fiber and other vitamins and minerals.
How to Make Veggie Lo Mein
Putting this weeknight dinner together is pretty simple and you will be eating in just a matter of minutes (likely faster than your take-out could be delivered!). To make this lo mein recipe:
- Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce together in a bowl and set aside.
- Prepared the noodles according to package directions. While the noodles are cooking, you can start on the next step in order to save even more time.
- Stir fry the vegetable that you have chosen over high heat with the oil, tossing the pan or wok constantly to cook the vegetables but prevent them from burning.
- Toss the cooked vegetables with the prepared noodles and sauce and then serve.
Super easy, right?! You are likely planning a trip to the grocery store right now in order to get all the ingredients you need to make this recipe a few times!
Make Your Lo Mein Unique
Every Chinese food restaurant makes its lo mein a little bit differently and you should definitely consider switching up some of the ingredients to make this recipe your own. If you are wondering what is in traditional lo mein, the answer is simple:
- noodles
- soy sauce
- sesame oil
- green onions/ scallions
- carrots
- red bell pepper
- cabbage
- bok choy
- mushrooms
- broccoli
While all of these ingredients combine to make a great lo mein, you may want to try something different. Here are a few ideas that may sound appealing to you:
- Swap out the whole wheat noodles for larger egg noodles, ramen noodles or even a different kind of Chinese noodle
- Coconut aminos work great in place of soy sauce as indicated in our recipe but you can also use a light or low sodium soy sauce
- Add different vegetables like napa cabbage, snow peas, baby corn or green bell pepper
- Use fresh ginger in the sauce to make the sauce have a little more of a bite
- Add sriracha sauce to the sauce to make your lo mein spicy
- Serve the stir fry vegetables over brown rice instead of noodles.
- Double the recipe for the sauce ingredients and make extra- more sauce is always a good idea!
- Keep your lo mein vegan (is vegetable lo mein vegan? Yes! At least our recipe is!) but add some protein by adding some stir fry tofu.
When thinking of ways to make this lo mein recipe unique and exciting, keep basic Asian flavors in mind. Sesame oil, soy sauce or coconut aminos, garlic and ginger all combine to create that traditional Chinese food style lo mein flavor that you are likely looking for.
Meal Prep Lo Mein
Our recipe for vegetable lo mein is a perfect recipe to make in advance which will not only make for easier weeknight dinner but also lunch as well! Try cooking a big batch of lo mein and then dividing it between airtight, meal prep containers. Then, all you need to do is heat and eat! You will have a delicious lunch or dinner ready and waiting for you all week, saving you time and money.
When you are cooking this lo mein recipe in a bigger batch, there are a few things you may want to consider in order to ensure it is perfect when it comes time to eat.
- Consider cooking (or just mixing together!) some extra lo mein sauce. Keep the sauce separate and then, before you reheat the lo mein, pour some of the extra sauce over the top of the noodles and vegetable mix. The additional sauce will help keep the noodles soft, preventing them from drying out when reheated.
- Vegetable lo mein lasts for about 4-5 days when stored correctly in the refrigerator. You can also choose to freeze the lo mein for up to one month. No matter how you store it, be sure to wrap it well!
- Drizzle a little extra sesame oil over the top of the noodles before reheating to prevent them from drying out.
Hopefully, you are very excited to make our recipe for vegetable lo mein. You no longer need to order take out in order to get one of your favorite meals- you can easily cook it at home! If you try this recipe, please leave a reply below and let us know how it was! You can also sign up to receive email from us featuring more exciting recipes for you to try to cook at home. We have many great recipes already on our site and add more recipes all the time.
PrintWeek Night Veggie Lo Mein
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: dinner
Description
There is no need for take out when you can make fantastic lo mein right at home, choosing your favorite veggies to make it extra healthy!
Ingredients
- 8 oz whole wheat spaghetti
- Any combination of the following veggies: broccoli, peppers, cabbage, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, green beans, leeks, carrots, celery, kale. Aim for 6-8 cups of veggies.
- olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- For the sauce:
- 4–6 tbs Liquid amino acid (or soy sauce)
- 2 tbs maple syrup (or sugar)
- 1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger (or fresh if you have it)
- salt and pepper to taste
- sriracha sauce to taste
Instructions
- Mix ingredients for sauce together and set aside. Bring a pot of water to boil for spaghetti and cook according to package instructions.
- Heat a large skillet on high heat and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Toss all veggies, including garlic in the pan and begin to saute. Depending on how well done you like your veggies, this could take 5 minutes or 10. Sometimes I cover the pan with a large lid to help the broccoli steam a bit while the other veggies are cooking.
- Drain pasta and add to cooked vegetables. Toss entire pan with the sauce. Add more soy sauce if desired, and serve right away.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Store your sesame oil in the fridge after you open the bottle. Sesame oil can go bad when not stored properly and since you are using just a touch in this lo mein recipe, you may have some extra. However, sesame oil is necessary to get that authentic Chinese food flavor that you love!
- Fresh chopped garlic and also fresh ginger are great in the sauce for this lo mein. When in a pinch, you can add powdered garlic or ground ginger but try to use fresh for the most flavor.
- Be sure to cook the noodles while you saute the vegetables for the recipe. This will help reduce the overall prep time and get you to the tables even faster! From the time you start cooking to the finish time, 15 minutes is all it should take to make this lo mein
Leave a Reply