Love Panda Express but can’t make it to the restaurant as often as you’d like? This Copycat Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Recipe will cure your craving any time it hits.
I absolutely love Chinese takeout. Our Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Recipe is even better than takeout!
There is something so fun to me about making your favorite restaurant staple recipes right at home. You know I love a good copycat and today’s recipe sure does fit the bill.
We adore Panda Express so I always love trying to recreate the dishes we love from there. Copycat panda express recipes are all the rage so I thought I’d try them out as well.
We live out in the country and don’t live around a lot of different food options. That is why I am always coming up with copycat recipes. Not only is it fun for me to experiment but then we get to eat our favorites right at home.
Jeremy is obsessed with mushrooms so every chance we get to go to Panda Express, he always gets the mushroom chicken if available.
You just can’t get enough with the combination of vegetables with tender chicken and that fantastic sauce. Even Lily likes it, now that’s the true test!
The best part when making our copycat version of Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Recipe is I know exactly what is going into it. You just never know what ingredients are used at restaurants, so I like to know what we are putting in our bodies.
Some of our other favorite copycat recipes we have on our site include: Vegetable Egg Foo Young Recipe, Bourbon Chicken, and Southwest Egg Rolls.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- It makes a large portion but easily doubles it if needed.
- Even better than you can get at Panda Express.
- No hard-to-find ingredients; everything is available at your local grocer.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST FOR THE FULL RECIPE CARD):
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Soy sauce
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Cornstarch
- Unsalted chicken stock
- Light brown sugar, packed
- Oyster sauce
- Rice wine vinegar
- Vegetable oil or canola oil
- White mushrooms, thinly sliced
- Zucchini
- Fresh ginger
- Garlic cloves
- Sesame seeds for garnish, optional
- Sliced green onions for garnish, optional
HOW TO MAKE PANDA EXPRESS MUSHROOM CHICKEN RECIPE:
- Place the sliced chicken in a medium-sized bowl. Add the soy sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder, and toss to combine.
- Add the cornstarch to the bowl and stir to combine so the chicken is coated and set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together the chicken stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, and corn starch, and set aside.
- In a wok or large skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Once hot, add the chicken to the pan and flatten it out into a single layer. Let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute to get a golden brown sear on the bottom.
- Start tossing the chicken around and letting it sear until it is cooked through, 5-6 minutes. Set the cooked chicken on a plate.
- Add another tablespoon of oil and sear the mushrooms, constantly stirring, until they begin to soften for about 2 minutes. Place them on the plate with the chicken.
- Add the remaining oil and sear/cook the zucchini, constantly stirring, until tender-crisp, 2-3 minutes. Place the zucchini on the plate with the chicken and mushrooms.
- Add the ginger and garlic to the skillet, and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the sauce, stir it around, and as soon as it starts to bubble, add all the ingredients back to the pan and coat in the sauce.
- Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes until warmed through, and the sauce is thickened. Serve immediately with sesame seeds and scallion garnish if using.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS RECIPE:
IS MUSHROOM CHICKEN FROM PANDA EXPRESS HEALTHY?
Even though there are fresh ingredients, a lot of oil is normally used at restaurants.
Our version uses all easy-to-find ingredients, so you know exactly what is going into your food. With boneless skinless chicken breast and hearty mushrooms, this a well-balanced recipe.
Is it the healthiest recipe? No, since it is cooked in oil. But, it is a healthy alternative to fast food or a lot of restaurant recipes.
CAN I ADD ANY DIFFERENT VEGETABLES?
Absolutely, some other veggies that would be good:
- Shiitake mushrooms
- Snow peas
- Snap peas
- Water chestnuts
- Bamboo shoots
- Broccoli Florets
Add additional vegetables when you sautee the zucchini.
WHAT CAN I SERVE THIS WITH?
We tend to serve this simply over white rice, but other options are available. Here are some ideas:
- Brown rice
- Chow mein
- Cauliflower rice
- Rice noodles
ANY OTHER SUBSTITUTIONS?
If you don’t have boneless skinless chicken breasts on hand, here are some other protein options:
- Chicken thigh meat, again skinless boneless chicken thighs works best
- Shrimp
- Scallops
- Diced pork
- Sliced steak
HOW TO STORE:
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add a splash of chicken broth or water to help loosen it up. You can also reheat it in the microwave.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
Place leftovers in the freezer in a freezer-safe container. To thaw, place the dish in the fridge overnight.
DANA’S TIPS AND TRICKS:
- This makes a large portion, but you can easily double it to feed more or halve the recipe as needed.
- Tons of custom options, see my tips above on that.
- This freezes well, see my tips above on how to store.
- Use boneless-skinless chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat to white meat chicken.
Ready to make your favorite copycat recipes right at home? Then you have to try out Copycat Panda Express Mushroom Chicken Recipe ASAP!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
If you’ve tried this PANDA EXPRESS MUSHROOM CHICKEN RECIPE, let me know how it turned out in the comments! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Copycat Panda Express Mushroom Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup unsalted chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
For assembly:
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8 ounces white mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 cups zucchini 1/4 inch thick sliced half moons
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- sesame seeds for garnish optional
- thinly sliced scallions for garnish optional
Instructions
- Place the sliced chicken in a medium-sized bowl. Add the soy sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder, and toss to combine.
- Add the cornstarch to the bowl and stir to combine so the chicken is coated and set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together the chicken stock, brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice vinegar, and corn starch, and set aside.
- In a wok or large skillet over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Once hot, add the chicken to the pan and flatten it out into a single layer. Let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute to get a golden brown sear on the bottom.
- Start tossing the chicken around and letting it sear until it is cooked through, 5-6 minutes. Set the cooked chicken on a plate.
- Add another tablespoon of oil and sear the mushrooms, constantly stirring, until they begin to soften for about 2 minutes. Place them on the plate with the chicken.
- Add the remaining oil and sear/cook the zucchini, constantly stirring, until tender-crisp, 2-3 minutes. Place the zucchini on the plate with the chicken and mushrooms.
- Add the ginger and garlic to the skillet, and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the sauce, stir it around, and as soon as it starts to bubble, add all the ingredients back to the pan and coat in the sauce.
- Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes until warmed through, and the sauce is thickened. Serve immediately with sesame seeds and scallion garnish if using.
Notes
- This makes a large portion, but you can easily double it to feed more or halve the recipe as needed.
- Tons of custom options, see my tips above on that.
- This freezes well, see my tips above on how to store.
- Use boneless-skinless chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat to white meat chicken.
Comments & Reviews
DavidF says
Thank you for sharing a Panda Express recipe. For us, we are copycatting things that we like. It’s just too expensive for the modern family in the Middle Class to eat out, because it’s costs so much to feed a family. So, we love going home and making our own versions of restaurant recipes. It’s just not worth spending $12 / $15 bucks (or more) per person to eat at Panda Express, Whataburger, Taco Bell, Taco Cabana, etc. So, your site and other sites like Dinner Then Dessert, are ones that we really visit alot. Thank you for what you do.