Panda Express debuted their first ever dessert in the fall of 2023 for their 40th anniversary and while all of that is exciting, the question we all have is, is it vegan-friendly?
What Are The Ingredients of Panda Express’ Apple Pie Roll?
Per Panda Express’ ingredient list, the Apple Pie Roll contains:
wheat flour, apple, sugar, water, sugar, soybean oil, modified food starch, corn starch, wheat gluten, cinnamon, salt, xanthan gum.
Be aware that Panda Express does NOT consider any of their menu items to be vegan-friendly even though there are many that contain no animal ingredients.
This is where your comfort zone comes in on whether you are ok with cross-contamination and what is considered, “accidentally vegan.”
Our definition of, “accidentally vegan” is:
This is a widely used term in the vegan world, with Oreos being the most common used example. Accidently Vegan foods are those that were not created or intended for vegans specifically but they just so happen to not have any animal derived ingredients… except for potentially the sugar, specifically refined white sugar.
See more of our disclaimers, here
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So back to our original question… is Panda Express’ Apple Pie Roll vegan?
Yes. We consider Panda Express’ Apple Pie Roll to be accidentally vegan.
What Is The Nutrition Information in Panda Express’ Apple Pie Roll?
According to Panda Express’ nutrition information page, 1 (one) Apple Pie Roll contains:
Calories: 150
Fat: 3 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 90 mg
Carbs: 30 g
Dietary Fiber: 1 g
Sugar: 13 g
Protein: 2 g
What Is The VeggL Review For Panda Express’ Apple Pie Roll?
Ryan and I have varying thoughts on Panda Express’ Apple Pie Roll.
I (Jen) happen to really like it! I thought it was a tasty little dessert after my Super Greens and Brown Rice with teriyaki sauce.
The apple pie filling was just as an apple pie filling should be. Ryan pulled the ends apart to expose the inside and to half it for us. The apples were soft and it had that gooey apple pie filling goodness. The outside was a roll of flaky dough with cinnamon sugar on the outside.
Ryan mostly agreed with my sentiments on the Apple Pie Roll except for two criticisms. He was expecting the outside to have a bit of a crunch like an apple pie crust or even like the Veggie Spring Rolls at Panda Express. His experience is that it’s a bit too soft.
And while I agree that it could have been crunchier, I didn’t mind it not being. A tip if you happen to order one and take it home. –> put it in your air fryer for a couple of minutes to get it crunchier. Then while you’re at it, add a bite of vegan ice cream… 😉
The other issue he had is that he doesn’t think $2 is a fair price for one of these when you can 2 Veggie Spring Rolls for $2.
Obviously different ingredients… who knows why they chose $2.00 for one but it is what it is.
Definitely try it once.
Then you can decide if it’s worth the $2.00 the next time you visit.
What Else Can I Order Vegan at Panda Express?
Again, I’m going to reiterate what I mentioned earlier. Panda Express does not call anything vegan due to cross-contamination so everything you see here does not contain any animal ingredients but may have shared prep and/or cooking surfaces with animal menu items.
Unless you are choosing 100% vegan restaurants, this will always be a potential concern.
You choose your level of comfort.
Our favorites from Panda Express are:
- Veggie Spring Rolls
- Super Greens
- Chow Mein
- Steamed Rice (brown or white)
Visit our Vegan Guide for Panda Express to see all of their vegan options. And if you have any additional questions, we may have answered them in our FAQ section.
In Conclusion…
We love that Panda Express is now offering a dessert to complete our “accidentally vegan” meal but can we be honest… we really miss their Beyond Orange Chicken. While Panda Express is still a restaurant we can visit as vegans*, it doesn’t feel like one I would get excited about since they had those various Beyond Orange Chicken roll-outs.
Our visit was nice though. I do enjoy mixing their Super Greens with Brown Rice and topping it with Teriyaki Sauce. Ryan ordered a large side of their Chow Mein and we shared a couple of Veggie Spring Rolls.
