Copycat Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp is one of the most popular menu items at Panda Express. You can recreate this dish at home with this copycat recipe.
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Easy Honey Walnut Shrimp Recipe
Do you love Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp? You really can make it at home. Best of all you can double or even triple this recipe so everyone has the portion they wished was served in the restaurant.
If you have never tried the dish before you have been missing out on a wonderfully sweet and crunchy batter-dipped recipe that you are going to love. Candied walnuts add a really nice touch to the batter-dipped shrimp in a sweet and creamy sauce.
The ingredients are all easy to find at your local grocery store, so in no time at all, you can enjoy this shrimp recipe tonight.
What’s in Honey Walnut Shrimp?
The ingredients in the Honey Walnut Shrimp are pretty easy, and in a pinch, if you wanted to leave the walnuts out the shrimp would stand well on its own. First, let me say, the ingredients are not at all traditional Chinese cooking ingredients.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Lemon juice
- Honey
- Mayonnaise
- Tempura mix
- Sugar
- Walnuts
- Shrimp
- Oil for frying
Ingredient and Equipment Notes
The shrimp are battered with a standard tempura mix. You can use a store-bought mix or my tempura batter recipe.
If desired, you can season the shrimp with a little salt and black pepper before dipping them in the tempura batter. Note this will change the flavor slightly.
I personally fry my shrimp in vegetable oil. For frying most dishes I typically use vegetable oil. You could use canola oil, peanut oil, or another oil for frying. My preference tends to be generic vegetable oil.
I use a deep fryer for this, but you can use a large pot and a candy thermometer to cook your shrimp. Fry your shrimp at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a great temperature for delicate shrimp to cook.
How to Make Honey Walnut Shrimp
- Place the walnuts in a saucepan with sugar and water. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until the sugar begins to brown.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and pour the walnuts onto it. Let them dry for about 20 minutes, spreading them out with a fork so they don’t touch each other.
- When the walnuts are almost dry, prepare the tempura batter according to the package directions.
- Add enough oil to a large pot or Dutch oven to cover the bottom 2 to 3 inches. Heat the oil to 350ºF.
- Dip shrimp into the tempura batter, covering the shrimp completely.
- Drop the dipped shrimp into the hot oil in batches (a few at a time) and gently toss to make sure the shrimp cook evenly on all sides and don’t stick together. Scoop out any batter that floats away from the shrimp.
- Remove the shrimp after about 2 minutes and transfer them to a wire rack to drain.
- Make the sauce by whisking honey, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and mayo until smooth and combined.
- When all the shrimp are cooked, place them in a large bowl and drizzle the creamy honey sauce on the fried shrimp. Stir to coat the shrimp, but be careful not to break off the crust.
- Sprinkle candied walnuts over the shrimp and serve immediately.
You can garnish this dish with chopped green onions if desired.
What to Serve with Honey Walnut Shrimp
Serve the shrimp over steamed white rice or brown rice for a hearty meal. A side of Chinese mixed vegetables or egg drop soup would be great. Oh and some crispy wonton strips too!
Honey Walnut Shrimp Leftovers
Some recipes are great to make and enjoy the next day, this one is not one of those. I do not like the way it behaves when reheated. I find the sauce soaks into the shrimp, and it just isn’t my favorite way to enjoy this Panda Express favorite.
But if you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
To reheat, place the shrimp on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper. Heat them in the oven at 400°F for about 10 minutes.
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Copycat Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnut pieces
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 10 ounces tempura mix
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- 1 pound medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Instructions
- Place the walnuts in a saucepan with water and sugar. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until the sugar begins to brown. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and pour the walnuts onto the paper or the foil and let dry for 20 to 25 minutes, spreading them out with a fork so they don’t touch each other. When the walnuts are almost dry, begin to prepare the tempura according to the package directions.
- Add enough oil to a pan to cover the bottom 2 to 3 inches; heat the oil to 350 ºF. Dip the shrimp into the tempura batter, covering the shrimp completely. Drop into the hot oil a few at a time and gently toss to make sure the shrimp cook evenly on all sides and they don’t stick together. Scoop out any batter that floats away from the shrimp to keep the oil from breaking down. Remove the shrimp after about 2 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to drain.
- To make the sauce, whisk together the honey, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and mayonnaise. When all the shrimp are cooked, place it in a bowl and drizzle on the sauce. Stir to coat the shrimp, but be careful not to break off the crust. Sprinkle the candied walnuts over the shrimp and serve immediately. This recipe should be eaten in one sitting – this recipe does not reheat or freeze well.
Michael
Can I candy the walnuts ahead of time and just warm them when I make this?
Can the sauce be made the night before and then heated for freshly cooked shrimp?
