Panda Express is one of America’s most popular Chinese restaurants, serving a mix of traditional Chinese cuisine and American Chinese dishes to millions of diners every day. If you’re looking for quick, filling and tasty meal options, then you can find what you need at Panda Express. With many options to choose from, it may be hard to keep track of the nutritional value of each dish. Knowing how many calories are in a bowl at Panda Express can help you make an educated decision on which dish is the healthiest for you. Read on for information about the calorie content in a bowl at Panda Express.
What is Panda Express?
Panda Express is one of the largest and most popular Chinese-American fast food restaurant chains in the United States. Founded in 1983, the iconic brand operates over 2,100 restaurants across 49 states and 19 other countries. Its menu consists of delicious Chinese-American dishes such as Orange Chicken, Beijing Beef, SweetFire Chicken Breast, Kung Pao Chicken, Shanghai Angus Steak, Honey Walnut Shrimp, and Chow Mein.
Although Panda Express serves a variety of entrees that can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet, it’s important to be aware of portion sizes and nutritional values when consuming any food item. This includes being conscious of how many calories are present in your bowl. Depending on the chosen components (meat or non-meat proteins), side items (rice or chow mein), sauce (ginger sesame sauce or black pepper sauce) and topping (broccoli or mushrooms), a single bowl at Panda Express can contain anything between 340 to 790 calories.
Types of Dishes Offered
Panda Express is an American-Chinese fast casual restaurant chain. As the largest Asian-cuisine fast food restaurant in the U.S., they offer a wide variety of dishes, including classic Chinese dumplings, bowls, and sides. Many dishes are cooked in their special wok process with no added MSG. While many people know Panda Express for its signature sweet and sour chicken, it also offers several healthy options that are low in calories and fat.
Types of Dishes Offered:
– Chow Mein and Fried Rice: Panda Express offers both chow mein and fried rice as part of their main entrees. A single bowl of either dish ranges from 350 to 460 calories depending on ingredients such as chicken or shrimp.
– Grilled Teriyaki Chicken: A lower calorie entree option at Panda Express, grilled teriyaki chicken bowls contain only 190 calories per bowl when served with a cup of steamed white or brown rice.
– Mixed Veggie Bowls: Among the healthiest options available at Panda Express is the Vegetable Lo Mein dish which contains 140 calories per bowl when served with steamed white or brown rice, or 250 calories with fried rice.
– Side Dishes: Some light side options at Panda Express includes Egg Drop Soup (70 calories), Crab Wonton (150 Calories) Super Greens (30 Calories) Steamed Green Beans (20 Calories).
Nutrition Information
It’s important to understand exactly what is in the food that you are consuming. Knowing the nutrition information can help you make informed decisions and maintain a balanced, healthy diet. In this article, we’ll discuss the various nutritional values of a bowl at Panda Express. We’ll provide you with the calorie and macronutrient information so that you can make informed decisions.
Calories
When choosing dishes at Panda Express, it’s important to be aware of the calorie count and nutrition facts. Each entree entree, side, and sauce contains varying amounts of calories, fat, protein, sodium and carbohydrates. Calories are an important factor when selecting what to eat since consuming considered amounts helps maintain a balanced diet.
Calorie counts for the main entrees served at Panda Express vary widely. For example:
• Orange Chicken contains 400 calories
• Kung Pao Chicken contains 480 calories
• Grilled Teriyaki Chicken contains 380 calories
• Mushroom Chicken contains 330 calories
• String Bean Chicken Breast contain 250 Calories
• Black Pepper Angus Steak contain 360 Calories
The sides and sauces vary in calorie content as well, so it is still important to read their respective nutrition labels before making your final choice. Sweet Ginger Broccoli just one side serving would contribute 80 additional calories when added to a meal. Soy Sesame sauce accounts for 80 additional calories as well with one serving added to an entrée. Of course these counts don’t reflect any additional ingredients or modifications that you might make before consuming these items at home or out dining at Panda Express restaurant location across the United States or internationally in other parts of the world.
Fat
When it comes to nutritional information, Panda Express offers a range of dishes that are low in fat, as well as those containing higher levels of it. For example, a bowl of Honey Walnut Shrimp contains 12g of fat per serving, while Kung Pao Chicken contains 9.5g. Other popular dishes with lower-fat content include Orange Chicken (11g), Beijing Beef (6.5g), and Broccoli Beef (7.5g). On the other hand, choices that are higher in fat include Chow Mein (17g), Mushroom Chicken (25.4), and Eggplant Tofu (14). When deciding on what to order the best way to keep track is by using the “Nutrition Calculator” on Panda Express’ website, which provides detailed information about calories, fat content and more for each dish available on the menu.
