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Ultimate Panda Express Gluten-Free Menu Guide For 2025

Discover the best Panda Express gluten-free menu options with our easy guide. Enjoy your favorite dishes without worrying about gluten!

As a celiac for over 20 years, to say that eating out is challenging is quite an understatement! Everywhere you peek, left and right, you’re constantly being reminded of how many delicious things you’re not able to enjoy, without having your celiac’s flare up like crazy!

It’s the same old story with Panda Express, as very little of their huge menu is actually gluten-free! 🥡🍱

It’s a bit of a surprise, for sure, given just how prominent Panda Express is, and the American-Chinese favorites and cult icons that have inspired an entire generation.

Unfortunately, nearly every entrée and side contains wheat (and soy) ingredients, meaning that very few options on Panda Express’s menu are truly gluten-free and celiac-safe, with most being a no-go. 🌾

Okay, it’s probably not a huge shock, as most Asian cuisines and dishes are naturally not made for celiacs in mind, and contain loads of gluten-containing wheat and soy, but still, I had hoped that I could order some tasty, cheap Chinese takeaway from Panda Express.

Yet, I have learned that some prep goes a long way, so let’s break down the Panda Express gluten-free menu! 🍚

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Disclaimer

It’s worth bearing in mind that all Panda Express menu items are prepared in shared kitchens, using common fryers, woks, utensils, and cooking surfaces.

This means that even those dishes that don’t carry wheat and gluten-containing ingredients carry a severe risk of cross-contact, which should be avoided, especially if you’re a super-sensitive celiac. 👩‍🍳🍽🍚

On top of that, Panda Express does not test its menu items to meet the FDA’s <20 ppm gluten-free standard, which is why none of them carry an official ‘gluten-free’ label.

So, rather than it being called the Panda Express gluten-free menu, it would technically be more accurate to call it ‘gluten-friendly’. Again, sensitive celiacs should proceed with extreme caution! ⚠️

Aside from making sure that you’re ordering dishes and menu items that don’t contain gluten and wheat, here are my personal top tips to help you avoid the risk of cross-contact:

• Let your server know that you have celiac disease or a severe gluten allergy, and ask them if it could be relayed to the kitchen staff while cooking and serving your food.
• That might encourage them to be a bit more careful when prepping and handling your food. It includes fresh glove changes, using sanitized utensils, and asking for clean prep areas if possible.
• Oh, and before dropping by a Panda Express, it is worth checking out their Nutrition & Allergen Information page to keep yourself up-to-date on the newest ingredients list and allergens, and anything that might get added into the Panda Express gluten-free menu.

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Panda Express Allergen Policy (Gluten-Free)

Ah, and speaking of, I do applaud the accessibility and simplicity of Panda Express’s Nutrition & Allergen Information page. Using this interactive tool, you could swap between two tabs – ‘Full Nutrition Info’ and ‘Allergen Info’.

The former is nice if you want to look at the specific nutrition breakdown, such as calories, serving sizes, and more for each dish and menu item. ✍📝

Meanwhile, the ‘Allergen Info’ tab breaks down all the specific allergens included in each dish, which include wheat, soy, nuts, fish, eggs, milk, sesame, and more.

With 9 major allergens to look through, this is a great way to look at which menu items you can or can’t eat, depending on your specific allergies, and for celiacs, it also shows how little of their menu is safe. 🌾

This interactive tool will also be the official, authoritative source for our Panda Express gluten-free guide, where we’ll be breaking down their menu bit by bit to see what you should avoid if you’re a celiac.

Spoiler alert, and cross-contamination risks aside from shared prepping zones, except for beverages and plain white steamed rice, all of their menu items contain wheat. ❗

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Sides

First up in the big selection of dishes that we need to sift through in our Panda Express gluten-free guide, we have their delectable sides.

