Panera Bread Low Carb Options

Just in time for the season change to Fall - here's a review of their menu for diabetic friendly options. Vegetarian options included & downloadable PDF at the end.

Low Carb Panera Bread Options

Welcome to the plethora of low carb options at Panera Bread!

From salads to half sandwiches to soups, you have your pick of just about anything.

If an item isn't listed here, it was either unbalanced in carb to protein ratio, too high in carbs, or it's a seasonal item local to you and wasn't listed on Panera Bread's website.

NOTE - One thing I noticed about Panera's food is that there is very little fiber. The vast majority of items have about 2 grams of fiber. Not that big of a deal if Panera is a once in a while visit.
On the other hand, their fat to protein to carb ratios are pretty good!

For delicious nutrient-dense soups you must try Sausage Kale Soup and Potato Cauliflower Soup.

Breakfasts & Sides

The wraps are just outside limits, but the protein is almost a 1 to 1 ratio with the carbs. Maybe peel away a bit of the tortilla to shave a few carbs. 🙂

Food	Carbs	Protein
Bacon, Scrambled Egg & Tomato Wrap	32	28
Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg & Avocado Wrap	32	27
Greek Yogurt with Mixed Berries Parfait	27	14
Summer Fruit Cup	15	1

Kid's Sizes

All kids' items are easy orders because they're within diabetic carb limits and are good choices with the exception of these 3 items.

Food	Carbs	Protein
Kid's Mac & Cheese	33	17
Kid's Tuna Salad Sandwich	39	16
Kid's Toasted Steak & White Cheddar	43	24

The above items are within carb limits, but the bulk of their carbs come from white flour so you'd be better off ordering something else. However, each item has a decent amount of protein, so it's up to you.

Vegetarian Options

NOTE - The French Onion Soup isn't listed because broth is an ingredient and broth is flavored with animal parts, but the soup is within carb limits.

* In the Mediterranean bowl, rice makes up 47 of 75 carbs. In the Baja bowl, the rice makes up 60 of 81 carbs. You could get the rice on the side and eat only ¼th of it to be safe, or as you know your body allows.

Food	Size	Carbs	Protein
Baja Grain Bowl	N/A	81*	18
Mediterranean Grain Bowl	N/A	75*	20
Modern Caprese Sandwich	Half	43	21
Mac & Cheese	Small	33	17
Classic Grilled Cheese	Half	33	16
Greek Yogurt with Mixed Berries Parfait	N/A	27	14
Summer Fruit Cup	N/A	15	1
Creamy Tomato Soup	Bowl	34	5
Creamy Tomato Soup	Cup	24	4
Summer Corn Chowder	Bowl	34	5
Summer Corn Chowder	Cup	22	3
Broccoli Cheddar Soup	Bowl	30	14
Broccoli Cheddar Soup	Cup	19	9
Ten Vegetable Soup	Bowl	16	5
Ten Vegetable Soup	Cup	11	3
Caesar Salad	Whole	19	10
Caesar Salad	Half	10	5
Greek Salad	Whole	15	9
Greek Salad	Half	7	4

Soups

So let's get the obvious out of the way - bread bowls are a no-go.

Food	Size	Carbs	Protein
Bistro French Onion Soup	Bowl	36	13
Creamy Tomato Soup	Bowl	34	5
Summer Corn Chowder	Bowl	34	5
Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup	Bowl	32	10
Southwest Chicken Tortilla Soup	Bowl	32	14
Broccoli Cheddar Soup	Bowl	30	14
Chicken Noodle Soup	Bowl	21	13
Ten Vegetable Soup	Bowl	16	5

NOTE - Kids and cup sizes are the same size in soups.

Ordering a cup of soup is a safe bet because they range from 11 to 24 carbs.

Food	Size	Carbs	Protein
Creamy Tomato Soup	Cup	24	4
Summer Corn Chowder	Cup	22	3
Bistro French Onion Soup	Cup	21	8
Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup	Cup	21	6
Broccoli Cheddar Soup	Cup	19	9
Southwest Chicken Tortilla Soup	Cup	19	9
Chicken Noodle Soup	Cup	14	9
Ten Vegetable Soup	Cup	11	3

You can skip Panera and make any of these delicious soups at home!

