7 Best Soups at Panera Bread
Panera soups are amazing because there’s one for every mood. From the thick Cream of Chicken to the savory French Onion, you may discover a new favorite at Panera each time you try one of their soups.
All Panera soups are available in four sizes: cup, bowl, bread bowl, and group size. Each soup at Panera also comes with a French baguette, chips, or an apple on the side.
There are a variety of options on the Panera soup menu, including seasonal specials. Some are creamy, while the rest are broth-based, and there is at least one vegetarian option.
A few soups are also available in Value Duets with a sandwich or salad and can be part of the “You Pick Two” special.
In this article, we’ve rounded up the seven best Panera soups, including two seasonal favorites.
Keep reading to find our top picks on the Panera soup menu and see how your favorites stack up!
7. Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
Whether you’re feeling under the weather or can’t decide between the options on the Panera soup menu, you can’t go wrong with their Chicken Noodle Soup.
Although there isn’t too much to get excited about, it’s easy to stomach and filled with healthy ingredients.
Panera’s Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup uses white meat pieces simmered in a seasoned chicken bone broth.
Then, they add some egg noodles, carrots, and celery and finish it off with a tasty blend of herbs.
Each bowl of this soup has only 100 calories, and the French baguette side adds another 180.
Other sizes include a cup with 60 calories, a bread bowl with 780 calories, and a group size with 230 calories.
This soup is also available with a Caesar salad in Panera’s Value Duet deal.
6. Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
Cream of chicken is great on its own, but it’s made ten times better when a bunch of tasty ingredients are added to the mix.
In the Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup, you will get a whole portion of protein alongside healthy grains and veggies for a thick and hearty dish that’s great on a cold evening.
This Panera soup starts with a chicken stock and cream base that’s heavy, starchy, and seasoned to taste.
Next, diced white meat chicken is added and simmered in the base, with a blend of long grain and wild rice, celery, onion, and carrots.
Each bowl has 260 calories, 16 grams of fat, 27 grams of carbs, and 10 grams of protein.
If you’d like to order another size, you’ll find 180 calories in a cup, 840 calories in a bread bowl, and 620 calories in a group size.
This soup can also be ordered with a Napa Almond Chicken Sandwich as a Value Duet deal.
5. Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Broccoli Cheddar Soup is a classic dish that’s both creamy and savory.
A hearty portion of broccoli gives it a bite, while the cheesy base is perfect for dipping bread or a whole sandwich.
Although we could tell you how much we love this soup, so could celebrity Chrissy Teigen.
In 2018, Panera asked the FDA to redefine the definition of eggs, commenting that most food chains don’t use real eggs but egg products.
Chrissy Teigen publicly agreed with the importance of this definition on Twitter, following her comment by jokingly saying, “and their broccoli cheddar soup should be called delicious cream times.”
So for a single day, Panera did just that!
Panera’s rendition of this soup is made with broccoli florets, a cheddar cheese mix, and shredded carrots.
It’s seasoned to perfection and goes down smoothly with every scoop.
However, vegetarians should be wary. Although this soup has no meat chunks, animal enzymes and a chicken base are included in the recipe.
Each bowl of Broccoli Cheddar Soup has 370 calories, 24 grams of fat, 25 grams of carbs, and 13 grams of protein.
Other options include a cup with 230 calories, a bread bowl with 900 calories, and a group size with 820 calories.
4. Vegetarian Autumn Squash Soup
One of the best parts of the fall season is the abundance of tasty squash everywhere, and Panera knows how to take advantage of this.
Their Vegetarian Autumn Squash Soup is rich and creamy with a hint of sweetness and all the comfort of a cozy wood cabin.
Unfortunately, it’s only available seasonally, so be sure to try it before it’s gone.
Each bowl of this soup is made with a blend of butternut squash and pumpkin simmered in a vegetable broth.
Honey, apple juice, cinnamon, and sweet cream are added to brighten up the fall flavors, while a hint of curry balances the sweetness.
