Chicken lo mein has tasty, sauce-soaked noodles, tender veggies and thin strips of chicken scattered throughout the dish, and it’s ready in just 20 minutes. This delicious dinner tastes restaurant-worthy but is easy to make at home.
We just had a lazy, lovely Easter weekend.
The Easter bunny found us and brought the kiddos all kinds of goodies. We did a little backyard Easter egg hunt and had a big breakfast and dinner. (My daughter happily said we were feasting all day!)
I was thankful for some gorgeous weather including blue skies and temps in the mid 70s. And I was thankful for some evening downtime and family movie nights. (We're currently rewatching all of the Marvel Avengers movies, in order, with the kids. There are so many great ones, it's hard to pick a favorite!)
But enough already, let's talk food. Specifically, the kind you might want to order out but can just as easily make yourself at home.
Some of our favorite takeout fakeout dishes include my quick chicken curry, easy chicken Pad Thai and oven baked chicken shawarma. Oh and this healthy orange chicken (aka no frying). So much deliciousness and made right at home.
Today, it’s a different favorite.
This easy chicken lo mein has all the noodles, tender chicken pieces, veggies and sauce we know and love, but we’re making it at home. So we can control the ingredients.
(And swap out for our favorite veggies; more on that below.)
You will be amazed at how quick and easy it is to make some restaurant-worthy chicken lo mein in your very own kitchen. Without much effort!
Plus, we’re just using on-hand ingredients - stuff I already keep in my pantry - for the sauce. But you’ll be amazed at the flavors we get here.
Succulent, twirly, sauce-soaked noodles, tender veggies and thin strips of chicken are scattered throughout the dish.
You’ll be happily twirling your fork into bite after bite.
I find it kinda hard to stop. So make sure you have some big bowls to dish this up in!
Yup, load me up please!
And guess what? This easy chicken lo mein is ready in less than 20 minutes.
That’s even faster than you can get takeout or delivery! Total win.
I'm all about homemade dinners, but it's especially nice when they come together so fast. Even I have a limit on how much time I want to spend in the kitchen.
OK, let’s get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make chicken lo mein. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
First up, let’s clarify what we are talking about here.
What is lo mein?
- Lo mein simply means stirred or tossed noodles in Cantonese.
- Lo mein is a Chinese dish with egg noodles, vegetables, and often some type of meat or seafood, such as beef, chicken, pork or shrimp.
- It’s a popular and inexpensive dish in many regions in China.
Notes on making chicken lo main:
- Chinese egg noodles are traditional for lo main. They are also sometimes labeled as Cantonese egg noodles and are available in lots of regular grocery stores, in the international aisle. There's a photo of them above, cooked. You can check them out and order some online, too.
- However, you can also substitute a long noodle, like regular or thin spaghetti, in a pinch.
- Cutting the chicken into thin strips is key for helping it to cook quickly and cook all the way through. If your chicken breasts are really thick, you might want to slice them in half horizontally and then make your thin strips.
- I use Napa cabbage, but a regular green cabbage would be fine, too.
- Using low-sodium chicken broth and low-sodium soy sauce helps you control the amount of sodium in this dish.
- Feel free to swap out any of the veggies to suit your preferences. You can skip the bell pepper (I’ve done that before), add zucchini or snow peas, try it with broccoli or bok choy - the sky is the limit!
Also, just a tip that it really helps to use a large, deep skillet to make this dish. We’re piling everything in - including the cabbage and also the noodles at the end - and it’s easier to mix if you have a bit of room.
As for serving, this is pretty much an all-in-one meal.
However, we do like it topped with sliced green onions. And I definitely drizzle some extra soy sauce over mine at the table.
The noodles here will soak up a ton of the sauce, so while it’s not a super saucy dish, the flavor is well spread out in every bite. I just like a little extra sauce on mine at the table.
Last thing, here are a few pointers in case you have leftovers.
How to store leftover chicken lo mein:
- Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheat individual servings in the microwave, adding extra soy sauce if needed to "wake" it up a bit.
There you have it. You are all set to get your lo mein on.
Another delicious family dinner in the books! Well done, you.
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Easy Chicken Lo Mein
Ingredients
- 10 oz. Chinese egg noodles (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
- ½ cup thinly sliced onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ cups shredded cabbage (I use Napa cabbage)
- ½ cup matchstick carrots
- ⅓ cup low-sodium chicken broth (or sub water)
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- ½ cup bean sprouts (optional)
For serving (optional):
- Sliced green onions
- Extra soy sauce
Instructions
- Cook the noodles according to package directions, but for one minute less than the total time. Drain the noodles and toss with a teaspoon of sesame oil.
- Meanwhile, heat canola oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan.
- Add the pepper and onion to the pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until slightly tender.
- Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
- Add the cabbage and carrots, stir well to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes, until slightly tender.
- Add the chicken broth, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sesame oil. Return the chicken to the pan, add the cooked noodles, add the bean sprouts, if using, and toss well to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Rebecca
This was SOOOOOO good! I was looking for a recipe to use some fresh bok choy in and found this. I took a risk with it all (I've never had bok choy before), and it was so worth it! My husband and I loved this dish and it was relatively easy to make (bok choy prep was the most time consuming). We will be adding this to our usual dishes!
Kathryn Doherty
I'm so happy to hear you loved this Rebecca! Thank you so much for sharing!