Carbs
Carbohydrates like complex carbs from vegetable sources are an important part of any well-rounded and nutritious meal. One bowl of Panda Express includes a range of carbohydrates depending on what items you choose. Carb-containing ingredients in Panda Express dishes include things like honey snow peas, white rice, chow mein noodles, orange chicken breast, string beans or broccoli. It’s best to check the nutrition information before ordering to see how many carbs are in the exact combination that you choose.
Many options at Panda Express contain no carbs or very few if you are looking to limit this macronutrient. You can find a list of carb-free menu items like steamed vegetables and steak as well as carb-containing side orders like white rice and brown fried rice on their website. It’s best to analyze the nutrition guide before placing your order so you can make healthier choices according to your individual Health & Diet preferences.
Protein
Protein is an essential macronutrient that plays a crucial role in many bodily functions. Not only does protein provide the body with energy, but it also helps build and maintain muscles, bones, skin and blood. It also supports proper function of enzymes and hormones. On average, adults need 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.
Animal proteins such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and dairy are complete proteins because they contain all nine essential amino acids the body needs but cannot produce on its own—histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine+cysteine (amino acid linkers), phenylalanine+tyrosine (amino acid linkers), threonine, tryptophan and valine. These must be consumed from dietary sources in order to obtain these important nutrients.
Additionally some plant-based proteins such as grains are incomplete proteins because they lack one or more essential amino acids — unless combined with another plant source to make up a complete protein pairing — so vegetarians should pay close attention to their food choices to make sure they’re getting enough nourishment each day. Examples of incomplete protein sources include quinoa, chia seeds nuts grains (rice , oat , oatmeal , wheat ) legumes (beans peas lentils ) vegetables (broccoli spinach potatoes)and fruits (apples oranges bananas).
Popular Bowls
A popular Panda Express bowl can be a great meal choice if you’re looking for fast and tasty food. A Panda Express bowl can range in calories depending on the toppings and sauces you choose. Here we’ll look at some of the most popular bowls at Panda Express and how many calories they contain.
Orange Chicken Bowl
Panda Express’ Orange Chicken Bowl is a popular bowl choice due to its delicious combination of breaded chicken with oranges and vegetables. The bowl is made up of steamed white rice topped with orange chicken, broccoli, and red bell peppers. Nutritionally, this bowl contains 620 calories, with 24 grams of fat and 82 grams of carbohydrates. It also provides 41 grams of protein and 590 milligrams of sodium. Panda Express’ Orange Chicken Bowl is an excellent option for those looking for a delicious meal while still remaining calorie conscious; it also includes some healthy omega-3 fatty acids from the broccoli as well as vitamins A, C, E and K from the bell peppers and oranges.
Beijing Beef Bowl
The Beijing Beef Bowl from Panda Express is a combination of beef, onions, and string beans in a savory brown sauce. It comes in two sizes — regular (520 calories) and large (640 calories). The bowl also contains 36g of protein and 990mg of sodium. It offers 6g of fat but only 1g is saturated fat. The dish is prepared with premium USDA-select beef that is cooked with the same preparation process such as steaming, marinating, and pan-searing that’s used for entrees at trendy Asian fusion restaurants. This bowl provides 25% of the recommended amount for Vitamins A & C, as well for Iron. Additionally, it’s very low in cholesterol and does not contain any trans fat or MSG.
Kung Pao Chicken Bowl
The Kung Pao Chicken Bowl from Panda Express is a delicious, flavorful dish that packs plenty of protein and vegetables. This bowl includes sautéed chicken, peanuts, celery, onions, and bell peppers, simmered in a sweet-spicy sauce. It is served on top of white rice or fried brown rice with chow mein noodles on the side.
In total, this bowl contains 400 calories. Of those calories, 18% come from Protein (36 g), 72% come from Carbohydrates (66 g), and 10% come from Fat (10 g). It also contains 440 mg of Sodium and 7 g of dietary fiber. This balanced meal can help you meet your recommended daily values for essential vitamins and minerals including: Vitamin A (10%), Vitamin C (25%), Calcium (20%) and Iron (15%).
Kung Pao Chicken is an excellent choice if you’re looking for something with a little zing that won’t leave you feeling too full afterwards. Its relatively low calorie count will help you stick to your diet yet still enjoy the flavors that Panda Express has to offer!
