Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein is a noodle dish packed with classic Chinese flavor! Skip ordering takeout and make this at home in a fraction of the time!
By now, you probably realize I have an obsession with my Instant Pot. Seriously, how did I do life without one?? Not only does it make dinner a breeze, but clean up is even easier! Talk about game changer! Whether I procrastinate thinking about dinner and have frozen meat, or if I am ready to go with thawed…..dinner can be ready in no time! I even find myself experimenting with new recipes more often because its simple and fun!
A few nights ago, I had a major craving for Chinese food. My typical go to is Chicken Fried Rice and Egg Rolls, but I was craving something new. Believe it or not, we really don’t have very many “good” Chinese restaurants around us here in Houston (I’m in a north suburb). We have one up the road that is “eh”, but I have to really be desperate to want to go there, haha! I think we were spoiled years ago when we lived in Seattle. We had at least 3-4 INCREDIBLE Chinese restaurants near our house and it was great! Since then, nothing really compares and we end up disappointed every where we go!
After spending a few hours on Pinterest trying to gain inspiration, I decided to combine a few different recipes into on Instant Pot version of Chicken Lo Mein. I happened to have the ingredients on hand and it was incredibly simple to prepare.
My kids are pretty adventurous eaters since their mama happens to cook all sorts of things, but I certainly didn’t expect them to love this as much as they did. My oldest had a second serving and my little ones cleared their plates! Definitely a hit!
The carrots and red pepper in this had a slight crispness to it that really enhanced the texture! Plus, I was able to sneak veggies into my kids dinner without hearing complaints!
To prep this, it took about 5 minutes and only had a 4 minute cook time (once the Instant Pot pressurized). I was able to move on with helping my kids with their homework while this cooked!
My family of 5 each had generous portions for dinner and still had leftovers for lunch the next day! Definitely budget friendly and easier on the wallet than takeout would have been!
Be sure to add this Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein to your meal plan and let me know what you think!
Enjoy!
Instant Pot: https://amzn.to/38e5VJn
Instant Pot Non Stick Liner (HIGHLY RECOMMEND): https://amzn.to/2RrLQIC
Instant Pot Chicken Lo Mein
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 lb spaghetti noodles, broken in half
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 cup carrots, matchsticks
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
- sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- Add the vegetable oil, diced raw chicken, minced garlic, chicken broth, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and uncooked spaghetti noodles to your instant pot. *Ensure the noodles are as submerged in the liquid as you can get them
- Place lid on Instant Pot and ensure valve at top is in sealing position.
- Cook manual high pressure for 4 minutes, followed by a quick release.
- In a small bowl, combine the water and cornstarch.
- Pour mixture into Instant Pot and stir to incorporate/break up pasta.
- Add in the carrots and red peppers and place lid back onto Instant Pot to allow to "rest" for about 10 minutes.
- Remove lid and stir in the green onions and sesame seeds.
- Serve and enjoy! *You can also drizzle siracha sauce on top if you want to add an extra kick
Notes
Nutrition
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Sue Flory
How much chicken broth?
Tstone
2 cups per the recipe above
Kristin
2 cups chicken broth
Sophia P
Unfortunately the 2 cups wasn’t enough. Has anyone else had to add additional liquid?
Kristin
Oh bummer! Did you use the same noodles and make sure they were as submerged as possible? I have heard people increase liquids about 1/2 cup before, but I haven’t needed to. Sorry about that!
Rebecca
I made this recipe exactly as written….I have an 8qt instant pot. I absolutely had to add about 3/4C additional chicken broth. It was good & I’ll make again with some changes. I would add an extra tbsp of both soy sauce & hoisIn sauce. I also think I would reduce the corn starch to only 1 tbsp. It definitely needed more liquid….even after adding the extra 3/4C of broth, so I would do 3C of broth and maybe even 1/2C water…..
Kristin
Great info, thanks! Hope you enjoyed this!
Aimee Mitchell
When you say “rest” does that mean to simply place the lid on with no heat? No setting that is? I just worry about how long carrots typically take to soften.
Kristin
Yep, Instant Pot is off and lid is on. Just letting it sit with the heat that is already in the pot! The goal is to have the carrots slightly tender, but still with a crunch! Enjoy!
jackie
what if you use frozen veggies??
Kristin
That should work no problem as well!
Hotchilidog
Is there any reason we shouldn’t saute the carrots and pepper first then add everything. What if I use lomein noodles? How will that affect liquid measure?
Kristin
You could definitely saute the carrots/peppers first, it just adds a slight crunch texture to this that otherwise wouldn’t be there if sauteed! As for lomein noodles, I haven’t cooked with those before, so I am not sure how that would affect the cook time/liquid amounts needed, sorry!
MelB
Deviated from original recipe a tad. Made this with lo mein noodles, 3cups broth and an additional tablespoon each of hoisin and soy. Substituted chicken thighs for breast and seasoned generously with pepper for a little spice. Threw a bag of frozen stir fry veggies on top of the chicken and noodles and cooked on high for 4 mins. We really liked the outcome. Thanks for the inspiration!
Kristin
Yay! Love the variation you made of this! Glad you enjoyed!
Lynn Freed
This meal was soooo bland….too bad it makes a large amount…now i have to figure how to salvage the rest
Kristin
Awww sorry to hear that! You can add some extra soy sauce, hoisin sauce, etc to increase the flavor if desired!
Debbie
Mine came out sticky. I didn’t add chicken but added everything else exactly as instructed. What can I do to reduce the stickiness and clumpiness of the noodles?
Kristin
Hmmm, try adding a bit of broth towards the end as you are stirring to loosen things up a bit!
Cassie
Not enough liquid for a whole pound of pasta. Burnt the noodles to the bottom of the pan.
Kristin
Oh bummer to hear that!
Maxine
How could I do on the stove or in a crockpot; don’t have instapot. Please and thank you.
Kristin
This isn’t my recipe, but here is a great variation that doesn’t require an Instant Pot, https://www.justataste.com/easy-chicken-lo-mein-recipe/
weez
I just made this and it was really easy and a great way to make spaghetti to change it up from the same old same old. I used 2 3/4 cups broth and added an extra Tbsp of both Hoisin and Soy. When I do it again I’ll probably reduce the Hoisin back to 2 T and increase soy to 4 T. I followed the cooking instructions exactly and it came out perfectly.
When adding your ingredients start with the pasta at the bottom and the chicken on top – that’s what I did and no burnt or sticky pasta, it was just perfect. Oh, I also skipped the corn starch. I’m generally not a fan of the taste and I don’t believe this dish needed any thickening.
Kristin
Yay! Love hearing that! So glad you enjoyed! Great changes too!!