13 Panera Menu Items We Miss and Want Back

Panera Bread is fast food for people who don’t usually like fast food. The chain offers an array of dishes that are less fried and more fresh than you might expect from an average fast food joint, which is why we’re longtime fans. In fact, its popular soups, salads, and sandwiches are some of our must-have favorites when we’re on the go and a chain restaurant seems like the best option.

But one thing about being a Panera Bread fan is the fact that, at some point, you’re likely to lose a favorite dish from the menu. The sandwich spot regularly drops items, replacing them with other, sometimes seasonal offerings. Of course, we relish the opportunity to try new dishes, but it always feels like a bummer when one of our favorites is no longer available.

So, we’ve decided to take a walk down Panera memory lane to revisit some of the discontinued menu items we still dream about. Maybe, someday, if we’re really lucky, some of these gems will find their way onto a whole new menu once again.

Once upon a time, Panera tried to break into the pizza business. It makes sense, when you think about it. Pizza requires dough, which is essentially bread, right? You’d think it would be a natural venture for the company, but it turns out, the Crispani, a type of flatbread pizza, fell really, really flat. Apparently, the product was too difficult for the chain to produce. The company didn’t do enough to market the product, and in 2008, just two years after the Crispani first made its debut, Panera took it off the menu, which is why we probably won’t see it on the menu again.

That’s too bad because the Crispani came in a lot of delicious-sounding flavors. You could snag one of these almost-pizzas with a variety of toppings, like roasted wild mushroom, sweet sausage and roasted peppers, and tomato and fresh basil, in addition to classics like pepperoni and three cheese. The only catch? You could only order them after 4 p.m.

There’s nothing quite like a good chicken salad sandwich, and Panera’s now-defunct Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich might have just been one of our favorites. The sandwich ingredients were layered between two pieces of rustic sourdough bread, which tasted suspiciously high quality for a fast casual joint. In the chicken salad itself, you’d find grapes, tomatoes, almonds, and diced celery for a simultaneously juicy and crunchy experience. Greens and a signature dressing tied the sandwich together. It was the kind of meal that felt just fancy enough to elevate your lunch break without being overly complicated.

This sandwich was ideal for beach or park days since it was so refreshing, but it fell off the menu in April of 2024. Is it likely that Panera will bring back a chicken salad in some form? We think it’s quite likely. But whether it will be our beloved Napa Almond Chicken remains to be seen.

If you ask us, Caesar salad is basically the ultimate green salad. It’s really the only common salad recipe that essentially turns a plate of greens into a decadent plate of junk food, which is why it’s one of our absolute favorites. At one point, Panera Bread offered a healthy-ish take on a Caesar salad by making it with handfuls of kale. And although we’d normally resist an attempt to besmirch the true nature of the Caesar salad, we have to admit that this salad was actually really delicious.

Don’t worry — this salad contained plenty of lettuce in addition to kale, but it was also dressed with Parmesan crisps, which created a deeply appetizing texture. Once you added in that chicken and a creamy dressing, it became the ultimate light meal from the chain. Back in 2023, though, Panera replaced this salad with a Southwest-style Caesar salad that frankly just wasn’t as good, although this menu item has also been discontinued. Hopefully, this more understated version of the classic comes back sometime soon.

Sometimes, you just want something basic and comforting, even when you go out to eat, and that’s just what Panera Bread’s Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese offered. This dish wasn’t supposed to be groundbreaking — it was supposed to be creamy and cheesy with a hint of veggies mixed in, and it delivered just that. It was perfect for picky kids and less-picky adults on days when they just needed some relatively nutrient-dense comfort in a bowl.

This mac and cheese was made with shell pasta, which is the ideal pasta shape for mac and cheese, if you ask us. And in addition to broccoli, it also contained carrots as well. Adding in some crushed black or red chili pepper really rounded out the dish, giving it an earthiness that worked well with the creamy cheese. Alas, you can no longer snag this stuff when you go to Panera. This one is classic enough, though, that we hope the chain will bring it back someday.

