Chinese-American fast food chain Panda Express announces the brand will trial two new Beyond Meat dishes from now until February 23.
Available exclusively at the Panda Express Innovation Kitchen in Pasadena, CA, this marks the second menu collaboration between the two companies. Last year, Panda tested Beyond the Original Orange Chicken, a plant-based take on the company’s famous Orange Chicken entree item. The limited-time run became one of the company’s most successful regional launches ever, with the product experiencing sell-out demand in California and New York.
For the latest trial, Panda will offer plant-based Beyond Meat in dishes usually made with minced beef or pork:
- Mapo Tofu with Beyond Beef – Panda’s second tofu dish, made with small bits of firm tofu and Beyond Beef, tossed in a Sichuan garlic sauce. Best served over white rice.
- String Beans With Beyond Beef – Fresh string beans cooked with Beyond Beef in a savory garlic sauce. Can be paired with Eggplant Tofu and Chow Mein.
Panda says the Beyond Beef is made from peas and brown rice, and contains no GMOs, soy, gluten or cholesterol. Though the dishes are fully plant-based, the company notes they will be prepared on the same cooking equipment as meat-based items.
A new take on classic dishes
Panda Express is the largest Asian-segment restaurant chain in North America, with over 2,000 locations worldwide. The Pasadena Innovation Kitchen serves as a testing ground where chefs develop new flavors and menu items in a real-time restaurant setting. Beyond Meat’s Chicken and Beef are the first major vegan options offered by the chain, who removed chicken broth from vegetable-based entrees in 2019.
With the newest plant-based creations, the company says guests can look forward to the same “bold American Chinese flavors that they know and love from Panda.”