However, as I mentioned earlier, with the exception of Panda Express’s white steamed rice, the rest of their sides won’t be safe for celiacs, as they rely on wheat-containing components (notably the soy sauce or wheat flour). 🌾🍚

❌ Chow Mein
❌ Chow Mein – Cub Meal
❌ Fried Rice
❌ Fried Rice – Cub Meal
✅ White Steamed Rice
✅ White Steamed Rice – Cub Meal
❌ Super Greens
❌ Super Greens – Cub Meal
❌ Chow Fun
❌ Chow Fun – Cub Meal

Whether it’s wheat in the soy sauce used to flavor the noodles and fried rice, or the seasoned coatings on the Chow Fun, let’s break down these sides to see why they’re not celiac-safe and aren’t a part of the Panda Express gluten-free menu:

Chow Mein & Cub Meal: Traditional Chow Mein at Panda Express uses their egg noodles tossed in soy-based sauce. Standard soy sauce is brewed from a mixture of fermented soybeans and wheat, so the dish does contain gluten, making it unsafe for celiacs.

Fried Rice & Cub Meal: Panda’s fried rice is seasoned with soy sauce (again, this is a wheat-containing ingredient), plus it often includes flavoring packets or sauces that use wheat-based thickeners. Sensitive celiacs like me ought to avoid this entirely.

Chow Fun & Cub Meal: Although made with broad rice noodles and should thus be gluten-free, Panda Express flavors their Chow Fun with a soy-based ‘seasoning sauce’ that will contain wheat, rendering it pretty hazardous and unsafe for celiacs.

White Steamed Rice & Cub Meal: Plain white rice contains no wheat or gluten. It’s cooked separately, and while all sides are prepared in the same kitchen, there will be some cross-contamination risks, but the rice itself has no gluten ingredients.

Super Greens & Cub Meal: A nice blend of kale, cabbage, and broccoli seasoned simply with water, a hint of garlic, and a spray of canola oil. Unfortunately, Panda Express will tell you that it contains traces of wheat, making it non-gluten-free.

If you have celiac disease like me or if you have a severe gluten allergy, your only safe choice is literally just plain white steamed rice, with nothing else to complement it. It ain’t great, is it? Oh well!

Everything else here either relies on gluten-containing soy sauces or wheat-based noodle batters, which makes dining out at Panda Express as a gluten-free diner pretty much impossible! 🥡🍚🌾

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Vegetables

If you thought the veggies section of the Panda Express gluten-free menu was a safe bet for any celiac, think again!

They offer an okay selection of lighter, plant-based options, and while the vegetables themselves don’t naturally contain gluten, when cooked, they’ll get mixed in with the many gluten-containing ingredients and soy or wheat items in Panda Express’s kitchen. 🥗🍆

❌ Eggplant Tofu
❌ Eggplant Tofu – Cub Meal Entree
❌ Super Greens Entree
❌ Super Greens – Cub Meal Entree

Now, let’s take a closer look at why these didn’t make it into the Panda Express gluten-free menu:

Super Greens Entree / Cub Meal Entrée: Lightly stir-fried broccoli, kale, and cabbage with a simple garlic-ginger seasoning. Unfortunately, according to the Panda Express Nutrition & Allergen Information page, just like the other Super Greens I mentioned earlier, they come alongside traces of wheat, and thus, gluten.

Eggplant Tofu / Cub Meal Entrée: Crispy tofu tossed with tender eggplant in a sweet-savory sauce. Although it’s a vegetable-forward dish, the sauce contains soy sauce (made with wheat) and a proprietary thickener that includes wheat flour. As such, both the full-size and Cub Meal versions are unsafe for celiacs and should be avoided.

Once again, not even the veggies are safe at Panda Express, at least for us celiacs. Sure, those base vegetables might be naturally free of wheat and gluten, but when cooked with soy sauce, or when they get mixed with thickeners that contain wheat flour, celiacs can no longer enjoy them safely. So, remember to skip these ones, too! 🥗🚫

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Specialty

Now moving on to a literally special section of the Panda Express gluten-free menu, their list of specialties extends only to one dish – Beyond Orange Chicken, either in full-size form as ordered as a Cub Meal.

