pf changs keto

PF Changs Keto Menu: Unleashing Flavor Without the Carbs

Dine Smart, Eat Well: Exploring PF Chang’s Keto Wonders!

Is PF Changs Keto-Friendly?

🤔 At PF Chang’s, you can find low-carb and keto-friendly dishes with modifications. However, it’s important to be mindful of hidden carbs. Feel free to ask about specific dishes, inquire about ingredients, or request customized options to adhere to a keto-friendly diet while dining at PF Chang’s.

Discover the PF Changs Keto Menu, a culinary adventure where flavor meets fitness. Indulge in delicious low-carb dishes that cater to your dietary preferences. PF Chang’s offers a wide range of low-carb options, redefining mindful indulgence with every bite.

In this blog post, we will explore the delicious fusion of flavor and carb-consciousness found in the PF Changs keto menu. Join us on a culinary journey that goes beyond typical dietary restrictions. 

PF Chang’s serves a variety of tasty Asian-inspired dishes. However, with rice, noodles, and soy sauce-laden foods, it can be challenging to keep it low carb. To solve this, we have created a guide to help you eat keto at PF Chang’s.

Explore how PF Chang’s caters to your low-carb lifestyle. From delicious proteins to vibrant veggies, each dish offers a guilt-free taste. Join us as we uncover the hidden gems you can enjoy in PF Chang’s culinary haven. 

The exterior of a PF Chang's restaurant
The exterior of a PF Chang’s restaurant

Table of Contents

Can You Eat Keto at PF Chang’s?

An assortment of Chinese food in black plates
An assortment of Chinese food on black plates

PF Chang’s offers a variety of tasty Chinese-inspired dishes. However, it can be a challenge to keep it low-carb with rice, noodles, and sauces. But fret not! We have created a guide to help you enjoy a PF Changs keto meal.

For low-carb choices, try steamed fish, pepper steak, egg drop soup, and chicken with broccoli. Just skip the sauce and rice. You can also have steamed vegetables or a salad on the side to complete your meal.

PF Chang’s also has a dedicated wok-fired section where food is cooked quickly over intense flames, preserving its nutritional value.

Make sure to follow our tips for eating keto at PF Chang’s to avoid carb-loaded ingredients. Here’s what to order, how to order, and what to avoid to keep it low carb.

Check out our top PF Changs keto-friendly options based on the nutritional information we gathered:

  • Salmon (0g carbs)
  • Kids’ side dish of steamed broccoli (1g carbs)
  • 2 Northern-style spare ribs (4g carbs)
  • Shrimp and chicken (4g carbs)
  • Gluten-free egg drop soup cup (6 grams carbs)
  • Gluten-free steamed baby Buddha’s feast (7 grams net carbs)

Appetizers

  • Chang’s lettuce chicken wraps (hold the sauce and rice sticks)
  • BBQ spare ribs (no tangy Asian barbecue sauce)
  • Rick’s northern-style spare ribs (no dipping sauce)
Lettuce chicken wraps in tortillas
Lettuce chicken wraps in tortillas

Soups and Salads

  • Asian Caesar salad (Skip the wonton croutons and choose between salmon, chicken, or shrimp.)
  • Mandarin crunch salad (Exclude the crispy rice sticks and mandarin vinaigrette. If you’re strictly following a keto diet, exclude the mango. Instead, request oil and vinegar dressing.)
  • Egg drop soup (To reduce carb intake, opt for a cup instead of a bowl.)
  • Hot and sour soup cup

Chicken Entrees

Please exclude rice and sauce from all entrees. Also, kindly ensure that the chicken is not breaded. Additionally, request steamed options.

  • Chang’s spicy chicken (Ensure that this dish is not breaded and exclude the sauce.)
  • Ginger chicken with broccoli (Skip the sauce.)
  • Sesame chicken (Hold the sesame sauce.)
  • Sweet and sour chicken (Hold the sweet and sour sauce.)
  • Orange peel chicken (Skip the Hunan chili sauce if you’re strict keto. Also, avoid canned oranges as they contain sugar.)
  • Singapore black pepper chicken (Skip the black pepper garlic sauce.)
  • Kung pao chicken (If you follow strict keto, it’s best to skip the chili sauce and peanuts.)
Kung pao chicken with a side of white rice
Kung pao chicken with a side of white rice

Beef Entrees

No rice or sauce in any entrees:

  • Mongolian beef (no soy glaze)
  • Wok-fired filet mignon (Remove the rustic potatoes and lime-garlic vinaigrette.)
  • Beef a la Sichuan
  • Pepper steak
  • Beef with broccoli
A bowl of beef with broccoli dish
A bowl of beef with broccoli dish

Seafood Entrees

Remove the rice and sauce from all entrees. Ensure that the seafood is not breaded and request steamed instead.

