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This Panda Express Mushroom Chicken made at home tastes even better than the restaurant’s popular dish! Tender chicken, hearty mushrooms and signature sauce is done faster than you can get takeout.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients in Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Recipe
- For the chicken and veggies:
- Panda Express Ginger Soy Sauce:
- Substitutions and Additions
- Cuts of Chicken to Use in Mushroom Chicken
- Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Sauce
- How to Store Leftovers
- Frequently asked Questions
- Other Panda Express Entrée Recipes (and more Asian-Inspired Entrees)
- How to Make Panda Express Mushroom Chicken
- Panda Express Mushroom Chicken (Copycat Recipe)
Panda Express Mushroom Chicken is so easy to make at home! There’s something so comforting about using fresh ingredients and creating a meal in your own kitchen. It takes less time to throw together than it does to get in your car, drive to the restaurant and pick it up. I drive by a Panda Express every day, and yet I still choose to make this copycat Panda Express mushroom chicken with fresh vegetables and chicken for an easy and yummy weeknight dinner. If you’re craving a good Chinese takeout chicken mushroom recipe, this is the one to try!
Ingredients in Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Recipe
The name alone gives away two key ingredients: chicken and mushrooms. Add in thick slices of zucchini and you’re well on your way to making a healthier, simpler version of the popular chicken recipe. Here’s all you need:
For the chicken and veggies:
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs – two pounds of chicken makes a lot of food for 4-6 people. Try to avoid the bone-in thighs; they’re just harder to eat with this meal. You can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken cutlets.
- Corn starch – about a third cup, which will help give the chicken its crispy fried texture.
- Olive oil – five tablespoons. You can use extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil.
- Mushrooms – one cup fresh mushrooms, sliced however thick you like. Use baby bella mushrooms, cremini mushrooms or any of your favorites.
- Soy sauce – use low-sodium soy sauce to cut down on the salt in the recipe. It tastes very similar to regular.
- Zucchini – about 2 medium zucchini, cut into ½ inch pieces.
Panda Express Ginger Soy Sauce:
- Chicken broth – one cup of your favorite chicken stock or broth
- Soy sauce – again, you can use low sodium soy sauce
- White cooking wine – two tablespoons of dry white wine. If you can’t find any in your store, you can add a little more chicken broth.
- Rice vinegar – two tablespoons. You can find this in the Asian foods aisle of your grocery store.
- Garlic – two teaspoons, crushed. That’s about two cloves garlic. Use as much or as little garlic as you like.
- Fresh ginger – two teaspoons, grated or finely chopped. You can buy fresh ginger and keep it in the freezer for several months.
- Brown sugar – one teaspoon, packed
- Cornstarch – three tablespoons, which you’ll mix with water to create a thickening agent for the sauce.
- Water – one quarter cup
Serve over steamed rice or brown rice or lo mein noodles.
Substitutions and Additions
No zucchini at home? No problem! That’s the beauty of this Panda Express Mushroom Chicken copycat recipe. Try some of these veggies and starches in this recipe and create different variations of a bowl every time.
- Broccoli
- Green pepper
- Carrots
- Cauliflower rice instead of rice pasta
- Garnish with sesame seeds
- Diced onions or a sprinkle of onion powder
- Green beans
- Fresh parsley, fresh thyme or other fresh herbs
- Diced red potatoes
- Dijon mustard
- Parmesan cheese
- Lemon juice
- If the chicken needs more flavor, try adding a teaspoon salt.
Cuts of Chicken to Use in Mushroom Chicken
Panda Express typically uses chicken thighs for mushroom chicken. The dark meat has more flavor and fat and is actually cheaper to buy. But if you’d like a healthier version, opt for bite size chunks of boneless chicken breasts or tenderloin. I actually prefer chicken breasts in this recipe, but my husband enjoys the darker meat. However, white meat can get a little dry, so make sure not to overcook the chicken. Use canola oil or sesame oil to sear the chicken in a hot pan before adding the marinade and liquid.
Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Sauce
We did a side-by-side comparison of both the Mushroom Chicken and the Panda Express String Bean Chicken recipe and concluded the sauce for both of these recipes is exactly the same! Even on the Panda website, for both recipes they say the chicken is “tossed in a light ginger soy sauce”. The mushrooms may give the sauce for this recipe a deeper flavor but the base sauce recipe is the same. So whip up a double batch of sauce and enjoy two favorite copycat recipes at once.
How to Store Leftovers
Keep leftovers in an airtight container for easy storage in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in the microwave for about a minute or so, stirring often.