It’s basically a plant-based twist on Panda Express’s legendary Orange Chicken, but despite being free of meat, it’s not completely free of wheat and gluten. 🍗🍊

❌ Beyond Orange Chicken
❌ Beyond Orange Chicken – Cub Meal

What you’re getting here is essentially Beyond Meat ‘chicken’ pieces tossed in their signature sweet-tangy orange sauce. Now, here’s what makes them non-gluten-free:

Beyond Orange Chicken: Beyond Orange Chicken pieces are coated in a seasoned batter that contains wheat flour, and that famous orange sauce contains soy sauce made with wheat.

In addition, the dish also contains soy sauce, which isn’t gluten-free, either.

Aside from the fact that many of the dish’s core ingredients and items contain either traces of soy, wheat, or gluten altogether, you also have to reconcile with the fact that you have to navigate cross-contamination.

So, assuming that the Beyond Orange Chicken is gluten-free, it would be prepped with shared equipment, posing a huge risk of cross-contact! 👩‍🍳🍽🐔

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Chicken

Since you already have your Panda Express gluten-free and celiac-safe white steamed rice, it’d be nice to eat it with something, maybe some protein, even.

Alas, all of Panda Express’s poultry menu contains at least some wheat or other gluten-carrying ingredients and items.

With their glutenous sauces, batters, or coatings, none of these chicken dishes are safe for celiacs. 🍗

❌ Black Pepper Chicken
❌ Black Pepper Chicken – Cub Meal
❌ Kung Pao Chicken
❌ Kung Pao Chicken – Cub Meal
❌ Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
❌ Grilled Teriyaki Chicken – Cub Meal
❌ Teriyaki Chicken
❌ Teriyaki Chicken – Cub Meal
❌ Mushroom Chicken
❌ Mushroom Chicken – Cub Meal
❌ Orange Chicken
❌ Orange Chicken – Cub Meal
❌ Potato Chicken
❌ Potato Chicken – Cub Meal

Regardless, let’s dive in and take a closer peek at these chicken dishes to see just why is it that they’re not making it into my Panda Express gluten-free list:

Black Pepper Chicken & Cub Meal: Chicken stir-fried in a black pepper soy-based sauce. Any traditional soy sauce contains wheat, and the sauce is further thickened with wheat starch.

Kung Pao Chicken & Cub Meal: Diced chicken, peanuts, and vegetables in a spicy soy-peanut sauce. Sadly, both the soy sauce and any peanut-chili sauces contain wheat.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken & Cub Meal: Marinated grilled chicken in teriyaki glaze. Teriyaki sauce is soy-based and includes wheat-containing ingredients, too.

Teriyaki Chicken & Cub Meal: Identical to the Grilled Teriyaki but served stir-fried. Again, they use a wheat-containing teriyaki sauce, making it unsafe for celiacs.

Mushroom Chicken & Cub Meal: Chicken and mushrooms in a light brown sauce made with soy sauce and wheat-thickener; another meal that’s not safe for celiacs.

Orange Chicken & Cub Meal: Breaded, fried chicken tossed in a sweet orange-soy glaze. Both the batter and the glaze contain wheat flour and starches.

Potato Chicken & Cub Meal: A newer item featuring battered chicken pieces and potatoes in a savory seasoning. Once again, that batter contains wheat flour.

In short, aside from the white steamed rice, you’re basically not getting anything to eat it with, as the huge chunk of Panda Express’s menu – their poultry dishes – all contain gluten.

As we are seeing here, you get dishes that contain soy sauce (which does carry gluten), or sauces that are thickened with wheat starch, or batter that contains wheat flour! 🐔🌾

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Chicken Breast

Aside from the regular poultry dishes that I’ve mentioned thus far in my Panda Express gluten-free guide, they also have dishes that specifically focus on chicken breast.

The bad news is that, just like the other chicken entrées, these chicken breast meals contain gluten.

