Muscle Gain
What to Order at Panda Express to Bulk Up as a Skinny Guy
Grilled Teriyaki Chicken has the most protein at Panda Express (38 g). A Bigger Plate built around it with rice gives 70-90 g protein to bulk up.
Published
The short answer
To bulk up at Panda Express, order a Bigger Plate with white rice or fried rice and at least one scoop of Grilled Teriyaki Chicken, which has 38 grams of protein in a single serving. Fill the other entree spots with Broccoli Beef, Black Pepper Sirloin Steak or Kung Pao Chicken. That gets you roughly 1,100 to 1,300 calories and 70 to 90 grams of protein, while sweet, fried entrees like Orange Chicken add calories with much less protein.
Panda Express is cheap, it's everywhere, and the portions are big. For a skinny guy trying to eat 3,000 calories a day, that sounds perfect. The catch is that the most popular order, a scoop of chow mein with Orange Chicken and Beijing Beef, is loaded with calories but surprisingly light on protein.
The good news: with a couple of smart swaps, a Panda Express plate can be one of the best bulking meals in fast food. Here's what to order, based on Panda's own published nutrition numbers.
Is Panda Express good for bulking?#
Yes, if you build the plate around protein. A bulk needs two things from food: a calorie surplus and enough protein to turn that surplus into muscle. A 2018 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that muscle gains from lifting leveled off at around 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. For a 150-pound (68 kg) guy, that's about 110 grams a day, or 30 to 40 grams per meal.
Panda Express makes the calories easy. The rice and noodle sides alone run 520 to 610 calories per serving. The protein is where you have to choose carefully, because the entrees range from 38 grams per serving down to 13.
What has the most protein at Panda Express?#
Grilled Teriyaki Chicken wins by a mile. Here's how the entrees stack up, using the serving sizes on Panda Express's nutrition page:
| Entree | Calories | Protein | Protein per 100 cal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grilled Teriyaki Chicken | 280 | 38 g | 13.6 g |
| Broccoli Beef | 190 | 17 g | 8.9 g |
| Black Pepper Sirloin Steak | 200 | 17 g | 8.5 g |
| Black Pepper Chicken* | 200 | 15 g | 7.5 g |
| Kung Pao Chicken | 270 | 20 g | 7.4 g |
| Mushroom Chicken | 180 | 13 g | 7.2 g |
| String Bean Chicken Breast | 210 | 15 g | 7.1 g |
| SweetFire Chicken Breast* | 360 | 15 g | 4.2 g |
| Honey Walnut Shrimp | 340 | 13 g | 3.8 g |
| Honey Sesame Chicken Breast | 420 | 16 g | 3.8 g |
| The Original Orange Chicken | 560 | 19 g | 3.4 g |
| Beijing Beef | 480 | 14 g | 2.9 g |
*Regional or limited-time item. Nutrition is per Panda's listed entree portion (about 4.5 to 7 oz) as of October 2026. Scoops are hand-served, so your plate will vary. Check Panda's site for current numbers.
Notice the split. The grilled and stir-fried entrees give you 7 to 14 grams of protein per 100 calories. The battered, sweet-sauced ones (Orange Chicken, Beijing Beef, Honey Sesame, Honey Walnut Shrimp) give you less than 4. They're not "bad," but they fill your stomach without doing much for your muscles.
Which Panda Express side is best for bulking?#
White steamed rice or fried rice, because you need the carbs and calories. Per Panda's nutrition page:
- Fried Rice: 610 calories, 15 g protein
- White Steamed Rice: 570 calories, 11 g protein
- Chow Mein: 520 calories, 14 g protein
- Super Greens: 180 calories, 8 g protein
Fried rice edges out the others on both calories and protein, thanks to the egg. White rice is the cleanest option and has no sodium of its own, which helps balance saltier entrees. Chow mein is fine too.
Super Greens is a great side when you're cutting, but on a bulk it leaves 400 calories on the table. If you want some vegetables, ask for half rice and half Super Greens, or add a Super Greens entree.
What's the best Panda Express order to bulk up?#
A Bigger Plate (one side and three entrees) with at least one Grilled Teriyaki Chicken. Here are four builds using Panda's published numbers:
| Order | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Double Teriyaki Plate: White rice + 2 Grilled Teriyaki Chicken | 1,130 | 87 g |
| Lean Bulk Bigger Plate: White rice + Grilled Teriyaki Chicken + Broccoli Beef + Black Pepper Sirloin Steak | 1,240 | 83 g |
| Fried Rice Plate: Fried rice + Grilled Teriyaki Chicken + Kung Pao Chicken | 1,160 | 73 g |
| Orange Chicken Fix: Chow mein + Orange Chicken + Grilled Teriyaki Chicken | 1,360 | 71 g |
For comparison, the classic chow mein, Orange Chicken and Beijing Beef plate comes to about 1,560 calories but only 47 grams of protein. Swapping the Beijing Beef for Grilled Teriyaki Chicken nearly triples the protein in that slot (14 g to 38 g).
