• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Good For You Gluten Free

Information about living with celiac disease, gluten sensitivities, and the gluten-free diet

  • View GoodForYouGlutenFree’s profile on Facebook
  • View g4uglutenfree’s profile on Twitter
  • View goodforyouglutenfree’s profile on Instagram
  • View goodforyouGF’s profile on Pinterest
  • View goodforyouglutenfree’s profile on YouTube
  • Home
  • About
    • About Good For You Gluten Free
    • Events
    • FAQs
    • Team
  • Subscribe
  • Giveaways
  • Recipes
  • Articles
  • Celiac Disease
  • Eating Out
  • Shop
  • Resources
    • My Book
    • Recommended Celiac Nutritionists & Practitioners
    • Safe Dining Card
    • Quick Start Guide
    • Ultimate Guide to Eating Out Gluten Free
  • Contact
Home » Eating Out » How to Eat Gluten Free at Pei Wei

How to Eat Gluten Free at Pei Wei

Last Updated February 17, 2022. Published November 21, 2018 Good For You Gluten Free

Sharing is caring!

16 shares
  • Share
  • Email
How to Eat Gluten Free at Pei Wei

I love Asian food, but it can be hard to find a trusted, gluten-free Asian restaurant. Pei Wei, however, offers plenty of options on its gluten-free menu, and the options keep expanding! This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosures.

Pei Wei is a fast-casual pan-Asian restaurant with a national presence. Over the years, the restaurant has expanded its gluten-free offerings, and I truly believe it offers something for everyone.

In this article, I’ll share:

  • What’s on the Pei Wei gluten-free menu that is safe for you to eat when you can’t eat gluten.
  • How Pei Wei handles and prepares gluten-free dishes.
  • How several of Pei Wei’s menu items stood up when tested for hidden gluten.

The Pei Wei Gluten-Free Menu

The Pei Wei menu clearly denotes with a “GF” when a dish can be made gluten free. However, just because you see a “GF” tag next to an item doesn’t mean the item is automatically gluten free; rather, it means the item can be prepared gluten free upon request. Always request a gluten-free meal and emphasize how serious you are about eating gluten free.

There are several dishes that can be made gluten free, including: 

Entrees:

  • Gluten-Free Beef and Broccoli (wok seared)
  • Gluten-Free Mongolian Steak (wok seared)
  • Gluten-Free Chicken and Broccoli (steamed white meat chicken)
  • Gluten-Free Mongolian Chicken (steamed white meat chicken)
  • Gluten-Free Kung Pao Chicken (crispy white meat chicken)
  • Gluten-Free Sweet & Sour Chicken (tempura battered white meat chicken)
  • Gluten-Free Chicken Fried Rice (steamed white meat chicken)
  • Gluten-Free Pei Wei Original Shrimp (crispy shrimp)
  • Gluten-Free Kung Pao Shrimp (crispy shrimp)

Salads:

  • Asian Chopped Chicken Salad

Appetizers/Sides:

  • Edamame
  • Cauliflower rice (Any dish can be ordered with cauliflower rice for a $2 upcharge)

To order online or learn more about the Pei Wei gluten-free menu, visit the restaurant online.

Gluten-Free Pei Wei Kung Pao Chicken with Cauliflower Rice plate
Gluten-Free Pei Wei Kung Pao Chicken with Cauliflower Rice

When placing your order, it’s important to tell your server that you want your dish prepared gluten free. They will then prepare it in a separate area and in a dedicated gluten-free pan.

I used to love the Pei Wei Original, but I recently tried all the new dishes and now have a new, conclusive favorite… the Gluten-Free Kung Pao Chicken. This dish is savory (vs. sweet) and delicious.

For lighter fare, I also tried the Gluten-Free Chicken and Broccoli, which is prepared with steamed chicken (vs. fried). I enjoyed it, but I definitely missed the taste of the pan-fried chicken.

During Covid, the restaurant is serving its dishes in plastic ware. They started adding “Gluten Free” stickers to the gluten-free dishes too.

Pei Wei’s Gluten-Free Practices

Pei Wei says it coats the protein for its gluten-free orders in potato starch (instead of wheat flour) and then cooks it in fresh oil in dedicated gluten-free pans. This means the protein will still have a crispy outside – yum – but will be gluten-free safe for you.

Furthermore, Pei Wei uses gluten-free soy sauce when cooking its gluten-free menu items. In fact, the restaurant only uses gluten-free soy sauce in all its dishes, gluten free or not. This offers a little extra reassurance that there’s no gluten cross contamination.