Mac & Cheese

Food	Size	Carbs	Protein
Mac & Cheese	Small	33	17
Bacon Mac & Cheese	Small	34	22

CAUTION - Even though the mac & cheese is within carb limits and has a good amount of protein, first consider how you've handled white flour foods (pasta) before.

If you've been okay with pasta before, go for it. The ratio of fat and protein to carbs is pretty good! But if your readings were on the higher end after eating pasta, maybe eat only half a serving or get something else.

Salads

Food	Size	Carbs	Protein
Southwest Chile Lime Ranch Salad with Chicken	Whole	54	39
BBQ Chicken Salad	Whole	44	33
Spicy Thai Salad with Chicken	Whole	43	37
Fuji Apply Salad with Chicken	Whole	38	32
Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Chicken	Whole	34	28
Asian Sesame Salad with Chicken	Whole	29	31
Green Goddess Cobb Salad with Chicken	Whole	27	42
Caesar Salad with Chicken	Whole	21	34
Caesar Salad	Whole	19	10
Greek Salad	Whole	15	9

Food	Size	Carbs	Protein
Southwest Chile Lime Ranch Salad with Chicken	Half	27	20
BBQ Chicken Salad	Half	22	17
Spicy Thai Salad with Chicken	Half	22	18
Fuji Apply Salad with Chicken	Half	19	16
Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Chicken	Half	17	14
Green Goddess Cobb Salad with Chicken	Half	14	21
Asian Sesame Salad with Chicken	Half	14	16
Caesar Salad with Chicken	Half	11	17
Caesar Salad	Half	10	5
Greek Salad	Half	7	4

Sandwiches

There's no whole sandwich that you can enjoy here because they're insanely high in carbs - almost 70+ carbs per sandwich - and at least 90% of the carbs on each sandwich come from the bread.

To make a sandwich low carb at Panera, order it as a half, or remove one-half of the bread and eat it open-faced.

Another trick is to the gut the bread (it it's french style) so that the outer crust remains. Your preference.

Each slice of bread is 30 to 40 carbs, so when ordering a half sandwich or removing one-half of the bread, you're removing 30 to 40 carbs.

The exceptions are the Country Rustic Sourdough Sliced Bread at 22 carbs per slice and the Whole Wheat bread at 14 carbs per slice.
Each sandwich has a particular type of bread, so if you want to save carbs, order it with the lower carb breads.

Food	Size	Carbs	Protein
Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich	Half	46	21
Toasted Steak & White Cheddar	Half	43	24
Modern Caprese Sandwich	Half	43	21
Smokehouse BBQ Chicken Sandwich	Half	41	21
Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt	Half	40	21
Toasted Frontega Chicken	Half	39	19
Tuna Salad Sandwich	Half	39	16
Chipotle Bacon Melt	Half	34	21
Bacon Turkey Bravo Sandwich	Half	34	23
Classic Grilled Cheese	Half	33	16
Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich	Half	31	14
Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT	Half	27	21
Heritage Ham & Swiss	Half	24	21

These are the best breads for diabetes at the grocery store.

Grain Bowls

Panera's grain bowls are great if you get the rice on the side.

In both Mediterranean bowls, the rice makes up 47 of 75 carbs. In the Baja bowls, the rice makes up 60 of 81 carbs.

You could get the rice on the side and eat only ¼th of it to be safe, or as you know your body allows.

Food	Carbs	Protein
Baja Grain Bowl with Chicken	82	30
Baja Grain Bowl	81	18
Mediterranean Grain Bowl with Chicken	76	32
Mediterranean Grain Bowl	75	20

Drinks

Generally, I mention any drink under 10 carbs because liquid carbs enter our blood stream much more quickly.

Drink	Size	Carbs	Protein
Any cold or hot Unsweetened Coffee	N/A	2-4	0
Unsweetened Iced Tea	N/A	2	0
Hot Tea	N/A	1	0
Plum Ginger Hibiscus Tea	N/A	0	0

Other Items

All sweet breads, cookies, pastries, smoothies, croissants, scones (even the minis) and sweet drinks are off limits. I hate that term - off limits - but they range between 27 and 60 carbs. So unless you can take a bite or sip and put it away, don't waste your money.

The ONE dessert within carb limits is a petite chocolate chip cookie and it's 13 carbs.

Panera Bread PDF DOWNLOAD

More Low Carb Fast Food