Panda Express Fried Rice Copycat

6 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Panda Express Fried Rice is the most popular copycat takeout recipe! Salty and savory fluffy rice with veggies and eggs mixed in.

Serve this rice as a great counterpart with other Panda Express Copycat recipes like Beijing Beef or Orange Chicken and have your favorite two entree Chinese Food plate…at home!

 Panda Express Fried Rice is the most popular side ordered and with good reason. Salty and savory, with veggies mixed in the rice is a great counterpart to your favorite two entree plate...at home!

Whether you enjoy Chinese Food as a Christmas or holiday tradition, or for any night you’re in the mood, you’ll love making Panda Express Fried Rice for its versatility with any Asian meal.

This recipe benefits from cold already cooked rice. You can use white or brown, though white is more authentic to Panda Express. There are many other additions you can add to a non copycat version of fried rice, but to be authentic to Panda Express (I have spoken with and watched people at the restaurants about the method and ingredients) you should really keep it simple.

It’s best to cook fried rice (and most Asian stir fries) in a wok. This recipe really benefits from the spoon and spatula that come with some wok sets. Alternately, use a metal spatula that can be used as a scraper too along with a spoon.

Years ago there was a change in the recipe Panda Express uses in their fried rice. They had been using eggs but swapped eggs for corn for ingredient cost related reasons. It was a bad move that has luckily been reversed, so this recipe is closer to the authentic Panda Express you’ve known and loved forever. However, if you do enjoy corn in fried rice you can add ¼ cup of corn kernels to the rice instead of the eggs or better yet in addition to them.

 Panda Express Fried Rice is the most popular side ordered and with good reason. Salty and savory, with veggies mixed in the rice is a great counterpart to your favorite two entree plate...at home!

More Panda Express Copycat Recipes

How to Store Panda Express Fried Rice

  • Serve: Do not leave Panda Express Fried Rice at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
  • Store: Once cooled, store fried rice in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
  • Freeze: Sealed in a freezer bag or airtight container, you can freeze Panda Express Fried Rice for 2-3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and reheat in a wok or skillet, adding a few drops of sesame oil or soy sauce if needed.
 Panda Express Fried Rice is the most popular side ordered and with good reason. Salty and savory, with veggies mixed in the rice is a great counterpart to your favorite two entree plate...at home!

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Panda Express Fried Rice Copycat

Panda Express Fried Rice is the most popular copycat takeout recipe! Salty and savory fluffy rice with veggies and eggs mixed in.
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 3 tablespoons canola oil , (vegetable oil is fine too)
  • 2 eggs , beaten
  • 6 cups cooked white rice , cooled
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 cup frozen peas and carrot mix
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Instructions

  • Put the oil into the wok and heat on high.
  • Add in the eggs and stir, cooking and breaking it into smaller pieces until fully cooked.
  • Add in the cooled white rice and stir them all together.
  • Add in the soy sauce and toss until all the rice is fully coated.
  • Add in the carrots and peas and toss again.
  • Add in the sesame oil and mix again.
  • Serve hot.

Nutrition

Calories: 312kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 580mg | Potassium: 141mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 2295IU | Vitamin C: 2.6mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Keyword: Fast Fried Rice, Panda Express Fried Rice (Copycat), Panda Express recipes, Quick Fried Rice
Panda Express Fried Rice Collage

Photos used in a previous version of this post.

Panda Express Fried Rice is the most popular side ordered and with good reason. Salty and savory, with veggies mixed in the rice is a great counterpart to your favorite two entree plate...at home!
Panda Express Fried Rice is the most popular side ordered and with good reason. Salty and savory, with veggies mixed in the rice is a great counterpart to your favorite two entree plate...at home!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

        1. Hi Duane, sorry for the late response. It’s been a super busy Summer. Panda Express uses long grain white rice. I’ve never tested the recipe using basmati rice. Did you use it and if so, how did it turn out?

  1. We love Panda Express, so tonight we made this recipe. We changed it to 3 cups of rice. It came out perfect! It was so easy!

  2. Absolutely delicious! Like another commentor, I used 3 cups of instant rice. Also made the Honey Sesame Chicken recipe. My husband & I each ate a few bites of each & agreed both were good & then decided to mix them like Panda Express would serve it. Made all the difference in the world. Enough for leftovers, too!!! Thanks for a great recipe!!!

  3. Been making this for years without the sesame oil and I didn’t know what I was missing. The sesame oil really makes this dish! The only thing I do differently is add 2 sliced green onions before serving. Delicious! Thank you!

    1. Yes! Isn’t is crazy how such a small amount of that sesame oil changes it completely? Thanks for the great review!

  4. I just stumbled upon your recipe for black pepper chicken and fried rice, I have been making another version for years. We were very happy with our prior recipe but, something kept telling me to give these two a try. Let me tell you my old recipes are in the garbage now, replaced with yours. Both of these recipes are the best I have had!! Your fried rice is OUTSTANDING, next time I may add bean sprouts only because I love them. Thank you for sharing your recipes, I’m going through the rest of yours now to see what I’m making next.

  5. Just made this. First time cooking fried rice, or anything even remotely considered Asian. Turned out great, even without having a wok! Didn’t feel like waiting for regular rice to cook, so i made this using Minute (Instant) Rice. (Used 3 cups of uncooked Instant rice & 3 cups of water.) I turned it into a whole meal by adding some leftover chicken from last night’s dinner. I seared it on the stovetop while cooking the rice, then cubed it, and mixed into the fried rice towards the end. Thanks for the recipe, it was really really good, and SO simple and fast to make! Can’t wait to try your other Panda Express recipes.

