Panda Express Chow Mein (Copycat)

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

285 Comments

4.78 from 72 votes
4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Jump to FAQsJump to Recipe
Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.

Panda Express Chow Mein made at home for a whole lot less and the best part is that you control the ingredients! Perfect with Orange Chicken!

This Chow Mein is the perfect Asian Noodle side to all of your favorite Panda Express main dishes! For other delicious options I recommend trying my Vegetable Chow Mein and Shrimp Chow Mein too!

Noodles in white bowl with chop sticks
noodles in a white bowl side view
noodles being held by chopsticks

Sabrina’s Panda Express Chow Mein Recipe

I think it was a rite of passage as a teenager of the 90’s to enjoy a styrofoam container full of this Panda Express Chow Mein, Orange Chicken and Beef and Broccoli. The oily residue on your lips and all over your napkin meant you had just gone for it and gotten the chow mein instead of the healthier white rice or veggies (seriously, who would get the white rice there?) As more Panda Express dishes get added to their menu you’ll find them on my Panda Express Collection page, updated to reflect new menu items. Making this dish at home helps you to feed your family at a fraction of what you would spend at a restaurant. When you cook at home you also have more control over how much sodium and oil you are using too!

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Panda Express Chow Mein (Copycat) Recipe

Panda Express Chow Mein made at home for a whole lot less and the best part is that you control the ingredients! Perfect with Orange Chicken!
Yield 4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Chinese
Author Sabrina Snyder
Noodles in white bowl with chop sticks
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 2 packages dry Yakisoba noodles , (cooked without spice packets and drained)
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 1/2 yellow onion , sliced
  • 8 oz cabbage , sliced
  • 2 oz celery , cut into small pieces
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoons oyster sauce

Instructions

  • Slice the onions and cabbage thinly.
  • Cut the celery on a bias thinly as well.
  • Put the oil in the pan, set to high and when the oil is hot add the veggies.
  • Let cook for a couple of minutes until it is caramelized a bit.
  • Stir and let more of it caramelize.
  • Add the noodles and toss together.
  • Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce and toss together.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 123kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 526mg | Potassium: 171mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 119IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg

Want to save this recipe? Create a free account to easily save your favorite recipes

Pin this recipe now to remember it later

Pin Recipe

Note from Sabrina

A wok is great for high heat, quick cooking. The angled sides of a wok increase the surface area for browning, which significantly speeds up the process. A wok is a great addition to your kitchen if you love cooking Chinese food or stir-fries in general. Additionally, make sure to slice your veggies very thinly, so that you get that classic chow mein mouth feel.

Table of Contents

Back to Table of Contents

About this Recipe

Panda Express Chow Mein has been a popular recipe on the site since the beginning and with good reason. Cabbage, celery and onion sautéed and tossed with Yakisoba noodles in a soy and oyster sauce mixture make for a perfectly recreated food memory. The best part of this dish is it isn’t even hard to make! There are only a few ingredients and really just a couple of steps. I mean even bottled sauce stir fries take as much work and this is a dish you’ll enjoy much more than that! You can take it a step further too and enjoy with my Panda Express Zucchini and Mushroom Chicken, which is my favorite.

Ingredients

  • Noodles: For ease and cost, this recipe calls for Yakisoba noodles and omitting the spice packet. You can find Yakisoba noodles in the international section of your grocery store. In a pinch, you can always use regular spaghetti noodles.
  • Veggies: The thinly sliced cabbage, onion, and celery in this dish add aromatic flavor and a nice crunch that complements the soft chewy noodles. If you prefer different veggies, you can swap them out on a 1:1 ratio for your favorites. Just make sure you slice them thinly so they will soften and combine well with the other ingredients.
  • Soy Sauce: Use low sodium soy sauce in all your Asian recipes. It will give you the same flavor without the salt overpowering the rest of your ingredients.
  • Oyster Sauce: Oyster sauce is a thick condiment that is a common ingredient in many Asian sauce recipes. It does contain oyster extract, the briny liquid from cooking oysters, and it is reduced with sugar, thickener, and salt. A little goes a long way in lending a wonderful umami flavor to any dish.

How to Store

  • Serve: Do not leave copycat chow mein at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
  • Store: In an airtight container, the noodles can last up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
  • Freeze: After cooling completely, freeze noodles in freezer bags or an airtight container for 1-2 months. Thaw completely before reheating, adding a little soy sauce if needed.

Frequent Questions

What is the difference between Lo Mein and Chow Mein?

Both Lo Mein and Chow Mein use chewy egg noodles combined with veggies, but for Lo Mein, you do not fry the noodles. Lo Mein typically uses soft, fresh noodles that soak up a savory sauce. Chow Mein usually uses dried noodles that have been par-boiled and then stir fried to maintain a more chewy and crispy texture.

Do I really need a wok?

A wok is very helpful in cooking this dish but if you don’t have one you can still make it. Use a large skillet with high sides or a cast iron pan if you have one.

Variations

  • Protein: After cooking the veggies, remove from the pan and cook thinly sliced beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp before combining the rest of the ingredients together. You could also use ground chicken, beef, turkey, or pork.
  • Oyster Sauce: If want to use a sauce with no seafood, you can use Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (which is made from mushrooms) or Hoisin Sauce. Hoisin will slightly alter the flavor and not give you that authentic taste but it will still be delicious.
  • Spice Level: Add crushed red pepper flakes or Sriracha sauce to make a spicier noodle dish. Taste as you go to get the spice just right for you.

Related Recipes

More Asian Copycat Recipes

noodle pin image

Photos used in previous versions of this post

Cooking Chow Mein Collage
Chow Mein in bowl with chop sticks
Bowl of Asian noodles
Pin image for copycat chow mein recipe
collage of Asian sauce and noodles
Picking up noodles with chopsticks
collage of bowl of stir noodles and veggies
bowl of stir fried chow mein and veggies
chow mein with chop sticks
Bowl of chow mein
Collage of easy Chinese noodles
Bowl of noodles and vegetables
Chopsticks holding chow mein
bowl of chow mein with celery
chow mein in white bowl
collage with chow mein
chop sticks with bowl of chow mein

Chow Mein Pin Collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Have you checked the FAQ section above to see if your question has already been answered? View previous questions.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Maximum file size: 10 MB.
Allowed formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF. Drop images here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Awesome recipe. I used ramen noodles (putting the flavor packets aside for future use) because i had them on hand. It turned exactly like the Panda Garden version. Thank you so much.

    Reply

    1. The ramen noodles are a great idea, I’ll have to keep that one in mind for future use. Thank you for the positive review.

      Reply

  3. So delicious and easy. I made it just the way you posted it and would not change a thing. This dish has always been a weakness of mine and Panda Express.

    Reply

  4. I absolutely loved this recipe!! I used spaghetti noodles because thats all I had at the time but they were still delicious! I highly recommend trying this and I will be making it religiously. ?????

    Reply