Keto Options At Panera Bread: What To Order?

Panera Bread is a popular bakery and restaurant chain, offering a range of soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta, pastries, and more. While the name and menu might suggest that the restaurant is not suitable for those on a keto diet, there are in fact several ways to eat keto at Panera.

The key to ordering keto at Panera is to avoid anything with flour, starchy carbs, and sugar. This means no bread, wraps, rolls, muffins, croutons, or desserts. Instead, opt for salads and breadless sandwiches.

For breakfast, you can order any of the sandwiches without the bread, such as the Avocado, Egg White, and Spinach; Sausage, Scrambled Egg, and Cheese; or Bacon, Egg, and Cheese.

At lunch and dinner, you can order any of the sandwiches without the bread, such as the Roasted Turkey and Avocado BLT; Heritage Ham and Swiss; or Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt. There are also several salads that can be ordered with modifications, such as the Caesar Salad, Greek Salad, and Green Goddess Cobb Salad.

In addition to these food options, there are also several keto-friendly drinks available at Panera, including unsweetened iced tea, diet lemonade, and coffee.

Breakfast: Order any breakfast sandwich without the bread

Breakfast is the easiest meal to order keto-friendly at Panera Bread. Simply order any of the breakfast sandwiches without the bread. Here are some examples:

• Avocado, Egg White, and Spinach Sandwich: Order without the bagel and tomato.
• Sausage, Scrambled Egg, and Cheese Sandwich: Order without the ciabatta bread.
• Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg, and Avocado Wrap: Ask for no tortilla, or request a romaine lettuce wrap.
• Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich: Order without the bread.

You can also order individual breakfast items a la carte, such as avocado, bacon, pork sausage, ham, hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, egg whites, and more.

When ordering keto-friendly meals at Panera Bread, it's best to stick to salads and breadless sandwiches. Avoid breads, rolls, cookies, soups, and chips. Pickled onions are also not low-carb, and it's best to leave dressings and toppings off your order when in doubt.

Lunch/dinner: Salads are the only option, but with lots of customisations

Salads are a great option for keto lunch or dinner at Panera Bread, but they do require some customisation to make them low-carb.

The Green Goddess Cobb Salad with Chicken is a good option, but you'll need to remove the pickled onions and tomatoes to reduce the carb count. The Caesar Salad with Chicken is also a tasty choice, but again, you should skip the croutons.

If you're after a more Mediterranean flavour, the Greek Salad is a great option. Just ask for no pickled onions or tomatoes, and add chicken for some extra protein.

When it comes to dressings, it's best to opt for low-carb options like Greek, Caesar, or plain olive oil. Ask for your dressing on the side, so you can control how much you use.

While Panera Bread is a bakery, and it may seem challenging to order keto-friendly options, with a little creativity and customisation, it's definitely possible to enjoy a delicious and keto-compliant meal.

Drinks: Espresso, almond milk, plum ginger hibiscus tea, etc

While Panera Bread is a bakery, it does offer some keto-friendly drink options. Here are some of the drinks you can order:

• Espresso: You can order an espresso without any added sugar to keep it keto-friendly.
• Almond milk: Almond milk is a good non-dairy option, but be sure to check that it is unsweetened.
• Plum ginger hibiscus tea: This tea is a great choice, as it is naturally sweet and flavourful without any added sugar.
• Unsweetened iced tea: Iced tea is a refreshing choice, but be sure to avoid any sweetened varieties.
• Diet sodas: Opt for diet sodas instead of regular ones to avoid the sugar.
• Water: Water is always a healthy and keto-friendly choice.
• Diet sugar-free lemonade: This option lets you enjoy the taste of lemonade without the sugar.
• Sobe Life Water Yumberry Pomegranate: This flavoured water drink is a good choice for a keto diet.

Remember, when ordering drinks at Panera Bread, it's best to stick to those without added sugars or sweeteners. You can also ask about the ingredients to ensure your drink choices fit within your keto diet.

Dressings: Greek, Caesar, and chilli lime rojo are good options

When eating keto at Panera Bread, it's best to stick to salads and breadless sandwiches. While ordering salads, opt for low-carb dressings like Greek, Caesar, or plain olive oil. Keep the dressing on the side and only use what you need.

The Greek dressing at Panera Bread has 0g net carbs for a half-size serving and 1g net carb for a whole serving. The Caesar dressing has 1g net carb for a half-size serving and 2g net carbs for a whole serving. The Chilli Lime Rojo Ranch dressing has 1g net carb for a half-size serving and 2g net carbs for a whole serving.

When ordering sandwiches, ask for no bread, no tomatoes, and no onions. If the sandwich contains a sugary sauce, replace it with a low-carb option like mayo or mustard.

Salads

• Caesar Salad with chicken and no croutons: 10g total carbs
• Greek Salad with chicken, no tomatoes, no onions, and dressing on the side: 12g total carbs
• Green Goddess Cobb Salad with chicken, no pickled onions, no tomatoes, and Caesar dressing on the side: 16g total carbs

Sandwiches

• Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT with no bread and no tomatoes: 6g total carbs
• Heritage Ham & Swiss with no bread: 4g total carbs
• Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt with no bread: 11g total carbs

What to avoid: All breads, pastries, sweets, bagels, pastas, soups, and sides

When eating keto at Panera Bread, there are several foods and drinks that should be avoided. Here is a list of foods and drinks to avoid, along with some detailed explanations:

Breads, pastries, bagels, and sweets:

• Avoid all types of bread, including bread bowls for soups.
• Don't order any pastries, muffins, cookies, or other bakery items.
• Bagels are also off the menu, as they are high in carbs.

Pastas:

Pasta dishes are not suitable for a keto diet, so avoid any pasta options at Panera Bread.

Soups:

While the Ten Vegetable Soup is the most keto-friendly option, it still contains some higher-carb ingredients like sprouted brown rice and chickpeas. Therefore, it is best to avoid all soups to stay within your keto limits.

Sides:

Refuse all side dish options, including chips, apple, and baguette. These are too high in carbs for a keto diet.

In addition to the above, remember to avoid starchy carbs, high-sugar dressings, and sauces like barbecue sauce. Pickled onions are also high in carbs, so it is best to skip them.

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