The Fast Food Chain That Offers A Vegan Version Of Its Best Seller

Fast food chains are rapidly expanding their plant-based offerings to meet customer demand for plant-forward dining options on the go, especially with the rising awareness of the health, environmental, and ethical benefits of plant-based foods. The launch of the Impossible Whopper at Burger King is just one example of this. It featured Impossible Foods, a company that rose to fame by incorporating heme (a compound derived from the roots of soybeans), which created a burger that cooks and tastes like animal-based meat. The Impossible Whopper was a massive success, alluding to customer's appreciation for plant-based convenience foods. 

But this year, we saw a vegan fast-food comeback like never before: the reintroduction of Panda Express's Beyond® The Original Orange Chicken, a plant-based rendition of Panda Express's iconic Orange Chicken. This move came following intense customer demand that included a petition with over 7,000 signatures, making it the most requested item across the family-run Chinese restaurant chain's social media platforms.

After initial testing in 2021 and a limited nationwide release in 2022, the Beyond® Orange Chicken is now available at hundreds of locations across the United States, but still remains a limited-time offering. Interested customers can find participating locations through Panda Express's website, but if you're not near a Panda Express location that offers the plant-based orange "chicken," no need to fret! You can easily make it yourself. Simply buy the Beyond Chicken Tenders or any plant-based chicken of your choice, Panda Express's orange sauce (which is completely plant-based), and whip up this iconic dish within the comfort of your home.

As we see advancements in food technology and innovative approaches to recreate the experience of animal-based meats, we also see more restaurants — from fast food eateries to fine dining establishments — collaborating with pioneering food companies to cater to a wider set of diners. Be it the extrusion technologies implemented by companies to mimic animal muscle fibers or protein extraction from plant-based foundations like peas, soy, and mushrooms, we are witnessing ingenuity in food technology like never before.

The emerging developments in 3D-printed meats and items like lab-grown chicken use animal-derived cells grown in bioreactors. These processes allow folks to enjoy meat's familiar flavors and texture without the intensive environmental costs of conventional animal agriculture. Whether you're seeking a perfect no-meat salmon replacement or even a plant-based egg that can be fried up, innovation in food technology is a vital part of the evolution of the food system as we know it.