10 Keto-Friendly Meals at Panera

Panera Bread is a well-known fast-casual chain offering soups, salads, sandwiches, pasta, and pastries.

Nevertheless, if you follow a very low-carb, high-fat keto lifestyle, you might wonder about the safety of dining at Panera.

While most menu items are too carbohydrate-heavy by default, you can tailor several dishes to fit the diet. The options below contain up to 12 grams of net carbs per item and can be integrated into a carefully planned keto regimen.

Panera Bread also includes a robust nutrition calculator integrated into its website menu, but the calculator does not permit removing bread from sandwiches. Consequently, you may need to perform your own calculations to estimate the carb content of other breadless menu items (1).

Here are 10 of the best keto-friendly choices at Panera Bread.

1–3. Breakfast selections

At Panera Bread, breakfast sandwiches typically come on a bagel or in a wrap, but it’s easy to omit the bread.

1. Avocado, Egg White, & Spinach (no bagel)

This light morning item is perfectly keto-compatible when you remove the bread and tomatoes. For extra fullness, you can substitute a whole egg for the egg whites.

Order: the Avocado, Egg White, & Spinach, with no tomatoes and no bagel

Here’s the approximate nutrient breakdown:

• Calories: 160 calories
• Fat: 11 grams
• Protein:13 grams
• Fiber: 2 grams
• Total carbs: 4 grams
• Net carbs: 2 grams

2. Sausage, Scrambled Egg, & Cheese (no ciabatta)

This hearty morning option is rich in fat and protein to keep you satisfied. Make it keto by removing the ciabatta bread.

Order: the Sausage, Scrambled Egg, & Cheese, with no bread

Here’s the nutrient content of this item:

• Calories: 340
• Fat:27 grams
• Protein:23 grams
• Fiber: 0 grams
• Total carbs:3 grams
• Net carbs:3 grams

3. Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg, & Avocado wrap (no tortilla)

This wrap — without the tortilla, of course — offers a keto-friendly breakfast with a zing from Peppadew peppers and chipotle aioli.

Order: the Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg, & Avocado wrap, with no tortilla

Here’s the approximate nutrient breakdown:

• Calories: 290
• Fat:24 grams
• Protein:20 grams
• Fiber: 2 grams
• Total carbs: 4 grams
• Net carbs:2 grams

4–6. Sandwiches

Many Panera sandwiches are keto-friendly if you remove the bread, but you should also be mindful of certain sauces, like barbecue sauce, and high-carb vegetables such as tomatoes and onions.

Additionally, you can ask your local Panera Bread if they can convert the sandwich into a lettuce wrap, making your breadless sandwich more portable and easier to eat.

4. Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT (no bread or tomatoes)

Removing the bread and tomatoes leaves a sandwich packed with keto-friendly goodness — turkey, bacon, avocado, greens, and mayo.

Order: the Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT with no bread and no tomatoes

This BLT minus the tomato contains:

• Calories: 450
• Fat:34 grams
• Protein:34 grams
• Fiber: 4 grams
• Total carbs: 6 grams
• Net carbs:2 grams

5. Heritage Ham & Swiss (no bread)

This straightforward sandwich with ham, Swiss cheese, mayo, mustard, and greens works well on keto once the bread is removed.

Order: the Heritage Ham & Swiss with no bread

Here’s the approximate nutrient breakdown:

• Calories:410
• Fat: 30 grams
• Protein:32 grams
• Fiber:1 gram
• Total carbs:4 grams
• Net carbs:3 grams

6. Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt (no bread)

The Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt brings together smoked, shredded chicken, Gouda cheese, avocado, cilantro, Peppadew peppers, and chipotle mayo for a spicy, Southwestern flavor.

Be sure to request this item without the bread.

Order: the Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt, no bread

This item contains approximately:

• Calories: 490
• Fat:37 grams
• Protein:29 grams
• Fiber:4 grams
• Total carbs: 11 grams
• Net carbs:7 grams

7–9. Salads

Many Panera salads can be surprisingly high in carbs due to croutons, tortilla strips, beans, corn, fruit, and other high-carb toppings. In addition, many dressings are high in sugar.

