This vegan chop suey is an amazingly delicious and easy to make plant-based dinner. The sweet, salty and mildly spicy sauce glazes the veggies perfectly, making this dish tastier (and healthier) than a takeaway. It's also flexible, meaning you can clear out your fridge and use any any fresh veggies you have on hand!
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I'm excited to share this classic American-Chinese dish with you - vegan chop suey! The best thing about this dish is how simple it is to make. It's a real clean out your fridge kind of dish, and doesn't mind ingredients being swapped for whatever you have on hand.
My vegetable chop suey recipe includes fresh mushrooms, cabbage, snow peas, carrots and beansprouts. I'll also give you suggestions for other veggies that would make great additions to your veggie chop suey.
This vegan chop suey recipe is fresh, healthy and gluten-free. When you make it at home, it's so much healthier than a takeaway. Serve it with rice or noodles for a satisfying and quick midweek meal.
🧡Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
✅It's the perfect way to use your leftover veggies. Clear out your fridge and prevent food waste at the same time.
✅It's vegan and gluten free.
✅It's tastier and healthier than a takeaway.
✅It's family friendly.
✅ Vegan chop suey is filled with vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
🍜What Is Chop Suey?
Chop suey is a popular Chinese-American dish that originated in the United States during the late 19th century. It's a stir-fry dish that typically consists of a variety of vegetables, such as bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, and water chestnuts, cooked together with various seasonings and sauces.
The preparation of chop suey can vary. Different cooks and restaurants may use their own combination of vegetables and seasonings to create their own unique version of the dish. However, the common thread among all chop suey recipes is that it's a vegetable-based stir-fry.
The term "chop suey" itself translates to "assorted pieces" or "odds and ends," which reflects the nature of the dish, as it typically includes a mix of various vegetables and sometimes tofu.
🍜Vegan Chop Suey Ingredients
- Neutral Vegetable Oil: The best oil for a stir fry is a thinner oil with a high smoke point. Good choices are canola oil, peanut oil and grape seed oil.
- Onion: I like to use red onions in stir fries. They add a lovely color, and their flavor is milder than yellow onions. Having said that, if a yellow onion is what you have on hand, your chop suey will still taste great.
- Carrots: The secret with the carrots in this recipe is to julienne them. If you don't have a julienne tool, then simply use a peeler and peel them in long strips. If you chop them, they'll take much longer to cook.
- Red Bell Peppers: Really you can use any color of Bell Pepper that you like. I like the sweetness of red bell peppers, but green or yellow will also work.
- Mushrooms: I used woodland. You can also use chestnut or shiitake mushrooms.
- Snow Peas: Snow peas add a nice crunch to your chop suey.
- Cabbage: You can use green or purple cabbage here.
- Garlic: Add your garlic at the end of the stir fry. If you add it to soon it will burn and taste bitter.
🛒Chop Suey Sauce Ingredients
- Vegetable Broth: Vegetable broth gives the sauce depth. You can use homemade vegetable broth, store bought from a can or even a bouillon cube.
- Corn starch: Corn starch thickens the sauce so it adheres to the veggies. Other alternatives would be cornflour, potato starch, or regular flour.
- Tamari Sauce: Tamari sauce is gluten free, and it's always my first choice, but if gluten isn't an issue for you, feel free to use soy sauce.
- Mirin: Mirin often gets confused with rice wine vinegar. The difference is that mirin adds a sweeter flavor and it also gives your chop suey a nice glaze that you won't get from rice wine vinegar.
- Maple Syrup: Maple syrup adds a nice earthy sweet flavor that works perfectly in this recipe, plus it makes your chop suey refined sugar free.
- Sriracha Sauce: Sriracha sauce is quite mild, but if you don't like a mildly spicy flavor, it's fine to omit it.
🥢Instructions
- If you're planning on serving your chop suey with rice or noodles, start those now.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat your vegetable oil in a large frying pan or wok. Saute the onion for 30 seconds.
- Add the carrots, snow peas, red pepper, mushrooms and bean sprouts. Saute for one more minute.
- Add your cabbage and garlic and saute for a further 2 minutes.
- Finally, pour your sauce over the top and toss to combine. Cook for an additional minute, or until the sauce is heated through.
