Slow Cooker Chicken Chow Mein
3 Comments May 20, 2023
Updated Nov 30, 2024
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Satisfy your Chinese food craving with your very own homemade one-pot Slow Cooker Chicken Chow Mein dinner. In addition to chicken and vegetables, you’ll make your own chow mein sauce that tastes simply amazing. Skip the takeout and get ready to whip up your own batch of delicious chicken chow mein.
Switch things up a bit by trying my Slow Cooker Beef Chow Mein or Hawaiian Haystacks, or Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken.
Table of Contents
Why you should try this chicken chow mein recipe
If you love Chinese food but don’t love the thought of recreating your favorite dish at home, this recipe will be a game changer. All of the classic chow mein ingredients can be found at your local grocery store and there’s minimal prep. The cooking time is moderate, which means you can start it in the morning and have it on the dinner table by the evening.
This easy chicken chow mein tastes just like a restaurant meal and your whole family is sure to enjoy it. Pair it with some of the serving suggestions below and get ready for an absolutely delicious meal you’ll cook from scratch!
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken: For this recipe, you’ll use chicken thighs. This is dark meat and is often considered more flavorful.
- Delicious Vegetables: The most commonly used veggies in a chow mein recipe are carrots, sugar snap peas, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, and water chestnuts.
- Onion: This is sliced and laid on the bottom of the crockpot before cooking.
- Homemade Chow Mein Sauce: Soy sauce, honey, oyster sauce, ginger, freshly minced garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, and sriracha sauce combine to make the perfect chow mein sauce.
- Garnish: Sesame seeds and fresh green onion are often used for garnish.
- {The full recipe is in the recipe card below the images}
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Start by laying sliced onion on the bottom of your slow cooker. Then, add chicken breasts on top. Afterward, combine the homemade chow mein sauce ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
Step Two – When cooking time is complete and the chicken is fork tender, remove it from the slow cooker and shred. Return it back to the slow cooker along with the vegetables. Cook on HIGH for another 30-60 minutes. While the veggies are cooking cook the prepare noodles per package instructions.
Step Three – Add the cooked noodles to the slow cooker with the other ingredients.
Step Four – Stir the ingredients together to combine. Add chopped green onions, bean sprouts, and sesame seeds (optional) and serve immediately. Enjoy!
How to serve
- Chicken chow mein is a bountiful meal all on its own, so when it comes to serving, you’ll want to choose complementary sides. These can be foods like prawn crackers, spring rolls, white rice, fried rice, wontons, Chinese cabbage, or roasted potatoes.
- Serving it with a Chinese-inspired appetizer would also taste great. Think of meals such as sweet and sour soup, wonton soup, or a broth soup.
Recipe FAQs and Variations
You will need the following ingredients: Soy Sauce, honey, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, sriracha sauce, onion, chicken thighs, broccoli, snow peas, shredded carrots, red bell pepper, water chestnuts, lo mein noodles, green onions, toasted sesame seeds.
It is best to use a large slow cooker (6-7 Quart), a large boiling pot, and mixing bowls.
Once the lo mein has cooled completely store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Yes, you can freeze this lo mein recipe, but for the best results, I would freeze it without the noodles and add noodles fresh.
Yes. A bag of stir fry mixed veggies would work. This will also cut out on having to purchase the ingredients separately and do the cutting.
Initially, yes. They are both made with Chinese egg noodles. So, you can use fresh chow mein noodles or lo mein noodles. You can also use thin spaghetti noodles.
Absolutely. If you would like less of a salt intake, that would be the best route to go.
Yes. Chicken breast will also shred easily for this amazing recipe.
You can add shredded cabbage, green beans, sliced pork, or bok choy.
More Slow Cooker Chinese Inspired Recipes
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Slow Cooker Chicken Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 lbs. chicken thighs, boneless skinless
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp. Fresh ginger, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- ½ tsp. Sriracha Sauce
- 2 cups broccoli
- 1 cup snow peas
- 1 Cup shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 5 oz. can water chestnuts
- 1 lb dried lo mein noodles
- green onions, garnish
- toasted sesame seeds, garnish
Instructions
- Lay onion slices on the bottom of a large slow cooker.
- Lay the chicken thighs on top of the slices of onions.
- In a small bowl mix the soy sauce, honey, oyster sauce, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, sesame oil and sriracha sauce. Use a whisk and mix well.
- Pour all over the chicken in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 Hours.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred using two forks.
- Add back to the slow cooker, with the broccoli, snow peas, carrots, bell peppers, water chestnuts then stir to combine all with the juices in the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for another 60 minutes. While the veggies are cooking cook the lo mein noodles per package instructions.
- Add to the slow cooker with the other ingredients and stir to combine.
- Add chopped green onions and sesame seeds (optional) and serve immediately.
Sarah’s Notes
- Once the lo mein has cooled completely store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- You can freeze this lo mein recipe, but for best results I would freeze without the noodles and add noodles fresh.
- Chicken breasts can be used instead of chicken thighs.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Help! This is currently in the crock pot but once I shredded the thighs and stirred in the veggies there doesn’t seem to be any sauce and I haven’t even added the lo mein noodles yet. Any suggestions?
You can add a touch more sesame oil or soy sauce if needed.
Where I live we have many Chinese restaurants, and have been to most of them to dine or order takeout. LoMein noodles are soft and mimic pasta in texture especially once cooked . Chow Mein noodles have a crunchy texture to them and soften somewhat after mixing them with the gravy that is made for the chow mein noodles, whether it be chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, mushroom, etc., chow mein. So basically Lo Mein and Chow Mein noodles do not even look the same nor taste the same!!!
On a side note, our favorite Chinese restaurant in our area has been in existence since 1950. The original owners are no longer here, but their daughter and her husband have taken over the restaurant since 1971, and still going strong!!!