Keto Diet And Panera Bread: What's On The Menu?

Panera Bread is a popular bakery and restaurant chain that offers a variety of menu items, including soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta, pastries, and more. While the restaurant is known for its bread and other carb-heavy options, it is possible to eat keto at Panera with some modifications. Here's an introduction to the topic of keto-friendly options at Panera.

When following a keto diet, it is essential to minimize carbohydrate intake and focus on low-carb, high-fat foods. At Panera, this typically means avoiding breads, bagels, tortillas, and other baked goods. However, there are still plenty of keto-friendly options available. For breakfast, you can order items like the Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg, and Avocado Wrap without the tortilla, or the Avocado, Egg White, and Spinach without the bagel. Lunch and dinner options include breadless sandwiches such as the Roasted Turkey and Avocado BLT or the Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt without the bread. Salads, such as the Greek Salad or the Caesar Salad with Chicken, are also good choices, but be sure to skip the croutons and watch out for sugary dressings.

In addition to these options, Panera offers a variety of keto-friendly drinks, including unsweetened iced tea, diet sodas, and coffee. With a little creativity and customization, it is definitely possible to enjoy a keto-friendly meal at Panera.

Keto breakfast options at Panera

Panera Bread is a popular chain restaurant that offers soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta, and pastries. While the menu items are typically carb-heavy, there are several keto breakfast options available by making simple customizations. Here are some keto breakfast options at Panera:

Avocado, Egg White, and Spinach (no bagel)

Order the Avocado, Egg White, and Spinach without the bagel and tomatoes. This light and keto-friendly breakfast option provides around 160 calories and 4 grams of total carbs. For a more filling option, you can replace the egg whites with a regular egg.

Sausage, Scrambled Egg, and Cheese (no ciabatta)

This hearty breakfast choice is packed with fat and protein. Simply remove the ciabatta bread to make it keto-friendly. It contains approximately 3 grams of total carbs.

Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg, and Avocado Wrap (no tortilla)

For a breakfast with a kick, try the Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg, and Avocado Wrap without the tortilla. It includes smoked pulled chicken, scrambled egg, smoked Gouda, chipotle aioli, Peppadew peppers, avocado, and cilantro. You can also ask for it to be wrapped in romaine lettuce instead. This option has around 4 grams of total carbs.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese (no bread)

Order the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese without the bread for a classic and healthier keto option. It has approximately 2 grams of net carbs.

Additional Tips

When ordering keto at Panera, it is best to stick with salads and breadless sandwiches. Avoid breads, rolls, cookies, soups, and chips. Pickled onions are also high in carbs, so it is best to skip them. For drinks, opt for water, unsweetened iced tea, or diet sodas.

Keto-friendly Panera salads

Panera Bread is a popular chain restaurant offering soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta, and pastries. While most of their menu items are too carb-heavy, there are several dishes that can be customized to fit a keto diet.

• Caesar Salad with Chicken (no croutons, dressing on the side): This salad contains romaine lettuce, grated parmesan, and creamy Caesar dressing. Adding chicken provides extra protein. The Caesar dressing is low in carbs. The total carbs for this salad are approximately 10 grams.
• Greek Salad with Chicken (no tomatoes, no onions, dressing on the side): To make this salad keto-friendly, simply remove the red onions and tomatoes, which are high in carbs. Adding chicken provides a protein boost. The total carbs for this salad are approximately 12 grams.
• Green Goddess Cobb Salad with Chicken (no onions, no tomatoes, with Caesar dressing): This salad is packed with fresh greens, chicken, avocado, a hard-boiled egg, and bacon. Removing the pickled red onions and tomatoes and substituting Caesar dressing for the Green Goddess dressing significantly reduces the carb count. The total carbs for this salad are approximately 16 grams.
• Greek Salad (whole): The regular Greek Salad at Panera is keto-friendly as is. It contains romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, feta cheese, red onions, kalamata olives, Greek dressing, salt, and pepper. If you want to reduce carbs further, you can skip the red onions and tomatoes. The total carbs for this salad are 9 grams.
• Green Goddess Cobb Salad with Chicken (whole, no pickled onions): This salad is a protein-rich option with grilled chicken, arugula, romaine lettuce, baby kale, grape tomatoes, avocado, Applewood smoked bacon, and a hard-boiled egg. To make it even more keto-friendly, you can skip the tomatoes and choose a different dressing or remove it altogether. The total carbs for this salad are 10 grams.

When ordering salads at Panera, remember to watch out for high-carb toppings and dressings. Opt for low-carb dressings like Greek, Caesar, or plain olive oil, and always ask for the dressing on the side to control the amount you use.

