Want an amazing side to serve with your favorite Chinese food? Our copycat Panda Express super greens is a light blend of broccoli, kale, and cabbage that is cooked until it's tender crisp and is tossed with a spicy butter sauce. Its garlic and ginger flavor will have you hooked with just one bite.
Looking for more Chinese side dishes? Try our recipes for Panda Express chow mein and Panda Express fried rice. Don't miss our collection of 9 Panda Express stir fry recipes, too!
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Ingredients
This healthy and delicious recipe comes together quickly and is perfect for meal prep. Plus, it uses pantry staple ingredients that are easy to find at most grocery stores.
- Fat: Use butter, vegan butter, or avocado oil (paleo).
- Aromatics: Use fresh minced garlic and ginger.
- Dried spices: Use salt and black pepper for flavor and cayenne for a bit of heat.
- Sweetener: This is optional, but if you want to add this step, use white granulated sugar or maple syrup.
- Liquids: Liquid aminos or soy sauce and vegetable broth. Use reduced sodium to keep the sodium levels lower.
- Fresh Vegetables: Use broccoli florets, chopped kale, and green cabbage.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Want this vegan? Use vegan butter or a neutral oil.
- Want different greens? Try collards, Swiss chard, bok choy leaves, spinach, or mustard greens.
- Want a different cabbage? Try red, Napa, savoy, or Brussels sprouts.
- Want this spicier? Add more cayenne, red pepper flakes, or sriracha.
- Need a protein with it? Try tofu, chick peas, walnuts, cashews, chicken, beef, or shrimp.
How to Make
Gather all the ingredients. Chop up the cabbage and kale, and cut the broccoli into florets. Mince the garlic and the ginger, and measure out the spices and liquids.
- In a large wok over medium high heat, melt the butter, then saute the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add the dried spices and let them bloom for 30 seconds while stirring constantly. Dump the butter, garlic, and ginger mixture into a bowl and set aside for later.
- Mix the liquid aminos or soy sauce with the vegetable broth, then pour it into the wok and set over medium high heat. If you want to add a sweetener, which is optional, sprinkle on the sugar and stir until it dissolves.
3. Add the fresh vegetables: broccoli florets, kale, and cabbage.
4. Stir and cook for 6 minutes.
5. Add the butter and aromatics mixture back to the wok and stir to coat. Cook until heated through.
6. Serve the super greens warm with rice, rice noodles, or ramen.
Recipe FAQs
January 2019 was when Panda Express decided to update their vegetables side dish. The old version had the addition of carrots, zucchini, and green beans. This update is light, refreshing and healthy.
For a large 7 ounce container, it costs $4.20. This also comes as an entree, and a kid's size portion which are both smaller in size.
The 7 ounce container, has 90 calories, 10 g of carbs, 6g of protein and 260 mg of sodium. For a serving size of 1 ⅛ cup, our recipe has 204 calories and 7.2 g of protein. It is also very high in vitamin C and vitamin A. Please note our copycat version includes 1 tablespoon of sugar, which is optional, in the nutrition facts. For more nutritional information, scroll to the end of the recipe card.
No, they aren't vegan, just vegetarian, because they use butter as the fat, but it's easy to make our copycat recipe at home with vegan butter or a neutral oil.
Serve
These Panda Express super greens would taste fantastic along with any Panda Express main dish or with their other sides of chow mein and fried rice. They would also be a tasty, healthy side dish with a bowl of lentil and sausage stew.
If you're looking for other Panda Express recipes, make sure to try our recipes for cream cheese rangoon, eggplant tofu, chow mein, and fried rice.
Expert Tips
- For the best taste, use real butter instead of vegan butter or avocado oil.
- If you like your vegetables sweeter, add a tablespoon of your favorite sweetener.
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Recipe
Copycat Panda Express Super Greens
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter, vegan butter, or avocado oil
- ⅓ cup garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup ginger, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup liquid aminos or soy sauce
- ¾ cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
- 5 cups broccoli florets
- 4 cups kale, cut up
- 3 cups green cabbage, chopped
Instructions
- Melt the butter or heat up the oil in a wok set over medium high heat. Saute the garlic and ginger for 1 minute, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the spices and let them bloom for 30 seconds to 1 minute while stirring constantly. Set the mixture aside in a bowl.
- Stir the liquid aminos or soy sauce together with the vegetable broth, then pour it in the wok. If you want your super greens with a touch of sweetness, sprinkle in the sugar and stir until it dissolves.
- Add the broccoli florets, kale, and cabbage to the wok. Cook for 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until the veggies are tender but still crisp.
- Add the melted butter and aromatics mixture and stir until everything is well coated.
- Serve warm with a side of rice, rice noodles, or ramen.
Notes
- This recipe tastes better with butter instead of vegan butter or avocado oil.
- If you want this sweeter, add 1 tablespoon of sweetener, such as sugar or maple syrup.
- If you want this for a main meal, add a protein such as tofu, chickpeas, walnuts, cashews, chicken, beef, or shrimp.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Sylvia Wright
I am very satisfied with the recipe outcome. I will definitely make this again and again!
Emma
Sylvia, We are so glad to hear that you will be making this recipe lot in the future.
Cathelyn
This recipe is so delicious, I can’t help myself!
Emma
Cathelyn, We are thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe so much! Thanks for leaving a comment.
Alex
The broccoli and garlic is wonderful, and the cabbage tastes buttery. The aroma makes your mouth water! The cooking juices are divine with the crisp broccoli. This dish is amazing! I would have difficulty passing up a second helping. 😊
Emma
That's wonderful to hear, Alex! Thanks for leaving a review.
Beth
The actual Panda Express version is well cooked and buttery. The slight taste of garlic is quite complementary to the veggies. I find that this copycat recipe smells wonderfully appetizing! The broccoli is well seasoned with spices, and the hints of garlic and ginger go well with the crunchy vegetables. The broth with the veggies is tasty, but a little salty for me. The homemade version is not quite as buttery as the Panda Express one, but it's more flavorful. Definitely would recommend!
Emma
Thanks for your detailed comparison and review, Beth! So glad you enjoyed our copycat version.