Panera Bread offers breakfast and lunch options for people who want a quick meal on the go.
The food tends to be of better quality and healthier than many of the fast-food options out there, and they serve food quickly when you have a limited amount of time before work or during your lunch break.
What happens if you want to get lunch from Panera Bread on your way to work so that you don’t have to leave the office during lunch?
Are you even able to do that?
We cover everything you need to know about getting lunch at Panera and whether they offer lunch all day.
Does Panera Serve Lunch All Day?
Panera Bread does serve a large majority of its lunch menu items all day long.
However, soup is not available until lunchtime.
Lunch items generally take longer in the morning, but you can still order sandwiches and salads in the morning.
You cannot get soup since it takes significantly longer for the soup to heat up.
The employees can’t reasonably heat up one order at a time until they put the soup on in the afternoon.
You cannot order all breakfast items all day long.
Many items, especially hot items, are only available until lunch starts.
You can get bakery items and coffee items all day long.
If you want to order your lunch in the morning, you can set up pickup through the app and pick it up on your way to work or at lunchtime.
You can also buy items the day before and save them for lunch the next day.
What Time Does Lunch Start At Panera?
Depending on the restaurant, lunch technically starts at 10:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m.
Each restaurant can choose its hours, so check your favorite Panera Bread to learn its exact hours.
Panera Lunch Menu Items
Knowing the lunch menu items in advance can help you when you want to order in advance and have a better customer experience.
Panera Bread lunch items are customizable (except for the soups and prepackaged items).
We recommend trying several items to discover your favorites as they all have their own flavors.
Sandwiches:
- Roasted turkey, apple & cheddar with whole-grain cranberry walnut bread and mustard horseradish sauce
- Chipotle chicken avocado melt with black pepper focaccia bread
- Steak & arugula on sourdough bread with pickled onions and herb cream cheese spread
- Classic grilled cheese on classic white bread
- Napa almond chicken salad sandwich on sesame semolina bread
- Turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread
- Mediterranean Veggie with cucumbers, lettuce, red onions, zesty sweet peppadew piquant peppers, cilantro-jalapeno hummus on a whole grain flatbread
Salads:
- Asian Sesame Salad with Chicken
- Caesar Salad
- Caesar Salad with Chicken
- Fuji Apple Salad with Chicken
- Greek Salad
- Green Goddess Salad with Chicken
- Modern Greek Salad with Quinoa
- Seasonal Green salad
- Southwest Chile Lime Ranch Salad with Chicken
- Spicy Thai Salad with Chicken
Pasta:
- Chicken Tortellini Alfredo
- Pasta Primavera
- Butternut Squash Ravioli
- Pesto Sacchettini Pasta
- Mac & Cheese (Small/large/bread bowl)
Soups:
- Turkey Chili
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar
- Vegetarian Creamy Tomato
Tips For Saving Money At Panera Bread
Lunch costs add up rather quickly, especially when you eat out regularly.
Don’t limit your ability to get Panera Bread to once or twice a week.
Instead, try the following methods to save money during your Panera Bread trips so you can go more often.
1. My Panera Rewards
Panera offers a free rewards program known as My Panera Rewards.
It’s free to sign up, and, when you do, you’ll get a free treat good for up to two months.
After you sign up, you’ll start accumulating points with your purchases.
To earn points, all purchases must be made through your My Panera Rewards account.
You can order online or through the app to automatically have the points added to your account.
You can also do it in-store by using your phone number.
Points accumulate based on how many transactions you complete.
You will get a freebie after every six transactions.
The transactions must be spaced every two to four hours apart.
As an additional surprise, you get a free treat on your birthday.
Want even more savings?
Refer your friends to the My Panera Rewards Program to get a free $5 toward your next purchase.
2. MyPanera+
Do you enjoy Panera Bread coffee?
You’re in luck!
You can get select Panera Bread beverages up to eight times a day (every two hours) for only $8.99 a month.
