Ditch the takeout and make this delicious vegetable chow mein in less time than it takes to get it delivered! This family friendly vegan recipe is made even easier in an Instant Pot!

Honestly, fakeout / fakeaway food really doesn’t get any easier than this vegan chow mein.  Or tastier.  And because with the Instant Pot you can sauté as well as pressure cook, it’s all that is needed to cook everything from start to finish.  The sauce becomes lovely and rich and perfectly envelopes the noodles and veggies.

For this recipe I’ve used dried noodles.  It gives the chow mein that more authentic taste and texture than using, what is often used instead, spaghetti.  This really does taste like the chow mein you’d get at your favourite Asian restaurant or take-away.  I’ve built in layers of flavour with simple, fridge or store cupboard ingredients.  Making it healthier than takeout with no msg or other unpronounceable ingredients.

The crispy onions on the top are an extra step but ohmygosh so very worth it.  They’re a lovely crispy, crunchy contrast the soft noodles and vegetables and deliciously rich sauce.  You don’t need a deep fat frying to make them – a wok or a saucepan with a shallow covering of oil is enough.  But they’re very moreish and I have to keep stopping myself eating them BEFORE they go on top of the chow mein!

How to make this easy Instant Pot dish:

Start by slicing and soaking the onions.  Because we’re only cooking the onions for a short time, I soak them in a little bit of milk.  This helps to tame the harsh onion flavour, giving them a much nicer, buttery flavour once you coat them in flour and shallow fry them.  I let them soak for the time it takes to prepare everything else for the Instant Pot.

Prep your veggies.  Peel and slice the carrots, slice the peppers and spring onions.

Whisk together the ingredients for the chow mein sauce.  I weigh everything into a jug to make it easier just to pour into the Instant Pot.

Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté function.  Add the sesame oil and vegetables and stir fry directly in the pot for 2-3 minutes until they’re just starting to soften and caramelise.  Turn the sauté function off.

Add the noodles to the pot.  Pour over the jug of liquid ingredients, put on the lid and set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 4 minutes with the release knob set to sealing.  It takes a minute or two to come up to the correct pressure, at which point it will buzz and start the countdown.

While that’s pressure cooking, finish and cook the onions.  Heat enough oil in a wok or saucepan to shallow fry the onions.  You want the oil reasonably hot – test with 1 small ring before cooking the remaining.  Drain the milk from the onions then toss them in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess.  Put a few rings at a time into the oil and fry for 30-40 seconds each side.  Use a slotted spoon to lift the cooked onions out onto kitchen paper.

Once the timer goes off carefully turn the pressure release knob to venting and until it stops sputtering.  Open the lid and use a pair of tongs to break up any of the noodles that have stuck together then stir in the edamame and spinach.  Put the lid back on for 1 minute just to warm up the edamame and wilt in the spinach.

To serve put the noodles and veggies into bowls and top with the crispy onions.  Consume immediately if not sooner 😉

Looking for more vegan Instant Pot inspo?

We love our Instant Pot and I’m slowly building up the recipes for it for you dear reader.  Getting to eat them all is just an added bonus for us!

Instant Pot Mushroom Bourguignon

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese (we’re actually having this for dinner tonight!)

Instant Pot Lo Mein

Instant Pot Lentil Bolognese

I’d also love to hear from you if you make this Vegetable Chow Mein recipe! Just leave a comment as it’s so helpful and I love to hear how the recipe worked out for you! Thank you so much!

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