Specifically, you’re getting wheat-based batters or soy-containing sauces; an unsafe choice for celiacs! 🐔

❌ Honey Sesame Chicken Breast
❌ Honey Sesame Chicken Breast – Cub Meal
❌ String Bean Chicken Breast
❌ String Bean Chicken Breast – Cub Meal
❌ Sweetfire Chicken Breast
❌ Sweetfire Chicken Breast – Cub Meal
❌ Sweet & Sour Chicken Breast
❌ Sweet & Sour Chicken Breast – Cub Meal

Let’s now break these down even further to see why not a single chicken dish, breast or not, is making it into the Panda Express gluten-free menu:

Honey Sesame Chicken Breast & Cub Meal: Crispy, battered chicken breast pieces tossed in a honey-soy glaze with sesame seeds. Both the batter and the honey-soy sauce include wheat flour and soy sauce (wheat-based).

String Bean Chicken Breast & Cub Meal: Lightly battered white meat pieces stir-fried with a bit of tender green beans in a garlic-soy sauce. The batter and sauce, once again, depend on using wheat starch and soy sauce.

Sweetfire Chicken Breast & Cub Meal: Crispy chicken breast tossed with pineapple, peppers, onions, and a sweet chili sauce. The chicken is coated in wheat flour, and the sauce contains wheat-thickened soy and chili.

Sweet & Sour Chicken Breast & Cub Meal: Battered chicken breast glazed in a classic sweet & sour sauce with pineapples and peppers. Both the breading and that glossy sauce contain at least some wheat-derived ingredients.

Really, if you’re a celiac, it looks like you might just be eating white steamed rice on its own, or if you have the option to, just skip Panda Express entirely and dine somewhere else.

While I do understand that Asian food and cuisine are pretty hard to make gluten-free and adjust them for a celiac-safe diet, I really wish Panda Express had more to offer than this. 🙁🍚🌾

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Beef

Oh, and don’t hold your breath if you’re not too much of a poultry fan, either. For those of you out there who love red meat and want to sample some at Panda Express, I hope you are not a celiac, as there’s nothing for you here, too!

All of their beef entrées contain wheat-containing sauces or batters, making them a no-go for strict gluten-free diets and celiacs. 🐄🍖

❌ Beijing Beef
❌ Beijing Beef – Cub Meal
❌ Black Pepper Sirloin Steak
❌ Black Pepper Sirloin Steak – Cub Meal
❌ Broccoli Beef
❌ Broccoli Beef – Cub Meal

With that in mind, let’s analyze a bit further as to why these beef dishes didn’t make it further into the Panda Express gluten-free menu:

Beijing Beef & Cub Meal: Crispy, battered strips of beef stir-fried with peppers and onions in a sweet-and-tangy soy-based sauce. Both the batter and the sauce contain wheat flour and soy sauce derived from wheat, making them a hazard for celiacs.

Black Pepper Sirloin Steak & Cub Meal: Sliced sirloin wok-seared with onions in a bold black-pepper sauce that’s been thickened with wheat starch and uses soy sauce. Again, this should make it unsafe for celiacs to consume.

Broccoli Beef & Cub Meal: Tender beef slices stir-fried with crisp broccoli in a garlic-soy sauce. The sauce and any marinade include wheat-based soy sauce and wheat starch thickeners. So, another strike against celiacs once more.

Chicken or beef, Panda Express uses a lot of ingredients, sauces, batters, and other items that contain vast traces of wheat and gluten. Similarly, I can’t find anything in their beef menu for celiacs like me to enjoy safely, without going to the hospital! This is a good reminder that for celiac diners or those with severe gluten allergies, Panda Express might not be for you. 🥩

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Seafood

On that note, it’s not like you’re going to find anything in the Panda Express gluten-free menu by jumping into the sea either, as their seafood selection isn’t celiac-safe!

