15 Minute Lo Mein! Made with just soy sauce, sesame oil, a pinch of sugar, ramen noodles or spaghetti noodles, and any veggies or protein you like. SO YUMMY!
15 Minute Lo Mein
Hel-lo-lo-mein! This 15-minute wonder is absolutely my new go-to for a quick Asian noodle stir fry. Lo Mein FTW!
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I made this recipe for dinner tonight! It was delicious and incredibly easy. It’s definitely going into the weeknight dinner rotation. Thanks!
Please tell me you guys eat, love, and are generally familiar with Lo Mein.
Maybe you are a Panda Buffet regular and you not only know Lo Mein, but the people at Panda know YOU when you walk in the door and they waste no time piling high your little plastic tray with scoop after scoop of those stir fried noodles while you watch a little protectively from the other side of the glass, because couldn’t they have given you a bigger scoop like they did last time? come on puhleeeease.
or maybe you mostly know Lo Mein from your growing up days because good news, kids! mom and dad are ordering Chinese takeout tonight (yasssss) and little pre-teen you is most definitely going to eat your weight in salty Asian noodles and then revisit it in the fridge, cold, right before bed, amiright?
Or maybe you’ve never had Lo Mein and you’re giving the rest of us all the look right now. I hear you, sitting high up there, saying that you would never eat cold takeout noodles right before bed. There is judgement in your heart. You think you’re not into this whole stir fried noodles and vegetables thing. In which case:
It’s time for you to get Lo Mein in your life, friends. This is your big day. We’ve all been waiting for you. Welcome to your Lo Mein intervention!
Honestly, WHO EVEN KNEW how easy it could be to make Lo Mein at home? And as a follow up to those of you who did already know, WHY DIDN’T YOU EVEN TELL ME?
In This Post: What You Need To Know About Lo Mein
- VIDEO for How to Make Lo Mein
- How to Make Lo Mein
- Frequently Asked Questions About Lo Mein
- What Goes in Lo Mein Sauce
- Options for Lo Mein Noodles
Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?
Yes, You Can Make Homemade Lo Mein!
Until two weeks ago, I always just assumed that this was some kind of lengthy process involving mysteriously delicious ingredients that I wouldn’t have in my standard Midwestern kitchen, and plus, did you know that you can get a platter of Lo Mein large enough to feed the neighborhood for just $6.50 at the Panda Buffet? So why would we even do this at home? I’m serious – let’s go.
Except hold the phone for just a sec.
- Making Lo Mein is not a lengthy process – it’s going to come together in ONE PAN in something like 15 minutes, start to finish. JOY of JOYS. I seriously had no idea when I set out to learn about all things Lo Mein that it would be such a gem of a quick + easy recipe, and not in the way where you’re skimping on anything. Just by nature, it is that simple.
- Lo Mein doesn’t require fancy or unusual ingredients. Like, at all. A quality soy sauce and sesame oil combo is basically it. That’s your Lo Mein magic right there. For real – just one bottle of good soy sauce and you’re in Lo Mein business. I mean, almost everyone, no matter what their cooking level is, has a bottle of soy sauce in their fridge, right? or at the very least, a few PACKETS of soy sauce from leftover takeout? You know I see you out there.
- And finally, Lo Mein is awesome as takeout, but it’s more awesome as a mostly-healthy takeout at home dish that can simultaneously clean out the fridge by using up any and all veggies and proteins that a person could ever want in their silky stir-fried noodles. The happiness I feel for this concept… like wows. You do not even know. Recipe scrappiness fulfills a piece of my soul.
How To Make This Lo Mein
We’re talking three easy steps for perfection:
- Shake up your sauce.
- Cook your noodles
- Toss it all together with your extras (veg, protein, green onions) in a hot skillet or wok.
You can use almost any vegetables and/or protein.
Ideas: bell pepper, carrots, spinach, baby bok choy, mushrooms, snow peas, onions, cabbage, broccoli. // Chicken, shrimp, eggs, beef (like flank steak), pork, tofu.
Game on.
Lo Mein: Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of noodles do you recommend?
These ones here (affiliate link) are perfect!
Are lo mein noodles gluten-free?
Traditional lo mein noodles are made with wheat, so they are not gluten free. Feel free to sub in rice noodles or your favorite GF spaghetti noodles to make this gluten-free!
Why did you use two different types of soy sauce?
It adds more depth and flavor to the dish – especially the dark soy sauce (affiliate link). Highly recommend using both if you can find them. If not, regular soy sauce (affiliate link) can always work.
What is mirin?
Mirin is a type of rice wine. It adds a sweeter flavor, which is a really wonderful contrast to the saltiness from the soy sauce here.
What Goes In This Easy Lo Mein Sauce
The sauce.
You need a good soy sauce, and I HIGHLY recommend the 2-types-of-soy-sauce trick. It’s not really a trick as much as it is a tiny thing that makes a big difference. It’s probably more likely that you have light or low sodium soy sauce in your fridge, but tip alert: dark soy sauce is so rich in umami flavor and it takes this Lo Mein “sauce” situation to a whole new level.