Everything is then blended until smooth, and some roasted pumpkin seeds top it off to create a hearty and healthy fall meal.
A Vegetarian Autumn Squash Soup bowl has 330 calories with 16 grams of fat, 41 grams of carbs, and 8 grams of protein.
Other size options include a cup with 210 calories, a bread bowl with 880 calories, and a group size with 760 calories.
Although this is a vegetarian-friendly soup, note that it contains milk.
3. Bistro French Onion Soup
French Onion Soup combines several bold flavors into one hearty, broth-based soup.
The broth of the Bistro French Onion Soup at Panera is flavored with sea salt and a sherry wine vinegar gastrique, a type of French sauce that caramelizes sugar to create a sweet and sour flavor.
This is then loaded with caramelized onions, melted cheese, and some homemade black pepper focaccia croutons.
Panera discontinued this soup in 2019, but that decision didn’t last long. As fans of the soup flooded Twitter with complaints and disappointment, they couldn’t help but put it back on the menu.
Each bowl of Panera’s French Onion Soup has 310 calories, 13 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbs, and 12 grams of protein.
The other options include a cup with 190 calories, a bread bowl with 850 calories, and a group size with 600 calories.
2. Turkey Chili
Turkey Chili is a healthy take on a classic cold-weather meal. It combines lean turkey meat with fiber-packed beans and a rich tomato sauce that is perfect for lunch or dinner.
Panera’s version even takes it further by adding crushed veggies to the mix and serving it with their famous French baguette.
The Turkey Chili at Panera starts with an ancho and pasilla stock and is completed with tomatillos, tomatoes, edamame, carrots, cilantro, cumin, and lime.
Dark meat turkey, chickpeas, and kidney beans are slow-cooked in the base, creating a chunky and filling dish.
Despite its delicious flavor and popularity, this seasonal dish can only be ordered in the fall months, so be sure to get it while you can.
As with all Panera soups, the Turkey Chili can be ordered as a cup, bowl, group-sized bowl, or bread bowl, each of which comes with your choice of side.
Each bowl of this delicious chili has 300 calories with 10 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbs, and 21 grams of protein.
Other sizes include a cup with 200 calories, a bread bowl with 870 calories, and a group size with 700 calories.
1. Creamy Tomato Soup
There’s just something about tomato soup that hits the spot no matter the time of year.
It’s a flavorful comfort food that feels light but fills you up, and it pairs perfectly with a grilled cheese sandwich.
Panera’s Creamy Tomato Soup is filled with antioxidants and vitamins and earned a “Cool Food Meal” badge for meeting the low food-related greenhouse gas emissions standards.
This soup is made with vine-ripened pear tomatoes better pureed and blended with fresh cream until smooth.
Oregano and red pepper flakes add some flavor, while a topping of black pepper focaccia croutons gives it a crunch.
The soup can be ordered as a cup, bowl, group size, or bread bowl, each of which comes with a French baguette side.
While all Panera soups are available in the “You Pick Two” special, the Creamy Tomato Soup is featured the most in the Value Duets.
You can pair it and order with any of the following menu items:
- Classic Grilled Cheese
- Smokehouse BBQ Chicken Sandwich
- Tuna Sandwich
- Greek Salad
Each bowl of Creamy Tomato Soup has 350 calories with 21 grams of fat, 34 grams of carbs, and 5 grams of protein.
Other sizes include a cup with 240 calories, a bread bowl with 910 calories, and a group bowl with 850 calories.
This Panera soup is also vegetarian-friendly, though milk and wheat are part of the recipe.
Conclusion
Panera Bread offers a variety of soups that you can pick based on the weather or the accompanying sandwich.
Although there aren’t any vegan options on the Panera soup menu, there is at least one vegetarian option, and we may see more of that in the future.
Whether you’re in the mood for a Creamy Tomato soup or a hearty French Onion, enjoy the savory goodness of soups at Panera and take advantage of the Value Duet deals!
For more information about Panera Bread, check out the articles below.
