Say goodbye to takeout! With slurpable noodles and stir-fried veggies in a flavor-packed sauce, this easy vegan lo mein will be your new favorite weeknight dinner.
I've eaten a lot of lo mein (not to be confused with chow mein) in my day. It was one of my favorite dishes to get at Chinese restaurants during my early vegetarian years!
I never thought I could make homemade vegetable lo mein that was nearly as tasty as the stuff from restaurants. I was wrong! It took several attempts, but I've finally perfected my very own veggie lo mein recipe.
Guys, this vegan lo mein is delicious, and it's super easy to make. So give it a try this week!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Dried lo mein noodles. Check your ingredients before you buy! Lots of lo mein noodles are made with eggs. I find that most of the frozen ones are, which is why the recipe calls for dried noodles. If you can't find vegan lo mein noodles you can substitute ramen noodles or even spaghetti.
- Soy sauce. Tamari or liquid aminos can be substituted if needed. Feel free to use low sodium soy sauce to reduce the salt content of the dish.
- Brown sugar. Be sure to buy organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Hoisin sauce. Look for this in the international foods section of your supermarket.
- Sesame oil. This should also be in the international foods section, not far from the sesame oil.
- Vegetable oil. Feel free to substitute any neutral high-heat oil, such as canola, avocado, or peanut oil.
- Tofu. I recommend using super firm tofu. It's easy to work with, has a great texture, and doesn't require pressing. You can substitute with extra-firm tofu if you'd like, but you'll need to press it.
- White button mushrooms. Substitute with another variety of fresh mushrooms, such as cremini or shiitake, if you'd like.
- Garlic.
- Ginger.
- Scallions.
- Carrots.
- Baby corn. Fresh baby corn works best, but you can use canned if fresh isn't available.
How to Make Vegan Lo Mein
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Prep everything before you start cooking. Chop the veggies, mix the sauce, and boil the noodles according to the package instructions. You'll want all this stuff ready to go when you need it!
- Pan fry your tofu in a bit of oil using this technique to get a nice crispy coating on the outside. Take it out of the skillet and plate it when it's done.
- Brown the mushrooms in the skillet by cooking them for a few minutes on each side. Resist the temptation to constantly flip and/or stir your mushrooms. They need to sit on the hot surface for a few minutes in order to brown. Transfer them to the plate with the tofu when they're done.
- Add some more oil to the skillet if it seems dry, then add your aromatics: minced garlic, grated ginger, and the white parts of your scallions. Cook them for a minute, until they become very fragrant, being super careful not to burn them.
- Turn the heat up and add your carrots and baby corn to the skillet. Stir-fry them for a few minutes, until they just begin to soften.
- Push the veggies to the side, turn the heat down a bit, and pour your sauce into the skillet. Let it start bubbling. Be super careful during this step, as the cooking surface will pe very hot at this point and the sauce can sputter!
- Add your noodles to the skillet, along with the cooked tofu and mushrooms. I like using tongs to combine the vegetable lo mein, but a fork will also work. Let everything cook for a couple of minutes, until the ingredients are nice and hot throughout.
- Take your skillet of vegan lo mein off of the burner and add in the green parts of your scallions.
- Dig in!
Variations
- Skip the tofu for an all-veggie lo mein, or replace it with some tempeh or seitan.
- Switch up the veggies with your favorites! Snow peas, broccoli, and baby bok choy would all be great choices.
- For gluten-free vegan lo mein, replace the lo mein noodles with vegan gluten-free spaghetti, use gluten-free hoisin sauce, and gluten-free tamari in place of soy sauce.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover vegan lo mein will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Vegan Chinese Recipes
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Vegan Vegetable Lo Mein with Tofu
Say goodbye to takeout! With slurpable noodles and stir-fried veggies in a flavor-packed sauce, this easy vegan lo mein will be your new favorite weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried vegan lo mein noodles (can sub spaghetti or ramen noodles)
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons organic brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
For the Lo Mein
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) package super firm tofu, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 ounces white button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 4 scallions, white and green parts separated, whites finely chopped, greens cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ½ cups julienne cut carrots
- 1 ½ cups fresh baby corn, cut into 1-inch pieces
Instructions
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Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook them according to the package directions, just until al dente.
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Drain the noodles into a colander and rinse them with cold water. Return them to the pot.
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Stir the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
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Coat the bottom of a large skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, add the tofu. Cook for about 10 minutes, flipping once or twice, until the pieces are browned on multiple sides.
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Transfer the tofu to a plate.
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Add the remaining oil to the skillet. Add the mushrooms in an even layer. Cook the mushrooms for 5 minutes, flip and cook 5 minutes more, until browned on both sides.
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Transfer the mushrooms to a plate.
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Add the ginger and garlic to the skillet and sauté for about 1 minute, until very fragrant.
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Raise the heat to high and add the carrots and baby corn. Stir-fry just until the veggies are tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.
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Lower the heat to medium and add the sauce to the skillet. Let it bubble for a few seconds. Return the mushrooms and tofu to the skillet, and add the noodles. Cook, gently flipping, until the noodles are heated throughout and the sauce reduces a bit, about 2 minutes.
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Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the green parts of the scallions.
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Divide the lo mein onto plates and serve with additional soy sauce.
Recipe Notes
If your noodles stick together after cooking, give them another quick rinse in cold water and drain them well before adding them to the skillet.
For an extra kick, add some sriracha or sambal oelek to the sauce.
Made this for lunch today - threw in some snow peas.
Very good!
Snow peas sound like a delicious addition! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Elke!
This was delicious. Used organic whole wheat linguine and I had sliced portabella mushrooms and used those instead of cremeni or button; did not have baby corn but did have leftover cooked broccoli and used that. Next time I will make 1 1/2 times the sauce.Will definately make this again.
Sounds like a delicious meal! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Sandy!
My family devoured this! The sauce was amazing and easy.
The flavors were wonderful; as another mentioned I'd double the sauce and add more veggies. Step 6 may have an error as it switches from mushrooms to tofu during the process. Also step 10 has the phrase adding the sauce twice so it's unclear to me. Very tasty recipe to keep in my rotation.
Thanks for catching both of those! I've updated the recipe to fix them. Glad you enjoyed the recipe! :)