Panera Bread is a popular fast casual restaurant chain known for serving soups, salads, sandwiches, and baked goods. While Panera is best known for their freshly baked breads and pastries, they also offer some chicken dishes on their menu, including chicken salad sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. This leads many customers to wonder – does Panera fry their chicken or prepare it another way?
Panera’s Cooking Methods
Panera does not fry any of the chicken used in their menu items. Instead, they rely on a few key cooking methods:
Grilling
Many of Panera’s chicken sandwiches feature grilled chicken. Grilling involves cooking the chicken over direct high heat, which gives it a charred and caramelized exterior while keeping the inside moist. Grilled chicken has a delicious smoky flavor.
Baking/Roasting
Panera bakes or roasts its chicken for some dishes. Baking uses the oven’s dry heat to thoroughly cook chicken. Roasting is similar but involves cooking at higher temperatures to achieve a crispy skin. Both techniques yield very juicy, tender chicken. Panera’s roasted turkey, artichoke, and chicken salad is made with roasted chicken.
Poaching
Poaching gently simmers chicken in liquid like broth or water. This moist-heat method keeps chicken extremely tender. Panera poaches its chicken for items like the chicken noodle soup.
Sous Vide
While not confirmed, Panera likely uses sous vide cooking for some chicken dishes. Sous vide involves vacuum sealing chicken and precisely cooking it in a water bath. It results in unmatched tenderness and moisture. Sous vide lends itself well to large-scale restaurant production.
Why Panera Avoids Frying
Frying is a popular way to prepare chicken, but Panera specifically avoids this cooking method. There are a few key reasons why:
Doesn’t Fit Their “Clean” Image
Panera has cultivated a wholesome, clean image revolving around fresh, minimally processed foods. Fried foods tend to have connotations of being greasy and unhealthy, which doesn’t align with Panera’s brand. Avoiding fried chicken allows Panera to promote better-for-you menu options.
Equipment and Labor Costs
Maintaining deep fryers and routinely frying chicken would require extra equipment expenses and employee hours. Panera aims to keep labor costs low in their cafes. Utilizing alternative cooking methods is more efficient for their operations.
Safety and Allergens
The high heat of fryers can degrade cooking oil over time and pose safety hazards if not carefully monitored. Fried items also absorb oil that can trigger food allergies or sensitivities. By using safer cooking techniques, Panera reduces safety and allergen risks.
Nutrition Profile of Panera’s Chicken
Since Panera doesn’t fry their chicken, the nutrition profile differs compared to fried chicken from fast food chains. Here’s a nutrition comparison of Panera’s grilled chicken versus fried chicken tenders from McDonald’s:
| Food Item | Calories | Total Fat | Carbs | Protein | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panera Half Chicken Salad Sandwich | 300 | 9g | 36g | 21g | 830mg |
| McDonald’s 4pc Chicken McNuggets | 190 | 12g | 11g | 8g | 320mg |
Key differences:
- Panera’s grilled chicken has less total and saturated fat compared to McDonald’s fried nuggets.
- Panera’s sandwich has more protein than McDonald’s nuggets.
- McDonald’s has lower calories and sodium.
- The breading adds more carbs to McDonald’s nuggets.
So while Panera’s grilled chicken isn’t extremely low-calorie, it does have a healthier fat and protein profile.
Preparation Methods by Menu Item
Wondering exactly how Panera prepares the chicken in specific menu items? Here’s a breakdown:
Salads
- Greek Salad with Chicken: Grilled chicken breast
- Sesame Asian Salad with Chicken: Grilled teriyaki glazed chicken
- Caesar Salad with Chicken: Grilled chicken
- Roasted Turkey, Artichoke & Chicken Salad: Roasted pulled chicken
Sandwiches
- Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich: Chopped roasted chicken
- Sierra Turkey Sandwich: Oven roasted turkey
- Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich: Grilled chicken
Soups
- Chicken Noodle Soup: Poached, shredded chicken
- Bistro French Onion Soup: Oven roasted chicken
As you can see, frying is notably absent from Panera’s chicken preparation methods. Grilling, poaching, roasting, and baking allow them to serve up delicious chicken entrees and sandwiches without compromising their clean image.
Chicken Quality and Sourcing
Panera serves 100% whole muscle chicken breasts without any fillers or binders. Their chicken has no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives.
All of Panera’s chicken is raised without:
- Antibiotics
- Gestation crates
- Added hormones
- Feed containing animal by-products
Their chicken is vegetarian fed, humanely raised, and cage-free. Only U.S.-grown chickens are used. Panera exceeds industry standards for chicken welfare when sourcing their poultry.
By avoiding fried chicken and keeping high sourcing standards, Panera serves up healthier, cleaner chicken entrees compared to many fast food chains.
Chicken Dishes to Try at Panera
Panera’s impressive chicken preparation elevated seemingly simple menu items. Here are some of their standout chicken dishes to sample if you haven’t already:
Bistro French Onion Soup
This classic French onion soup is topped with oven-roasted chicken, parmesan croutons, Gruyere and Swiss cheese for a decadent flavor combo in every bite.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Shredded poached chicken is simmered in this vibrant, tomato-based Mexican soup with rice, black beans, zesty spices, and crispy tortilla strips. It’s garnished with fresh avocado and cilantro.
Greek Salad
Grilled chicken breast provides a light, protein-packed contrast to the crisp greens, Kalamata olives, feta, pepperoncinis, cucumbers, tomato and red onion in this Mediterranean inspired salad.
Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich
Tender roasted chicken is mixed with diced celery, seedless grapes, and toasted almonds for an ultra-fresh chicken salad. It’s served on your choice of Panera’s signature breads.
Conclusion
While fried chicken is always tempting, Panera sets itself apart by relying on healthier cooking techniques like grilling, poaching, roasting and baking for all of their chicken menu options. This cooking decision along with their high standards for chicken quality and welfare results in better-for-you chicken dishes. So feel confident skipping the fried chicken and opting for Panera’s flavorful salads, soups, or sandwiches containing grilled, roasted or poached chicken. Your body will thank you.