If you’re dining with a group of people who all have different dietary needs, you might find yourself at a restaurant chain like Panera Bread. The good news is that, like many major chains, Panera offers several plant-based options. So whether you’re there by choice or by circumstance, here are the vegan items worth ordering.
How to order vegan at Panera
Panera does have some vegan options, but it is far from the best place for plant-based diners. While it has pledged to increase its vegan-friendly options in the past, the chain’s 2024 menu overhaul didn’t include any new plant-based options. Instead, the chain announced that it has chosen to add four new sandwiches, four new salads, and one mac and cheese, all of which are loaded with animal products like chicken, bacon, and dairy.
More plant-based options could be on the way, though. In November 2025, the chain announced a new strategy called Panera Rise, which will include more locations and a menu refresh. “What does the cafe of the future look like? We’re doing a lot of work around that, we’re going to test different things,” CEO Paul Carbone told CNBC.
Panera Bread
Right now, though, there are some meat-free options at Panera. In September 2025, for example, it brought back the plant-based Black Bean Soup for the fall season. It’s currently unclear if the soup will remain on the menu permanently or not.
Panera
While the items listed below are vegan, Panera cautions that ingredients may vary by location. When in doubt, ask your cashier to read the ingredient list for you (all locations are equipped with a massive binder that includes every single item on their menu). This is particularly helpful when the café offers limited-time specials that the staff may not yet be familiar with.
What’s vegan at Panera Bread?
Whether you customize your own bowl or opt for a simple salad modification, there is one rule: always accept a side of bread. It’s vegan, and it’s what this chain excels at.
Panera Bread
1 Vegan breads and baked goods
Panera is a self-proclaimed bakery at heart, so it would be unthinkable not to order the bread. Plant-based eaters can rely on the plain, blueberry, sesame, multigrain, and everything bagels, along with several of the freshly baked breads. Feel free to fill your bread basket with the country, sourdough, French baguette, black pepper focaccia, Tomato Basil Bread, and ciabatta options. In case you were wondering, the iconic Panera bread bowl is sourdough, so you can still enjoy your edible serving ware.
Panera Bread
2 Vegan salads
Panera’s salads don’t come vegan as a standard, though you can certainly customize them. Here’s how to hack it: ask for no meat, cheese, or egg, and substitute these items with avocado (they’ll do it for free). You can also bulk up your salad by selecting the customize button online and adding a medley of crispy, fresh, or crunchy toppings like pickled red onions, bean corn salsa, crispy carrots, apple chips, pecans, and more.
Finally, be wary of the dressings. The balsamic, poppyseed, Fuji apple, Asian, and Greek dressings are all vegan. Actually, we buy the poppyseed dressing by the bottle at Target—it’s that good. Pro tip: if you want a smaller-sized salad, ask for a kid’s version with the modifications mentioned above. Alternatively, if you ask nicely, you can get a full-sized salad served in a bread bowl.
Panera Bread
3 Vegan sandwiches
There is one vegan sandwich option at Panera—with a modification. Order the Mediterranean Veggie without feta and ask for it on vegan-friendly bread (listed above). We particularly enjoy this handhold on ciabatta or black pepper focaccia. Even without the cheese, it’s a delicious sandwich packed with peppadew peppers, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, hummus, and red onions. Order a kid-sized salad or a cup of fresh fruit to pair with your sandwich.
Panera Bread
4 Vegan drinks
Most of the smoothies at Panera are made with dairy-based Greek yogurt, making them unsuitable for vegan diets. However, the Tropical Green Smoothie is dairy-free, made with guava and mango puree, white grape, pineapple, passionfruit juice, and spinach. The many flavored lemonades or fruity iced teas are also vegan-friendly, like Blueberry Lavender Lemonade, Citrus Punch, and Pomegranate Hibiscus Tea.
Panera Bread
5 Vegan soups
For a while, Panera Bread had zero vegan soup options, but that has changed. As we mentioned earlier, you can opt for the Black Bean Soup either in a standard bowl or the classic Panera Bread bowl. The hearty soup features black beans, garlic powder, celery, onions, and red bell peppers with plenty of seasoning.
Want something cheesier? You could try this recipe for Vegan Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup the next time your cravings hit at home.
Panera Bread
6 Classic Avo
If you’re in Panera before 11 am, you can always rely on the Classic Avo to fill you up. This simple, tasty menu item features the chain’s Country Rustic Sourdough with creamy avocado mash, salt and pepper, and everything bagel seasoning.
Panera Bread
7 Oatmeal with Strawberries & Pecans
Unfortunately, most of the sweet treats at Panera aren’t vegan. However, the Steel Cut Oatmeal with Strawberries & Pecans and the fruit cup are technically part of the bakery menu, offering a naturally sweet option for those in search of breakfast before 11 am.
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Tanya Flink is a Digital Editor at VegNews as well as a writer and runner living in Orange County, CA.
