This Chicken Chow Mein tastes just like takeout, and comes together in one skillet in 30 minutes! The easy sauce is made with pantry staples.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken breasts – diced boneless skinless chicken thighs would also work. You could also make this dish with beef, pork or tofu.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Cornstarch – use flour, arrow root or potato starch to coat the chicken instead.
- Sesame oil – you can use a neutral cooking oil like olive oil instead, but your sauce won’t have the same sesame flavour.
- Mushrooms – use any type of mushrooms of your choice. Just make sure they’re cut small enough to cook quickly.
- Carrot – swap out for another veggie of your choice like julienned bell peppers, broccoli, bok choy, water chestnuts or zucchini.
- Yellow onion – white onion would also be good here.
- Green cabbage – Chinese cabbage offers a more authentic spin on chow mein. Napa cabbage would be tasty too.
- Chow mein noodles – swap out for rice noodles or lo mein instead, just keep in mind that the cooking time and flavour will be different.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth is the best substitute here.
- Green onions – leave these off if you’re not a fan.
- Sesame seeds – black or white sesame seeds can both be used to garnish.
Chow mein sauce
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos and tamari are great soy sauce substitutes.
- Honey – agave or brown sugar will also add a bit of sweetness to the sauce.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic can be used in a pinch.
- Sesame oil – you can use a neutral cooking oil like olive oil instead, but your sauce won’t have the same sesame flavour.
How to make chicken chow mein
Step 1: Coat the chicken.
In a large bowl, season chicken with salt & pepper, then toss with cornstarch. Meanwhile, mix the chow mein sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Step 2: Sauté the veggies.
Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over med-high heat. Add carrots and mushrooms to skillet, cooking for 5 minutes until carrots soften and mushrooms release juices.
Step 3: Brown the chicken.
Add chicken and saute for another 5 minutes until browned, stirring often.
Step 4: Add the cabbage and noodles.
Add onion, green cabbage and chow mein noodles to the skillet, sauteeing another 2-3 minutes.
Step 5: Stir in the sauce.
Add broth and chow mein sauce, cooking for 2-3 more minutes until sauce thickens.
Step 6: Garnish and serve!
Stir in green onions and remove from heat. Serve garnished with sesame seeds (optional), and enjoy!
How to make chow mein sauce
The chow mein sauce for this recipe is super easy to make. All you need are four pantry staples that you likely already have on hand!
To make the sauce, mix together:
- 3 tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken chow mein is one of the most popular Asian stir fry dishes. It usually includes white or dark meat chicken, vegetables, and a delicious chow mein sauce. The ingredients are cooked in a wok or skillet with chow mein noodles.
Chow mein is made using wheat egg noodles. To keep things a bit healthier, you can look for whole wheat egg noodles. You can also get super adventurous and make homemade chow mein noodles! There are videos on YouTube to show how it’s done. It takes about an hour to make egg noodles from scratch.
This chicken chow mein is definitely healthier than the kind you’d get from your favourite takeout spot. It uses whole ingredients, so you don’t have to worry about any preservatives. Plus, authentic chow mein sauce usually includes sugar, while the sauce for my recipe uses honey to make it a bit healthier.
While they do have a couple of similarities, they are also quite different. Lo mein and chow mein are both made with wheat flour and eggs, so they’re both egg noodles. For authentic chow mein noodles, the noodles are boiled in water first, then pan fried or added to a wok to stir fry them until they’re crispy. On the other hand, lo mein noodles are simply boiled. As a result, they are softer and chewier than chow mein noodles.
Storing and reheating
If you have any leftovers, let them cool to room temperature. Then, refrigerate them in a covered container and enjoy within 5 days.
Reheating is easy! You can either microwave the leftovers on high power for a couple of minutes, or toss everything into a wok or skillet and reheat over medium-high heat. I recommend sprinkling some water over top before reheating so your noodles don't dry out.
Can you freeze chow mein?
Chow mein freezes well, so it’s a great meal prep idea! Before you freeze it, be sure to allow it to cool to room temperature first. This helps to prevent freezer burn. Once it has cooled, transfer the cool chicken chow mein to freezer-safe meal prep containers or Ziploc bags and freeze it for up to 3 months.
To reheat, defrost in the fridge overnight then proceed as normal by reheating in the microwave or in a wok/skillet.
Wanna Learn How To Meal Prep?
My meal planning service, Dinner Prep Pro, removes the guesswork and helps you get dinner on the table in 15-20 minutes each night. My meal prep checklists only take 1 hour each week!
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Chicken Chow Mein {Just Like Takeout!}
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, diced
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 cup mushrooms, cut in half
- 1 carrot, julienned
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 1 cup green cabbage, sliced
- 1 (454g) package chow mein noodles
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 bunch green onions, sliced
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Chow mein sauce
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, season chicken with salt & pepper, then toss with cornstarch. Meanwhile, mix the chow mein sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over med-high heat. Add carrots and mushrooms to skillet, cooking for 5 minutes until carrots soften and mushrooms release juices. Add chicken and saute for another 5 minutes until browned, stirring often.
- Add onion, green cabbage and chow mein noodles to the skillet, sauteeing another 2-3 minutes, then add broth and chow mein sauce, cooking for 2-3 more minutes until sauce thickens.
- Stir in green onions and remove from heat. Serve garnished with sesame seeds (optional), and enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Jo Ann says
Look’s delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
Amy Lyn MacDonald says
Delicious- How many servings is the nutritional info for?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Amy! This recipe serves 6 so you’ll want to divide it all up into 6 portions and then each one represents the nutritional value listed.
Christina says
Which Chow Mein noodles did you use? The ones at my local store look alot thicker. the ones in the video look alot more like vermicelli noodles?
Taylor Stinson says
You can use the thicker kind as well! Mine were labelled chow mein noodles in the refrigerated section near the salad dressings, prepared foods and wonton wrappers. I can’t remember the brand unfortunately. The ones I used were not vermicelli noodles, they were a thinner chow mein. You can use thick or thin and the result will be the same.
LooC says
Awesome. I struggle to find recipes the whole family can agree on. This one was a big hit all around. It’s going to be one of my ‘go to’s. Thanks Taylor.!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed! 🙂