Steak Lo Mein
You can get this easy Steak Lo Mein on the table in just 30 minutes! It’s the perfect quick dinner when you want tons of flavor without all the work.
Beef Lo Mein Recipe
This easy Steak Lo Mein uses just 6 simple ingredients to create a rich, savory sauce to pair perfectly with the juicy, pan-seared steak, tender peppers and onions, and delicious noodles. Top this with some sesame and red pepper flakes and you have perfection! It’s our go-to weeknight meal when we want something that feels satisfying and filling without a ton of prep or cleanup work to go with it.
More similar recipes to try: Sesame Chicken Lo Mein, Vegetable Lo Mein, and Simple Sesame Noodles
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- Quick and Easy – This recipe is ready in just 30 minutes, so you can pull it off on a busy weeknight! It also calls for a lot of pantry/fridge staples, so you can keep the basics around for unexpected guests or emergency meals.
- Super Satisfying – The juicy strips of steak, hearty noodles, and easy veggies make this a crave-worthy dish. You’ll stay full for hours because it’s a balanced meal full of healthy whole foods you can feel good eating.
- Meal Prep Friendly – While this isn’t a freezer meal, it does reheat wonderfully! The sauce keeps the noodles nice and moist for the perfect leftover lunch. If you’re only cooking for 1-2 people, this is a great option for cooking multiple meals at once.
Ingredients for Steak Lo Mein:
Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need for this meal. For specific measurements, keep scrolling down to the recipe card below!
- Noodles – I used Barilla’s gluten-free spaghetti noodles. Feel free to use lo mein noodles, chow mein noodles, or even egg noodles if you prefer. I cook mine al dente because I like a nice bite, but you could always cook them a little longer if you prefer them softer.
- Sliced Steak – Flank steak, top round, or sirloin would work well in this recipe. Make sure your slices are the same general thickness so you can get even cooking without babysitting the pan too much.
- Olive Oil, Bell Pepper, and Onion – You can use whatever neutral oil you prefer when making a stir-fry. I used green bell peppers because they were on sale, but red, orange, and yellow would add a delicious sweetness to your bite! Choose a white onion if you like a bolder, sharper flavor or yellow onion if you prefer it sweeter and milder. Shredded carrots or cabbage would be an easy addition if you want more veggies.
- Soy sauce, Rice vinegar, Honey, Sesame oil, Garlic, and Sriracha – These make our delicious, easy sauce! You can mix this up a week in advance and store it in the fridge or freeze it up to 3 months if you want to prep a bunch of meals at once.
- Toppings: sesame seeds, green onions, and red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
How do I make Lo Mein with Steak?
For this recipe, you’ll want a large pot for the noodles and a large pan for the steak, peppers, and onions. You’ll also need a small mixing bowl or jar to prepare the sauce. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide to making this easy meal.
Cook noodles
First, cook your noodles according to the package instructions. I like mine al dente with a bit of a bite, but feel free to cook to your preference. While these are cooking, mix together your delicious sauce ingredients in a bowl or jar. Set this aside for now.
Once the noodles are fully cooked, drain the pasta and toss back into the pot (off the heat). Add in your sauce and toss to coat the noodles. Keep warm and covered so that these don’t get hard and stuck together.
Cook steak
Next, warm up a skillet on medium-high heat and add in one tablespoon of oil. Once hot, place your steak strips in the pan and let it cook for 2-3 minutes without touching. This is the key to a great sear–Just letting the hot pan do its job without any interuption. Once you get a nice color on one side, stir and flip the steak and cook another 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate to rest.
Cook peppers and onions
Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and let it warm up. Once hot, pour in your sliced onion and bell peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes or until nice and soft. You want to stir occasionally to prevent burning, but don’t move it around constantly–You want to give it enough time to develop color and a good sear.
Finally, pour your steak (including any juices from the plate) and cooked veggies into the pot with your saucy noodles. Toss to combine and serve immediately.
How to serve steak lo mein
We love to sprinkle some red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, and chopped scallions to our bowls just before serving. To add more nutritious veggies, serve with Cauliflower Fried Rice or this delicious No-Cook Cucumber Salad. If you want to stretch this meal further, consider starting with an appetizer like these Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts–The dipping sauce is amazing! Air Fryer Egg Rolls make a nice and easy side dish, too.
Storage Instructions
If you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. While you can store and reheat this all together, you may find that the steak gets overcooked this way. To prevent this, you could store the sauced noodles in one container and the steak and veggies in another. Any sesame seeds or red pepper flakes will lose their crunch, so I recommend leaving those out if possible. I don’t recommend freezing as the noodles lose their texture and can become mushy.
Reheating Directions
You can reheat this in the microwave on 50% power for 45-second increments, stirring or tossing the pasta between each blast. This way you can make sure to not overcook your steak. While this method is quick and easy for work lunches, I recommend using the stovetop for the PERFECT reheating instead.
