Salads and Soups at P.F. Chang’s: Prices, Sizes and the Best Light Picks
Soups and salads are the lighter side of P.F. Chang’s. They open a shared dinner gracefully, they carry a light lunch on their own, and they are priced well below the wok fired entrees the chain is famous for. If you are looking at pf changs salads soups prices before a visit, this guide from The Menu Vault covers every soup and salad on the menu, the cup and bowl sizes, what each one typically costs, and how to build a satisfying light meal. The Menu Vault follows pf changs salads soups prices across many locations, so the ranges below reflect what guests usually pay.
The section splits neatly in two. Soups come in cups and larger bowls, built on rich broths with wontons, tofu, chicken, and vegetables. Salads range from small starter plates to chopped salads hearty enough to be lunch. Together they give pf changs salads soups prices a friendly shape: you can start a big dinner for a few dollars, or eat a full light meal for less than the cost of one entree.
Salads and Soups at P.F. Chang’s: Typical Prices
Across most locations, pf changs salads soups prices run from about $5 for a cup of egg drop soup to about $16 for a large chopped salad with chicken or shrimp. Cups of soup usually land between $5 and $8, while full bowls run $8 to $12. Starter salads sit around $6 to $9, and entree sized chopped salads typically run $12 to $16 depending on the protein. Every one of those numbers sits well below the main entrees, which usually start in the high teens.
Portion style matters when you read these ranges. The bowl of soup at P.F. Chang’s is often a sharing size, meant to be ladled out at the table, so its price covers two or three starters rather than one. The chopped salads are similarly generous. Once portions are counted, pf changs salads soups prices are among the gentlest on the whole menu for the amount of food on the table.
What Affects Pf Changs Salads Soups Prices
Size is the first factor in pf changs salads soups prices. A cup is a starter for one, a bowl is a meal or a table share, and the price steps between them is usually two to four dollars. Protein is the second factor on the salad side: a plain chopped salad costs less than the same salad topped with chicken, and shrimp tops the list. Preparation also plays a part, since the wonton soup, with its hand folded dumplings, carries a small premium over the simpler egg drop. Location adds the usual variation, with large city restaurants pricing a dollar or two higher across pf changs salads soups prices.
Cup or Bowl: How to Choose
Order the cup when soup is your starter before an entree. Order the bowl when soup is your lunch, or when the table wants to share a starter before plates from the main entrees list arrive. A bowl with a side of rice makes a complete light meal for one hungry guest. Choosing the right size is the simplest way to keep pf changs salads soups prices working for you instead of against you.
Salads and Soups Prices at a Glance
The section in one quick scan, with typical ranges from across the country:
- Wonton soup: cup typically $6 to $8, bowl typically $9 to $12, the signature of pf changs salads soups prices.
- Hot and sour soup: cup typically $6 to $8, bowl typically $9 to $12.
- Egg drop soup: cup typically $5 to $7, bowl typically $8 to $11, the gentlest prices in the section.
- Asian chopped salad with chicken: typically $13 to $16 as an entree salad.
- Mandarin style crunch salad: typically $12 to $15.
- Starter and side salads: typically $6 to $9, the low end of pf changs salads soups prices.
Tax and tip sit outside these ranges, and lunch specials can dip below them on weekdays. Even at the top of the list, a soup and salad pairing costs less than most entrees.
Most Popular Salads and Soups Items
Six items carry this section. Each one shows a different side of pf changs salads soups prices, from the cheapest cup on the menu to the heartiest salad plate.
Wonton Soup
The wonton soup is the signature bowl: a rich chicken broth with hand folded pork wontons, spinach, and mushrooms, finished with green onion. The wontons are the star, plump and savory, and the broth stays light enough to open a meal. A cup typically runs $6 to $8, and the bowl, at $9 to $12, is big enough to share as a table starter. This is the soup regulars measure all others against, and it anchors the top of the soup side of pf changs salads soups prices for good reason.
Hot and Sour Soup
The hot and sour soup brings the warmth: a peppery, tangy broth with tofu, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and egg ribbons. It is the boldest starter on the section and a favorite in cold weather. Prices match the wonton soup, cup typically $6 to $8 and bowl $9 to $12. Guests who like a starter with real character choose this one, and its place in pf changs salads soups prices makes it an easy yes before a rich entree.
Egg Drop Soup
Egg drop soup is the gentle classic: a golden chicken broth with ribbons of egg and a touch of corn or peas at some locations. It suits children, cautious eaters, and anyone who wants a mild start. It is also the friendliest item in pf changs salads soups prices, with cups typically $5 to $7 and bowls $8 to $11. For a light lunch, a bowl of egg drop soup with steamed rice is one of the cheapest satisfying meals in the building.
