Better-than-takeout paleo chicken lo mein is made using chewy cassava flour noodles, chicken, and veggies coated in the most flavorful sauce! It can easily be made Whole30 and low carb using zucchini noodles as well.
Lo mein was one of my favorite Chinese takout dishes growing up. I just love the taste of the salty and sweet chewy noodles, with the crunchy and tender veggies. It’s just the most comforting and addicting combo.
These days, I don’t really ever get typical Chinese food since most of the food have some form of gluten in them. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t recreate delicious takeout dishes that are healthy but still flavorful, like this gluten free chicken lo mein recipe!
Paleo Chicken Lo Mein Recipe
This paleo lo mein is made using grain free Jovial Foods Cassava Spaghetti Pasta. It’s one of the first 100% paleo store-bought pasta that I’ve seen, that actually tastes so much like the real deal! It’s my new obsession. However, if you want to make Whole30-compliant or low carb lo mein, you can use zucchini noodles instead!
Is Chicken Lo Mein Gluten Free at Restaurants?
Yes. If you are gluten sensitive or have celiac disease, you do need to avoid this dish at Chinese restaurants. It’s typically made with egg noodles, which contains wheat. The sauce also contains gluten from the soy sauce or any thickeners in it.
Thankfully, it’s really easy to make gluten free paleo chicken lo mein at home. All you need are some simple ingredients to maker this better-than-takeout meal!
Ingredients in Paleo & Gluten Free Chicken Lo Mein Recipe
While the ingredients in this paleo lo mein might seem long, they are mostly simple and accessible ingredients that you probably have on hand if you cook grain free often. Here are the main components of this dish:
- grain free spaghetti OR zucchini noodles (for Whole30 and low carb lo mein)
- chicken thighs: chicken breasts will also work!
- onion
- carrot
- red bell pepper
- garlic
- ginger
- mung bean sprouts: You can easily find these at Asian grocery stores, but I’ve seen many regular grocery stores have them now!
For the marinade and the sauce for this paleo lo mein, you’ll need
- coconut aminos
- fish sauce: If you don’t have this on hand, you can just replace with more coconut aminos
- rice vinegar: can substitute with apple cider vinegar in a pinch
- sesame oil
Tips for Cooking the Noodles
- When cooking the cassava spaghetti pasta, cook 1-2 minutes shy of the package instructions to prepare it al dente. You’ll cook it more later when you toss and heat it with the sauce.
- The Jovial Foods cassava spaghetti pasta might be slightly stickier in texture after boiling than regular pasta. You can quickly toss with a little bit of sesame oil to reduce this effect.
- If you are making low carb chicken lo mein or Whole30 lo mein, you can prepare zucchini noodles and there’s no cooking involved initially. Just spiralize the zucchini, salt them to sweat, then squeeze out all the moisture with your hands. You can add this to the dish the same way as the cassava pasta, as noted in the instructions.
If you enjoyed this paleo lo mein recipe, you might also like:
- Paleo Mongolian Chicken with Shishito Peppers (Whole30)
- Whole30 Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Recipe (Paleo, AIP)
- Paleo & Whole30 Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Whole30 Sesame Chicken – Stovetop & Air Fryer Method
- Paleo Shrimp Pad Thai
Paleo Chicken Lo Mein (Whole30, Low Carb Option)
Ingredients
- 12 oz Jovial Foods cassava spaghetti pasta or 5 medium zucchini, spiralized (for Whole30 & low carb)
- 1 tsp sesame oil OR 1 tsp sea salt for zucchini noodles
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp avocado oil or more if needed
- 1/2 onion sliced
- 1 carrot julienned
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts
- Sliced green onions for garnish
Lo Mein Sauce
- 1/2 cup coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
- For Jovial Foods Cassava Spaghetti Pasta: Boil water and cook the pasta until al dente (about 1-2 minutes shy of package instructions). Drain and toss with 1 tsp of sesame oil. Set aside.
- For zucchini noodles: Spiralize the zucchini into noodles, cut it a few times so the noodles aren't too long, then place in a colander over the sink. Toss with sea salt until evenly coated and let the zucchini noodles sit for 20 minutes so they can sweat. Use your hands to squeeze the zucchini noodles to release as much moisture as possible, then set aside.
- Combine chicken slices with coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and sea salt, and let this sit for 10 minutes. Chop and prep the vegetables, and whisk together the lo mein sauce while the chicken marinates.
- Heat avocado oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the chicken slices in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate with a slotted spoon, leaving the chicken juice in the skillet.
- Add more oil, if needed, then add onion, carrot, and red bell pepper to the skillet and stir cooking for 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken and pasta (or zucchini noodles) to the skillet with the lo mein sauce. Toss together with a tong.
- Add mung bean sprouts, and toss together again until the sprouts are slightly wilted and the lo mein sauce is mostly absorbed.
- Transfer to a serving dish, and garnish with green onions before serving.
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That lo mein sauce is bomb! Also I’ll need to check out that Cassava Spaghetti Pasta, sounds super tasty.
This is delish with zucchini noodles. I love that sauce!!
Everyone keeps raving about this Jovial pasta. I need to get some so I can make this recipe stat!p
How much coconut aminos is the sauce – I just see a slash and 1 ….can’t tell if 1 cup or maybe a 1/4 cup…. thanks
Oops, sorry. It’s 1/2 cup! Just fixed it.
I am so glad that I found this cassava spaghetti at Thrive Market and then you had this recipe! It is tasty and easy to make. And even the leftovers are good, although the noodles get a little mushy after a couple of days.