Chicken Chow Mein Recipe (2024)

Your favorite Chinese restaurant is going to miss you. With this Easy Chicken Chow Mein Recipe, you'll be making dinner in far less time than it takes to get take-out delivered to your doorstep.

Chicken Chow Mein is officially better at home, and it features tender, juicy strips of chicken tossed with a savory mix of noodles, bell pepper, carrots, onion, and cabbage. It's finished off with a quick and easy Chow Mein Sauce, and in just 30 minutes, you'll have an easy weeknight dinner on the table the entire family adores!

Love American-Chinese food? Be sure to check out Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry, Chicken Lo Mein, and Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken!

WHAT IS CHOW MEIN?

The name Chow Mein is used to indicate an American-Chinese stir-fry noodle dish containing vegetables and (sometimes) meat as well. The Chinese word chow translates to "stir-fried" or "sautéed" in English.

In Hong-Kong, Chow Mein is served as a crispy, fried noodle dish, while in America, it is served with soft noodles.

CHICKEN CHOW MEIN VS. CHICKEN LO MEIN

In America, Chow Mein and Lo Mein are essentially the same dishes, although, oftentimes, Chow Mein is made with thinner noodles. As mentioned above, the real difference between the two is more commonly found overseas, where Chow Mein is served with crispy, fried noodles instead of soft noodles. You may find that the noodles in American Chinese restaurants are stir-fried, but they are not typically served crispy.

WHAT'S IN CHICKEN CHOW MEIN?

CHICKEN

The best cut of chicken to use for chicken chow mein is boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They are less likely to overcook than white meat chicken, easy to slice into strips, and are more likely to stay juicy cooked over high heat. The chicken thighs are cooked in oil and seasoned with Kosher salt and black pepper. Be sure to use a flavorless oil with a high smoke point for searing your chicken. Oils such as avocado or canola oil are great choices.

VEGETABLES

Chicken Chow Mein is as much about the vegetables as it is the chicken. The classic veggie combo for this dish is thinly sliced bell pepper, carrots, yellow onion, green cabbage, as well as finely chopped garlic. With the exclusion of the garlic, the trick to even cooking is to get the vegetables sliced as close to the same size as possible. To make prep work easier on yourself, pick up packages of pre-shredded cabbage and julienned carrots in the produce aisle of your grocery store.

NOODLES

We used Wel-Pac Chow Mein Stir Fry Noodles for this recipe and cooked the noodles according to package directions. You can find them in the international aisle of your grocery store, along with the Asian ingredients. These noodles cook in about 3 minutes, so take care not to overcook them!

GARNISH

Garnishes are always optional but chopped cilantro and green onions add a fresh note to this savory Asian staple and a good deal of flavor as well.

CHOW MEIN SAUCE

Of course, you can't have Chicken Chow Mein without a killer sweet-and--savory Chow Mein Sauce. Lucky for us, it's seriously easy to make. Simply combine soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and sesame oil in a bowl and stir to combine.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN CHOW MEIN

IS CHOW MEIN HEALTHY?

Chicken Chow Mein is loaded with healthy ingredients like lean, dark meat chicken and nutritious vegetables. On the flip side, these healthy ingredients are intertwined with carby chow mein noodles and tossed in a sweet-and-savory sauce that some might deem not so healthy.

However, the Chicken Chow Mein you make at home is going to be far healthier than chow mein at a restaurant, as it is less oily and packed with more of the nutritious ingredients like chicken and vegetables than cost-friendly noodles.

CHICKEN CHOW MEIN CALORIES

Chicken Chow Mein weighs in at about 500 calories per 1 cup serving. For a filling and delicious comfort food pasta dinner, we're thinking this isn't half bad.

5 MORE WEEKNIGHT DINNERS YOU’LL LOVE

• Homemade Alfredo Sauce is rich, creamy, and lacks nothing in the way of flavor thanks to fresh chopped garlic, a generous serving of Parmesan cheese, and a dairy combo that just won’t quit.
• Chicken Pesto Pasta features tender bites of juicy chicken and a creamy Pesto Sauce that cooks quickly in one pan!
• Ground Beef Stroganoff made with ground beef, mushrooms, onions, and sour cream over egg noodles for a beefy, comforting weeknight dinner that’s as easy as it is delicious!
• Homemade Hamburger Helper features savory, seasoned ground beef, a creamy, homemade cheddar sauce, and macaroni, it’s like a chili cheeseburger but in pasta form.
• Weeknight Marinara Sauce comes together with a quick simmer of canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, and more!