All of their seafood entrées rely on wheat-based batters, marinades, or sauces, making them another danger for celiacs like you and me to try and avoid while dining out at Panda Express. 🌊🍤🌶

❌ Chili Crisp Shrimp
❌ Chili Crisp Shrimp – Cub Meal
❌ Honey Walnut Shrimp
❌ Honey Walnut Shrimp – Cub Meal
❌ Wok-Fired Shrimp
❌ Wok-Fired Shrimp – Cub Meal
❌ Golden Treasure Shrimp
❌ Golden Treasure Shrimp – Cub Meal
❌ Steamed Ginger Fish
❌ Steamed Ginger Fish – Cub Meal

That said, let’s try breaking these down one by one and look at what makes them unfit for our Panda Express gluten-free list:

Chili Crisp Shrimp & Cub Meal: Crispy, lightly battered shrimp tossed in a chili-garlic oil and soy-based sauce. Both the initial batter and the finishing sauce contain wheat flour and soy sauce.

Honey Walnut Shrimp & Cub Meal: Tempura-style battered shrimp coated in a sweet mayo-based glaze and topped with candied walnuts. The tempura batter is made with wheat flour, and the glaze often contains soy or other wheat-derived thickeners.

Wok-Fired Shrimp & Cub Meal: Crisp-fried shrimp wok-tossed in a sweet-spicy sauce. The frying batter is wheat-based, and the sauce is then thickened with wheat starch.

Golden Treasure Shrimp & Cub Meal: Lightly breaded shrimp wok-tossed in a mildly sweet sauce with pineapples, peppers, and onions. The breading uses wheat flour, and the sauce contains soy sauce.

Steamed Ginger Fish & Cub Meal: White fish fillets gently steamed with ginger and scallions in a light soy-ginger broth. Though unbattered, both the broth and marinade are made with wheat-based soy sauce.

More to that, even if some of these dishes are somehow gluten-free and celiac-safe, you can’t escape the fact that all menu items at Panda Express are prepared in shared woks, fryers, and prep stations alongside wheat-containing proteins and sides.

So, if you’re not going to get any gluten in the seafood, you might get it through cross-contamination anyway. 👩‍🍳🍽🦐

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Appetizers

From the very get-go, it looks like Panda Express makes it quite clear that they don’t have any gluten-free dishes, as none of their starters and appetizers are celiac-safe.

Most of them use a wheat wrapper, are cooked in wheat-based batter, or are dredged. Once again, you’re going to have to skip this part of the Panda Express menu if you’re a celiac, too. 🐔🍳🧀

❌ Chicken Egg Roll (1 Roll)
❌ Chicken Potsticker (3 Pcs)
❌ Cream Cheese Rangoon (3 Pcs)
❌ Vegetable Spring Roll (2 Rolls)

Let’s take a closer peek at why these otherwise tasty appetizers didn’t make it into the Panda Express gluten-free menu:

Chicken Egg Roll: Wrapped in a wheat flour skin and deep-fried, these rolls contain both gluten in the wrapper and in the soy-based seasonings within the filling.

Chicken Potsticker: The dumpling wrappers are made from wheat flour, and although lightly pan-fried, they still pose a risk of exposure to other gluten items.

Cream Cheese Rangoon: The crispy wonton wrapper is wheat-based, and even though the filling is dairy-forward, the shell makes it off-limits for celiacs like me.

Vegetable Spring Roll: Like the egg roll, these use a wheat flour wrapper and are deep-fried, so there’s absolutely no way to remove the gluten exposure.

Again, no chance here for any celiacs reading this, so you’re going to have to stick to just their white steamed rice, as every other Panda Express menu item that we’ve looked at so far does contain some traces of soy sauce, wheat, or gluten in them.

The same goes for the appetizers, but let’s continue to look at the rest of the Panda Express menu to see what else it offers. 🐼

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More

This is basically the miscellaneous section of the Panda Express gluten-free menu, as it has all the individual menu items that couldn’t really fit elsewhere.

