Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein is a 1 pot, 30 minute dinner made with tons of fresh veggies, chicken, and a tasty Asian-inspired sauce. It's sure to satisfy your craving for takeout- but in a healthier and quicker way!
This Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein is a delicious and simple take on the classic takeout style lo mein in America.
But without the added salt, msg, and heavy feeling that often accompanies so many takeout meals.
This recipe creates a sweet and savory sauce by combining hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and minced garlic. It's an easy, 1 pot Instant Pot dinner that's ready to serve in less than 25 minutes.
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you can use the veggies I use or a mix of what you have on hand- canned, fresh, or frozen!
Be sure to read my tips below on how to make the best Instant Pot chicken lo mein.
More Instant Pot Recipes You'll Love:
- Instant Pot Salsa Verde
- Jalapeño Cheddar Chicken
- Easy Instant Pot Chili
- Instant Pot Iced Green Tea
- Instant Pot Kielbasa
- Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls
🧾 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chinese lo mein noodles: I use Simply Asia lo mein noodles, which are also known as Chinese egg noodles. You can substitute with any Chinese egg noodles or spaghetti pasta. Alter the pressure cooking time as needed for spaghetti.
- Sesame oil: substitute with olive oil, but you will lose a bit of flavor.
- Hoisin sauce: a sweet, mildly spicy staple for many Asian sauces. If you can't find it, you can make your own or substitute with oyster or sweet chile sauce.
- Red bell pepper: any color bell pepper works, but orange, yellow and red will be sweeter than green.
- Matchstick carrots: these are found in a bag in most produce sections, but you can also grate a full size carrot instead.
- Purple cabbage: also found shredded in a bag in the produce section. This is probably harder to find than matchstick carrots depending on your location. You can always omit it or shred a full size purple cabbage.
- Spinach: use fresh for the best outcome and frozen in a pinch. Make sure to squeeze all excess water from frozen spinach before adding it to the recipe.
Using bagged and shredded carrots and cabbage and pre-cut onions and spinach from your local grocer makes this recipe the easiest as it cuts down on preparation time.
Or, use canned vegetables and add them to the recipe at the very end, just to warm them in the sauce.
💡 For even more ease, use a bag of frozen stir fry veggies. Add frozen veggies to the pressure cooker on top of the noodles and pressure cook in the broth. *Frozen veggies will not be crispy like fresh will be.
As with most stir-fry type recipes, the vegetables called for can easily be replaced with many of your favorites or with what you have on hand.
Other great vegetables for Instant Pot chicken lo mein are:
- baby corn
- chopped broccoli
- water chestnuts
- kale
- sugar snap peas
- bean sprouts
Remember these tips when changing vegetable types:
Fresh vegetables: add to the noodles and sauce after pressure cooking and wait 5 minutes so they soften but still remain crisp.
Frozen vegetables: add on top of the noodles before pressure cooking and follow recipe as instructed.
Canned vegetables: add at the very end after pressure cooking and mix into the noodles and sauce just to warm them.
Step-By-Step Directions
First, saute the chicken and onions in sesame oil for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. The chicken should be diced into small pieces for quick cooking.
Next, deglaze the pot. Add the broth to the pot and scrape all of the stuck bits off of the bottom. *Ensure the pot is thoroughly deglazed in order to prevent the dreaded burn notice! You'll know the pot is perfectly deglazed when a wooden spoon runs smooth across the bottom.
Then add the egg noodles and push down so the broth is covering them. If the noodles are not covered, add more broth until they are just submerged. Do Not Stir! *If you want softer vegetables, add them on top of the noodles. Vegetables do not need to be submerged in the broth.
Now add the soy sauce, remaining sesame oil, hoisin sauce, minced garlic and salt. Again, Do Not Stir!
Set the Instant Pot to the sealing position and set to pressure cook on high for 1 minute. Do a quick release when it's finished. *The pot will build pressure quickly since it is still hot from sauteing.
Add the carrots, cabbage, bell pepper, and spinach and mix good to incorporate the veggies. *The sauce and pot will be so hot that they will cook the veggies to a nice crisp without overcooking them, like the pressure cooker sometimes does.
Wait 5 minutes, taste, and season with more salt if you'd like. Then serve with a side of delicious egg rolls and dipping sauce.
Enjoy this recipe and be sure to let me know what you thought!
Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ lb chicken, cut into thin pieces
- ½ cup onion, diced
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 8 oz lo mein noodles
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cups spinach, torn
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to saute on high for 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and saute chicken and onions until chicken is cooked through.
- Add the broth and deglaze the pot thoroughly, scraping all the brown bits from the bottom. Turn off saute setting.
- Layer the noodles in the broth in varying directions. Push under the broth, adding more broth if necessary until noodles are submerged. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, minced garlic, and salt. Do not stir.
- Set to sealing position and pressure cook on high for 1 minute. Do a quick release to release steam when finished.
- Stir and add peppers, spinach, carrots, and cabbage to the pot. The heat will slightly steam the vegetables without overcooking them. *For softer vegetables, add to Instant Pot on top of the noodles and pressure cook as instructed above.
- Let sit for 5 minutes. Season with more salt if desired. Serve with egg rolls and dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
I hope you've enjoyed this Instant Pot chicken lo mein!
James Val Miller says
Not a comment just a question. If I want to leave out the noodles and substitute zoodles after cooking do I have to adjust the cooking time. Thx. Just trying to eat a little healthier
Kristina Tipps says
I wouldn't recommend cooking the zoodles in the IP. They will likely turn mushy and since they have a high water content, the other ingredients could turn soggy as well. I would cook them separately and mix together with the veggies and chicken when everything's done.
Sylvia says
Recipe for this in the slow cooker?
Marie Nixon says
I was glad to put my Instant Pot to use for something other than hard boiled eggs or pasta! IMO, the recipe is very labor intensive because of all of the vegetable prep that is required. Once the vegetables are all prepped up, then the recipe is fairly quick to complete. I caution about the 1 and 1/2 T. of sesame oil. For me, that amount was overpowering. Next time I would cut back the sesame oil to just 1 teaspoon.
With all of the different colored vegetables, it is a very beautiful dish to serve.
Allen says
Was very good I doubled the recipe only problem I had was some of the lo mein was a lil clumpy. Next time I go a little lighter on noodles maybe 12oz instead of 16 when doubled but flavor was great I cooked it about 5 mins and it was perfectly done on veggies I even added some sugar snap peas for a sweet flavor ..will make it again
Jen Vinuya says
This quickly became a favorite at my house! Everyone loved it.
Jen Vinuya says
This quickly became a favorite at my house! Everyone loved it.