Because the quality of soy sauce is important here (I mean, it’s one of literally THREE ingredients that will make the sauce for your stir fried noodles), I did not use soy sauce packets from leftover takeout.
I used this light soy sauce // dark soy sauce combo (affiliate links).
Shake that up in a jar with a quick hit of sesame oil and a pinch of sugar. annnnd DONE.
Let’s Talk About Lo Mein Noodles
Then there’s the noodles.
You could use fresh Lo Mein noodles if you can find it fresh or frozen at your grocery store. I could not find it at any of my regular places, so in its place I have used either dry ramen if you can find it (as long as you’re hitting up Amazon for the soy sauce, grab a box of this ramen, too – affiliate link) and/or just regular spaghetti.
…Is that blasphemy to Lo Mein? to use spaghetti?
I don’t know, I’m thinking we both care more about practicality than total and complete authenticity.
Go on and do what you need to do.
If you’re gluten-free, you can use rice noodles or your favorite gluten-free spaghetti noodle.
And in a quick flash of the pan, with the sauce and the noodles and the veggies all partying it up in there, we’ve reached the tippy top of the Lo Mein journey. The part where you wind those silky noodles up on a fork with a few pieces of caramelized pan-fried veggies and treat yourself right.
Easy Homemade Lo Mein, comin in hot!
15 Minute Lo Mein
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
15 Minute Lo Mein! Made with just soy sauce, sesame oil, a pinch of sugar, ramen noodles or spaghetti noodles, and any veggies or protein you like. SO YUMMY!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce (sub regular soy sauce if needed) (Affiliate link)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (sub regular soy sauce if needed) (Affiliate link)
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 clove of garlic, grated (optional)
Lo Mein:
- 4–6 ounces uncooked ramen noodles (Affiliate link)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 green onions, chopped (separate green parts from white parts – you’ll use both separately)
- 2–3 cups julienne cut or chopped vegetables like carrots, red peppers, cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, or broccoli
- 1–2 tablespoons mirin
Instructions
- Sauce: Shake all the sauce ingredients together in a jar.
- Noodles: Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Lo Mein: Heat the sesame oil in a large wok or skillet. Add the green onions (white parts) and vegetables to the hot pan. Stir fry until fork-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the mirin to loosen the browned bits up off the bottom of the pan. Add the cooked noodles and about half of the sauce – toss around in the hot pan to combine. Add more sauce if needed (I usually gauge the amount of sauce I want by the color of the noodles – you want a medium brown color, not too light, not too dark). Serve topped with remaining green onions!
Equipment
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Notes
If you want to add a protein, stir fry it first, before the vegetables, then remove from heat while you cook the vegetables. Add back into the pan at the end with the noodles.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
Keywords: lo mein, noodle stir fry, at-home takeout, vegetarian stir fry, vegan stir fry
More Delicious Noodle Recipes
- Sesame Noodle Bowls (perfect for a meal prepped lunch)
- Peanut Noodle Salad (veggie packed and ultra delicious)
- Red Curry Noodles (super easy and big flavors!)
- Coconut Curry Ramen (so slurpable and so good)
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One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our simple slurpable noodles page. Check it out!
Filed Under: All Recipes Bell Pepper Broccoli Carrot Dairy-Free Most Popular Mushroom Pasta Quick and Easy Stovetop Summer Vegan Vegetarian
June 24, 2021
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
Did you make a recipe? Tag @pinchofyum on Instagram so we can find you!
Hi Lindsay,
What an awesome quick & easy recipe! Lo mein is definitely a staple in the house! 😀
Pinning this for later! Thanks!
Amy
Yes!! this is the kind of recipe I can get behind. I love lo mein and your tips for using 2 types of soy sauce are genius 🙂 great post!
Yup. Agree. The salt alone is take-out is quite appalling! Just gets this gym teacher down feeling bloated. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Lindsay for that nice recipe. I had no different soy sauces so I took the one I have at home, I also exchanged sugar for vegan honey (synthetic produced without bees). I also added a few more veggies because in our household we love veggies. This is a keeper and will be made very soon again
So PRO-FESH!! Love it!!! Pinned!
Thanks Tonya! 🙂
Love how quickly this comes together. Looks to be easily reheatable too. I’m thinking the crispy tofu from a couple of recipes ago would be great here.
Question, could I use rice noodles here? I bought some for pad thai (totally different cuisine, I know!) that I’d like to use. Also, would rice vinegar work instead of mirin?
Yes on the rice noodles, not sure on the rice vinegar. Mirin is a super sweet rice wine, not acidic like vinegar. But I’m all for just working with what you’ve got. 😉
Just made this with ricewine vinegar and agave nectar with rice ramen and its delicious! Also I didn’t have the dark sky but will purchase this next time.
This was so delicious. I used ACV instead of mirin and rice noodles.
I used rice wine vinegar because that is all I had and it was awesome!
