Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp

Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp are fried with a tempura batter and quickly tossed in a honey sauce and sweetened walnuts.

Panda-Express-Honey-Walnut-Shrimp--2

Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp has been long overdue on the blog. Crispy, sweet and savory, these tempura battered shrimps are the perfectly balanced shrimp dish and the crunchy sweetened walnuts add a wonderful texture. Best part is they’re super easy to make and I don’t charge you the extra $1 for a shrimp entree on the blog! 😉

For months I’ve had it on the calendar and for one reason or another it would get bumped back. Because of that delay I’m writing this post so far removed from when I made these that I am now craving them again!

For shrimp recipes I tend to not be as spontaneous as I am with other proteins. If I have a craving for a steak or pork chops I have a pretty darn good chance one of my favorite grocers will have a sale price I can take advantage of. Shrimp, and seafood in general, doesn’t normally go on sale. If you’re a fan of shrimp, I highly suggest you watch for such sales and that you stock up as much as your freezer will allow so that when you’re having a craving you don’t end up paying more than you need.

Example? As I right this post today I called around to the stores I would normally buy shrimp from. The price for the 18-20 count is $13.99, $18.99 and $14.99 a pound. The shrimp I actually used? $6.99 a pound. I know that the savings isn’t a huge amount, but this dish is a really popular one in our house and we make it often for friends so I routinely make double or triple the recipe. Keeping my eye on sales saves me 20-30 dollars on food costs. Just some food for thought. Also shrimp freezes really well, I wouldn’t recommend this with all proteins but shrimp handle it well.

Keeping track of all the Panda Express copycat recipes here on the blog?

Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp are fried with a tempura batter and quickly tossed in a honey sauce and sweetened walnuts.

Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp are fried with a tempura batter and quickly tossed in a honey sauce and sweetened walnuts.
4.93 from 42 votes
Print

Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp

Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp are fried with a tempura batter and quickly tossed in a honey sauce and sweetened walnuts.
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp (Copycat), Panda Express recipes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 625 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup walnut halves
  • 4 egg whites
  • 2/3 cup cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 pound large shrimp , 18-20 count, peeled and deveined
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 cup vegetable oil for frying
  • scallions for topping , optional

Instructions

  1. Add the water, sugar and walnuts to a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
  2. Boil for two minutes and remove the walnuts and dry on a dish to dry.

  3. Whisk the egg whites until they are foamy then add cornstarch and continue whisking until combined.
  4. Add the shrimp to the batter and one at a time using a fork or my favorite pig tail flipper pick up 1 shrimp at a time allowing it to drip off so that the shrimp has a thin coating and maintains it's shape.
  5. Heat your oil in a medium sized pot on medium high (350 degrees) and fry until light golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

  6. To make the sauce, add the honey, mayonnaise and sweetened condensed milk and whisk to combine.
  7. Add the fried shrimp to the sauce and coat with a large spoon.
  8. Place into your serving plate and top with the candied walnuts.
  9. Serve immediately with steamed rice.
  10. Optionally you can top with sliced scallions.
Nutrition Facts
Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp
Amount Per Serving
Calories 625 Calories from Fat 243
% Daily Value*
Fat 27g42%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 293mg98%
Sodium 1032mg45%
Potassium 222mg6%
Carbohydrates 66g22%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 45g50%
Protein 29g58%
Vitamin A 15IU0%
Vitamin C 4.6mg6%
Calcium 193mg19%
Iron 2.9mg16%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp are fried with a tempura batter and quickly tossed in a honey sauce and sweetened walnuts.

Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp are fried with a tempura batter and quickly tossed in a honey sauce and sweetened walnuts.
Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp are fried with a tempura batter and quickly tossed in a honey sauce and sweetened walnuts.

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.

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.

Categories

Leave a comment & rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. This was totally delicious!! We all loved it and I will make it again! But will dry off my shrimp before dipping them in batter to deep fat fry!

  2. Hi Sabrina,
    Honey Walnut Shrimp is my favorite Panda Express dish, but I agree with the other person who mentioned their quality has gone down. Sad, really, but probably cutting corners to save money. Anyway, I’m thrilled to try this recipe. I’ve read through the comments and was so pleased to see all the 5 star reviews, but I must say, some of the comments were plain downright rude. Wonder if it’s because you are a trained chef that people can feel free to show the ugly side of their posteriors. Anyhow, off to try this recipe and hope ill manners are just a fluke. (Doubt it)

  3. Made this tonight for my mom since she misses take out! It’s so great. Made as directed, no changes. Will be adding this to our family recipes!

    Next time might add some scallions and maybe some balls of honeydew melon but it certainly doesn’t need it! Excellent!!!!!

  4. I’ve been eyeing this recipe for awhile and finally tried it. Fantastic! The only thing I did differently was I used kikoman’s tempura batter instead. Delicious! Well definitely add to my frequently used recipes. Thanks!

  5. Made this today and it is amazing. The only thing I did differently was I only added about a third of the sauce to the shrimp as I was afraid they would become too soggy. Served the remaining sauce on the side and we added sauce to our own plates as we needed. Thank you for a fabulous recipe that will now be a staple in our house.

  6. actually my sauce tasted mostly like mayonnaise. i tried adding another tablespoon of condensed milk to mask the mayo and make sweeter but somehow still only tastes mayo. help?

    1. I mean, it is mayo based but it sound like the shrimp wasn’t hot enough to melt it. If it’s still goopy, you can add it back to the pan to melt but not too long. Hope this helps for next time.

    2. Add more honey! I had to do this because I used miracle whip and it gave a very strong vinegar taste, but adding more honey covered that taste really well!!

  7. am i supposed to keep the sugar water from the walnuts ? my sauce was very thick and seemed unflavorful and not sweet enough

    1. No need to keep the sugar water. If it was too thick, it sounds like the shrimp weren’t hot enough to melt down the sauce.

  8. I made this tonight and oh my goodness it was AMAZING I made some fried rice with it and it was so much better than panda!! 100% going to make this again!! But next I’m going to try the orange chicken

Show More Comments