Living a dairy-free lifestyle comes with its fair share of challenges, but eating at Panera Bread should not be one of them. Receiving a meal that you were eagerly awaiting and quickly realizing there’s dairy in it is enough to ruin anyone’s day, especially at Panera Bread. If your local Panera uses self-serve kiosks, you shouldn’t have a problem with knowing exactly what’s going into your food. However, for those locations without self-serving kiosks, you might have an issue with discovering what is safe to eat. I’ve listed the 10 best dairy-free Panera menu items below to help you avoid accidentally consuming dairy on future visits.
#SpoonTip: Although these items are dairy-free, there’s a possibility of cross-contamination during the production process.
10. Southwest Chicken Tortilla Bowl
The Southwest Chicken Tortilla Bowl is perfect for chilly days. The soup contains tasty ingredients like chicken, quinoa, brown rice, spinach, and tortilla crips. This dairy-free Panera item is on the winter menu, so it’s not available year-round. Pair it with an apple for a full, delicious, dairy-free meal during the cold winter months.
9. Spicy Thai Salad with Chicken
With chicken, roasted cashews, edamame and more, the Spicy Thai Salad with Chicken is a delightful savory salad. The dressing is a Thai chili vinaigrette with peanut sauce, which adds a kick of flavor to this salad. Order a half-sized salad for a reduced price if you can’t finish this whole thing.
8. Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT
A personal favorite of mine, this take on the beloved BLT contains all the normal ingredients, with the addition of avocado and turkey. No need to worry about any dairy in this scrumptious bite since the pure mayo spread is dairy-free. I highly suggest sampling this sandwich if you’ve never had it before.
7. Peanut Butter and Jelly
Looking for a classic sandwich that makes you think of home? Look no further than the dairy-free Panera PB&J sandwich. With grape jelly and peanut butter on the bread of your choosing, this menu item is too tasty to resist. The famous combination will have you feeling all types of nostalgia.
6. Chinese Citrus Cashew Salad
This crisp, summertime salad consists of pineapple, mandarin oranges, chicken, and a soy-miso lime dressing. It’s only available in the summer, so get excited to order this very soon.
5. Turkey Sandwich
A simple but delicious choice, this sandwich is made with turkey, mayo, spicy mustard, tomatoes, and more. You can always substitute the bread for one of your favorites to make this sandwich even better. Additionally, you can order this as a half sandwich and pair it with any of the salads mentioned in this article for a lovely dairy-free variety meal.
4. Blueberry Bagel
You can’t go wrong with a classic bagel as a meal or as a snack. Instead of cream cheese, you can spread some honey, peanut butter, or jam on this bagel. It’s perfect for an on-the-go morning treat. After all, there’s never a bad time for a bagel.
3. Turkey Chili
This chili is packed full of turkey, garbanzo beans, corn, carrots, and so much more. The best part about this turkey chili is that it’s made without cheese or sour cream, so you can eat as much as you want without regrets. Order this in a bread bowl for a match made in heaven.
2. Fuji Apple Salad with Chicken (Without the Gorgonzola Cheese)
Hands down, this is my favorite salad at Panera. The only downside is that you will need to remember to order it without gorgonzola cheese. That is the only part of the salad that contains dairy, so you can enjoy your blend of crisp apple chips, onions, and chicken without worry.
1. Chicken Noodle Soup
This is a close second to the chicken soup your mom made you as a child. With thick egg noodles, chicken, low-fat broth, and veggies, this soup is perfect for chilly days. Order it as a half soup and pair it with any salad or sandwich mentioned in this article. Did I mention you could order this soup in a bread bowl for the ultimate taste of home? There are endless options when it comes to enjoying this dairy-free Panera soup.
While these dairy-free options are some of my favorites, Panera Bread definitely contains more choices. My recommendation? Check out the food chain’s website to browse the menu and research more dairy-free options. On their website, they list common allergens like milk, wheat, egg, etc. so as long as you choose items without milk in them you should be good to go!
Eating at Panera Bread shouldn’t be a hassle, and hopefully this article inspires you to try out some of these tasty dairy-free Panera items.