Ground Beef Chow Mein {Whole30, Paleo}

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.

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)

Althea Brown

Ground beef sautéed with vegetables and tossed together with yellow squash noodles

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Low Carb, Paleo, Whole30

Cuisine Guyanese

Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 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

Do not sauté the squash noodles or they will become mushy
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

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Loving this recipe? Try Whole30 Chicken Chow Mein!