Panera Just Dropped New Spicy Sandwiches And Avocado Toast

Panera Bread is celebrating summer with a brand new expansion of its menu focused on fans who like a little heat as well as the return of some old menu favorites. In terms of new menu items, we're looking forward to trying the Spicy Fiesta Chicken Sandwich ($11.59), Kickin' Grilled Cheese ($7.49), and its new line of avocado toasts.

The Spicy Fiesta Chicken Sandwich will have grilled chicken topped with aged white cheddar, sweet peppers, roasted corn, and cilantro on a slice of ciabatta bread slathered with a creamy salsa verde spread. The Kickin' Grilled Cheese uses that same creamy salsa verde spread to turn up the heat on a classic cheddar grilled cheese. As for the avocado toasts, we've got the Classic Avo ($3.49) and the Garden Avo ($4.49) both of which will be served on sourdough bread. The Classic uses a simple chunky avocado spread while the Garden adds tomatoes and garlic aioli.

But it's not just new items we get to look forward to, Panera is also bringing back two of its bagel flavors: sesame and blueberry. And, to celebrate the return of the bagels, the company is sharing a "Bagels are Back Sandwich Hack" where customers who buy a whole-sized sandwich and customize the bread to a bagel of their choice will receive a second bagel sandwich for free. Everything discussed will be available nationwide starting immediately, so break up the workday with a lunch break and grab yourself a bite of something spicy.

Panera has been undergoing some major changes in recent months. Late last year, Panera cut its menu down significantly which left some soup and sandwich fans feeling a little left out. What we didn't realize at the time was that this was an effort to make room for new menu items. Panera announced its biggest menu change in its history back in February and the addition of these items is keeping that momentum going.

It's interesting to note that none of the new additions are soups since that's a huge portion of the company's menu and the additions from February were likewise soupless. Not that we're complaining; the menu already has a ton of great soups. But we are curious about what that might mean. Potentially, it's a sign that Panera's soup offerings aren't as popular as they appear to be or, alternatively, that the company is looking at its competitors and hoping to entice sandwich fans into the store since it already has the soup audience on its side.

The addition of spicy sandwiches is a great direction for the company since a little heat can turn a mediocre sandwich into something great. Panera already has the Chipotle Chicken Avo Melt but it's not all that spicy. Without having tried the new sandwiches yet, all we can say is we like what we see.