There’s some hope here that they might finally have something friendly to celiacs and that is actually gluten-free, but I’m not sure if some sauces here or there are really worth the hype, even if they’re safe for us to eat. 🍎🌶

❌ Teriyaki Sauce
❌ Apple Pie Roll
✅ Sweet & Sour Sauce
✅ Chili Sauce
❌ Soy Sauce
❌ Potsticker Sauce
✅ Hot Mustard
✅ Plum Sauce
❌ Fortune Cookie
❌ Chocolate Chunk Cookie
✅ Tree Top Apple Crisps

To better understand why some of these did (and didn’t) make it into the Panda Express gluten-free menu, let’s take a closer look at them:

Teriyaki Sauce: A soy-based glaze that relies on traditional soy sauce (wheat + soy) plus sugar and spices. Thanks to that soy sauce, this one’s not safe for celiacs.

Apple Pie Roll: A sweet hand-roll made from enriched wheat flour dough with apple filling and cinnamon sugar. That sweet hand-roll contains gluten.

Sweet & Sour Sauce: Thickened fruit-vinegar blend (pineapple juice, sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, ketchup). There is no wheat in the standard recipe, and the base ingredients are all gluten-free, though be mindful of cross-contamination.

Chili Sauce: A chile-garlic condiment (chile peppers, sugar, vinegar, water, salt). Made without wheat or soy, and it’s also gluten-free by recipe, but shared prep areas apply.

Soy Sauce: Traditional soy sauce (soybeans + wheat) used for dipping or drizzling. Traditional soy sauce typically contains gluten in the mixture, so it’s not safe for celiacs.

Potsticker Sauce: A blend of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and chili. This is made with wheat-based soy sauce, which contains gluten.

Hot Mustard: Spicy mustard made from mustard seed, vinegar, and water. There’s no wheat in the base ingredients, and it’s gluten-free by recipe, but shared utensils may pose some risk.

Plum Sauce: Sweet fruit sauce (plums, sugar, vinegar, spices, cornstarch). Again, there is no wheat in the ingredients list, and it’s gluten-free by recipe, though cross-contact is something you need to be wary about.

Fortune Cookie: Traditional crisp cookie made from wheat flour, sugar, and sesame oil, and thanks to the wheat-based cookie dough, it’s not safe for celiacs.

Chocolate Chunk Cookie: Large bakery-style cookie baked with enriched wheat flour and some chocolate chunks, which sadly contains gluten.

Tree Top Apple Crisps: Dehydrated apple slices, with 100% fruit that has no wheat or gluten in the base ingredients. It’s also gluten-free by recipe, though it’s packed in facilities that handle wheat, so be mindful of cross-contamination.

At long last, we have more Panda Express gluten-free menu items that aren’t just white steamed rice, and there’s a modest enough selection here, too.

Naturally, I should remind you that even those items marked as gluten-free and celiac-safe here are prepared in the same kitchen, with shared fryers, cutting boards, and utensils that also handle wheat-containing dishes. 👩‍🍳🍴

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Soup

And just like that, we’re back at it again, with even more stuff in the Panda Express menu that celiacs have to avoid at all costs!

While their soups are apparently pretty flavorful and comforting, they use wheat-based ingredients, such as soy sauce and wheat-based thickeners. In other words, if you’re on a strict gluten-free diet, the soups won’t be it for you. 🍲

❌ Hot & Sour Soup – Cup
❌ Hot & Sour Soup – Bowl

To better get an idea as to why a humble soup didn’t make it into our Panda Express gluten-free list of safe menu items, here’s a breakdown:

Hot & Sour Soup (Cup & Bowl): They’re built on a broth seasoned with soy sauce (which does contain wheat) and thickened with wheat-based starches.

There’s not much else to say here, apart from the fact that you should avoid Panda Express’s soups if you’re a fellow celiac. While the soup includes tofu, bamboo shoots, and eggs, these options don’t cancel out the underlying wheat-based ingredients in the broth and seasoning.

Plus, they contain other allergens too, such as soy and egg, among others. 🍳

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Beverages

Regardless, if you’re not able to dine out and eat at Panda Express, at least you can find some refreshing drinks there, as all of these are naturally gluten-free and celiac-safe.