There’s nothing like getting your day started with a good bagel. It’s warm, it’s filling, and it’s just bread made specifically for mornings — what’s not to love about that? Although you can find a wide variety of bagels available at plenty of fast food and fast casual spots, you’re not always going to see a Chocolate Chip Bagel on the menu. At one point in time, you’d see just that at Panera Bread, but now, the reign of the Chocolate Chip Bagel has sadly come to an end.

This bagel basically felt like you were getting a slightly lighter version of a donut. The bagel itself wasn’t that sweet, but those chocolate chips delivered a subtle sweetness that offered just the right amount of sugar for first thing in the morning. We think this bagel tasted its most delicious when it was adorned simply with some melted butter, but it was also delicious with cream cheese and/or strawberry jam. Sure, you can still get plenty of other types of bagels at Panera Bread, but none can compete with the deliciousness of this chocolate-studded version.

Way back in the day, you used to be able to order Butternut Squash Ravioli at Panera Bread, and it always seemed like a perfect order on a chilly fall day. You see cheese- and meat-filled ravioli on just about every menu at restaurants that serve pasta, but this veggie-forward version of filled pasta felt elevated for its time. The flavors were muted, with a subtle sweetness and hint of sage that kept things tasting savory without having an overpowering flavor to it.

These days, though, the Panera menu is sadly void of any squash-filled ravioli. Apparently, the dish wasn’t that filling, which is supposedly why its popularity waned. After all, ravioli is generally a pretty satiating dish, so when a serving of it doesn’t deliver, it can definitely turn some diners off. Although it may not have been the heartiest dish on the menu, we miss those fall flavors and hope the chain will bring them back some day.

There are times in your life when you need some good old-fashioned caffeine, fast. During these times, some black gas station drip coffee will do the trick because it’s all about meeting a practical need. Then, there are other times when you need a sweet treat in drinkable form that just happens to contain some caffeine, and it’s during those times when you could have ordered a Frozen Chocolate Cold Brew from Panera Bread. This drink was part coffee, part milkshake, and that’s exactly what we loved about it.

Now, don’t get us wrong — the iced, blended cold brew base for this drink was still pretty strong, since it was made from cold brew. Therefore, this drink still offered a decent dose of caffeine. But flavor-wise, it was definitely stretching into milkshake territory, evidenced by the inclusion of chocolate. To make it even more dessert-like, the chain topped it with whipped cream and even added some chocolate syrup on top. It wasn’t exactly a drink we would think to order every day, but for those times when you wanted an indulgent treat along with a cup of coffee, it was the perfect order.

Sadly, you’ll have to stick with slightly less exciting coffee options at Panera now. Sure, there are still sweeter, more filling coffee options to choose from, but if you ask us, none of them compare to the gloriousness that was this ice cream-adjacent beverage.

Chicken pot pie fans, there was once a time when all the flavors you love in chicken pot pie could be found in soup form at Panera Bread. This soup was called the Sonoma Chicken Stew, and it was absolutely one of the best soups the chain has ever produced. Chicken was the star of the show, of course, but it was also packed with tons of veggies, like leeks, carrots, and potatoes. But don’t assume that this was a super-light, brothy number. The broth was thick and rich with a lovely creaminess to it, and it was even served with a biscuit, which really drove home the similarity to chicken pot pie.

Unfortunately, you’re no longer going to find this stew on the Panera menu, so don’t bother scanning the menu for it the next time you visit. The upside, though, is the fact that this soup is really, really similar to just plain chicken pot pie filling, so you can pretty easily make a dupe at home. We know that’s not as thrilling as ordering it when you go out to Panera, but hopefully, that flavor is not lost to you forever, even if it never makes another reappearance on the Panera Bread menu again.

Often, turkey sandwiches can be dry and boring, which is why we rarely go out of our way to order them from restaurants. But every once in a while, you may come across a decent turkey sandwich, and Panera’s Sierra Turkey Sandwich was definitely one of them. The main thing that made this turkey sandwich taste so good was the fact that the turkey was smoked, and you could really taste that smokiness from the first bite. That extra flavor note prevented it from tasting like nothing more than cold, unseasoned meat. But there were other ingredients on this sandwich that enhanced its flavor even more. There were mixed greens for freshness, in addition to red onions and a slightly spicy chipotle mayo. The cheesy Asiago bread brought it all together, delivering a slight moistness and a lovely flavor complexity to the dish.