Asian Chopped Salad with Chicken
The chopped salad is the entree of the section. Crisp greens, cabbage, carrots, and crunchy wonton strips are tossed in a bright dressing and topped with sliced chicken, then chopped so every forkful carries a little of everything. It eats like a full meal and travels well for takeout lunches. At typically $13 to $16, it tops the salad side of pf changs salads soups prices, yet it still costs less than any wok entree, which is exactly its appeal.
Mandarin Style Crunch Salad
This salad leans sweet and crunchy, with mandarin oranges, almonds or candied nuts, crisp vegetables, and greens in a light citrus dressing. It pairs beautifully with spicy entrees, since its cool sweetness resets the palate between bites of heat. Expect typically $12 to $15, and a dollar or two more with chicken or shrimp added. Inside pf changs salads soups prices, it is the refreshing middle choice that brightens a heavy table.
Starter and Side Salads
The smaller salads are built to open a meal: simple greens with an Asian inspired dressing, sometimes with cucumber, carrot, and crunchy noodles. At typically $6 to $9, they are the low end of pf changs salads soups prices and a smart way to add something fresh before shared plates from the street fare or dim sum lists. Many lunch guests pair a starter salad with a cup of soup and call it a complete, light midday meal.
Building a Light Meal From This Section
The soups and salads combine beautifully, and regulars have settled on a few patterns. A cup of wonton soup with a starter salad makes a light lunch for under fifteen dollars at typical pf changs salads soups prices. A shared bowl of soup with a chopped salad split two ways gives a couple a fresh, easy dinner starter course before one shared entree. Add a plate from the market sides list, such as steamed vegetables or brown rice, and the table has a full meal built entirely from the light side of the menu.
This section is also where dietary needs are easiest to meet. The gluten free menu overlaps with several soups and salads, and the kitchen will adjust dressings and toppings on request. Vegetarian guests do well here too, with egg drop soup and vegetable salads ready without changes. A section that feeds everyone at the table, at prices below the entrees, earns its place in every visit plan.
Soups and Salads in the Flow of a Full Meal
At P.F. Chang’s, most tables share everything, and the soups and salads are built for that style. A bowl of soup lands in the middle of the table with small cups around it, and a chopped salad becomes one more plate in the spread rather than one person’s starter. This sharing style changes how pf changs salads soups prices work in your favor: a section that looks like a list of individual starters becomes a set of group dishes, and two well chosen items can open dinner for four people.
The kitchen paces these dishes early, too. Soups and salads arrive ahead of the wok fired mains, which gives the table time to settle, talk, and look at the rest of the menu. Many guests use that pause to decide on a shared entree or a plate from the sushi list. If the soup course satisfies more than expected, the table can order one fewer entree, and the check reflects it. In that way, pf changs salads soups prices quietly shape the whole bill, often saving more than their own cost by keeping the rest of the order honest.
There is a flavor logic as well. The bright, fresh notes of the salads and the warmth of the soups prepare the palate for the richer, sweeter, spicier mains. A table that starts with hot and sour soup and a crunch salad experiences the entrees more fully than a table that jumps straight to the wok. Good pacing and good value rarely arrive together, but in this section they do.
Takeout and the Desk Lunch
Soups travel well and salads are packed with dressing on the side, so this section is a takeout favorite. Office workers near a location lean on the cup and salad pairing for a lunch that feels like a restaurant meal at a desk. Ordering ahead for pickup avoids the midday line, and the food holds its quality for the short trip back. At typical pf changs salads soups prices, that lunch costs about what a sandwich shop charges, with a good deal more ceremony to it.
For home dinners, a large bowl of wonton soup beside a home cooked main is a beloved shortcut: one restaurant dish carries the meal while the home kitchen handles the simple parts. Families use the same trick on busy weeknights. It is one more quiet role this section plays, and one more reason pf changs salads soups prices punch above their weight in the life of regulars.
What Regulars Pair: Combinations That Always Work
Regulars have settled the pairings through years of repetition, and their patterns are worth borrowing. The classic table opening is a shared bowl of wonton soup with a chopped salad for the middle, which covers four guests with something warm and something fresh before the mains. Couples often pair a cup of hot and sour soup each with one shared entree, letting the soup carry the first half of the meal. Solo diners reach for the egg drop bowl and a starter salad, the lightest full meal in the building.