The subscription pays for itself after only a couple of drinks.
It’s a great option for people who live or work near a Panera Bread.
Drink items included with the MyPanera+ program include:
- Hot coffee
- Iced coffee
- Hot tea
The program does not allow users to get specialty drinks or soft drinks.
If you sign up now, you can even get the first month free!
3. Panera Bread Deals
You can get $4 off of a box of bagels on Tuesdays, making bagel Tuesdays a realistic tradition at your office.
Panera Bread offers meal deals that allow you to get a free dessert for $0.99 when you buy a sandwich, soup, or salad with a drink.
Finally, Panera Bread offers duet values every day for $6.99:
- Grilled Cheese & Creamy Tomato Soup
- Caesar Salad & Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
- Tuna Salad Sandwich & Ten Vegetable Soup
- Greek Salad & Creamy Tomato Soup
You cannot substitute another type of sandwich, soup, or salad and get the same price.
However, you can still customize the items as you see fit.
4. Ask For Free Upgrades
Panera Bread makes most menu items highly customizable so that you get the exact meal you want.
You may not know that some of the customizable options allow you to upgrade items for free.
For example, you can add veggies to your sandwich or salad for free.
You can also upgrade the bread to a croissant or bagel for free.
You can even ask Panera Bread to cut your apple for you and give you a side of honey for no extra charge.
5. Buy In Bulk
Feeding the whole family or the whole office?
You can have everyone give you their order and buy each person’s order separately, or you can buy one of the Panera Bread family meals that can save you as much as 56% of the total.
See the following family meal options (and savings):
- Family Feast with Soup or Mac: Costs $30.59, a savings of $35.04 (53%)
- Family Feast with Cookies: Costs $34.79, a savings of $37.00 (52%)
- Family Feast: Costs $30.59, a savings of $31.64 (51%)
- Premium Family Feast with Cookies: Costs $38.99, a savings of $36.70 (48%)
- Premium Family Feast: Costs $34.79, a savings of $31.34 (47%)
- 3 Flatbread Pizza Family Feast with Vanilla Cinnamon Rolls: Costs $34.79, a savings of $22.02 (39%)
- 2 Flatbread Pizza Family Feast with Vanilla Cinnamon Rolls: Costs $30.59, a savings of $16.53 (35%)
- 2 Flatbread Pizza Family Feast: Costs $24.19, a savings of $10.57 (30%)
- Breakfast Sandwich Feast: Costs $14.69, a savings of $6.07 (29%)
- Fresh Baked Goods Feast: Costs $14.69, a savings of $3.85 (21%)
Why Panera Bread?
Panera Bread bases its operations on its core values, and you can taste the difference in the food and experience the difference when you visit each restaurant.
1. Food Beliefs
Panera insists on selling food made from “clean, fresh ingredients selected for quality,” so they have established clear standards.
If ingredients don’t meet the standards, they won’t end up in your food.
Panera Bread has an extensive “no-no list” of ingredients you will never find in their food, mostly consisting of synthetic ingredients and additives.
Not only does Panera Bread only sell high-quality food, but it also makes a point to practice environmentally friendly practices that show respect for the planet and animals.
Panera Bread has dedicated itself be become Climate Positive by 2050 by:
- Increasing 60% of bakery-cafe entrees to Cool Food Meals
- Adopting 100% reusable, recyclable, and compostable packaging
- Utilizing renewable electricity for at least 50% of Panera Bread-owned operations
Panera was also the first company to use chickens raised without antibiotics, and it continues to use meat products with responsible farming practices.
2. Culinary Beliefs
There’s a reason “Bread” is in the company name.
Panera started as a bakery, and it still emphasizes fresh bakery items and bread in both its breakfast and lunch menu.
Head chef Claes Petersson creates unique and seasonal items that taste great.
The food looks great as well, with plenty of colors and fresh ingredients.
3. Guest Experience
Panera understands that customers need food quickly.
That’s why they allow customers to order delivery or pickup online.
