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.
This was delicious! My son and I both enjoyed it. We both love Asian cuisine , especially lo mein, and with this recipe I can control the calories and sodium. I also know I'm making it from wholesome ingredients free of MSG and other preservatives. Thanks so much for sharing.
CME, Graham, NC
Thank you so much for the lovely comment, CME! I'm thrilled to hear that you and your son enjoyed the recipe—nothing better than sharing a delicious meal with family. I completely agree, being able to control the ingredients and make it wholesome is such a win. It’s great to hear this recipe fits perfectly with your love for Asian cuisine and healthier options. Happy cooking, and thanks again for taking the time to share your kind words! 😊
Made this for my family and I didn't have brocoli so I used cauliflower and my family loved it. The recipe was flavorful and easy to follow.
I'm so happy the whole family loved it! Glad it was a success!
This was SO GOOD! Tastes better than Chinese food, and healthier too! My husband doesn't like veggies or Chinese food, He liked this.
I made it with Frozen stir fry veg and added the garlic towards the end of frying the veggies to toast it a bit, Added chicken for the husband, and Used Rao's 100% Wheat Linguine (best pasta ever),
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It's awesome that you found a way to make it enjoyable for your husband, even without his usual love for veggies or Chinese food. Thanks for sharing all your tweaks!
My family loved it! With such simple ingredients, I was worried it would be bland, but it wasn’t at all! We like things saucy, so I did double the sauce, which didn’t affect the taste. The adults ate it with a scoop of chili crisp oil on top. The family officially recommended it be added to our regular rotation. Thanks!
Hey Charity, Oh my! The chili crisp oil is a great idea. I have it on hand and love adding it to to different dishes. Thanks for sharing this tip with everyone. Glad you love the flavors.
I followed your advice and used this as a delicious base recipe -I made this gluten and soy free, doubled the ingredients (big eaters here), using gluten free noodles, coconut aminos (instead of soy sauce) red pepper flakes and a little Mirin. Thickened with a little cornstarch slurry. And you are so right -cooking veggies separately really enhanced the dish flavor. It was so quick and easy. Thank you for a simple easy recipe that is easy to adjust for those of us with allergies! I'm now checking your other recipes -I'm a fan 🙂
Hey Lee, I’m so glad to hear that it turned out delicious! It's great that you were able to adapt it to fit your dietary needs and preferences. Thank you so much for the kind words and for checking out my other recipes—I hope you find more that you love! 😊
Wow. Made this for meatless Monday and it was soooo good. Will add more broccoli next time and decrease sugar in sauce cause my hoisin sauce had added sugars. Great recipe and will definitely make again. Thanks
I'm thrilled you loved this dish! I hope you enjoy it again with your tweaks. Meatless Mondays just got a whole lot better! 😉
Outstanding!!!! This is the best lo mein I've ever had..well, to be honest, it's the ONLY loop meeting I've ever had, but I can't imagine a restaurant could do better.
I added some sliced mushrooms and a diced baby yellow squash (from my garden), otherwise I stuck to the recipe.
I doubled the sauce but next time I won't double the sesame oil because I found the finished dish a little too slippery. LOL A pinch of ginger went into the sauce too. Next time I'll add a half TBSP of chili garlic sauce just to heat things up a bit.
Yes, I will be making this again...it's so slurpy worthy !
Wow, thank you for the amazing feedback! I’m so glad you enjoyed the Lo Mein, and found it “slurpy worthy”!:) Your additions from the garden sound delicious. It’s great to hear about your adjustments with the sauce and the sesame oil—sometimes just a little tweak makes all the difference.
Just made this dish for my family, and everyone loved it! Delicious I can’t wait to try different variations. Thank you for sharing!
I'm thrilled the whole family loved it! There's so many veggie or protein variations to try! Enjoy 🙂
Unfortunately, I had to google "how to fix bland lo mein" after making this dish. Sorry!
I'm sorry to hear that the Lo Mein didn't meet your expectations, and I appreciate your honest feedback. Was the sauce not flavorful enough for you?
We love this dish so much I probably make it every 3 weeks. I add different vegetables depending on what I have on hand. My husband loves when I add some chicken to it.
I love the rice noodles that I use.
Thanks, Joni M
That sounds delicious, Joni! It's great that you can customize the dish with different vegetables and even add chicken to suit your tastes. Thanks for sharing and happy cooking!
This is a great recipe with a sauce that is lower in sodium than most traditional lo mien sauces. I usually make the sauce with some hoisin but the use of sesame oil brings flavor without the extra saltiness that hoisin contains. Brilliant! This is now my go-to sauce for most of my stir fry noodle dishes. I use whatever veggies are left at the end of the week. I do add green onions cut in long strips tossed in at the end or bean sprouts for extra crunch.
I'm thrilled this sauce has become your new go-to! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I just finished making this for the first time because my sons of vegetarian and I promised it to him. This taste One thousand percent better than the fast food and it’s so much fresher. Thank you very much for the recipe.
I'm so happy it was a first time success! I totally agree - homemade is so much better. Thanks for sharing Amanda.
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.