Last Updated on September 5, 2021 by Guillermina
Panera Bread is a popular fast-casual restaurant known for their bread bowls, broccoli cheddar soup, bakery items, and so much more. Their ever-growing menu can be overwhelming to navigate, especially when looking for Panera’s vegan options. Keep reading for tips to navigating their website, a concise vegan menu at Panera Bread, and how to customize non-vegan menu items during your next visit.
Panera Bread has made the process of eating vegan at their restaurants very easy. On their website, Panera dedicates an entire page to defining a vegan diet and specifying which menu items are vegan. They also share customizations of other menu items to expand the vegan-friendly offerings, which are reproduced in this article.
Panera Bread defines vegan as “food with no animal sources: no meat, fish, shellfish, milk, egg or honey products, and no enzymes and rennet from animal sources allowed.” They also provide a disclaimer stating that they cannot guarantee cross-contamination will not occur in their kitchens, as all foods are prepared in the same facility.
Panera Bread’s Vegan Menu
Panera offers a variety of menu items that include breakfast, lunch, dinner, bakery items, coffee, and other beverages. Since they are always adding new items to their menu, hopefully more vegan options will join the list. Their current vegan options and customizations are:
Breakfast
If you need a healthy on-the-go vegan breakfast, Panera’s Steel Cut Oatmeal with Strawberries, Pecans & Cinnamon Crunch Topping makes a nutritious option. This is the only vegan-friendly item on their breakfast food menu.
Beverages, Smoothies & Coffees
Panera offers a bunch of vegan-friendly beverages! They have everything from coffees and teas to smoothies and frozen drinks, which are perfect for a hot summer day. Some of their other teas and beverages contain cane sugar, which is not vegan unless it is organic; depending on your personal definition of vegan, other beverages may be an option for you.
- Frozen Strawberry Lemonade
- Plum Ginger Hibiscus
- Prickly Pear Hibiscus
Smoothies
The smoothies on Panera’s menu that are vegan include the Green Passion Smoothie and the Peach & Blueberry Smoothie with Almond Milk. It may be possible to substitute the dairy in the non-vegan smoothies for almond milk, which would expand the vegan smoothie options to include Mango, Strawberry, and Strawberry Banana.
Coffee
All of Panera’s brewed coffees, as well as the Madagascar Vanilla Almond Cold Brew, are vegan. The other coffee drinks on Panera’s menu are not vegan because the sweeteners contain dairy, making their coffee vegan options limited.
Bakery
Bagels
Bagels are a breakfast staple and are one of the few bakery items at Panera Bread that are vegan. Unfortunately, Panera doesn’t offer any vegan-friendly toppings or spreads to pair with their bagels. Many of the varieties of bagels at Panera are vegan-friendly, including;
- Plain
- Everything, Blueberry
- Sesame
- Cranberry Walnut
- Poppyseed
- Sprouted Grain Bagel Flat
Breads & Loaves
The loaves and bread make a perfect pair with soup while dining at Panera or to take home and enjoy later. Vegan loaves at Panera include:
- French Baguette
- Classic Sourdough
- Country Rustic Sourdough XL Loaf
- Artisan Ciabatta
- Black Pepper Focaccia
- Tomato Basil Miche
- White Whole Grain Loaf
- Whole Grain Lahvash Wrap
- Whole Grain Sourdough Loaf
Their famous bread bowls are a must at Panera Bread and a few are included on the vegan list. Both the Country Rustic and Sourdough Bread Bowl are vegan.
Lunch & Dinner
Soup
The only vegan soup option at Panera Bread is the Ten Vegetable soup, which is available in a cup, bowl, or vegan bread bowl. This can also be ordered as a “Group” or a family-style portion. For a cup of the Ten Vegetable Soup, it only has 100 calories and 5 g of protein.
Salads
At this time, only the Tomato Basil Cucumber Salad is vegan by default. There are a few more salads at Panera that can be made vegan by customizing your order to remove meat, cheese, and other non-vegan items.
Salads with vegan customizations recommended by Panera’s website:
- Fuji Apple with Chicken: order without chicken and Gorgonzola cheese.
- Greek Salad: order without feta cheese.
- Asian Sesame Salad with Chicken: order without chicken and wontons.
- Strawberry Poppyseed Salad: order without chicken.
Bowls
There currently aren’t any vegan bowls on Panera’s menu, however, you may customize a couple of their other menu items to make them vegan.
Bowls with vegan customization recommended by Panera’s website:
- Baja Bowl: order without feta cheese or Greek yogurt.
- Mediterranean Grain Bowl: order without feta cheese or Greek yogurt.
Sandwiches
There are also not any vegan sandwiches currently on Panera’s menu, however, you may customize one of their menu items to make it vegan.
Sandwiches with vegan customizations recommended by Panera’s website:
- Mediterranean Veggie: order without feta cheese and substitute a vegan bread.
Sides
Panera has a variety of vegan sides to add to your meal, including:
- The Fresh Fruit Cup (Seasonal & Summer)
- Tomato Basil Cucumber Salad
- Apple
- Banana
- Pickle spear
- Panera’s Kettle Chips
Are Panera Vegan Menu Items Healthy?
Just because it’s labeled vegan, that doesn’t mean it’s always considered healthy. Overall, Panera does a great job at achieving a combination of healthy, convenient and a variety of vegan options. However, there are a couple vegan menu items to enjoy in moderation.
- Frozen Strawberry Lemonade: 30 g of sugars
- Ten Vegetable Soup: >1,000 mg of sodium
- Bread Bowls: high calorie
- Kettle Chips: high in fat
Ordering Online
No time to dine in? Place an order online for pick-up through Panera’s website or app. Each menu item is listed with a complete nutrition information and a detailed list of ingredients available, which makes customizing your order to be vegan-friendly even easier. To quickly find Panera’s vegan options, type “vegan” in the search box and add your favorite vegan items to your order.
Conclusion
Panera Bread has made dining out as a vegan easy and convenient at their restaurants. They provide a detailed online menu featuring a variety of vegan offerings available throughout the day, including breakfast, smoothies, soup, salads, bagels, and more. Additional menu items can be customized to become vegan-friendly, which further expands their vegan options.