Slow Cooker Pork Lo Mein

This healthy Crockpot Pork Lo Mein has all the delicious flavor of your favorite take-out dish without all the calories and fat. It's an easy way to make a healthy and delicious meal right in the slow cooker.

There are few things I love more than a really good Lo Mein. We were constantly ordering takeout from our favorite local Chinese restaurant, and I finally realized I really needed to start making our favorite entrees at home. I’m so glad I did; by making my own version at home we have saved a lot of money, and we have also adapted the recipe to make it a healthier option for our family.

While this Slow Cooker Lo Mein may look like a complex recipe, it really isn’t. The first step is to slow cook the pork in the marinade for while. Getting the pork going is very simple and takes just a few minutes. Once I get the pork going in the slow cooker, I take a few minutes to prep my vegetables and put them in the fridge, which saves me time later in the day.

Shortly before you are wanting to serve dinner you will want to do two things: cook a batch of spaghetti noodles and cook the chopped vegetables in the Lo Mein sauce for about fifteen minutes. About twenty minutes before I want to serve dinner I pull the pork out of the slow cooker, crank it to high, and toss the veggies in. While the veggies are simmering away in the tasty sauce, I cook the spaghetti. This way everything finishes up at just the right time.

This Slow Cooker Lo Mein recipe is really a breeze to prepare. But perhaps the best thing about preparing this Lo Mein at home is that, with a few simple adjustments, you can make this classic dish a lot healthier. For example, try using a minimal amount of noodles, don’t fry anything in oil, and add as many fresh vegetables as you want. I hope you will enjoy this lightened up delicious Slow Cooker Lo Mein as much as I do!

Making Chinese Takeout Healthy

Chinese takeout is one of my biggest guilty pleasures; I love curling up with a plate of Chinese and a good movie.

However, Chinese most definitely does not love me, leaving me feeling weighed down by all those extra calories and grease. That’s why I set out to find a healthier alternative to my favorite Chinese dishes.

While this dish is by no means perfect it is a whole lot healthier than anything you could get from your favorite takeout. At just a little over 300 calories per serving you won’t find anything like it unless you make it yourself.

What Goes in Pork Lo Mein?

This recipe is fairly traditional, in that it involves the use of snow peas, red bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, ginger, garlic, and pork loin – though you can change it up with a few modern twists like using spaghetti for the noodles, sriracha, and cooking all of it in a slow cooker. Toss in some soy sauce, brown sugar, oyster sauce, and sesame oil and you’ve got yourself Pork Lo Mein.

Lo Mein vs Chow Mein

Chances are you’ve looked at a Chinese takeout menu at least once and wondered what the difference is between lo mein and chow mein; I know I have. Those questions are why I set out to educate myself on the matter – and I want to pass that knowledge on to you!

The big difference between the two dishes are the way the noodles are prepared. In chow mein, the noodles are partly boiled then stir-fried. Comparatively, lo mein noodles are fully cooked before they get tossed with meat, veggies, and sauce in a wok.

There is also the added complication of wet and dry chow mein and lo mein. Which one you will get seems to depend on where you are – so plan to always ask if the Chinese noodle dish is wet or dry.

Thankfully, making it at home you get to decide for yourself – this recipe makes dry lo mein.

Is Pork Lo Mein Good for Meal Prep?

Pork Lo Mein made in the slow cooker is one of my favorite meal prep lunches because it is so easy to make a large batch of and it stores really well in the fridge! Just make sure that the container you put it in is air tight, leaving a folded up paper towel at the top to soak up some of the moisture that will develop in the container.

Since each action to open and close a larger container runs the risk of introducing unwanted contaminants, I like to store each serving in a separate container. As an added plus, it makes it so much easier when you want to eat some. All you have to do is pull the container out of the fridge and heat it up!

What Vegetables Go Well in Pork Lo Mein?

This recipe calls for broccoli, carrots, celery, snow peas, and bell pepper, but there are a bunch of other vegetables that you can throw in if you like. You can even load up on the veggies and skip the meat completely if you want!

• Baby Bok Choy
• Cabbage
• Green Bell Peppers
• Green Onions
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Zucchini

Meat and Noodle Alternatives for Lo Mein

If you aren’t a fan of pork tenderloin then there are a few options available to you (including meatless!), like chicken, beef, and duck. Tofu can also be used if you're looking for a meat alternative, or skip them all completely and go heavy on the vegetables!

If you would prefer to use something besides spaghetti noodles for your lo mein, you absolutely can! Lo mein noodles tend to be small and thin, making spaghetti noodles an easy alternative. Plus they are easy to find in any store, unlike noodles that are specifically for lo mein – which you might have to go to a specialty store to find.

Other Chinese Recipes

• Chicken Chow Mein
• Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
• Moo Shu Beef Stirfry
• Vegetable Fried Rice
• Baked Veggie Egg Rolls