    1. The flavor won’t have that nutty richness that comes with sesame oil, but it will still be flavorful. If you aren’t allergic to nuts, I would sub peanut oil, otherwise avocado or olive oil will still be tasty in the dish and be able to handle the stir-fry heat.

  6. What is the size of a cup? Without knowing that, 1/4, 1/2 or any other, is a struggle to work out. Can someone please help.

      1. Thanks for your quick response. I have varying sizes of cups in my kitchen and it’s difficult to work out which to use. In all of your recipes that I’ve seen, you use cups as a means of determining the proportions of the ingredients but I’m used to weights e.g. what is the equivalent of 1/4 or 1/2 cup in weight? Would it 3,4, or 6 grams? I’m a novice in the kitchen so please pardon my ignorance. Thanks

        1. No worries at all! I must have misunderstood your question. In the recipe card under the ingredient list, you can click on the metric link and it’ll change all of the measurments over to metric. Have a great day!

  7. Used scallions, and a beef cut. 6 cups of rice seemed like over kill so i cut it down to 2. Also forgot peas/carrot mix but i saw it at walmart for a buck. Making eggs(3) in oil seemed weird to me so i cooked with pam and set aside then warmed my oil and continued with directions and adjusted ratios. Currently finger typing this with a full belly. My stomache is happy =) . Kinda lol

    1. Yes I have! The only thing I do differently is add 1 tablespoon thin sliced green onion (like they have at Panda Express) when I put in the peas and carrots.  I also find I need about 1/4-1/2 tsp salt because I use low sodium soy sauce.  

      This is also excellent if you cook some shrimp after the egg and before the rice.

    1. I haven’t tried this yet…. but I don’t have a wok. Can I just use a regular sauce pot or a skillet?

  8. I do not have a wok at all. I do not have room for it.
    I will be using a frying pan instead.
    This looks really good.

  9. Seems so odd that your Panda Express changed from eggs to corn, they still have the original recipe at all the Panda Express restaurants near me (California).. I guess I’m just lucky lol.. I’d be so upset if they changed the recipe.. I eat panda every time I go to town… we unfortunately don’t have fast food near where we live so I think you just made my year.. thank you for all these Panda recipes, I’ve been trying them and they all taste just like the restaurant. 

    1. Here you go! //dinnerthendessert.com/panda-express-recipes/ It’s a list of all of them including the veggies!

  10. All the Panda recipes look awesome. I love when someone can figure out the ingredients, then I know exactly what is in something, and if need to can reduce spice to accommodate, but I can also be true and follow recipe when I can. Sometimes I just want noodles or fried rice.

  11. I’ve tried making fried rice before but my rice is always sticky. What kind of rice do you suggest to prevent the stickiness.

    Thank you in advance for your help.

    1. I’ve had good luck with plain long grain white rice. The biggest help is using white rice thats been cooked and cooled already. When I have used fresh cooked rice it never works as well.

  12. We tried this rice yesterday and found it to be as good if not better than the rice you would find at Panda Express. It was so easy and really delicious. Thanks Sabrina for this awesome recipe!

  13. Used to love Panda Express. Ate lunch at the one near where I work at least once a week until it closed because the entire rest of the shopping center was dying. After that we just had it every time we went to the mall. Then they put corn in the rice. Blecccchhh! Haven’t been back since. Will have to try this recipe (with eggs!) and some orange chicken from Trader Joe’s.

    1. Yes! The corn in the rice was a total travesty! I can’t get over the “let’s save some money maybe people won’t notice because they are both yellow” nonsense. Still obsessed with the other options though, haha. I hope you love it!

  14. Have you ever had Panda’s Eggplant & Tofu before they took it off their menu? That was my favorite! Now I’m a sad…panda. Also loved their mandarin chicken. The new teriyaki is just OK, but I think the cooking technique for both is the same. Would love to see a copycat from you one either of those (or all) 🙂

    Thank you!

  15. Next time I’m craving panda I’m just going to look up this post instead- looks just like the real thing! Delicious!

  16. I can’t wait to try this! There are so few foods that everyone in the family adores, and this is going to be one of them.

  17. This looks so simple! I agree that cold rice always works better with fried rice. I think I need Santa to bring me a wok this year. Mine was lost in my last move and I have never replaced it! Bummer about the swap of corn for eggs. Corn is taking over the world… 🙁

    1. Oohh yes! I sometimes go a little bit of time without using the wok, but once it goes back into rotation I find myself using it a lot. And yes, the whole corn thing is just awful. I hate it.

  18. I always have leftover rice that goes to waste. This is the perfect way to use it and have it taste like a brand new dish!

  19. I love making fried rice as a way to use up old rice. I have to try you recipe as it looks like it came out perfect.

    1. It really does taste spot on to the original from Panda Express! My non-copycat version I make has oyster sauce which has a much more complex flavor. But each recipe is different and delicious in its own right.

  20. I love making fried rice at home! This sound like an amazing recipe for fried rice, Panda Express is one of my favorites.

  21. Copycat recipes are so much fun to try out. This fried rice looks absolutely wonderful. I’m going to be trying this very soon!

  22. This is going straight into my recipe files, I need to have this on had for Tuesday nights ! Deliciousness !

  23. I love finding copycat recipes for some of our favorites! I have found that often times, they turn out better than the original recipe. I will have to try this fried rice soon!

  24. This looks really good. I have never been to Panda Express myself, but I heard they have some great food. Have to try this copycat recipe.

      1. about 10 years ago at Panda Express they used to make a dish called Mongolian beef they don’t anymore but I really really like to learn that recipe

  25. This looks great! I agree with you about the eggs. I try to keep cooked rice in the freezer so it is ready to go anytime for fried rice-no thawing required.