These patterns share one trait: they treat the light section as a course, not an afterthought. Doing so lowers the pressure on the entree order and keeps the whole check in balance. The staff see it nightly and will gladly pace the dishes for you, soup first, salad beside it, mains when you are ready. At typical pf changs salads soups prices, building the meal this way costs no more than jumping straight to entrees, and it usually costs a little less, since a settled table orders with clearer heads.
Seasoned guests also know to ask what is fresh. Salad builds shift slightly with the season, and servers can point to the crispest option of the day. Small guidance like that costs nothing and shows up in no price list, yet it shapes the meal as much as pf changs salads soups prices themselves. It is the kind of detail that turns a simple soup and salad course into the part of the dinner people mention on the drive home.
Best Value in This Category
The shared bowl of wonton soup is the value play of this section. One bowl at $9 to $12 starts the whole table, works out to a few dollars a person, and delivers the signature soup everyone wants to taste. No other starter in the restaurant spreads pf changs salads soups prices across a group so kindly. For solo diners, the egg drop soup bowl with rice is the value champion: a warm, filling light meal at the lowest price point in the section.
Lunch deserves a mention as well. Weekday lunch menus often bundle smaller soups and salads or price them a step lower, and the weekday lunch page tracks those offers. If your visit can slide to midday, the same items sit lower within pf changs salads soups prices than they do at dinner.
How to Save on Salads and Soups
Start with the table math. Sharing one bowl of soup and one chopped salad across two people costs far less than two entrees, and the portions support it. Second, look at P.F. Chang’s happy hour, which at many locations discounts drinks and selected small plates in the late afternoon; a soup or salad beside a happy hour plate makes a complete early dinner. The wider happy hours guide compares deals at other chains if you are choosing where to eat.
Third, use the section as your starter instead of pricier appetizers. A cup of soup costs half what many starters cost and sets up the entrees just as well. Fourth, for families, note the kids menu has its own small portions at child friendly prices, so the youngest guests need not order from the adult list. Each habit trims the check around pf changs salads soups prices without giving up the dishes you came for.
FAQs
Is the wonton soup a meal?
A large bowl with rice on the side makes a fine light lunch for one person. As a starter, a cup is plenty for most guests, and a bowl shared at the table is the classic opening. Either way, the wonton soup earns its place at the top of pf changs salads soups prices.
Which salad is most filling?
The chopped salads with chicken or shrimp are the heartiest. They are built as entree salads, with protein, crunch, and a full bowl of greens, and they eat like a meal rather than a side. They sit at the top of pf changs salads soups prices and still cost less than the wok entrees.
Are the soups spicy?
Hot and sour soup carries a gentle peppery warmth, while wonton and egg drop soups are mild. The kitchen can sometimes adjust heat on request. Spice never changes the price, so your pick inside pf changs salads soups prices can follow your taste freely.
Can I get a salad as my main course?
Absolutely. The chopped salads are sized as entrees, and adding chicken or shrimp makes them fully satisfying mains. Many lunch guests do exactly this. It is the most popular way to eat a full meal from the light side of pf changs salads soups prices.
Do soups and salads fit a gluten free diet?
Several do. P.F. Chang’s keeps a dedicated gluten free menu, and the team will confirm which soups and salads qualify and how they are prepared. Ask your server to walk you through the safe picks before you order from pf changs salads soups prices.
Are prices lower at lunch?
Often, yes. Weekday lunch features smaller portions and bundled specials that price soups and salads a step below dinner. If value is your priority, a midday visit is the easiest way to enjoy the low end of pf changs salads soups prices.
Which soup should a first time guest order?
The wonton soup. It is the signature bowl, the one the kitchen is proudest of, and the one regulars return to. If you like warmth and tang, make it the hot and sour on your second visit. Starting with the signature is the surest way to understand why this section leads so many meals, and its cup sits at a fair middle point in pf changs salads soups prices.
Can I order soup and salad for takeout?
Yes. Soups are packed hot in sealed containers and salads travel with dressing on the side so the greens stay crisp. Order ahead for pickup at lunch to skip the line. Takeout follows the same pf changs salads soups prices as dining in, and the portions are the same generous builds.
Keep Exploring
Soups and salads are the light opening of the full P.F. Chang’s menu prices guide. The P.F. Chang’s hub gathers every section, from beverages to desserts. Browse the menu prices index to compare light menus at other chains, or look through the secret menus collection for more ordering ideas. It all begins at The Menu Vault home page, where typical prices stay in plain view.