From its artisan bread to its assortment of pastries, Panera Bread is a go-to meal option for any breakfast, lunch, or dinner—especially if you’re looking for a meat-free meal. From bagels to salads and soups, Panera has vegan options aplenty that won’t leave you feeling hungry.
Panera’s Vegan Options
Founded in 1987 in Missouri, there are now more than 2,100 locations of the bakery-café in the U.S. and Canada.
In 2019, the company unveiled its first vegan soup, the Ten Vegetable Soup. Loaded with veggies, the soup features tomatoes, onions, corn, red and yellow peppers, carrots, spinach, celery, poblano peppers, garlic, chickpeas, seasoned vegetable stock, sprouted brown rice, red fife, and dried Aleppo chili.
In January 2020, Panera Bread’s CEO, Niren Chaudhary, told CNBC the chain planned to increase its plant-based options from 25 percent to 50 percent by 2021. “In the coming years, we want to have more grain options for our consumers, more plant-based options for our consumers and more high-quality lean-cut meats,” said Chaudhary.
Chaudhary added that in 2021, customers would see new plant-based menu offerings across all categories. But don’t expect to see vegan meats like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat on Panera Bread’s menu any time soon. The company said it planned to offer more plant-based whole food options like edamame and quinoa instead.
“We are going after plant-based, maybe a little bit differently than the industry is going after,” explained Sara Burnett, the company’s vice president of wellness and food policy. “Faux meats are a long-term trend and they’re definitely a great solution for our guests or for some guests at different restaurants, as a transition product.”
How to Eat Vegan at Panera Bread
Are you still wondering how to order vegan at Panera? We’ve got you covered. Soup away! (The company notes that all of its menu items are prepared in the same kitchen, so cross-contamination may occur.)
Breakfast
Okay, so they don’t have vegan cream cheese. But Panera Bread has several bagels to choose from. Or you can opt for their other scrumptious plant-based options like oatmeal and fruit for a nourishing breakfast of champions.
Bagels: Plain, Everything, Blueberry, Poppyseed, Salt, and Sesame
Steel Cut Oatmeal with Strawberries, Pecans & Cinnamon Crunch Topping
Summer Fruit Cup
Peach & Blueberry Smoothie with Almond Milk
Green Passion Smoothie
Lunch and Dinner
A vegan-friendly bread bowl? Soup-er! Panera’s vegan lunch and dinner options are endless. From tomato basil cucumber to strawberry poppyseed, the chain offers several salad options that are either vegan or can be, with a few adjustments.
Sourdough Bread Bowl
Bread: Black Pepper Focaccia, Country Rustic Sourdough XL Loaf, Artisan Ciabatta, Classic Sourdough Loaf, Sourdough, and French Baguette
Baja Bowl (Order without feta or Greek yogurt)
Mediterranean Grain Bowl (Order without feta or Greek yogurt)
Strawberry Poppyseed Salad
Tomato Basil Cucumber Salad
Fuji Apple with Chicken Salad (Order without chicken and Gorgonzola)
Greek Salad (Order without feta cheese)
Asian Sesame with Chicken Salad (Order without chicken and wontons)
Ten Vegetable Soup
Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich (Order without feta and switch out bread for one of the options listed above)
Sides
No dessert, no problem. Fruit it is.
Apple
Banana
Kettle Chips
Pickle Spear
Still hungry? Check out our guides for eating vegan at Taco Bell, Dunkin’ Donuts, Subway, Carl’s Jr., Del Taco, and Burger King.
