Copycat Panda Express Chow Mein | Lite Cravings | WW Recipes (2024)
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Copycat Panda Express Chow Mein will help you satisfy your takeout cravings at only 82 calories a serving! You can make the perfect Chinese-style side dish in under 30 minutes with just a few ingredients.
Does anyone else out there count Panda Express as one of their guilty pleasures? Go head. You can admit it. And their chow mein? My absolute favorite. I didn’t really think about the food I was consuming at the time in my life when I would eat there pretty often (early 20s). I thought, if something has veggies in it, then it must be decent for you. Forget about all of the oil, sugar, and sodium pumped into this kind of fast food, right? Ever since I started eating much healthier, educating myself on the positives and negatives of certain ingredients, I knew I needed to make a healthier version of this Panda Express Chow Mein. Mainly so I wasn’t tempted to buy it again.
Well, this has been one of my most popular recipes! It was also one of the first I ever posted to the blog, and it needed a revamp. More pictures, more explanation, and better instructions. So here you go! I created this lightened-up version of chow mein about 5 or 6 years ago, so it has been a staple in our food rotation for a while.
You really feel like you’re eating fast food with this recipe. It’s the perfect side dish to other #fakeout favorites like Air Fryer Orange Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken or Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef. You can get that decadent, Chinese-takeout flavor while consuming lower calories/points.
add protein and other veggies!
One of my favorite things about this recipe is using it as a base for many other iterations. You can add tons of veggies like bell pepper, mushrooms, beans sprouts, etc. Or you can make it a complete meal with some 0 SP protein, like chicken, shrimp, or tofu. It truly is versatile. Whatever you add, though–make sure to keep the cabbage in there. This is what keep the points and calories lower per serving. It bulks up the pasta to veggie ratio and makes it taste more authentic. Recipe originally posted on May 8. 2018. Updated July 10, 2019.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you make it, be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@litecravings) and use the hashtag #litecravingsrecipes. I sometimes miss a tag here or there, but I always check in on the hashtag.
Copycat Panda Express Chow Mein will help you satisfy your takeout cravings at only 82 calories a serving! You can make the perfect Chinese-style side dish in under 30 minutes with just a few ingredients.
Cook pasta according to package directions, under cooking by about a minute.
Meanwhile, in a very large skillet, saute onion and celery until soft, about 5 minutes. Add in cabbage and saute a few minutes until slightly wilted.
Mix sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Add pasta and sauce mixture to skillet with veggies until the pasta has absorbed the sauce, about a minute or so.
Notes
Click hereto determine your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe (if you are logged in to your WW app, it should calculate for you automatically). Serving size is 1 heaping cup. The recipe is calculated using regular spaghetti, so using whole wheat or GF pasta may alter your points slightly.
WW Green and Blue SmartPoints: 4 for 1 heaping cup. When you measure our your serving, make sure you get a pretty much equal ratio of pasta and veggies in that cup to ensure it is actually a 4 SP serving.
WW Purple SmartPoints: If you use whole wheat or bean-based spaghetti (such as chickpea), it will be 1 SP for 1 heaping cup. If you use any other kind, it will remain 4 for 1 heaping cup.
Simple sauce: While chow mein sauce is unbelievably easy to make, it still brings a complexity of flavors to the dish. The careful combination of ingredients like soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce and sugar results in a chow mein sauce that has hints of both savory and sweet notes.
Combine soy sauce, light sesame oil, oyster sauce, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and chicken broth to make the signature sweet and savory sauce that makes chow mein taste authentic.
Chow Mein. This wheat noodle dish has some fiber thanks to onions, celery, and cabbage, but it's super high in fat and contains the highest amount of sodium out of all Panda Express dishes.
Panda express uses Stir Fried Wheat Noodles similar to these. I used these Chow Mein noodles for this recipe. You can find them in your local grocery store where they have a dedicated section for Asian ingredients.
Panda Express entrees and sides contain zero grams of trans fat per serving and adds no MSG in their food. Panda Express uses only 100% pure soybean oil in the preparation of recipes.
Chow mein noodles are fried to crispness while lo mein noodles are boiled to softness. Both are great – but sometimes you just want those crispy noodles. So after that mix up, I've been trying to perfect a homemade chow mein dish. You know, so I don't have to constantly fight about chow mein versus lo mein with Ben.
Chow mein typically features crunchy noodles. These noodles are often fried or deep-fried until they become crispy, giving them a unique texture and flavor. Chow mein noodles can be served on the side or as a base for the dish, with stir-fried ingredients and sauce poured over them.
Can't find Chow Mein Noodles? Use Ramen Noodles or other instant noodles – just toss the packet seasoning! Or use thin spaghetti or other thin egg noodles (check ingredients on packet, should have egg listed).
Actually, the main distinction between these two popular dishes lies in how the noodles are prepared. Mein or mian is simply the Chinese word for noodles. Lo mein means "tossed noodles," while chow mein or chao mian means "fried noodles."
The #1 worst Panda Express order is…the Chow Mein and Orange Chicken. The combination of Orange Chicken, a dish inspired by a Chinese dish called chen pi niu rou, and classic chow mein stir-fried noodles is nothing short of delicious. Unfortunately, if it's a nutritious meal you're on the hunt for, this one isn't it.
This side dish is high in almost every category, with 510 calories, 20g total fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 80g carbohydrate, 13g protein, and 860mg sodium. (Fried rice is a close second, with similar nutrition info.)
Chow Mein. The Panda Express spokesperson confirmed that chow mein isn't made with any animal products, however, it is also tossed in woks that may contain cross-contamination. If that's okay with you, you'll get to enjoy a tangle of wheat noodles with softened onion slivers, celery, and cabbage.
In American Chinese cuisine, it is a stir-fried dish consisting of noodles, meat (chicken being most common but pork, beef, shrimp or tofu sometimes being substituted), onions and celery. It is often served as a specific dish at westernized Chinese restaurants. Vegetarian or vegan chow mein is also common.
With chow mein, you cook noodles and add them to your wok of other ingredients, cooking everything together in one pan. However, with a chop suey recipe, you will cook the noodles or rice and other ingredients separately before combining them in a bowl, serving up the noodles or rice with the sauce served over the top.
If you're someone who likes texture, a Panda Express chow mein may be the best bet for you as it has the crunch from the vegetables and crispy noodles. But if you want a saucy dish with chewy noodles you can slurp, a hot and sour shrimp lo mein will surely satisfy you.
Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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