The Double Teriyaki Plate is the best all-around bulking order: almost 90 grams of protein, plenty of carbs, and room to add more. The Orange Chicken Fix is for when you want the orange chicken anyway. Pair it with teriyaki and you still clear 70 grams of protein.
How do you add more calories at Panda Express?#
Add a side, an appetizer or a sauce, depending on how big your appetite is:
- Upgrade to a Bigger Plate instead of a Plate. The third entree is the cheapest protein upgrade on the menu.
- Add a second side or order an extra side of rice. Another 500 to 600 calories, mostly carbs.
- Grab an appetizer. Chicken Potstickers (3 pieces) are 160 calories and 6 g of protein; a Chicken Egg Roll is 200 calories and 6 g.
- Pour on teriyaki sauce. A packet is 70 calories, all from carbs and sugar. Fine on a bulk, just don't rely on it for calories.
- Save half for later. If you can't finish a Bigger Plate in one sitting, eat half now and half as a second meal a few hours later. That's two high-protein meals for the price of one.
Skip the regular soda if you're short on protein. A large (30 oz) Coca-Cola adds 360 calories of pure sugar. On a bulk, those calories aren't the problem, but they fill you up without building anything. A protein shake later in the day is a better use of that room.
What should you watch out for at Panda Express?#
Sodium. Many Panda entrees are salty: Kung Pao Chicken has 1,300 mg and Black Pepper Chicken 1,070 mg per serving, and chow mein adds another 1,040 mg. Panda's own nutrition page notes that the Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting sodium to 2,300 mg a day for a typical adult. One Bigger Plate can get you close to that.
That's not a reason to avoid Panda, but it's a reason to:
- Pick white rice (0 mg) when your entrees are on the salty side.
- Drink plenty of water with the meal.
- Keep the rest of your day lighter on salty foods like deli meat and chips.
If you're also watching sodium for blood pressure reasons, see our guide to low-sodium restaurant orders. For more ways to order at Chinese restaurants in general, check out healthy Chinese and Thai takeout.
How does a Panda Express meal fit into a bulking day?#
One Bigger Plate covers roughly 40% of a 3,000-calorie day and most of your protein in a single meal. The rest of the day just needs to fill in the gaps. For example:
- Breakfast: eggs, a bagel with peanut butter and a glass of whole milk.
- Lunch: the Double Teriyaki Plate at Panda Express.
- Snack: Greek yogurt with granola and a banana.
- Dinner: a home-cooked rice bowl with ground beef, or the second half of your Panda plate.
Our list of the best foods to bulk up for skinny guys has more ideas for the rest of the day, and the full bulking plan for skinny guys shows how to set your calorie and protein targets.
When you're at a Chinese restaurant that doesn't publish nutrition info, Menu Scan AI can help. Snap a photo of the menu and it estimates calories, protein, carbs and fat for each dish, then ranks them against a muscle-gain goal, so you can find the local equivalent of the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken in seconds.
Frequently asked questions#
What has the most protein at Panda Express?#
Grilled Teriyaki Chicken, with 38 grams of protein and 280 calories per serving according to Panda Express's nutrition information. That's about twice the protein of most other entrees. Kung Pao Chicken (20 g), Broccoli Beef (17 g) and Black Pepper Sirloin Steak (17 g) come next.
Is Orange Chicken good for bulking?#
It's high in calories (560 per serving) but relatively low in protein (19 g), so it's not the most efficient bulking choice. If you love it, pair it with Grilled Teriyaki Chicken on a Plate or Bigger Plate so the meal still delivers 70 grams of protein or more.
How many calories are in a Panda Express Bigger Plate?#
It depends on what you pick: anywhere from about 750 calories with Super Greens and lean entrees to over 2,000 with fried rice and three battered, sweet-sauced entrees. A white rice Bigger Plate with Grilled Teriyaki Chicken, Broccoli Beef and Black Pepper Sirloin Steak is about 1,240 calories and 83 grams of protein, using Panda's published serving sizes.
Is fried rice or chow mein better for bulking?#
Fried rice has slightly more calories and protein: 610 calories and 15 grams of protein versus 520 calories and 14 grams for chow mein. Either works on a bulk. White rice is a good choice too, especially when your entrees are high in sodium, since it contains none.
What is the healthiest high-protein order at Panda Express?#
A Bowl with Grilled Teriyaki Chicken and Super Greens is about 460 calories and 46 grams of protein, based on Panda's listed 280 calories and 38 grams for the chicken and 180 calories and 8 grams for Super Greens. Swap the Super Greens for white rice or fried rice when you need more calories to bulk.
Sources#
- Panda Express: Nutrition & Allergen Information, calories, protein and sodium for every entree, side, appetizer, sauce and drink, and the 2,300 mg sodium guideline
- Morton et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine (2018), muscle gains leveling off around 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight per day