  • Surf and turf (Order this with double lobster or steak. Exclude the fried shrimp, potatoes, and sugary glaze.)
  • Miso-glazed salmon (To reduce carb content, skip the glaze.)
  • Oolong Chilean sea bass (no ginger-soy sauce)
  • Kung pao shrimp (Exclude the Spicy Sichuan chili sauce and peanuts.)
  • Orange peel shrimp (Exclude the Hunan chili sauce. If you follow strict keto, also avoid the oranges.)

Gluten-Free

For a lower-carb option, it’s recommended to order gluten-free dishes without sauce. Skip the rice and opt for steamed vegetables instead.

  • Gluten-free Chang’s chicken lettuce wraps (no rice sticks)
  • Gluten-free egg drop soup
  • Gluten-free spinach with garlic
  • Gluten-free Chang’s spicy chicken (no sweet-spicy chili sauce)
  • Gluten-free ginger chicken with broccoli
  • Gluten-free shrimp with lobster sauce (no chopped black beans and peas)
  • Gluten-free Mongolian beef (no sweet soy glaze)
  • Gluten-free beef with broccoli

How to Order PF Changs Keto Food

The exterior of a PF Chang's restaurant
The exterior of a PF Chang’s restaurant

Check out the gluten-free menu.

The ketogenic diet is more involved than simply going gluten-free, but it’s a good starting point. P.F. Chang’s provides a gluten-free menu with healthier options, excluding most sauces and breaded dishes. 

As per the website, all items on the gluten-free menu have gluten-free sauces and include the following ingredients: chicken broth, rice wine, sugar, oyster sauce, white pepper, water, and wheat-free soy sauce.

The marinades used in meat and seafood dishes contain cornstarch, which is unsuitable for the keto diet. The restaurant also suggests requesting gluten-free soy sauce for all your dishes.

Please note that gluten-free noodles are not compatible with the ketogenic diet. Instead, opt for a meat-based gluten-free dish like gluten-free ginger chicken with broccoli, shrimp with lobster sauce, or Chang’s chicken lettuce wraps.

Customize your order.

At P.F. Chang’s, you have the freedom to customize your food. Even when ordering online, you can easily personalize your dish. Simply select the desired item and follow the steps to customize it.

For instance, if you select gluten-free beef with broccoli, you can customize your order on the website. You can choose your preferred rice option (or opt for no rice), add extra beef or broccoli, and even request your dish to be steamed. 

You can also provide allergy information, such as mushroom, peanut, fish, tree nut, or sulfite allergies. Be cautious with sugary sauces like hoisin sauce and plum sauce.

The website will provide calorie information for each dish. You can also find nutritional details for more information about your dish. The gluten-free beef and broccoli lunch contains 39g of carbohydrates, including white rice. By skipping rice, you can reduce your carb intake.

Split your meal with a friend.

Many restaurant dishes have more calories and larger portions than necessary. Sharing your meal with a friend or family member can save you calories and carbs while keeping your portion control in check. You can still enjoy your meal but with half the calories.

Begin with a salad consisting of low-carb veggies and olive oil and vinegar dressing before your main course. Share an entree with a friend, or if you’re dining alone, request a to-go box as soon as your meal arrives. Put half of your meal in the container to avoid temptation and have leftovers for lunch the next day.

A family eating Asian food takeout
A family eating Asian food takeout

Choose your side dishes wisely.

P.F. Chang’s has a variety of high-carb side dishes like fried rice, egg rolls, and noodles, but they also offer some keto-friendly options. These include spinach with garlic, Sichuan-style asparagus, and Brussels sprouts.

If you’re strictly following a keto diet, it’s best to skip the Sichuan-style preserves with asparagus due to their higher carbohydrate content. Instead, you can request plain steamed asparagus without sauce. 

Similarly, if you’re on a strict keto diet, ask for Brussels sprouts without pineapple to reduce the carb count.

Stick to greens like green beans, romaine lettuce, green onions, and other green veggies. They not only keep the carb count low but also provide essential fiber. Add flavor with sesame seeds or red chili peppers.

Based on the nutrition information, here’s the nutritional breakdown of each PF Changs keto side dish:

Spinach and garlic: 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 15 grams of carbs (6 grams net carbs), 9 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 11 grams of protein

Sichuan-style asparagus (with preserves): 450 calories, 34 grams of fat, 31 grams of carbs (24 grams of net carbs), 7 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 8 grams of protein

Wok-charred Brussels sprouts (with pineapple): 350 calories, 28 grams of fat, 25 grams of carbs (17 grams of net carbs), 8 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein

Ask questions.

