Ground Beef Chow Mein is the quick and easy one pot meal you have been missing. Whether on or off a Whole30 round this dish remains in constant rotation in my home. My children don't know that the noodles are made with squash and that it a plus for me. While this dish is closer to Lo Mein that Chow Mein it is called Chow Mein because it looks so much like Guyanese Style Chow Mein.

Did you know that the main difference between Chow Mein and Lo Mein is the way that it is prepared. Lo Mein is made by tossing noddles in a sauce, where as in Chow Mein the noodles are pan fried, sometimes separately before adding stir-fried meat and veggies. Click here to learn more about Chow Mein and Lo Mein.
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Ingredients
- Ground Beef
- Ground beef
- Garlic powder
- Ground Ginger
- Chinese Five Spice
- Coconut Aminos Teriyaki Sauce
- Green Onions
- Baby Bell Peppers or large bell pepper
- Carrot
- Yellow Squash
- Bok Choy or Baby Bok Choy
- Chinese long beans or green beans (if you are using)
- Other veggies as desired
- Drizzle of Toasted Sesame Oil for garnish optional
What I love most about this dish is how much fresh veggies you can pack into it. It is technically one giant stir-fry! Use the veggies I share here or feel free to mix it up anyway you like. Add mushrooms, swap the Chinese long beans for string/green beans (if you like). You may also add cabbage, asparagus, broccoli and veggies that typically work well with stir-fries would be fabulous in this dish. Keep it fresh and colorful and don't over cook the veggies. Keep a little crunch to give the dish some texture.
The Yellow Squash Noodles
The only vegetable I don't recommend substituting is the yellow squash noodles. The brightness and color of these noodles make it really hard to distinguish between this Chow Mein and traditional Chow Mein. I've tried it with zucchini noodles and it is just not the same. It is totally worth the effort to track down the yellow squash if you need to.
One Giant Delicious Stir Fry
There really is no other way to describe this dish, other than it is one giant delicious stir-fry. I cook the ground beef first, then toss in all my veggies and sauté for a few minutes until it all comes together. Then remove from the heat and add the squash noodles. Toss together and serve. Do not sauté the squash noodles or it will become mushy and your beautiful stir-fry will become soggy. It is that simple, quick and easy. When this is on the menu you will be eating in no time!
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Ground Beef Chow Mein (Whole30, Paleo)
Ingredients
- 1 lb of Ground beef
- ½ teaspoon of salt or salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon of ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
- ¼ cup of Coconut Aminos Teriyaki Sauce
- 4 Green Onions
- 5 Baby Bell Peppers may sub with 1 large bell pepper, julienned
- 1 large Carrot julienned
- 3-4 yellow squash cut into noodles
- 3 Bok Choy may substitute with Baby Bok Choy, roughly chopped
- 1 cup of Chinese long beans about 5 beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
- Other veggies as desired
- Drizzle of Toasted Sesame Oil for garnish optional
Instructions
- Add ground beef to a hot wok or sauté pan on medium heat and cook until all of the visible pink color of the meat is gone
- Then add salt, garlic powder, ground ginger, coconut aminos teriyaki sauce and Chinese Five Spice and continue to Sauté for about 2 minutes or until all the spices mix well with the ground beef
- Next increase to high heat and add the green onions and sauté for a minute, then add the remaining vegetables (except for the squash noodles) in the order of toughest to cook. For instance, I add the green beans first sauté for a few minutes, next I add the pepper and carrots, then the bok choy is added last
- Once your vegetables are sautéed to your liking remove from the heat, then add the squash noodles and mix together well
- Serve with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil
Notes
You may substitute the Chinese Long Bean for Green Bean
You may substitute the Bok Choy for Shredded Green Cabbage
Mix it up by adding your own vegetable combinations, mushrooms are a great addition to this dish
Annelies says
I loved this recipe. It was so easy and I was happy that it could all be made in one pan! My kids loved it too which is saying a lot.
Althea Brown says
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing
Judy says
Delicious! I love all the veggies and the flavor of five-spice and teriyaki.
Kym Wallace says
I’ve been looking forward to trying this recipe since I saw it on Instagram! We used green beans and yellow squash from our own garden but replaced the bok choy with Napa cabbage. We also had to substitute sesame oil for sunflower oil. Delicious!
Althea Brown says
Love that you made it your own. Thanks for sharing.
Tess Newton says
So so good! And easy to make! And my 9 month old loved it too!
Althea Brown says
Lovely. Thanks for sharing
Antoinette Browne says
Oh my goodness I love this recipe and your new website is terrific and so much easier to use, great job girl