Panda Express Gluten Free Menu

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Craving Panda Express? I have bad news, and I'd rather you hear it from me than find out the hard way in the parking lot. I went through Panda's own allergen data for all 40 food items on the menu, and if you're celiac, this is one of the toughest chains out there.

I know that's harsher than what I say about most restaurants. Usually I can find you a few things to order with some tweaking. But Panda is different, and it's not because of a couple of unlucky menu items. It's because of one ingredient that goes into nearly everything they cook.

The 5 gluten free items at Panda Express

Here's the complete list, straight from Panda's allergen data. Brace yourself, it's short.

Every drink is wheat free too, so at least you're not stuck sipping water while everyone else eats. Small mercies.

Why almost everything contains wheat

It all comes down to soy sauce. Traditional soy sauce is brewed with wheat, and it's the backbone of pretty much every sauce in an American Chinese kitchen. Teriyaki, oyster sauce, hoisin, the glaze on the Beijing beef, the sticky sauce on orange chicken. They all start with it, and once it's in there, the dish has wheat in it.

This is what catches people out. You look at the menu and figure grilled chicken has to be safer than battered chicken, or that a vegetable side must be a safe bet. At most restaurants you'd be right! At Panda you're not, because it's the sauce doing the damage, not the breading.

Items that surprise people

• Super Greens — broccoli, kale and cabbage, and it still has wheat and soy
• Grilled Teriyaki Chicken — grilled, not battered, but that teriyaki sauce gets you
• Steamed Ginger Fish — steamed and simple, still contains wheat
• Sweetfire Chicken Breast — wheat is literally its only listed allergen
• Fortune Cookie — wheat and soy
• Hot and Sour Soup — wheat, soy, egg and sesame

Panda Express full allergen menu

Here's every food item on the menu against the nine major allergens, which helps whether you're avoiding gluten, dairy, eggs, shellfish or anything else. A Yes means the item contains that allergen, and I've put the five wheat free items in bold so they're easy to spot.

Menu Item	Wheat	Soy	Tree Nuts	Fish	Peanuts	Shellfish	Eggs	Milk	Sesame
Sides
Chow Fun	Yes	Yes						Yes
Chow Mein	Yes	Yes							Yes
Fried Rice	Yes	Yes					Yes		Yes
Super Greens	Yes	Yes
White Steamed Rice
Vegetables
Eggplant Tofu	Yes	Yes							Yes
Super Greens Entree	Yes	Yes
Chicken
Black Pepper Chicken	Yes	Yes							Yes
Grilled Teriyaki Chicken	Yes	Yes							Yes
Hot Orange Chicken	Yes	Yes					Yes		Yes
Kung Pao Chicken	Yes	Yes			Yes				Yes
Mushroom Chicken	Yes	Yes							Yes
Orange Chicken	Yes	Yes					Yes		Yes
Potato Chicken	Yes	Yes
Teriyaki Chicken	Yes	Yes							Yes
Chicken Breast
Honey Sesame Chicken Breast	Yes								Yes
String Bean Chicken Breast	Yes	Yes							Yes
Sweet and Sour Chicken Breast	Yes	Yes
Sweetfire Chicken Breast	Yes
Beef
Beijing Beef	Yes	Yes
Black Pepper Sirloin Steak	Yes	Yes
Broccoli Beef	Yes	Yes							Yes
Seafood
Honey Walnut Shrimp	Yes	Yes	Yes			Yes	Yes	Yes
Steamed Ginger Fish	Yes	Yes		Yes
Wok-Fired Shrimp	Yes	Yes				Yes
Appetizers
Chicken Egg Roll	Yes	Yes					Yes	Yes	Yes
Chicken Potsticker	Yes	Yes							Yes
Cream Cheese Rangoon	Yes						Yes	Yes
Vegetable Spring Roll	Yes	Yes
Soup
Hot and Sour Soup	Yes	Yes					Yes		Yes
Sauces, Sides and Extras
Apple Pie Roll	Yes
Chili Sauce
Fortune Cookie	Yes	Yes
Hot Mustard									Yes
Potsticker Sauce	Yes	Yes							Yes
Soy Sauce	Yes	Yes
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce	Yes	Yes							Yes
Tree Top Apple Crisps

Cross-contamination at Panda Express

Even those five wheat free items come with a catch, and this is the bit that matters most if you're celiac rather than gluten sensitive. An ingredient list tells you what went into a dish. It doesn't tell you what that dish bumped into on the way to the counter.

Think about how the line actually works. The rice gets scooped with a spoon that's been travelling up and down a row of wheat filled dishes all afternoon. The woks are shared, the steam table is shared, and there's no separate gluten free prep area anywhere. So yes, steamed white rice is wheat free on paper. It just isn't being served in a wheat free environment.

How to order if you're going anyway

Sometimes you don't get to pick the restaurant. The kids want Panda, or it's the only thing at the mall, and you're going whether you like it or not. Here's how I'd keep the risk as low as possible.

If you're gluten sensitive rather than celiac, white rice with a sealed sauce packet and a drink is a reasonable low risk order. If you're celiac, I'd eat before you go and just grab a drink while everyone else has lunch. Not glamorous, but neither is the alternative.

Make it at home instead

Here's the good news, and it's genuinely good news. American Chinese food is so easy to make gluten free at home. Swap regular soy sauce for tamari or coconut aminos and the whole problem disappears. That one little bottle is the only thing standing between you and nearly every dish on the Panda menu, which is a bit maddening when you think about it.

These are the ones my family asks for on repeat.

• Gluten Free Kung Pao Chicken
• Instant Pot Sesame Chicken
• Instant Pot Orange Chicken
• Gluten Free Chinese Food: Complete Guide and Easy Recipes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is anything at Panda Express gluten free?

Five food items contain no wheat: steamed white rice, sweet and sour sauce, chili sauce, hot mustard, and the Tree Top apple crisps. Every drink is fine too. But every single entree on the menu contains wheat.

Does Panda Express have a gluten free menu?

No, and they don't label anything as gluten free either. What they do publish is allergen information showing which items contain wheat, and that's what I built this guide from.

Is Panda Express orange chicken gluten free?

Sadly not. It's battered in wheat flour and the sauce is soy sauce based, so it contains wheat, soy, eggs and sesame. The hot orange chicken is the same.

Are Panda Express spring rolls gluten free?

No. The wrapper is made from wheat flour, so the vegetable spring rolls contain wheat and soy. Same goes for the egg rolls, the potstickers and the cream cheese rangoon.

Is the grilled teriyaki chicken at Panda Express gluten free?

This one trips people up because it's grilled instead of battered. But the teriyaki sauce has wheat in it, and asking for it without sauce isn't reliable when it's cooked on shared equipment.

Is Panda Express super greens gluten free?

Nope, and this is the one that surprises everyone. It's just broccoli, kale and cabbage, but it's prepared with a sauce that contains wheat and soy.

Is Panda Express safe for celiac disease?

I wouldn't risk it. Everything is cooked in shared woks, and Panda says outright that allergens could be present in any item. Even the white rice is scooped with a spoon that's been down the whole line.

Is Panda Express fried rice or chow mein gluten free?

Neither one, I'm afraid. Chow mein noodles are wheat, and the fried rice picks up wheat, soy, egg and sesame from the soy sauce it's cooked in. Steamed white rice is your only option.

More gluten free restaurant guides

• Chipotle Gluten Free Menu
• Olive Garden Gluten Free and Allergen Menu
• First Watch Gluten Free Menu
• All my gluten free restaurant guides