Best Panda Express Orders for a Cut

At Panda Express, the side often matters more than the entrée. Super Greens with Grilled Teriyaki Chicken comes to about 405 calories and 42 grams of protein in Zolt's current calculator. Swap the greens for chow mein and the same chicken bowl gains roughly 370 calories.

Build your exact Bowl, Plate, or Bigger Plate in the Panda Express nutrition calculator.

Five useful combinations

These totals use the portions in Zolt's Panda Express calculator, reviewed August 19, 2026. Panda Express changes items and serving specifications; compare with the current official nutrition page when precision or an allergen matters. Restaurant portions remain estimates.

The easy default

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken is listed at 275 calories with 33 grams of protein. Super Greens add 130 calories and 9 grams of protein in the current Zolt data.

Together, the bowl lands at roughly 405 calories and 42 grams of protein. That is enough protein for a full meal without ordering a double entrée.

Extra teriyaki sauce packets are separate. Log them if you use them, since the amount of sauce changes the meal.

Keep the Orange Chicken if that is why you came

Orange Chicken is 420 calories with 15 grams of protein per listed serving. With Super Greens, the bowl is about 550 calories and 24 grams of protein.

Orange Chicken has a weaker protein-to-calorie ratio than the grilled chicken. It can still fit. Pairing it with greens instead of chow mein saves roughly 370 calories in the current calculator.

That is also the recurring advice in a highly discussed r/PandaExpress thread: use the greens side to create room for the entrée you enjoy. Serving estimates vary throughout the comments, so the thread is useful for the ordering idea rather than the numbers.

The side is the main decision

Rice and noodles take up a large share of the meal's calories. A mixed side gives you some of either one without committing the full portion. Log the split as closely as the serving allows.

Entrées worth comparing

Panda Express meals can be high in sodium even when calories are modest. The next scale reading may be higher from temporary water retention, which is different from gaining the same amount of body fat. Read how to interpret a noisy scale trend.

What to order at three calorie levels

The protein default

• Bowl with Super Greens
• Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
• Water or a zero-calorie drink
• About 405 calories and 42g protein

The light bowl

• Bowl with Super Greens
• Broccoli Beef
• About 260 calories and 19g protein

At 260 calories, this is a light meal. It may not hold you until the next planned meal.

The Orange Chicken compromise

• Bowl with Super Greens
• Orange Chicken
• About 550 calories and 24g protein

Here, the side does the calorie-saving work while Orange Chicken stays in the order.

Check the whole order

Set an initial intake with the cutting calculator, then use the Panda Express calculator to compare the side, entrée, and sauce together.

Zolt's adaptive TDEE learns from your logged intake and weight trend over time. One salty meal can make tomorrow's scale noisy; the longer trend is what should drive changes.