Why Fans Are Convinced Panda Express Ruined Its Iconic Orange Chicken

America can thank former Panda Express chef Andy Kao for orange chicken, a now-iconic Chinese-American dish he invented in 1987. Since then, it has become a fan favorite at Panda Express, and it's now on the menu of many Asian restaurants in the United States. But does the restaurant chain still use the same recipe now as it did back in 1987? Many Panda Express fans answer no to that question.

Sometime in the fall of 2025, online speculation ramped up that something was different about Panda Express' orange chicken. The popular restaurant chain had always made its famous orange sauce in-house, but was it being premade and delivered to locations now? This question, and different variations of it, popped up all over Reddit: "Any one else's location switching to premade orange chicken sauce similar to the other fryer-cooked food sauces? If so, what do y'all think of it?"

Most commenters seemed convinced that Panda Express had made this change, and they weren't happy about it. A Redditor claiming to be a Panda Express employee said "Yeah! I hate it! It's more sticky, messy, and the quality gets worse a lot faster. I've been dealing with a lot of complaints about the orange chicken being dry." On a separate Reddit thread, another supposed employee confirmed that the sauce is now bagged instead of made in-house. Interestingly enough, the chain still advertises it as "The Original Orange Chicken."

So, did Panda Express change its orange chicken sauce? The restaurant chain admitted as much when its official Instagram account responded to a critical reviewer: "We understand your concerns. We've kept our iconic 1987 Orange Chicken recipe at heart — just leveled it up with premium ingredients and no artificial flavors, colors, or added MSG. Plus, we've made it easier for our teams to cook up that perfect 'swicy' bite every time."

Some customers might take offense to the idea that the recipe has been "leveled up." In an interview with NPR, Jimmy Wang, a chef at the Panda Express "Innovation Kitchen," explained the basic elements of the original recipe: dark meat chicken, brown sugar, honey, Chinese black vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and crushed chile, among other ingredients. Why fix what isn't broken? From Panda Express' own statement on Instagram, it's clear the change was partially aimed at reducing employee workload. An alleged employee confirms as much on Reddit: "From an operations perspective, it's so much better and takes a huge workload off our already very busy teams."

Using premade sauce isn't uncommon in the restaurant industry. It's a harsh reality, but it's clearly a way to cut costs and improve efficiency. That said, these changes don't always sit well with loyal customers, regardless of the benefits to the restaurant chains. As one Redditor puts it, "They're destroying what they're known for." While this is yet to be seen, if Panda Express is insistent on using premade sauce, here's hoping the chain addresses some of these complaints and creates a better version.