Apparently, Panera at one point tried to alter the recipe, and soon afterward, the product was dropped from the menu completely. But one fan of the discontinued sandwich has a suggestion for getting a similar sandwich at the chain, even today: “Ring up a deli turkey sandwich and modify it. Remove the tomatoes and country mustard. Add chipotle sauce. Change the bread from county rustic to Asiago focaccia,” they suggest on Reddit. It might be worth it if you ever find yourself craving this old school Panera classic.

Sure, you can always look up smoothie recipes to make at home, but sometimes, you may not want to be bothered with throwing a bunch of frozen fruit into your blender (and then having to clean that blender later). In those moments, going to Panera for a smoothie seems like a much better option. Whether you’re just looking for a quick, light pick-me-up or you’re craving a filling beverage on the side of your breakfast, a fruit smoothie is always a good move. Panera offers a variety of fruit smoothies, but one that’s been discontinued that we’re absolutely going to miss is the Peach and Blueberry Smoothie with Almondmilk.

This was such a perfect smoothie for several reasons. First of all, the fact that it contained almond milk instead of dairy milk meant that it was lighter than a lot of heavier, creamier smoothie recipes out there. And that light, refreshing flavor worked especially well with the light, refreshing fruits in the recipe: namely, peach and blueberry. Something about these two flavors worked together extremely well, with the perfect balance of sweetness and a touch of tartness. You can always try making this smoothie at home, but it just doesn’t taste as good when you have to make it yourself.

We love red velvet anything. And while you can find red velvet cake and cupcakes at a wide variety of restaurants, you’re not going to find red velvet cookies just anywhere. That’s part of why we loved Panera Bread’s Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies so much. These soft, brownie-like cookies were super chocolatey but with that gorgeous red hue that makes red velvet what it is. Not only were these cookies delicious and fudgey, but they were also undeniably pretty, which made them even more appealing.

Panera’s red velvet cookies debuted all the way back in 2012, when Instagramming a blurry picture of a pretty cookie was a completely normal thing to do. They were released during the holiday season, which makes sense given their striking appearance. But you couldn’t take an ugly picture of them to post to your social media these days even if you wanted to since the cookies were removed from the menu not long after they first made their appearance. Unfortunately, it’s been a while that they’ve been gone, so we’re not completely confident they’ll ever come back.

There may not be a more filling vegetarian lunch option than black bean soup. It’s rich, it’s hearty, and it’s packed with nutrients, including protein and fiber, that will help you feel full and give you energy. And if you’re a diehard bean lover like we are, then it’s also really, really delicious. We’re big fans of every type of black bean soup (especially this spicy black bean soup recipe), but Panera’s Black Bean Soup was one of the best versions of the dish you could get at a chain restaurant. Sadly, though, the rich and hearty soup was dropped from the menu in 2016.

The good news is that, while you won’t be able to snag any Panera Black Bean Soup from a Panera Bread location near you, you can still get your hands at a packaged version of the dish. The Panera At Home line offers a spicy version of the soup made with garlic, onion, red bell pepper, and cumin. It may not be quite the same as slurping down a bowl of the stuff at your favoite Panera location, but it’s worth a try if you’ve been lamenting the soup’s absence from the menu.

You may not exactly think of Panera as the best place to grab dessert — after all, the brand is much better known for its soups, salads, and sandwiches — but the truth is that Panera has, over the course of its existence, produced some delicious desserts. And if you love chocolate, then you know that few of the chain’s desserts could ever beat its Frosted Brownie. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a gooey brownie with a layer of chocolate frosting on the top. But unlike some other chain restaurant frosting situations, the frosting on these brownies was never sad, dry, or crumbly. Rather, it was reliably soft and spreadable, making for an especially decadent dessert.

These days, you can get a brownie covered in powdered sugar from the chain, but without that frosting, it falls a little flat. We can only pray that one day, the frosted version of our favorite Panera dessert will return once again.