Oh man. This reminds me of your vegetarian pad Thai which is almost a weekly thing for us so I have a feeling this is going to find its way into our permanent rotation
yasss love that pad thai too! 🙂
absolutely love everything about this recipe. delicious, decedent, i love the way the light and dark come together to create a beautiful array of flavours on my tongue. i cant believe that this is so easy!!! my kids love it
Great question! You could try tamari or coconut aminos. Balsamic vinegar may work, but the flavor would be altered. Any kind of soy based teriyaki sauce would work too!
I am currently doing the FODMAP diet because of digestion issues and this recipe was so perfect. It was simple to make and very flavourful!
Definitely saving this one 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks Karen!
Yum, yum, yum! We might be one of those take packet hoarders.
Right there with ya 😉
I *love* this! I have made batches of the sauce recipe so I had it on hand for quick meals. But I wonder, is there a bottled sauce that would be similar? We have international stores with so many bottles sauces! Surely one of them is similar to this recipe! Does anyone know?
I like new recipes these noodles it’s very nice
When it comes to the noodles, you said “grab a box of this ramen, too”, no link or list of what noodles you had in mind. No picture either. Which one did you mean to recommend?
This is the ramen I use! I will update the link in post.
$40.00 for noodles?!?!?
Wow! That can’t be correct, is it??
That’s for 5lbs! 😁 Scroll to the bottom of the page and you can buy an individual package. 😉
This recipe looks amazing! Loved the video as well. Watched the FBP live about video a few days ago. I’m determined to give it a go. Love all your videos so much.
Thanks Debs! We are excited to put together some tutorials soon for how we are doing these videos! It’s been a lot of fun and definitely a learning curve…
Yum!! One thing my kids can always agree on is anything noodles or Asian! This will be perfect for a busy night!
I’m with your kids!!
I am loving it. Thanks for sharing quick recipe now i can’t control to eat it. i will tell this recipe to my wife.
Thank you! Hope you and your wife enjoy it!
I never had a clue that Lo Mein was that easy to make. This is a serious game changer here. I guess I know what I am eating this week!
EXACTLY. So super easy!
This looks delicious! Will definitely have to try this recipe.
xo, Skylar
http://www.styledbyskylar.com
Hope you like it Skylar!
I am SO pumped to make this…and 15 minutes…my soul is literally jumping for joy. <3
Thanks Brittany! hope you like it!
Looks so good. I love lo mein, but never quite thought of giving it a try.
Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I did not know it was so easy to make lo mein! Definitely trying this
Hope you enjoy it, ZJ!
This look absolutely incredible. 3 ingredient sauce?! Yes please. I can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing. xx
Right!? Hope you enjoy it!
This was delicious, & so easy! I’ve made it for lunch twice now. The first time, I used leftover cooked chickpea linguine noodles, today I used Chinese stir-fry rice noodles. Both worked great! I subbed rice vinegar for the mirin, mushroom soy sauce for dark soy, & went extremely light on the sesame oil. I also added just a touch of cornstarch slurry at the end, to thicken.
I used broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper, napa cabbage, green onions, snow peas, ginger & garlic. Topped with green onions, cilantro, lime juice & chopped peanuts.
I’ll be making this often…thank you so much!!
What brand of noodles did you use? I can’t wait to make this for lunches this week!
We use these noodles: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007WQCENQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=pinofyum07-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B007WQCENQ&linkId=1254eb6229409f445ebfc7628c985e6d. Thanks, Heather!
I was literally at my local Asian food market and picked up those exact noodles but went back to a cheaper grocery store to get them because I thought they were the same brand but they’re not 🙁 I got an organic lol mein noodle. I hope it still works! And I went to 4 different stores trying to find the Pearl soy sauce but couldn’t find it anywhere! Not even the Asian market!
Love the 15 minute Lomein. Did a couple subs because on the fly but my husband liked it. Trying to eat primarily plant based and he begged me NOT to make any more beans!! Thx!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this, Lynn!
Hi! I just made this Lo Mein recipe, using some rotisserie chicken for a quicker weeknight meal. Also, since i luuuuv the spicy sesame dressing from your Korean BBQ bowls, I added grated ginger, garlic and Sambal oelek to the sauce. Yum.
Love that, Caroline! 🙂 Thanks for the tip!
This was good. I used soba noodles. I used 3 T. of dark low-sodium soy sauce b/c I didn’t have any light. I also didn’t have any mirin, so I used 2 T. of marsala wine with 1 T. of sugar. I also added cubed tofu. It took a few minutes more than 15 but not double that amount or anything like that.
Glad you enjoyed it, Marsha!
I meant to say 2 T. of marsala wine with 1 t. of sugar as per Cooking Light’s Web site in place of the mirin. Mea culpa!
This looks amazing. We have a garden and are members of a CSA and could use an easy recipe like this to use up some of our veggies. Could you use any brand of light/dark soy sauce? Or is there any cheaper brand that you suggest?
Yes, any brand works! We just highly recommend Pearl River Bridge. 🙂
Wow… fast and delicious. That’s how I love cocking. It will try it tonight:-)
Your recipes are always simple yet gorgeous! Recently this particular lo mein has become my favorite weeknight dinner.
How yummy! You could not have convinced me as a kid that Lo Mein could be made this easily. What a simple recipe, I am so excited to test this out.