Chewy chow mein noodles stir fried in a savory sauce with crunchy cabbage, celery, onions. This quick and easy Panda Express Chow Mein is ready in 15 minutes in one pan with simple ingredients! A great side beating takeout saving you money.
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Panda Express chow mein features bouncy egg noodles tossed in a savory sauce with cabbage, celery, onions and garlic. It's a popular noodle dish from the Chinese takeout restaurant called "Panda Express".
It's a famous Chinese fast-food chain in the United States that serves Americanized Chinese food and it's enjoyed by many as there are so many locations nation-wide.
Their dry chow mein noodles are one of their most iconic delicious noodles as the light sauce compliments the noodles and vegetables so well. I love ordering this and Orange chicken whenever I visit Texas!
The best part about this easy noodle recipe is it's simple to make at home as there are minimal ingredients and it takes little time! Making it great for busy weeknight meals.
My version is also made with less oil with more vegetables to loosen the noodles. It's delicious and so satisfying!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Fresh Chow Mein Noodles: these are yellow noodles made of wheat flour, water, and egg that you can find in the refrigerated section of any Asian grocery store. See FAQ section for an image of them in packaging. Or substitute with fresh yaki soba noodles or fresh ramen noodles (not instant ramen).
- Celery: for that same refreshing taste in Panda Express' version. Not a fan of celery? Substitute with mung bean sprouts, bell peppers, snap or snow peas.
- Cabbage: Panda Express uses regular green cabbage. Avoid using napa cabbage as it releases too much water into the pan. Not a fan of cabbage? Substitute with chopped bok choy or yu choy sum.
- Onion
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
Noodle Sauce
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce, light soy sauce, tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce.
- Oyster sauce: this is a thick brown sauce made of oysters that adds a lot of umami flavor. Or substitute with vegetarian stir-fry sauce.
- Dark soy sauce: this is thicker and darker than regular soy sauce. Or substitute with regular soy sauce but add to taste after the stir fry is near complete, not mixed into the sauce.
- Sesame Oil: this adds that nutty flavor or substitute with sesame seeds. If you're allergic to sesame, omit it but then it won't taste exactly like Panda Express' chow mein.
- Garlic
- Chicken Stock: low-sodium kind ideally. Or substitute with cold water and avoid using vegetable stock or beef stock since it'll distort the taste of the sauce.
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch or tapioca starch.
Note: Most Asian grocers will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select local grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Prepare the ingredients in advance because the cooking process is fast!
- Chop the cabbage into strips so they better incorporate with the noodles.
- For best texture, blanch the noodles for only 30 seconds or just until loosened.
- Don't over stir fry the noodles after adding them with the sauce or they will quickly become soggy.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Panda Express Chow Mein:
- In a small bowl, combine the noodle sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Then bring a large pan filled halfway with water to boil on medium-high heat. Blanch chow mein noodles for 20-30 seconds or until loosened.
- Next strain the noodles in a colander and set aside. Do not rinse off with water.
- Then heat 1 tablespoon or 15 ml vegetable oil in a large pan. Fry onions, cabbage and celery until softened, about 1 minute.
- Next push the veggies to the side of the pan. Add remaining oil into empty space and add noodles and sauce.
- Lastly toss everything together until noodles are coated in sauce. Remove off heat and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftover noodles will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container. To reheat, reheat over medium heat in a non-stick pan or microwave for 2-3 minutes.
- Freezer-friendly? I don't recommend freezing Panda express chow mein because the vegetables and noodles will become mushy.
Pairing Suggestions
Panda Express chow mein serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, or fried rice
- lo mein, plain noodles, soup noodles
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- Orange Chicken, General Tso Chicken, Lemon Chicken,
Honey Walnut Shrimp, Cashew Chicken, Mongolian Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Black Pepper Beef, Mushroom Chicken, or Black Pepper Chicken
FAQ
Panda Express chow mein can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat, microwave or in a pan on the stovetop on medium heat.
Yes, feel free to add cooked chicken, pork, beef, shrimp, eggs or extra-firm tofu.
They are yellow colored thin egg noodles that come packaged in plastic at the Asian market in the refrigerated section. 
📖 Recipe
Easy 15-min. Panda Express Chow Mein
Ingredients
- 1 lb chow mein noodles fresh kind
- 2 cups cabbage thinly sliced
- 1 cup celery sliced
- 1 small onion sliced
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
Noodle Sauce
- 2 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian stir fry sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup chicken stock low-sodium, or cold water
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the noodle sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Then bring a large pan filled halfway with water to boil on medium-high heat. Blanch chow mein noodles for 20-30 seconds or until loosened.
