Whatever Happened To Panera Bread's Flatbread Pizza?

Panera Bread first unveiled flatbread pizzas back in 2020. Three flavors were added to the chain's menu, including cheese, margherita, and chipotle chicken & bacon. There were also pepperoni and four cheese versions that came in 2021. The pizza's creation came about during the height of the COVID pandemic when Panera's off-premise business increased dramatically.

In 2024, Panera's menu underwent a massive revamp. The company said this was to simplify things and focus on items like its many sandwiches, salads, mac and cheese, and soups. Flatbread pizza was one of the things that were cut, along with dozens of other items that ranged from bagels to hot drinks to bowls. With the new menu came changes to many old menu items, plus a few new additions, despite the cuts.

The flatbread pizzas were definitely a popular menu item. One Reddit thread lamenting their loss is full of people saying it was literally the only thing they liked from Panera. At least one suggested that the reason the pizzas were cut was that the core menu was being overshadowed. Conspiratorial, for sure, but they did seem to have a lot of fans. If you're still craving some, try this recipe for a triple cheese French onion flatbread.

In total, 48 items were removed from the Panera menu. Nine new dishes were added, and some old options had their recipes tweaked. Some of the older menu items had larger portions of steak and chicken added to bulk them up and offer more value. Other changes included lower prices, different spice mixes, and new dressings, meats, and cheeses.

Panera has undergone a number of changes in both its menu and operations in recent years. In addition to this high-profile public change, the company has begun shifting to par-baked bread. Restaurants receive the frozen, par-baked bread from a third-party vendor and then finish baking it in-store as needed, instead of the fresh-baked bread it had been using. Sweets and pastries are also frozen and then reheated on premises.

Pizza was really a product of the times for Panera. It had the off-premise appeal that kept the company going during the COVID pandemic. But the passage of time brought customers back to old dining habits, and, based on Panera's renewed focus on what it considers its core offerings, pizza was no longer a priority. It didn't fit with the evolution of the company, and it will find a home on our list of discontinued Panera menu items we wish would return.