Updated 2020! I contacted Panda Express after one of our prior updates, because some items were marked as containing milk that seemed odd – like the mixed vegetables and the fried rice. They never responded to me, but they silently fixed the allergen menu! Those items are no longer noted as containing milk.
Panda Express is the largest Asian fast food chain in the U.S., specializing in American Chinese cuisine. They also have locations throughout Canada and some in Asia. They are traditionally located in food courts, but these days you can also find Panda Express stand-alone restaurants. They have just one allergen chart for both the U.S. and Canadian, so the list below covers both countries.
No Dairy (Milk-Based) Ingredients (see disclaimer below)
- Sides – Chow Mein, Fried Rice, White Steamed Rice, Brown Steamed Rice, Super Greens (side)
- Veggies Entrees – Eggplant Tofu, Super Greens
- Chicken Entrees – Black Pepper Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken, Grilled Asian Chicken, Asian Chicken, Grilled Teriyaki Chicken, Teriyaki Chicken, Mushroom Chicken, Potato Chicken, Honey Sesame Chicken Breast, String Bean Chicken Breast, SweetFire Chicken Breast, Sweet & Sour Chicken Breast
- Beef Entreees – Broccoli Beef, Shanghai Angus Steak
- Seafood Entrees – Golden Treasure Shrimp
- Appetizers – Chicken Potstickers, Vegetable Spring Rolls
- Soup – Hot & Sour Soup
- Sauces – Teriyaki Sauce, Sweet & Sour Sauce, Chili Sauce, Soy Sauce, Potsticker Sauce, Plum Sauce, Hot Mustard
Other Allergen Notes
- Note that the Chicken Egg Rolls, Chow Fun, Orange Chicken, Beijing Beef, and other Seafood Entrees do contain dairy.
- All of the dairy-free menu items appear to be egg-free, too, with the exceptions of the Fried Rice and Hot & Sour Soup.
- Panda Express notes that they do not have any vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free dishes.
- Most of their entrees also contain soy. But the SweetFire Chicken Breast and Sweet & Sour Chicken Breast appear to be both dairy-free and soy-free.
- They reportedly do not add any MSG.
More Details from Panda Express
Allergen Disclaimer from Panda Express: Panda uses ingredients that contain all the major FDA allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, milk, soy and wheat). Panda prepares its entrees fresh with shared cooking equipment and therefore allergens could be present in any entree.
Restaurant Website: www.pandaexpress.com
Allergen Information for the United States and Canada: s3.amazonaws.com/PandaExpressWebsite/files/pdf/Nutrition.pdf
Last Updated: January 3, 2020
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🙏 thank you
I appreciate being and to find all the information I need – I didn’t have a reaction eating the chow mein and black and pepper chicken. My allergies are egg and dairy.
Exactly what I needed
This info is exactly what I needed! Thank you!
Response from Go Dairy Free
Happy to help!
Well Researched and Easy to Read
Great article! Thorough research and easy to read dairy free menu options. Thank you for doing the research for me! ?
19 Comments
https://s3.amazonaws.com/PandaExpressWebsite/files/pdf/Nutrition.pdf This is the link to the 2018 nutritional information
Yes, we have that link above! I hope it worked for you. I know it is an odd internal pdf.
You listed some non dairy items in the first bullet point (sides) and then below it says you were surprised to see some items that have dairy and they are some of the same items that were listed as dairy free…,I looked on the allergen menu from Panda Hut to clarify what u can get but this is confusing and I would hate would hate someone to go off just this…
Hi Colleen, I’m sorry if my update wording was confusing! I added a sentence in italics to clarify what I was saying.
awesome food served at Panda Express and i love it, nice information shared thank you Alisa Fleming.
I can always count on you! Thanks for this!!
An ingredient list would be a wonderful thing. I have an allergy to corn and assume that cornstarch is probably in most if not all the dishes but would love to know since it’s my daughter’s favorite place to eat.
Yes, that would be nice. I’ve tried to get one, and they won’t even email it, let alone share it online.
Had the Orange Chicken from their outlet inside Pavillions in Culver City, CA and had a reaction. I thought I was safe since Chinese people usually don’t cook with milk. Also had the spring rolls so perhaps that was another contributor. This is disappointing since it tasted so good. It’s not worth it.
Yeah, unfortunately Panda Express is very Americanized Chinese food – so dairy does get used a little.
It’s so weird, but my daughter is very sensitive to milk protein but eats the orange chicken all the time with no issues. I chalked it up to a mistake in their ingredient listing, but now, I don’t know how to explain it. Do you know what type of dairy product is in the orange chicken?
It is strange, but it’s possible that it is a very small amount. The Sweet & Sour Chicken doesn’t contain milk, so my guess is that it isn’t the batter. It could be a very small amount of whey or lactose in the sauce. They don’t have ingredient info available, but I’ve contacted them to see if they can provide any additional info on this one.
Panda Express Orange Chicken now contains milk powder! My daughter has eaten it for years without a problem. Staff have re assured me that it has no dairy in it. Six weeks ago my daughter had a bad reaction after eating it which ONLY happens after eating small amounts of milk protein. I called and they said it didn’t contain dairy. So we put it off as a cross contamination as we ordered it from a different restaurant than normal.
Last night she ate it at our local restaurant and had a bad reaction again. Called and was told once again no dairy..made them go read the box and they then realized it had dairy. Corporate office assured me that the ingredient have never changed and that it always had milk powder in it! I disagree! My daughter is anaphylactic to milk protein, so she always would have a bad reaction!
I’m so sorry that this happened to you and your daughter! As of our last update, when they posted an allergen chart, we do have that it contains milk, but I’m not sure before that.
Has the ingredients in Shanghai Beef changed from containing asparagus to green beans? I have purchased at two restaurants in Mansfield TX and they still charge the extra $1.25 and sell it with green beans?
To Whom It May Concern,
I was wondering in the near future if an ingredient list would be available to the public? I have a rare allergy to mononitrates, thiamine mononitrate, nitrate/nitrite. It is found in white rice, white flour among many other foods. Having an ingredient list would help me determine if I could eat and what I could eat at your restaurant. For instance my favorite dish before my allergy was the orange chicken, it would be helpful for me to know what the chicken was breaded with.
Tank you for your time,
Dawn Parrsih
Hi Dawn, you should be able to contact Panda Express or that information.
The nutrition site is up and lists fried rice with no dairy. Does that mean it is safe now? was the milk in the egg comment above just a fluke? thanks
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for the update. We’re going to be updating the fast food listings this month, so I’ll look into this. Panda Express’s allergen info posted was outdated for years. I’ll be checking to see if it is current.