Vegetable Chop Suey is an American Chinese dish filled with vegetables in a salty, starch-thickened sauce, served over crunchy fried chow mein noodles or rice.  If you like saucy Chinese-inspired dishes, you will love this meal.

A close up of vegan chop suey served over crunchy chow mien noodles.

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This was the one and only Asian-style dish my mother ever made when I was a child, and it was one of my favorite meals. We have always served it over crunchy chow mein noodles, so that is how I usually make it for my family, and that is what is shown in the pictures.  However, there are many ways to make vegetable chop suey or chow mein.  They’re all variations of vegetables cooked in a light brown sauce, served over rice or noodles, or with the noodles mixed in.

Vegan Chop Suey is a great meal to use up whatever vegetables you have in the house.  You can make it different every time with whatever you have available.

Chop suey vs. chow mein

Both of these dishes are Americanised meals inspired by Chinese-style cooking.  There are so many variations of these dishes that it is hard to determine a significant difference between chop suey and chow mein.  From what I can decipher, chop suey usually has a starch-thickened sauce, and chow mein has a thinner soy sauce base.  Lo Mein is also very similar, but the sauce is thinner, and the vegetables are always mixed with noodles.

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • It’s easily made gluten-free.
  • This recipe is versatile and can be made with any vegetable.
  • It’s saucy, delicious, comfort food that the whole family will love!
A plate full of vegan chop suey served over chow mien noodles.

Ingredients and substitutions

  • Vegetables – your choice of any of the following…
    • onions
    • garlic
    • carrots
    • celery
    • bean sprouts
    • water chestnuts – highly recommended for a nice crunch!
    • baby corn
    • bamboo shoots
    • mushrooms
    • bell peppers
    • broccoli
    • snowpeas
    • snap peas
    • green beans
  • Vegan Butter – or neutral-flavored oil.
  • Salt and Pepper – for flavor.
  • Vegetable Broth – or water to make the sauce.
  • Soy Sauce – to flavor the sauce and add saltiness.
  • Water – to achieve the right consistency for the sauce.
  • Sugar – to sweeten the sauce a little.  You can leave it out if you want.
  • Corn Starch – to thicken the sauce.  You can also use potato starch or arrowroot if you wish.
  • Rice, Noodles / Chow Mein Noodles / Rice – whichever you choose to serve the chop suey over.
  • Vegan Protein – Most traditional chop suey recipes use pork, but when making a vegan chop suey, you can toss in a vegan protein with the vegetable stir-fry. I like to use crispy fried tofu, chicken seitan, vegan beef strips, or my easy seitan recipe. You can even toss in some vegan shrimp or vegan scallops.

Helpful tools

A large wok or large frying pan is best for making this dish.

Vegetable chop suey instructions

Step 1 – Wash and chop onions, celery, water chestnuts, carrots, or any other vegetables you choose.

Step 2 – Add vegan butter or oil to a large skillet, add diced onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, until the onions become translucent.

Step 3 – Toss in the celery, carrots, bean sprouts, or any other vegetable that you wish, add 1 cup of water or vegetable broth, turn up the heat to medium, and cover. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes until the veggies become just barely tender.

Sautéed onions to make vegetable chop suey.
Saute the onions in butter with sprinkle of salt and pepper.
Onions, carrots, celery, and bean sprouts sautéing in a pan to make vegetable chop suey.
Add the carrots, celery, and bean sprouts.

Thicken the sauce

Step 4 – Put 1/3 cup cold water, 1 1/2 tbsp potato starch, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 1 tsp of sugar in a small bowl and stir well.

Adding the sauce to the sautéed veggies to make vegetable chop suey.
Add the liquid mixture to the veggies.
Vegetable chop suey in a large wok.
Stir well and heat until the sauce thickens.

Step 5 – Pour the cooked vegetables over, stir well, and heat until the sauce thickens.

Step 6 – Serve over rice, noodles, or chow mein noodles.

Variations

  • Serve the chop suey over rice or your choice of noodles.
  • Toss the noodles with the vegetables and sauce for a lo mein-style meal.
  • Add firm tofu or vegan chicken strips along with the veggies for a more filling meal.
  • Serve with crispy tofu on top or on the side for a delicious crispy protein.

Chow mein instructions

To turn this dish into vegan chow mein, omit the starch or reduce it to 1 tsp to make a thinner sauce.

A white plate filled with chow mien noodles topped with vegetable chop suey.

Serve this with some authentic-tasting vegan egg drop soup, tofu spring rolls, or vegan lettuce wraps for a complete meal!

More Asian-inspired dishes

Vegan chop suey recipe

A close up of a white plate with chow mein noodles covered in vegetable chop suey.
Diet
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5 from 6 rating

Vegetable Chop Suey/ Chow Mein

Yield: 6
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
An easy vegan chop suey recipe that can easily be made into vegetable Chow Mein or lo Mein as well.
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Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 1 cup celery, diced
  • 1 cup bean sprouts, or 1 can bean sprouts (drained)
  • 1 8 oz can water chestnuts, sliced or diced
  • 3 tablespoons vegan butter, neutral-flavored oil
  • 1 cup vegetable broth, or hot water

Thickening Sauce

  • 1/2 cup cold water
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, or potato starch of 2 tbsp arrowroot
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce, or tamari or Bragg's Liquid Aminos for gluten-free
  • 1 teaspoon sugar, (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

To Serve the Vegetable over

  • 4 cups chow mein noodles, or rice or any noodles of choice

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Wash and chop 1 onion, 2 carrots, 1 cup celery, 1 cup bean sprouts, 1 cup water chestnuts, and/or any other vegetables of choice.
  • Add 3 tbsp vegan butter or oil to a large skillet, then add diced onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, until the onions become translucent.
  • Toss in the celery, carrots, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, or any other vegetables you wish, add 1 cup of water or vegetable broth, and turn up the heat to medium, then cover. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes until the veggies become just barely tender.

Thicken the sauce:

  • Put 1/2 cup cold water 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt in a small bowl and stir well.
  • Pour over the cooked vegetables and stir well and heat until it thickens the sauce.
  • Serve over rice, noodles, or chow mein noodles.

Notes

Variations of vegan chop suey
How to make vegetable chow mein
To turn this dish into vegan chow mein, leave out the starch, or reduce it to 1 tsp to make a thinner sauce.
Serving: 1cup, Calories: 235kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Sodium: 851mg, Potassium: 248mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 3823IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 2mg
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