Keto Panera drinks

Panera Bread has a variety of keto-friendly drink options. Here is a list of drinks you can order:

• Unsweetened iced tea
• Plum Ginger Hibiscus Tea
• Earl Gruyer Tea
• Ginger Peach Tea
• Mango Ceylon Tea
• Orange Ginger Mint Tea
• Unsweetened Black Tea
• British Breakfast Tea
• Blackberry Sage Tea
• Cinnamon Plum Tea
• Mango Passionfruit Tea
• Spindrift (Lemon, Orange Mango, Raspberry Lime)
• SoBe Life Water Yumberry Pomegranate
• Espresso
• Light or dark roast coffee
• Cold brew coffee
• Decaf coffee
• Iced coffee
• Tropicana Light Lemonade

You can also add almond milk or butter to your coffee to make it bulletproof.

Keto Panera sandwiches

Panera Bread is a bakery and restaurant that serves sandwiches, soups, salads, pasta, pastries, and more. While the menu items are typically high in carbs, there are still ways to eat keto at Panera. Here are some keto-friendly sandwich options:

Breakfast Sandwiches

• Avocado, Egg White, and Spinach Sandwich: Order without the bagel and tomato (2g net carbs).
• Sausage, Scrambled Egg, and Cheese Sandwich: Order without the ciabatta bread (3g net carbs).
• Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg, and Avocado Wrap: Order without the tortilla or ask for a romaine lettuce wrap instead (2g net carbs).
• Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich: Order without bread (2g net carbs).

Lunch and Dinner Sandwiches

• Roasted Turkey and Avocado BLT: Order without bread and tomatoes (2g net carbs).
• Heritage Ham and Swiss: Order without bread (3g net carbs).
• Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt: Order without bread (7g net carbs).
• Bacon Turkey Bravo Sandwich: Order without bread and with a bed of lettuce instead (8g net carbs).
• Steak and White Cheddar Panini: Order without bread and with a bed of lettuce instead. You can also skip the pickled onions to reduce carbs further (13g net carbs).

Additional Tips

When ordering keto sandwiches at Panera, it's best to stick to breadless sandwiches and salads. Avoid breads, rolls, cookies, soups, and chips. Pickled onions are also high in carbs, so it's best to skip them. If you want a dressing or sauce, some keto-friendly options include:

• Asian Sesame Dressing (2g net carbs)
• Caesar Dressing (1g net carbs)
• Chili Lime Rojo Ranch (1g net carbs)
• Greek Dressing (0g net carbs)
• Basil Pesto (0g net carbs)
• Chipotle Aioli (0g net carbs)

Keto Panera sides

Eating keto at Panera is possible, but it requires some adjustments to the menu items. The biggest tip for keto sides at Panera is to stick to salads and breadless sandwiches. Here are some keto-friendly side options at Panera:

Salads

• Caesar Salad (whole): Ask for no croutons. Nutrition Information: 220 Calories | 20g Fat | 4g Total Carbs | 2g Fiber | 1g Sugar | 6g Protein | 2g Net Carbs.
• Greek Salad (whole): No adjustments needed. Nutrition Information: 400 Calories | 35g Fat | 15g Total Carbs | 6g Fiber | 6g Sugar | 6g Protein | 9g Net Carbs.
• Green Goddess Cobb Salad with Chicken (whole): No pickled onions. Nutrition Information: 500 Calories | 30g Fat | 17g Total Carbs | 7g Fiber | 10g Sugar | 42g Protein | 7g Net Carbs.

Breadless Sandwiches

• Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT (whole): No bread and no tomatoes. Nutrition Information: 430 Calories | 35g Fat | 2g Total Carbs | 0g Fiber | 0g Sugar | 38g Protein | 2g Net Carbs.
• Bacon Turkey Bravo Sandwich (whole): No bread, get a bed of lettuce instead, and get the signature sauce on the side. Nutrition Information: 450 Calories | 29g Fat | 9g Total Carbs | 1g Fiber | 6g Sugar | 39g Protein | 8g Net Carbs.
• Ham & Swiss Sandwich (whole): No bread, ask for your sandwich on a bed of lettuce. Nutrition Information: 290 Calories | 16g Fat | 9g Total Carbs | 1g Fiber | 5g Sugar | 30g Protein | 8g Net Carbs.

In addition to these specific options, you can generally order any sandwich at Panera without the bread to make it keto-friendly. Salads are also a good option, but be mindful of toppings and dressings, as these can add carbs.

Frequently asked questions