Plant-Based Orange Chicken Is Coming To Panda Express Via Beyond Meat

There’s already a fast-growing market for plant-based American Chinese dishes like Orange Chicken and Honey Walnut Shrimp. Panda Express is taking advantage of that opportunity with a new meat-free version of their legendary Orange Chicken.

Panda teamed up with plant-based meat purveyor Beyond Meat for their new vegan option. Beyond, who just launched their own plant-based tenders, also has meat-free chicken projects ongoing with fast food giants like KFC.

Beyond Meat brought their new plant-based chicken to the collab, while Panda provided their classic Orange Sauce to give the dish its signature flavor without any of the poultry.

For those looking for plant-based side or alternative protein options, Panda recommends any of their sides (Chow Mein, White Rice, Brown Rice, or Veggies) and also has an Eggplant Tofu entree. With this new partnership with Beyond Meat, there’s also an open opportunity for the two to collab more in the future. Plant-based Ma Po Tofu, anyone?

Panda’s plant-based Orange Chicken will be available in select locations in New York and Southern California starting July 26th for a limited time. One can only hope that this will eventually scale to a nationwide, permanent menu item for plant-based or flexitarian consumers.