I should point out that there will always be a risk of cross-contamination in the drinks prep station, so if you are a super-sensitive celiac, be mindful before you’re aimlessly drinking them. 🍻🥤

✅ Barq’s Root Beer
✅ Black Tea
✅ Cherry Coca-Cola
✅ Coca-Cola
✅ Coca-Cola Zero Sugar
✅ Diet Coke
✅ Dr Pepper
✅ Fanta Fruit Punch

These drinks are typically served from sealed bottles or fountain machines, which reduces the risk of cross-contact.

Nonetheless, if you have concerns about cross-contamination, consider asking the Panda Express staff to ensure that your drinks come in a sealed bottle or can, if that’s at all possible.

But hey, at least they’re naturally free of that pesky gluten! 🍺🥛

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To Sum Up

Overall, Panda Express offers virtually no gluten-free and celiac-safe entrées or sides, besides their plain steamed white and brown rice.

And, to make matters worse, Panda Express relies on shared kitchen spaces and cooking utensils, as well as the fact that a good portion of their menu contains wheat-heavy and soy sauce-heavy recipes. ✋🚫🐼

It’s not a good look for gluten-free diners when I barely mention the concerns that come with cross-contamination, underscored by the fact that most of Panda Express’s menu isn’t gluten-free in the first place!

For sensitive celiacs, I think it’s best to skip Panda Express entirely, and should you need to visit, maybe limit yourself to a small cup of plain rice and a drink. 🍚 I know, I know, I’m sorry!

Panda Exress Gluten-Free alternatives

And hey, we’ve covered plenty of other casual dining eateries and fast food chains that actually have bucket loads of gluten-free and celiac-safe options, unlike what Panda Express is offering! Say Hello to the “Bunless” burger at McDonald’s!🥗🥪🥩

Let’s start with… McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s, Firehouse Subs, Waffle House, Outback Steakhouse, Red Robin, The Cheesecake Factory, Chick-fil-A, IHOP, Applebee’s, Krispy Kreme, Taco Bell, Buffalo Wild Wings, Olive Garden, Panera Bread, Denny’s, Sonic, Popeyes, Dunkin Donuts, Texas Roadhouse, Five Guys, Chipotle, Starbucks and more! 🍔🍟

That should keep you busy!

Make sure to stay tuned to us here at Great Without Gluten for even more celiac-friendly and gluten-free eating out menu guides!

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Frequently Asked Questions

While reading more about the Panda Express gluten-free menu, I came across some questions that remain unanswered, so here’s my go at answering them:

Does Panda Express offer any certified gluten-free entrees?

No. Their allergen guide confirms that all entrees contain wheat ingredients, and only their plain steamed white rice is truly wheat-free. This severely limits how many options you have while dining out at Panda Express as a celiac.

Is the chili sauce gluten-free?

Some sauces at Panda Express contain wheat or soy as thickeners or flavor bases, so some of them aren’t safe, though a good number of their sauces don’t contain traces of wheat. You’d ideally want to keep checking Panda Express’s Nutrition & Allergen Information page to keep yourself up-to-date.

Can I customize an entrée to be gluten-free?

Even if you try to omit sauce or breading, which isn’t possible at Panda Express, as it will now require changing up the entire recipe, cross-contamination in shared woks and utensils makes it unsafe for celiacs, anyway. Moreover, Panda Express doesn’t really offer as much flexibility with customizing their dishes and menu items.

How can I minimize cross-contact at Panda Express?

Let the staff know about your celiac disease, request fresh gloves and utensils, and consider packing your own toppings. I’d also suggest keeping an eye out on the kitchen staff to make sure that they’re also using a clean prep surface, while being extra careful when handling a dish that you ordered.

Where can I find Panda Express’s full allergen information?

You can find their Nutrition & Allergen Information page on the official Panda Express website, with a thorough breakdown of each menu item’s ingredients list, as well as whatever allergens they might contain, including wheat, that you might have to look out for.

Image attribution

Photo by Kaylar Photo on Unsplash

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