To lower the carb count, order your dressing on the side — and use only what you need.

Below are the three most keto-friendly salads when customized.

7. Caesar Salad (no croutons)

Removing the croutons makes the Caesar Salad keto-friendly. It becomes even more suitable with the addition of chicken for extra protein.

Note that the Caesar dressing itself is low in carbs.

Order: the Caesar Salad with chicken, without croutons — dressing on the side

Here’s the approximate nutrient content:

• Calories:400
• Fat:26 grams
• Protein: 32 grams
• Fiber:3 grams
• Total carbs: 10 grams
• Net carbs: 7 grams

8. Greek Salad (no tomatoes or onions)

With a few tweaks, the Greek Salad with Greek dressing works well on keto. Simply omit red onions and tomatoes, which are higher in carbs, and add chicken for extra protein.

Order: the Greek Salad with chicken — no tomatoes, no onions, and dressing on the side

When customized this way, this item yields:

• Calories:510
• Fat:39 grams
• Protein: 32 grams
• Fiber:5 grams
• Total carbs:12 grams
• Net carbs:7 grams

9. Green Goddess Cobb Salad (no onions or tomatoes, different dressing)

This Cobb salad is loaded with fresh greens, chicken, avocado, a hard-boiled egg, and bacon. Be sure to skip the tomatoes and pickled red onions, and substitute Caesar dressing for the typical Green Goddess dressing, which is higher in carbs.

Order: the Green Goddess Cobb Salad, no pickled red onions and no tomatoes, with Caesar dressing on the side (no Green Goddess dressing)

It includes:

• Calories:570
• Fat:41 grams
• Protein:40 grams
• Total carbs:16 grams
• Fiber:6 grams
• Net carbs:10 grams

10. Soup

Skip the famous bread bowls and stick to this one low carb option if you want keto-friendly soup at Panera Bread.

Unfortunately, the other soups — even those that don’t seem carb-heavy — harbor 20 or more grams of net carbs per serving.

10. Ten Vegetable Soup

While relatively high in net carbs for the keto diet, this veggie soup is the only soup offering at Panera Bread that’s remotely keto-friendly. Add cheese or avocado to boost the fat content and make this a more substantial meal.

Order: Ten Vegetable Soup in a regular bowl

Here’s the nutrient breakdown:

• Calories:100
• Fat:2 grams
• Protein:5 grams
• Total carbs:16 grams
• Fiber:4 grams
• Net carbs:12 grams

Ordering tips

It’s easy to eat keto at Panera if you stick to sandwiches without bread.

If you choose a menu item that’s not on this list, here are a few tips to minimize the carb count:

• Sandwiches.Order with no bread, no tomatoes, and no onions. If the sandwich contains a sugary sauce like barbecue sauce, replace it with a low carb option like mayo or mustard.
• Salads.Order with no croutons, tortilla strips, beans, corn, tomatoes, fruit pieces, wonton strips, or onions. Choose low carb dressings like Greek, Caesar, or plain olive oil, and keep the dressing on the side.
• Soups.Opt for no bread bowl and no crackers, croutons, tortilla strips, or frizzled (fried) onions. Order a child’s size to further slash the carb count.

Supposedly, Panera Bread also has a “secret menu” featuring high protein, low carb bowls that can easily be made keto-friendly. However, there’s no information regarding these items or their nutrient content on the Panera Bread website.

Additionally, the restaurant’s grab-and-go section may occasionally offer hard-boiled eggs, which are great for the keto diet.

The bottom line

To eat keto at Panera Bread, you’ll want to customize your order.

Many of their sandwiches are keto-friendly if you remove the bread, tomatoes, and onions. For salads, opt for Greek or Caesar dressing and skip the high carb condiments. Try to be more careful with soups, as only one soup item on their main menu is keto-friendly.

If you’re looking for more keto-friendly options at this popular chain, be sure to check out the nutrition calculator on the company’s website.