- Next strain the noodles in a colander and set aside. Do not rinse off with water.
- Then heat 1 tablespoon or 15 ml vegetable oil in a large pan. Fry onions, cabbage and celery until softened, about 1 minute.
- Next push the veggies to the side of the pan. Add remaining oil into empty space and add noodles and sauce.
- Lastly toss everything together until noodles are coated in sauce. Remove off heat and enjoy!
Tenzin L
simple and awesome recipe! thanks for sharing!! 😋
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for sharing your positive experience, Tenzin!
Barbara
I've use non-flavored ramen, but just a light blanch for less than 3 minutes. chilled and then mixed with remaining ingredients. Turned out great!
Christie Lai
Thank you for making my recipe and for sharing your positive experience, Barbara! Glad it worked out well with ramen!
Jd
I'm nt good in cooking noodles, but will try to make your recipe
Paul Saffell
Just made this for dinner with some homemade General Tso's! It was amazing!
Christie Lai
So thrilled to read this! Thanks so much for making my recipe Paul!
JOSE G DUMLAO JR
Will cook this for my dinner
Maria
I sauteed chopped chicken and used Nu Pasta instead of the noodles.
This recipe is a keeper!
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe Maria, so glad the Nu Pasta worked well as a substitute. Have a lovely day!
Dee
Delicious. Thank you for sharing
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Dee! Happy that you enjoyed it 🙂
Jamee
This turned out so good! I’ll be making this often.
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Jamee! So happy to hear you enjoyed it and I appreciate the kind review 🙂
Lisa
This was really great for a weeknight meal. I cooked some shrimp ahead of time in the wok.
christieathome
Thanks so much for sharing your kind and positive review, Lisa! I'm so happy it worked out well for a weeknight meal with shrimp 🙂 Have a lovely day!
Roxy
Love it and family did too😊
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Roxy! So happy to hear that the family enjoyed 🙂
Chanel Pugh
Can I use ramen noodles or spaghetti if I can't find chow mein noodles?
christieathome
Ramen noodles or soba noodles could work well! You could use spaghetti but just prepare them according to package directions instead of what's indicated in my recipe instructions.
Sue
To me this had better flavor than Panda. Panda chow mein is a little bland. I used yakasobi noodles, I didn't have any cabbage, I added some chicken breast to it and the rest is history. Only thing I didn't realize is the sodium content and that's my fault for not checking it out I should have known better with the soy sauce and oyster sauce combinations. I did add some extra garlic to it when I stir fried chicken. I'm thinking of adding another package of noodles to it. So far this is the best copycat panda chow mein recipe I have come across. Thank you for sharing!
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe and for the kind review, Sue! I am so thrilled to hear it's better than Panda Express 🙂 Feel free to sub the regular soy sauce with low sodium soy sauce for a lower sodium content for next time.
Tom McSpammerSpam
I just wondered how its possible to incorporate spam into this??
christieathome
Hi Tom, you can pan fry your diced spam first in some oil over medium heat until golden brown, then remove and set aside and add it back in when your noodles are tossed with all the other ingredients.
Patricia Geiken
FANTASTIC idea Tom!! I LOVE Spam ❤️ 😋
Brandi
Do you have a picture or brand of noodles that you used?
christieathome
Unfortunately I don't but the brand is called "Hung Wang Foods Inc. Cantonese Style Steamed Noodles Chow Mein" if you do a quick google search for the image.
Motie
I could not find chow mein noodles with egg. I tried the Fortune Yakisoba stir fry noodles. They worked well in this recipe. I also tried Sun Luck dry Chuka Soba chow mein noodles. They were OK, but not nearly as good as the Yakisoba noodles. Next I will try some generic egg noodles. I made the recipe with snow peas and bean sprouts, celery and onion. It was very good. It was also good with cooked chicken pieces mixed in. Next I will make it with cabbage.
christieathome
Thanks for making my recipe, Motie! I hope it works out even better with generic egg noodles.
Ashley
I work at Panda Express and thought this recipe was pretty good. Although when she says to boil the noodles it’s not longer chow mein it’s lo mein. Chow mein noodles are meant to be fired🙂 (at least that’s what that tell us at panda lol)
christieathome
Thanks for making my recipe, Ashley 🙂 Glad it's Panda Express approved!
Stella Olander
PHENOMENAL CHOW MEIN!!!!
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and for the kind review, Stella! So happy that you enjoyed my recipe 🙂