The P.F. Chang’s website lacks specific information about the ingredients in their dishes, making it difficult to determine if certain main entrees are breaded. If you’re unsure about an item, it’s a good practice to consult your server. For online orders, consider calling the restaurant and asking questions.

You can also attempt to order from the kids’ menu. We observed that the kids’ menu offers various low-carb choices, including:

  • Steamed snap peas: 1 gram net carb
  • Steamed carrots: 2 grams net carbs
  • Steamed broccoli: 0 grams net carbs

If the restaurant doesn’t permit ordering from the kids’ menu, you can request a side of steamed broccoli, carrots, or snap peas to go with your entree.

Foods to Avoid at PF Changs on a Low-Carb Diet

While there are many dishes at P.F. Chang’s that can be made into low-carb meals, there are also several dishes to avoid. P.F. Chang’s has a variety of vegetarian and fried foods that cannot be customized. 

We suggest avoiding the following foods and sticking to the list of approved options instead.

Appetizers:

  • Chang’s lettuce vegetarian wraps
  • Cauliflower tempura
  • Edamame
  • Crispy green beans
  • Tempura calamari and vegetables
  • Dynamite shrimp

Dim sum:

  • Cecelia’s pork and shrimp dumplings
  • Hand-folded crab wontons
  • Vegetable spring rolls
  • House-made pork or chicken egg rolls
  • Crispy avocado spring rolls
  • Mongolian potstickers

Soup and salad:

  • Vietnamese noodle salad 
  • Wonton soup cup or bowl
  • Chang’s spicy chicken noodle soup cup or bowl

Sushi:

  • Kung pao dragon roll
  • Lobster avocado roll
  • Spicy tuna roll
  • Shrimp tempura roll
  • California roll
  • Ahi poke bowl 

Market sides:

  • Fried rice
  • Chili-garlic green beans
  • Life long noodles
  • Asian mac and cheese
  • Kimchi fries

Chicken entrees:

  • Thai harvest curry with chicken
  • Crispy honey chicken

Vegetarian entrees:

  • Thai harvest curry
  • Ma Po Tofu
  • Buddha’s feast 
  • Stir-fried eggplant

Seafood entrees:

  • Crispy honey shrimp
  • Shrimp with lobster sauce 
  • Walnut shrimp with melon
  • Salt and pepper prawns
  • Chang’s lobster and shrimp rice

Noodles and rice bowls:

  • Pad thai
  • Hokkien street noodles
  • Long life noodles and prawns
  • Signature lo mein
  • Fried rice

Gluten-free:

  • Gluten-free fried rice
  • Gluten-free Hokkien street noodles
  • Gluten-free chicken pad thai

Lunch rice and noodle bowls:

  • Chang’s spicy chicken bowl 
  • Korean bibimbap 
  • Chiang Mai noodle bowl 
  • Mongolian beef bowl 
  • Crispy honey chicken bowl
  • Tempura bowl
  • Tokyo Udon noodle bowl

PF Changs Keto FAQs

What Chinese Food Dishes are Keto?

You can easily adapt Chinese food dishes to fit a keto lifestyle. Opt for stir-fried or steamed dishes with lean proteins like chicken, beef, or shrimp, paired with low-carb veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach. 

Choose sauces wisely, like soy sauce, garlic, ginger, or vinegar-based dressings, and avoid sugary or starchy sauces. Enjoy dishes like beef and broccoli without rice, chicken with vegetables, or shrimp stir-fry with a focus on non-starchy components. Additionally, you can try keto-friendly alternatives like cauliflower rice instead of traditional rice.

Which Rice is Most Keto-Friendly?

Cauliflower rice is a keto-friendly alternative to traditional rice. It’s made by grating or processing cauliflower into rice-sized granules, offering a low-carb, high-fiber option for a ketogenic diet. With a mild flavor and rice-like texture, it’s a versatile substitute in various dishes. It’s a popular choice for those looking for a keto-friendly option while still enjoying the satisfaction of a rice-like component in their meals.

Final Thoughts

While it’s not ideal to eat out on the ketogenic diet, especially at fast food restaurants, we understand the need for a break from cooking every now and then. At P.F. Chang’s, there are numerous ways to customize your food and make it low-carb.

To start, choose a meat-based dish paired with steamed vegetables, like beef and broccoli. Skip the rice and opt for additional vegetables in all entrees. P.F. Chang’s offers veggie side dishes that can be ordered steamed without sauce to keep your carbohydrate intake low.

Please ensure that your chicken or shrimp dishes are not breaded. Additionally, avoid vegetarian dishes that are rich in starchy, plant-based foods. Instead, consider adding extra vegetables to your seafood, chicken, or beef dish.

If you want more keto menu guides, check out our blog.