Panda Express is a fast casual restaurant chain which serves American Chinese cuisine with over 2,000 locations worldwide. They are also the largest Asian segment restaurant chain in the United States according to Wikipedia. Most Asian cuisines are very friendly to those on plant-based diets, but this was not the case for Panda Express’ menu until February 2019. Prior to February, all of Panda Express’ veggie based dishes, including chow mien, were made with chicken broth. In response to petitions by Peta and Vegan Outreach, Panda Express choose to remove chicken broth in these dishes completely by the end of March 2019.
It should be noted that Panda Express’ website states, “Panda Express does not have any vegetarian, vegan or gluten free products” due to the cross contamination that can occur by using the same equipment. A Panda Express representative told VegNews that while the dishes in this article “do not have animal product or byproduct, all items at Panda Express are cooked and prepped in the same shared facilities and equipment in store, so we have not claimed that our menu is vegetarian or vegan.” Therefore people with any allergens (fish, shellfish, milk, eggs, gluten, or nuts) should avoid eating at Panda Express. Panda Express’ nutrition and allergen guide can be found here.
The following are all of the products stated to be vegan by VegNews and Peta.
2. Chow Mein
With the change in February 2019, Panda Express’ famous Chow Mein is now vegan! This dish no longer includes chicken broth in the recipe.
3. Vegetable Spring Roll
Panda Express’ Vegetable Spring Rolls are vegan! Pair these crunchy delights with one of Panda Express’ vegan sauces including sweet and sour.
4. Super Greens
Consisting of broccoli, kale, and cabbage; Panda Express healthful medley Super Greens are vegan friendly.
NOTE: One reader has informed us that their Panda Express location uses a garlic butter sauce for the super greens. This is contrary to the Panda Express allergen guide and information received from Panda Express HQ so check with your location to make sure that these are vegan friendly.
5. Eggplant Tofu
*Editor’s Note: One reader brought it to our attention that their local Panda Express location informed them that the Eggplant Tofu was not vegan since it is cooked in the same oil as the chicken. Please verify this item is vegan with your restaurant before ordering.*
Panda Express’ one and only vegetable based entree, Eggplant Tofu, is also vegan friendly. According to the Panda Express website, it consists of “lightly browned tofu, eggplant, and red bell peppers in a sweet and spicy sauce.”
6. Sauces
Many of Panda Express’ sauces are accidentally vegan friendly. These sauces include the following:
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Sweet & Sour Sauce
- Chili Sauce
- Soy Sauce
- Potsticker Sauce
- Hot Mustard
- Plum Sauce
7. Drinks
Panda Express does not appear to have any specialty drinks at their restaurants, but most of their sodas and soft drinks are vegan. A full list of drink options is below.
- Barq’s Root Beer
- Cherry Coca-Cola
- Coca-Cola
- Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
- Diet Coke
- Dr. Pepper
- Fanta Fruit Punch
- Fanta Orange
- Fanta Strawberry
- Fuze Lemon Black Tea
- Fuze Raspberry Tea
- Glaceau Vitaminwater Squeezed Zero
- Gold Peak Premium Unsweetened Tea
- Hi-C Flashin Fruit Punch
- Minute Maid Lemonade
- Minute Maid Light Lemonade
- POWERade Mountain Blast
- Seagram’s Ginger Ale
- Sprite
- Sprite Zero
- Black Tea
- Lemon Green Tea
- Passion Fruit Mango Black Tea
- Sweet Tea
Summary
With the recipe changes in early 2019, Panda Express went from having zero vegan-friendly options to many. We would consider them to now be one of the better fast food establishments for vegan options. Unfortunately Panda Express does not post the ingredients or allergens for their fortune cookies, so we could not verify if they are plant-based or not.
If you liked this article, take a look at at our other “Eating Out” vegan guides here.
