Review: Panera's New Spicy Sandwiches Are Worth The Cost But What About The Avocado Toast?

Panera Bread recently launched four new menu items in the bakery and cafe chain's never-ending quest for revamped offerings. The items fall into two camps: breakfast toast and all-day sandwiches, giving guests food options throughout the day. All items are savory, so if you want something on the sweeter side, opt for one of the cinnamon roll breakfast sandwiches released in June. 

Plenty of fast-casual chains, such as Jersey Mike's Subs and Chick-fil-A, offer sandwiches, which gives Panera a lot of competition. However, chains haven't really dove into the avocado toast realm yet, save for smaller local eateries that might have it on the menu. As someone who eats, makes, and purchases sandwiches and avocado toast just about every week, I know what makes them average versus what it takes to stand out.

I've been coming to Panera for years and even worked there back in the day, so I've tried many products over the years. I ordered my food from the Panera app, which makes it easy to customize or add to your order. I sampled the two toasts and two sandwiches to get an idea of what to expect from the four new bread-based products. I order each of these items exactly as they come with no additions or substitutions. In this article, you'll find out the cost, its availability, what the food tastes like, and if it's worth your dollars. I'll give you a little teaser: Some are better than others.

Panera's new items include the Classic Avo, Garden Avo, Spicy Fiesta Chicken Sandwich, and Kickin' Grilled Cheese. Both the avocado toasts and sandwiches have avocado (of course). Both sandwiches have a spicy element and come with your choice of side: apple, chips, or baguette. The Classic Avo comes with chunky avocado spread, everything bagel seasoning, and salt and pepper on Panera's Country Rustic Sourdough. The Garden Avo toast has all the same ingredients but also includes a garlic aioli drizzle and sliced tomatoes. 

For these offerings, you can't change the bread, but you can customize the amount of avocado to light, regular, on the side, or extra for an upcharge of $1.59. The same options are available for salt and pepper and the everything bagel seasonings, except there's no charge for extra. You can purchase add-on items such as cheese, protein like steak or black forest ham, or sauce. Cilantro, sliced tomatoes, and zesty sweet peppers are free to add on.

The Spicy Fiesta Chicken Sandwich features chicken, creamy salsa verde, aged white cheddar, sweet peppers, roasted corn, and cilantro on ciabatta. The Kickin' Grilled Cheese has American cheese, aged white cheddar, and creamy salsa verde spread on the thick-sliced Classic White Miche. Many of the same upgrades and substitutions apply to the sandwiches, such as purchasing more protein or cheese or loading up on toppings. 

All items can be ordered from your local Panera at the time of store opening. Classic Avo and Garden Avo toasts are available before 10:30 a.m. The Spicy Fiesta Chicken Sandwich and Kickin' Grilled Cheese are available all day long, morning included, and they are also available for the You Pick Two deal. In Southern California, the Classic Avo is the cheapest option at $3.99, while the Garden Avo is $4.99. The grilled cheese runs at $9.49, and the Spicy Fiesta Chicken costs $12.99. 

The Panera website shows that the Kickin' Grilled Cheese is a limited-time item. The other three items show up in the new menu item area and don't mention being temporary. You can order in person, on the kiosk at the store, or on the app. When using the app, you're able to schedule an order up to two weeks in advance. The app is ideal for when you're in a rush and want to maximize your time, such as when you're on a lunch break, so it can be ready by the time you arrive.

The order total for the four products came to $31.46, not including tax. The price of the items, as well as the tax, may vary by store location based on your city and state. For example, the Panera website shows the Kickin' Grilled Cheese price as $8.49 but doesn't specify what location that price applies to.

Rather than a guacamole, Panera calls it chunky avocado spread, which is true. There are visible pieces of diced avocado mixed with mashed to allow it to stick to the bread. Some of the avocado was hard, while other parts were perfectly ripe. The everything bagel seasoning has visible poppy seeds and sesame seeds with a minuscule amount of black pepper. Upon further inspection, there were small pieces of what could be dried garlic or onion. Usually, you can see more of the ingredients in the seasoning.  The condiment, while visually appearing to be well-seasoned, tasted bland, with the most flavor coming from the light nuttiness of the sesame seeds. 

It could use more seasoning overall (salt, pepper, and everything bagel), which you can customize when you order if you want a more prominent flavor. The eatery also has salt, pepper, and hot sauce near the drinks if you want to give it heat. The thin-sliced Country Rustic Sourdough crust was crispy and hard, while the avocado-covered portion remained toasted but not too tough. 

While this might be the cheapest on the menu, it's also the most lackluster in terms of taste. The amount of avocado was okay but seemed sparse and uneven, with more concentration in certain areas than others. This Classic Avo toast has 200 calories, 9 grams of fat, 26 grams of carbohydrates, and 1 gram of protein. It has 250 milligrams of sodium and no cholesterol.

