As consumers become more health conscious, many are looking for healthy options when dining out. Panera Bread offers a variety of salads and sandwiches, but one popular choice is the Green Goddess Cobb Salad. With its mix of greens, chicken, bacon, eggs, avocado and Green Goddess dressing, this salad seems like a nutritious option. But is the Green Goddess Cobb Salad at Panera actually good for you? Let’s take a closer look at the nutrition facts.
Nutrition Facts for Green Goddess Cobb Salad
Here are the basic nutrition facts for a Green Goddess Cobb Salad from Panera Bread:
| Calories | 550 |
|---|---|
| Total Fat | 36g |
| Saturated Fat | 6g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Cholesterol | 150mg |
| Sodium | 980mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 26g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5g |
| Sugars | 8g |
| Protein | 32g |
Right away, we can see that this salad is high in calories, fat, and sodium compared to other salad options. While it does contain some beneficial ingredients like avocado, greens, and protein from the chicken, the high amounts of fat, cholesterol and sodium are concerning.
Examining the Ingredients
To get a better understanding of whether the Green Goddess Cobb is healthy or not, let’s break down the key ingredients:
Greens
The salad starts with a base of nutrient-dense greens, including romaine lettuce and baby spinach. These types of greens are low in calories and provide vitamins A, C, and K.
Chicken
Lean protein from chicken breast provides 32g of protein. Protein helps keep you full and supports muscle growth and development.
Bacon
While many find bacon tasty, it adds a significant amount of fat and sodium. Just 2 slices of bacon add 90 calories, 7g fat, and 240mg sodium.
Avocado
Fresh avocado adds nutrients like fiber, vitamin K, folate, and potassium. However, it’s also high in calories and fat. One whole avocado has over 300 calories and 30g fat.
Egg
One hard boiled egg offers protein and nutrients like vitamin A, selenium, and choline. But it also adds cholesterol, with one egg containing 186mg.
Cheese
Crumbled blue cheese tops the salad, providing calcium but also adding extra saturated fat and sodium.
Green Goddess Dressing
Panera’s Green Goddess dressing contains canola oil, yogurt, lemon juice, herbs like parsley and tarragon, capers, and anchovy paste. While the yogurt adds a creamy texture, the canola oil means the dressing is high in fat. The savory anchovy paste also contributes a large amount of sodium.
Examining the Nutritional Value
Now that we’ve looked closely at each ingredient, how do they come together to provide nutritional value? Here are some key considerations:
High calorie count
At 550 calories, this salad is almost a full meal, making it hard to fit into a reduced calorie diet. The high calorie count is mostly due to the fatty ingredients like cheese, bacon, avocado and dressing.
High in fat
With 36g total fat, including 6g saturated fat, over half the calories in this salad come from fat. The recommended limit for saturated fat is 13g per day, so this salad provides almost half of that.
| Total Fat | 36g |
|---|---|
| Saturated Fat | 6g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
High sodium
This salad has 980mg sodium, which is over 40% of the daily recommended limit of 2,300mg per day. The bacon, dressing, cheese and egg all contribute sodium.
| Sodium | 980mg |
|---|
High cholesterol
With 150mg cholesterol, this salad has over half of the 300mg daily limit recommended by the American Heart Association. The egg and bacon provide all of this cholesterol.
| Cholesterol | 150mg |
|---|
Lower fiber
With 5g fiber, this salad only provides about 20% of the 25-30g daily recommended amount of fiber, so it’s relatively low in fiber compared to other salads.
| Dietary Fiber | 5g |
|---|
Green Goddess Dressing Nutrition Facts
Since the Green Goddess dressing seems to be a major contributor of fat and sodium in this salad, let’s look at its nutrition facts:
| Serving Size | 2 tbsp (30g) |
|---|---|
| Calories | 140 |
| Total Fat | 14g |
| Saturated Fat | 1g |
| Sodium | 180mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 2g |
| Protein | 1g |
With 14g fat and 180mg sodium per serving, opting for light dressing or using just 1 tbsp could help reduce the fat and sodium content of this salad.
Healthier Salad Options at Panera
For a lower calorie, lower fat salad option at Panera Bread, consider one of these choices:
Modern Greek Salad
| Calories | 310 |
|---|---|
| Fat | 21g |
| Sodium | 500mg |
With feta, diced cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, and balsamic vinaigrette over romaine.
Spicy Thai Salad
| Calories | 340 |
|---|---|
| Fat | 8g |
| Sodium | 680mg |
With shredded chicken, edamame, carrots, cilantro, and spicy peanut dressing over romaine and cabbage.
Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich
| Calories | 440 |
|---|---|
| Fat | 12g |
| Sodium | 1010mg |
With cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, feta cheese, lettuce, and cucumber-dill dressing on tomato basil bread.
Healthier Salad Dressing Options
To make any salad healthier at Panera, choose dressings lower in fat and sodium, such as:
| Dressing | Calories | Fat (g) | Sodium (mg) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balsamic Vinaigrette | 140 | 14 | 150 |
| Italian | 70 | 7 | 150 |
| Creamy Italian | 60 | 6 | 140 |
You can also ask for light dressing or use just 1 tablespoon to reduce calories, fat and sodium.
Modifying the Green Goddess Cobb
If you want to enjoy the tasty flavors of the Green Goddess Cobb while making it a bit healthier, try these modifications:
- Ask for light dressing or use just 1 tbsp
- Skip the bacon
- Remove the cheese or use just a sprinkle
- Order the salad with grilled chicken instead of crispy chicken to reduce fat
- Substitute Greek yogurt-based Green Goddess dressing to cut fat
- Boost nutrition by asking for extra veggies like tomatoes or carrots
Conclusion
The Green Goddess Cobb Salad at Panera Bread can make for a filling, tasty meal. However, with 550 calories, 36g fat, 980mg sodium and 150mg cholesterol per salad, it is quite high in calories, fat, and sodium compared to other options. Choosing lighter dressing, removing bacon and cheese, and grilling the chicken can help improve the nutrition stats. For the healthiest salad at Panera, build your own salad with lots of veggies and lean protein, then pair it with a lighter balsamic, Italian or Greek yogurt-based dressing.