If you do eat inside the restaurant, you will find a comfortable atmosphere to enjoy your food that also emphasizes public safety concerns.
4. Customer Experience
Employees make a business, and Panera aims to create a happy and safe workplace for employees by:
- Promoting an inclusive culture
- Ensuring diverse representation
- Offering growth opportunities
- Caring for employees
Panera Bread does not discriminate based on gender, age, race, or sexual orientation.
Any employee who does have a problem receives support from the human resources department.
All reports are taken seriously.
5. Community
Panera Bread restaurants aim to connect with the community through service and regularly contribute to charitable causes.
As a caring business, Panera Bread supports the following organizations:
- Day-End Dough-Nation
The Day-End Dough-Nation reduces food waste by collecting food at the end of the day and giving it to charities, such as soup kitchens.
- Panera Gives
Panera Bread supports events that encourage disease awareness and services for at-risk youth.
- Panera Fundraising
Panera Fundraising organizes fundraising events for third-party charities and contributes 20% of the bill after the event to the cause.
- Scrip Fundraising
Panera Bread gives gift cards to Scrip Fundraising, which then sells the gift cards to supporters of their charity.
Panera Bread, like many other restaurants, felt the impact of the recent pandemic.
However, it knows other people felt the impacts far worse.
For that reason, Panera Bread made a point to do its part in the following ways:
- 930,000 meals donated to Feeding America food banks
- 132,00 lunches donated toward school lunch programs
- 730,000 lunches donated to front-line workers
- 21,000 hours of work paid to employees toward relief efforts
Eating Healthy At Panera Bread
Panera Bread offers both healthy and hearty, decadent menu items.
While you can definitely order healthy items at Panera Bread, you should know which items are healthy and which items might not fit the diet of someone trying to watch their weight or carb intake.
According to NBC News, the healthiest items at Panera Bread include:
- Avocado, egg white, and spinach
- Steel-cut oatmeal
- Black bean soup
- Strawberry poppyseed salad with chicken
- Caesar salad with grilled chicken
- Modern Greek salad with quinoa
- Roasted turkey and avocado BLT
- Mediterranean veggie sandwich
Keep in mind that you can opt for avocado instead of meat if you prefer to follow a vegetarian diet.
For people who follow a strict vegan diet that doesn’t allow cheese or egg, stick to the following Panera Bread menu options:
- Plain, Everything, Blueberry, Poppyseed, Salt, and Sesame Bagels
- Black Pepper Focaccia, Country Rustic Sourdough XL Loaf, Artisan Ciabatta, Classic Sourdough Loaf, Sourdough Bread Bowl, and French Baguette
- Steel Cut Oatmeal with Strawberries & Pecans
- Fresh Fruit Cup (Seasonal & Summer)
- Peach & Blueberry Smoothie with Almond Milk
- Green Passion Smoothie
- Baja Bowl: Order without feta or Greek yogurt
- Mediterranean Bowl: Order without feta or Greek yogurt
- Tomato Basil Cucumber Salad
- Fuji Apple with Chicken: Order without chicken and Gorgonzola
- Greek: Order without feta.
- Asian Sesame with Chicken: Order without chicken and wontons
- Citrus Asian Crunch Salad with Chicken: Order without chicken
- Ten Vegetable Soup
- Ten Vegetable Soup in a Bread Bowl
- Mediterranean Veggie: Order without feta and switch to one of the bread choices listed above
Have questions about the ingredients used in your Panera Bread meal?
Don’t hesitate to ask your representative for a full explanation.
They’re happy to help!
Conclusion
If you enjoy Panera Bread, you can pick up most of your favorite lunch items at any time of the day as long as you don’t mind waiting a little bit longer in the morning.
Luckily, you can order in advance online so that you don’t end up late for work because you had to wait in line.
When you do get your order, enjoy it guilt-free thanks to Panera’s environmentally friendly practices that promote low emissions and cruelty-free treatment of all animals.
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