On top of having plenty of satisfying gluten-free menu options, you can feel good about eating at Pei Wei because of its clean-label initiative known as “The Wei Forward.”

The company says it’s committed to using minimally-processed, fresh ingredients as evident by its latest offering, cauliflower rice.

In fact, The Wei Forward’s principles include:

  • Use Fresh and Whole Food – This means Pei Wei is committed to using quality meats and it freshly slices 20+ different kinds of vegetables daily.
  • Be Clean and Transparent – Pei Wei says 30 percent of its rice bowls are entirely free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives, and that number will be up to 61 percent by the end of 2019.
  • Offer Food that is “Made for You” – Pei Wei says that it will customize any dish – and that includes ensuring its gluten sensitive customers get a meal that meets their dietary preferences.

However, I’ve often wondered if Pei Wei is really gluten free. I typically feel okay when I eat there, but you just never know if gluten might be lurking in your food. I decided to put the restaurant to the Nima Sensor test.

A Nima Sensor is a portable gluten-detecting device. The Nima Sensor temporarily went out of business, but rest assured, it’s up and running again as of September 2021.

Is Pei Wei Really Gluten Free?

Here are the results of the various dishes I tested for hidden gluten at Pei Wei. A smiley face means it’s Nima approved and free from gluten.

Gluten-Free Pei Wei Original Chicken: Nima smiled.

Pei Wei Original tested with the Nima Sensor - the Nima Sensor is smiling

Gluten-Free Kung Pao Chicken:  Nima smiled.

Pei Wei gluten-free Kung Pao chicken and Nima Sensor smiling

You can watch me test these dishes live in this video:

Eating Out With Confidence

I’m dedicated to helping you eat out gluten free with confidence. That’s why I wrote the book on how to safely eat out when you can’t eat gluten.

I also talk a lot about how to eat out safely in my published book, Dear Gluten, It’s Not Me, It’s You. I hope you’ll check it out.

I’ve also tested dozens of restaurants for hidden gluten. You can see them all in my Eating Out library.

Filed Under: Eating Out, Gluten Free Information, Nima Tested Leave a Comment

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Good For You Gluten Free

Hi, I'm Jenny Levine Finke and am passionate about the gluten-free lifestyle. I'm a certified integrative nutrition coach and self-taught expert on [most] gluten-free things. I have celiac disease and know the struggles you're going through first-hand. This is why I've dedicated this blog to serving the celiac and gluten sensitive communities with important information, product and restaurant reviews, and simple recipes I hope you'll love. Read More…

Check Out My NEW Book!

Dear Gluten Book Cover

Download My Safe Dining Card

Free download - gluten-free safe dining card
Logos of publications that Good For You Gluten Free has been featured in

My Trending Blog Posts

  • List of Gluten Free Cereals - Tested for Hidden Gluten
    List of Gluten Free Cereals - Tested for Hidden Gluten
  • Can You Use Almond Flour in Place of Regular Flour?
    Can You Use Almond Flour in Place of Regular Flour?
  • Crap, I Was Glutened! How Long Does It Take Gluten to Get Out of Your System?
    Crap, I Was Glutened! How Long Does It Take Gluten to Get Out of Your System?
  • 5-Ingredient Gluten-Free Bagel Recipe
    5-Ingredient Gluten-Free Bagel Recipe
  • Which Girl Scout Cookies are Gluten Free? Nima Tested
    Which Girl Scout Cookies are Gluten Free? Nima Tested
  • Decoding Jersey Mike's Gluten-Free Menu
    Decoding Jersey Mike's Gluten-Free Menu
  • Does Subway Have Gluten-Free Bread?
    Does Subway Have Gluten-Free Bread?
  • Eating Gluten Free at Sonic Drive-In
    Eating Gluten Free at Sonic Drive-In
  • 75+ of the Best Gluten-Free Snacks
    75+ of the Best Gluten-Free Snacks
  • How I Healed from Celiac Disease Naturally
    How I Healed from Celiac Disease Naturally

Graduate of the:

Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Badge

Before Footer

You may not reproduce or publish any content on Good For You Gluten Free without written consent.

Copyright © 2023 Good For You Gluten Free. All Rights Reserved.

  • Home
  • About
    • About Good For You Gluten Free
    • Events
    • FAQs
    • Team
  • Subscribe
  • Giveaways
  • Recipes
  • Articles
  • Celiac Disease
  • Eating Out
  • Shop
  • Resources
    • My Book
    • Recommended Celiac Nutritionists & Practitioners
    • Safe Dining Card
    • Quick Start Guide
    • Ultimate Guide to Eating Out Gluten Free
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Disclosures & Disclaimers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact Us