- Serve your vegan chop suey over rice or noodles and enjoy!
🥡Variations
- Add a protein like tofu or seitan to your chop suey. If you're looking for ideas on how to level up your tofu, have a look at my 15 favorite tofu marinades.
- Add some roasted cashews for a bit of crunch.
- Feel free to swap veggies. Some of my favorites are broccoli, eggplant, cauliflower and water chestnuts.
- Bamboo shoots are a popular addition to vegetarian chop suey.
- Baby corn, celery, baby bok choy or green beans would be a great addition to this vegan chop suey.
🍽️Serving Suggestions
- Vegan chop suey is best served with a side of rice. Sticky rice, or even coconut rice would both be great choices. You could also serve it with a side of noodles, which would make this dish more like a chow mein.
- Veggie chop suey pairs well with other Chinese-inspired dishes like spring rolls, dumplings, or fried rice.
- For a fun and unique presentation, you can serve vegan chop suey in lettuce cups. Simply separate a head of lettuce into individual leaves and use them as cups to hold the chop suey.
- For a lighter option, serve your vegan chop suey with a side salad dressed with a light vinaigrette like this easy Jerusalem salad.
- For a low-carb version, serve with cauliflower rice.
❄️Storage Instructions
- Refrigeration: If you have leftover vegan chop suey, it can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Make sure any leftovers have cooled down to room temperature before storing them in the fridge.
- Freezing: Vegan chop suey can also be frozen for longer storage. Allow the dish to cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2-3 months. To reheat, let the chop suey thaw in the fridge overnight and then heat it up in the microwave or on the stovetop until it's hot all the way through.
- Separation: If you plan on storing vegan chop suey with rice or noodles, it's best to store them separately, as the sauce can make the rice or noodles soggy over time.
- Reheating: When reheating vegan chop suey, make sure it's heated up to a temperature of 165°F (74°C) to ensure that any harmful bacteria are killed. You can reheat it on the stovetop, in the microwave, or in the oven, but be sure to stir it occasionally to ensure even heating.
Did You Make This Recipe?
If so, I'd love to see it! Tag me on Instagram @thisdailydish. Or, leave me a comment below. It makes my day, and your feedback helps other readers!
Frequently Asked Questions
No, chop suey and chow mein are not the same thing. They're two different dishes with distinct characteristics.
Chop suey is a stir-fried dish that typically consists of vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and onions that are cooked in a sauce and served over rice. On the other hand, chow mein is a Chinese dish made with thin noodles that are stir-fried with vegetables.
If you have leftover vegan chop suey, it can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Make sure the food has cooled down to room temperature before storing it in the fridge. If you plan on storing vegan chop suey with rice or noodles, it's best to store them separately, as the sauce can make the rice or noodles soggy over time.
Absolutely! Vegan chop suey can frozen for longer storage. Allow the dish to cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 2-3 months. To reheat, let the chop suey thaw in the fridge overnight and then heat it up in the microwave or on the stovetop until it's hot all the way through.
Craving More Easy Vegan Recipes?
Hunan Tofu And Vegetable Stir Fry
📖 Recipe
Chop Suey (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1 carrot julienned * see note 1
- 1 red pepper sliced
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1 cup snow peas
- ½ head cabbage sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
Vegan Chop Suey Sauce
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- If you're planning on serving your chop suey with rice or noodles, start those now.
- Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large non-stick pan or wok. Saute the onion for 30 seconds.
- Add the carrots, snow peas, red pepper, mushrooms and bean sprouts. Saute for one more minute.
- Add the cabbage and garlic and saute for a further 2 minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the top and toss to combine. Cook for an additional minute, or until the sauce is heated through.
Notes
- The secret with the carrots in this recipe is to julienne them. If you don't have a julienne tool, then simply use a peeler and peel them in long strips. If you chop them, they'll take much longer to cook.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Vegan chop suey should stay fresh for 3-4 days. Reheat in a non stick pan or in the microwave.
Marcellina
A tasty and colorful stir fry that appeals to all my family!
Keri Bevan
Hi Marcellina, so pleased you liked the recipe! Thank you for letting me know!