If you stored your peppers and steak separately from your noodles, heat a skillet to medium and add a bit of oil or butter. Once hot, add in your steak and peppers, not touching for 1 minute. After it has cooked a bit on one side, stir and let reheat for another minute. Finally, add a splash of water, toss in your saucy noodles, and cover. Shake the pan a few times, allowing it all to heat up for 30-60 seconds or until heated through.
Beef Lo Mein FAQs
You can get tender beef by pounding it thin with a mallet if you want a quick way to let out some rage! You also could try velveting–It adds to your prep time, but it’s an easy way to make sure your steak is melt-in-your-mouth tender. To do this, toss your strips of steak in a bowl with 1 tablespoon cornstarch or baking soda, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, or shaoxing wine. Let this sit for 30 minutes in the fridge, then rinse it off, dry with a paper towel, then cook as directed.
Definitely not! This recipe would be great with thin strips of chicken, pork, or even shrimp. If you have leftover cooked pork tenderloin or salmon, you could toss that at the end and skip cooking the protein entirely!
If you liked this, you will love these other easy Asian recipes:
- Sesame Chicken Lo Mein – Another great, simple lo mein recipe that cooks quickly! This leaner meat option is a delicious way to have a change.
- Asian Steak Rolls – Juicy, marinated flank steak is wrapped around delicious veggies for a meal that is impressive enough for company but quick enough for a weeknight!
- Asian Pork Chops with Sesame Broccoli – We love this healthy, one-pot meal! Thick cut pork chops turn out incredibly juicy, and the broccoli picks up so much flavor.
- Sweet and Sour Chicken – You get the perfect light, crisp coating on this easy chicken dish, then it’s coated in the most amazing sweet and sour sauce! It’s way better than takeout, I promise.
- Shrimp and Broccoli Stir Fry – This is a low-carb, high-protein meal that is ready super quickly! It’s perfect when you want something nutritious, easy, and low-calorie without being boring.
Get the Recipe: Steak Lo Mein
Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked spaghetti noodles, 1 package
- 1 pound sliced steak, flank or top round work well
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
- 1 white onion, sliced
- sesame seeds and red pepper flakes to taste, optional
The Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1-2 teaspoons sriracha
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, cook noodles according to package directions.
- Meanwhile mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, honey, oil and garlic together in a small measuring cup or bowl. Stir until mixture is smooth. Set aside.
- When noodles are tender, drain and rinse with warm water. Place back into pot and drizzle sauce over noodles. Toss to coat. Cover noodles and keep warm. Be careful not to let them harden.
- Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Place steak strips in skillet. Let the steak cook without stirring for 2-3 minutes to get a good color.
- Stir steak and cook 2-3 minutes more, remove from skillet and set aside.
- Heat the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil and add sliced bell pepper and onion. Let cook for approximately 5 minutes or until tender.
- Add cooked steak, peppers and onion to noodle mixture.
- Toss mixture so that everything is evenly coated with sauce.
- Top with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes if desired.
OH YUM!! This looks so filling and delicious!! YUM 🙂
Hi Cailee! I hope you try it! It is so good!
You sound way more organized than me 😉 This looks so great!
Thank you!! 🙂
I rearrange my recipes all the time, Annie! My binder get a workout from it! This steak lo mein looks delicious! Do you deliver? 🙂 I am a huge lo mein fan, but haven’t made it myself yet, so I like that this is a fairly easy dish!
I think blogging is such a mystery to come people. Sometimes when I explain all of this, the planning, and writing that goes along with this site my friends just stare at my blankly. I am so glad that someone else does the same thing I do! 🙂
I think I need to make this right now too. I had a phobia of Asian food, too, until we tried a couple weeks ago! Now I’m hooked – I could eat it all day! Love this recipe, so easy and yet so good!
Me too!! I have been making something Asian inspired at least once a week. I really like playing with those flavors!
Steak lo mein is one of my favorite things to order whenever I go out for Chinese. I’m so excited to be able to make this at home! Your recipe looks delicious!
I’m trying to be more organized about planning out what I’m going to post and when, but I do like to have the flexibility to rearrange when necessary. The fun of blogging is sharing the recipes you’re excited about at that moment!
I totally agree! Sometimes you come across recipes that are too good not to share right away!
This looks amazing, Annie! Love this kind of fusion food! 🙂
Thanks Jess!! 🙂
Annie, I used to be ‘scared’ of Asian recipes, too, mainly because they had so MANY ingredients in, and sometimes ones that I felt were too difficult to hunt down. Nowadays, though, I have a few easy recipes up my sleeve. This one really appeals to me because of how simple it is – love that sweet honey in it, too. I bet this is a delicious little quick mid-week meal!
Oh yes, this is a perfect weeknight meal. I made it again over the weekend without the steak and with a bunch of cut up veggies. So good! I could eat the sauce on everything! 🙂
Substitute for rice vinegar?