Can the quantity be multiplied for a larger batch?
Stephanie Manley
You could candy the Walnuts ahead of time, I would store them in an airtight container after thy have cooled.
I would not make the sauce ahead of time, you will have to thin it when you reheat it.
You could multiply the quantity for a larger batch.
Hope this helps.
Tina
Haven’t even gotten to the point of combining all the ingredients but I know for certain you will receive a 5 star rating and beyond if it were possible ☆☆☆☆☆+ … and btw your tempura kicked a** as well! You’re a freaking Rockstar sister girl! Thanks a ton😘
Esther
I would like to try this recipe for Valentine’s Day but I’m trying not to have any grains and refined sugars for a period of time. Is there a substitute for the sweetened condensed milk and the 3/4 cup sugar that you would recommend? Monkfruit sweetener? If not I can wait to make this recipe until I reach a certain weight.
Stephanie Manley
To be honest, I wouldn’t know without having to rework the recipe. I am unfamiliar with working with monkfruit. If you try it, let me know how it goes.
Suri
Made this recipe and came out delicious, better than Panda Express. I loved it!
Rivka
What’s the mayonnaise for? I’m not a chef and already know that this recipe tastes great but the fact that mayonnaise is part of the sauce has always thrown me. What does it do to/for the sauce?
Stephanie Manley
It acts to combine everything together.
Kim
Absolutely our favorite ever!
Thalia Grinch
Not very experienced, I just came here for the sauce recipe and was surprised by the weird ingredients. I was thinking: ‘will it taste like mayonnaise?’ ‘that seems like a lot of lemon,’ and ‘most of it is made from cream-colored ingredients; isn’t it supposed to be clear.’ It all came together well though. It was a little cloudy, which is different than Panda Express, but was harder to notice while on the shrimp. The main thing is that it was delicious and tasted just like Panda Express’.
Zack
I wanna try this so much. My mouth started salivating after seeing this. Cause shrimps are my favorite. And if u will give me anything made of shrimp I will be ready to eat without any limits guys!
martin garix
Gosh golly this was good.
HoustonFit
Tasted better than it does at Panda Express! Yum! I used jumbo shrimp.
MarkD
I loved this recipe, it’s very close to the recipe.
superfighters
I love making Dutch Oven Recipes ,its good.
NunyaBusiness
I didn’t know that I could make Chinese food that tasted just like it in at Panda Express. My wife was impressed, an then she made me do the dishes. Thanks, I think.
Roll the ball
thanks for your sharing. Let’s see if I can make it like that.
mangafox
Can’t wait to make this. My family will love this.
Debra Caraballo
This is my absolute favorite thing from Panda! Thanks so much for this recipe!
Foodiewife
Bless you! I LOVE this dish from Panda Express. I can’t wait to make this. I’ll report back to you.
Sandta Maccagnan
I am looking for the Beef Tips with Mushrooms recipe that Brannigan’s Restaurant had on their menu (no longer open). I believe it was part of a chain of restaurants. This recipe was so delicious and unbelievable. I’m not fond of beef but loved this particular dish. The gravy was so rich and flavorful and thick, it was wonderful. Whatever you can do would be appreciated Thanks for your good works, Sandy
Stephanie
Thank you for your request. Those recipes are the most difficult for me to recreate, as I can not taste them. I wish I could be more helpful.
Baltisraul
I just must stop reading about all these great shrimp recipes. If we were not 45 min from the Gulf I would go broke trying them all. Thanks Stef. keep ’em coming.
Stephanie Manley
I love gulf shrimp or other US-based shrimp. Unfortunately, I am starting to develop a small allergic reaction to seafood that comes from certain areas. So I never do farm-raised shrimp/fish.
I hope you enjoy this one, I think it would work well with chicken if you salted the chicken or enhanced it a bit before battering.
Baltisraul
I have a reaction to either brown, red or white shrimp. My doctor could not break it down any further than that. I take my chances and if I get the wrong one the hives only last about 30 min. The browns are probably the culprit as they have the very best taste and are the hardest to find.
christopher kates
I can’t wait to try this. My mouth started salivating by seeing this only. shrimps are my favorite and anytime you give anything made of shrimp I will be ready to eat without any limit. And this is kind of different flavor especially its sweet which i haven’t tried yet. Because I saw some extra ingredients in the recipe. So I’m definitely going to try this soon and will definitely let you know, how it turned out.
Stephanie Manley
Sure, let me know how you like this one!
Tencha
Can someone tell me if you can sub the walnuts to pecans? I have everything except the walnuts to make this recipe ughhhh.
Stephanie
You could omit them, I think almonds or pecans would give a different flavor.