The Garden Avo is more flavorful and colorful than its classic counterpart. The juicy red tomato and creamy aioli bring a lot to the table flavor-wise. This one had a softer avocado, so it seems like there could be variation in its firmness from toast to toast and day to day. However, the $1 price difference seems considerable for a squirt of garlic aioli and two tomato slices. Given that you can add more tomatoes at no cost by customizing the toast on the app, this seems like a great hack to make it worth the price.

The photo of the sourdough avocado toast on Panera's website shows the everything bagel seasoning with pieces of onion and garlic. The picture online also has more avocado. So, if you're looking at pictures and thinking, "That looks pretty good," it doesn't look the same in person — like at all. This toast also had the issue of a too-crunchy crust; in this case, the extra weight and moisture of the tomatoes made the inner part of the bread more floppy.

While this is a step up from the Classic Avo, it still lands flat. Panera's Garden Avo toast has 320 calories, 21 grams of fat, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of protein, 320 milligrams of sodium, and 15 milligrams of cholesterol. 

This sandwich has a lot of flavor, color, and texture. Made with serrano, roasted green chile, poblano, and jalapeño peppers, the creamy salsa verde brings heat. The cheese, while not super noticeable, contributes creaminess. The chicken is medium thick — not as thin as deli meat but not as thick as you might slice it at home. There's a filling amount of chicken, which is tender and tasty. This hits sweet, smoky, and spicy notes with zesty sweet peppers, roasted corn, and salsa, respectively. The cilantro brings an earthy, herbal taste and a pop of green. 

The lightly toasted ciabatta has a slightly crunchy exterior but a soft inside with the moistness of the chicken and spread. It has a slight bounce-back if you press on it. That said, there's more bread than chicken or filling, which accounts for the carbohydrates. Due to their size, the pieces of pepper and corn tended to fall out of the sandwich. The spicy part of its namesake is moderate and approachable. It lingers on the tongue but is creamy, too, so it doesn't stay long. If you are a spice fiend, this likely won't scratch the itch for heat.

Nonetheless, each bite is complex with its mix of ingredients. This sandwich has 840 calories, 32 grams of fat, 88 grams of carbohydrates, and 51 grams of protein. It also has 1900 milligrams of sodium and 160 milligrams of cholesterol.

This sandwich isn't for you if you don't like processed American cheese. The salty, soft yellow-orange cheese is prominent in the grilled cheese's overall appearance and with each bite. Again, the aged white cheddar, which would typically have a crumbly consistency and earthy aroma, doesn't come through but does provide additional creaminess. Together, the cheeses are gooey and appetizing. 

The thick-sliced Classic White Miche bread has a delicate balance of toasted exterior and soft center. This grilled cheese also has the creamy salsa verde spread to make it stand out from your standard interpretation. It's almost reminiscent of queso cheese dip. It's hard to mess up grilled cheese, and this one is quite tasty. The salsa and soft bread are the all-star ingredients, not the cheeses.  Even so, everything works conjunctively to create a flavorsome grilled cheese.

The spice and amount of cheese make a decadent team. This would be a tasty fit for the You Pick Two, so you can get a half portion of the spicy grilled cheese and then your choice of cup of soup, half salad, mac and cheese, or even another half sandwich. Tip: Try both new sandwiches by ordering a half portion each. This is a good meat-free sandwich option and one of the few available at Panera Bread. The Kickin' Grilled Cheese has 840 calories, 49 grams of fat, 70 grams of carbohydrates, 31 grams of protein, 1920 milligrams of sodium, and 135 milligrams of cholesterol.

For around $4 to $5, the avo toast selection is a better deal than Better Buzz's 3 Seed Avocado at $9.49, the local most similar competitor fast-casual spot. Considering the price, it's on the more affordable side of avocado toasts out there. However, I was visibly deflated when I saw the amount of avocado. I had high hopes, but neither toast hit the mark. Both needed a considerable amount of additional seasoning, which I would absolutely customize if I ever purchased it again. Given that you can add on free toppings like cilantro, zesty sweet peppers, and tomatoes, this brings its value up. I'm not sure if this is a glitch, but as of publish date, you can add sliced tomatoes and garlic aoli for free on the Classic Avo, which saves the $1 difference and makes it indistinguishable from the Garden Avo.

For comparison, the Salsa Verde Chicken Cheese Steak at Jersey Mike's costs $11.95, which is similar to Panera's spicy sandwich. The Kickin' Grilled Cheese and Spicy Fiesta Chicken Sandwich were more interesting and flavorful. However, beware of the sandwiches if you're watching your salt intake. They are loaded with 1900 to 1920 milligrams, nearly a full daily recommended value of sodium for each (2300 milligrams). If I had to pick a winner, it would go to the filling Spicy Fiesta Chicken Sandwich for its medley of distinct flavors and textures, juicy chicken, and soft bread.