Frequently asked Questions
This is our copycat recipe that contains the same main ingredients as the restaurant including chicken breast, zucchini, and mushrooms stir-fried in a soy ginger sauce.
Most Panda Express recipes from the actual restaurant are NOT gluten-free. However, I have family members that are gluten intolerant so I’ve made it multiple times GF! For this recipe, all you need to do is use GF soy sauce and just make sure the broth you are using is gluten free. That’s it!
READ MORE: 35+ Easy Family Dinner Ideas
Other Panda Express Entrée Recipes (and more Asian-Inspired Entrees)
We have created delicious copycat recipes to many of your Asian restaurant favorites. Make them all for your next big bash or Friday night date night.
With our simple recipes, you can have an entire Chinese feast in no time. Pair this Mushroom Chicken recipe with a few more of our favorites:
How to Make Panda Express Mushroom Chicken
Panda Express Mushroom Chicken (Copycat Recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 cup white mushrooms, sliced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ pound zucchini, cut into ½-inch pieces
Ginger Soy Sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons white cooking wine
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons crushed garlic
- 2 teaspoons grated or finely chopped fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss in cornstarch until each piece is well coated. Set aside.
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in large skillet or wok.
- Add chicken pieces to skillet one at a time, spacing them apart far enough that they aren’t touching. Cook for about 5-6 minutes per side or until the outside of the chicken is golden brown and is cooked through all the way.
- Remove cooked chicken from skillet, cover, and set aside. Wipe skillet clean. Place skillet back on stovetop over medium-high heat and add remaining 2 tablespoons oil.
- Add mushrooms and soy sauce. Saute for about 1 minute. Add zucchini and saute until the zucchini is just cooked through. Do not overcook; the zucchini should still have some bite to it.
- Add chicken back to the skillet and stir in the ginger soy sauce until chicken and veggies are all covered in sauce.
- Serve immediately with rice or chow mein.
Ginger Soy Sauce
- Combine chicken broth, soy sauce, white wine, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
- In a small bowl, stir cornstarch and water together. Slowly add the mixture to the sauce, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens. You may not need all of the cornstarch mixture. Remove from heat and set aside until ready to use.
Video
Notes
- Broccoli
- Green bell pepper
- Carrots
- Diced onions or a sprinkle of onion powder
- Green beans
- Fresh parsley, fresh thyme, or other fresh herbs
- Sesame seeds
I substituted the chicken (did not have boneless thighs) for chuck steak which I cut up into bite size pieces. I substituted the white cooking wine with 1 tbs of ACV and I did not have any rice vinegar, so I used just 1tbs of balsamic vinegar. I cooked the beef with the sauce in a slow cooker on high for 2 hours first, I then added the mushrooms, onions, and zucchini for the last hour. It is delicious because the sauce has permeated all ingredients perfectly. It taste just like Panda Express! Will definitely make it again.
OMG!!! This is an amazing hidden jewel. My Hubby, who rarely comments on food items, was complimentary!! The picky Granddaughter repeatedly said “So Good!”. Thanks for sharing and I hope more find their way.
Where do you buy “white cooking wine”? Are we talking just regular wine I would drink? I don’t drink so I’m clueless, what could I substitute?
Thanks!!
Any white wine at the grocery store will work! A substitute would be some chicken broth and a squeeze of lemon juice!
Use a white wine you would drink. I have some mirin that I’m going to use.
Added onions with mushrooms. Doubled the sauce. Needed to add more brown sugar to sweeten the sauce. It was something I will make again.
I love this. Just hoping I can make as good as they do
I thought that this was a great recipe. But I too felt it was too salty. I think that next time I am going to have to use less sauce. Also less starch mix. Not quite Panda, but far better for the frugal household. This recipe makes a great amount too.
This was soo good! It did take me a lot longer than 15 minutes, though. I wonder if I could freeze this or make it into a freezer meal of some kind to save time?
Yes, you can freeze the chicken. I would recommend preparing without the vegetables though and cooking them separate after freezing. Mushrooms don’t freeze well. Hope this helps!
Everything looked great until we tasted it and it was way too salty. If I made it again I’d use low sodium soy sauce and half the sauce. Even my hubby who loves salt said yikes.
Oh no LeAnne! I am so sorry to hear this! You can also use low-sodium broth as well. I double-checked the chicken broth I used and I realized I used the lower-sodium broth from Costco so I am guessing why mine didn’t turn out as salty. I made some adjustments to the recipe so hopefully those who try it in the future won’t have the same problem. Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know so I could re-evaluate the recipe!