Panera Calories: Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, and the Bread Bowl Problem
A Panera meal runs from about 540 to nearly 2,000 calories. Official calories and protein for soups, salads, sandwiches, bakery, and You Pick Two math.
A realistic Panera order lands between about 540 and 900 calories, and the bread bowl route pushes past 1,900. Panera reads healthy, but its own nutrition guide tells a wider story: the same broccoli cheddar soup is 280 calories in a cup and 930 in a bread bowl. Every number below comes from Panera's official Nutrition Guide (effective June 17, 2026 edition), with halves as Panera's official half portions.
Official menu data
Soups and mac:
| Item | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Broccoli Cheddar Soup, cup | 280 | 8g |
| Broccoli Cheddar Soup, bowl | 420 | 12g |
| Mac & Cheese, cup | 490 | 16g |
| Broccoli Cheddar Soup, bread bowl | 930 | 29g |
| Mac & Cheese, bowl | 980 | 32g |
| Mac & Cheese, bread bowl | 1,140 | 37g |
Salads (with chicken):
| Item | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Green Goddess Cobb, half | 290 | 20g |
| Caesar with Chicken, half | 340 | 18g |
| Fuji Apple Chicken, half | 350 | 14g |
| Green Goddess Cobb, whole | 580 | 40g |
| Caesar with Chicken, whole | 670 | 35g |
| Fuji Apple Chicken, whole | 710 | 28g |
Sandwiches:
| Item | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Grilled Cheese, half | 400 | 16g |
| Bacon Turkey Bravo, half | 430 | 24g |
| Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt, half | 500 | 21g |
| Grilled Cheese, whole | 810 | 32g |
| Bacon Turkey Bravo, whole | 860 | 47g |
| Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt, whole | 1,000 | 43g |
Bakery and drinks:
| Item | Calories | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Tropicana Light Lemonade, 20 fl oz | 10 | 0g |
| Frozen Strawberry Lemonade, 16 fl oz | 140 | 0g |
| French Baguette, side | 190 | 6g |
| Agave Lemonade, 20 fl oz | 210 | 0g |
| Cinnamon Crunch Bagel | 430 | 13g |
| Sourdough bread bowl, alone | 650 | 21g |
| Kitchen Sink Cookie | 810 | 7g |
Charged Lemonade no longer appears in Panera's current official nutrition guide, so it has no entry here.
How to build a low-calorie order
Ranked by impact, from the official numbers:
- Any bowl instead of a bread bowl: saves 650, the bread bowl itself. It doubles or triples the soup.
- Skip the Kitchen Sink Cookie: saves 810. It costs as much as a whole Grilled Cheese.
- Half portions are the whole game: saves 290 to 500 versus the whole version of the same item. Panera is one of the few chains with official halves.
- Broccoli cheddar instead of mac & cheese: saves 210 per cup (280 vs 490).
- Light lemonade instead of agave: saves 200 (10 vs 210 for the 20 fl oz).
- Skip the baguette side: saves 190.
Five orders under 650 calories
- The light pick two: half Fuji Apple Chicken salad + baguette side. 350 + 190 = 540 calories, 20g protein
- The soup and salad: half Green Goddess Cobb + cup of broccoli cheddar. 290 + 280 = 570 calories, 28g protein
- The whole salad: whole Green Goddess Cobb with chicken. 580 calories, 40g protein
- The Caesar pairing: half Caesar with chicken + cup of broccoli cheddar. 340 + 280 = 620 calories, 26g protein
- The sandwich and lemonade: half Bacon Turkey Bravo + 20 oz Agave Lemonade. 430 + 210 = 640 calories, 24g protein
Five highest-protein orders
- Whole Bacon Turkey Bravo: 860 calories, 47g protein
- Whole Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt: 1,000 calories, 43g protein
- Whole Green Goddess Cobb: 580 calories, 40g protein, the best protein-per-calorie order here
- Half Bacon Turkey Bravo + cup of Mac & Cheese: 430 + 490 = 920 calories, 40g protein
- Whole Caesar with Chicken: 670 calories, 35g protein
Real-world orders, broken down
The lean order: "half green goddess cobb with chicken and a cup of broccoli cheddar"
| Component | Calories |
|---|---|
| Green Goddess Cobb, half | 290 |
| Broccoli Cheddar Soup, cup | 280 |
| Total | 570 |
28g protein. The classic You Pick Two, done light.
The standard order: "you pick two: half bacon turkey bravo, cup of broccoli cheddar, baguette"
| Component | Calories |
|---|---|
| Bacon Turkey Bravo, half | 430 |
| Broccoli Cheddar Soup, cup | 280 |
| French Baguette, side | 190 |
| Total | 900 |
38g protein. The baguette side quietly turns a 710-calorie lunch into 900.
The indulgent order: "broccoli cheddar bread bowl, kitchen sink cookie, agave lemonade"
| Component | Calories |
|---|---|
| Broccoli Cheddar Soup, bread bowl | 930 |
| Kitchen Sink Cookie | 810 |
| Agave Lemonade, 20 fl oz | 210 |
| Total | 1,950 |
36g protein and nearly 2,000 calories, at the restaurant with the healthiest reputation in this series.
How to log this in Nouri
The feature I care most about in Nouri is that it shows its reasoning before it counts anything. I once photographed a breakfast plate and Nouri turned it into a sentence first, "Two poached eggs on avocado toast, bacon, scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit bowl," then broke it into four items: 850 calories, 42g protein, 75g carbs, 42g fat. You can read what the app thinks it saw and correct it before the number lands.
That matters at Panera because the order is usually a combination. Instead of logging three database entries for a You Pick Two, you type the whole thing at once, "half green goddess cobb with chicken, cup of broccoli cheddar, baguette," and check the item-by-item breakdown against what is actually on the tray. Nouri is iPhone (iOS only), and you can try it free.
If your hands are full with the tray, Siri logs it with the phone locked: "Hey Siri, track food in Nouri," then the You Pick Two exactly as you ordered it.
A week of lunches then comes together in your Sunday Nouri Report: a Health Score with "Why this score?", days on target for your goal, and one clear focus, so you can tell whether the halves and cups are paying off.
FAQ
How many calories in Panera broccoli cheddar soup?
280 for a cup, 420 for a bowl, and 930 in a bread bowl, per Panera's official guide. The bread bowl version more than triples the cup.
How many calories in a Panera bread bowl by itself?
650 calories before any soup goes in, with 21g of protein. The bread is most of the meal.
How many calories in Panera mac and cheese?
490 for a cup, 980 for a bowl, 1,140 in a bread bowl.
How many calories in a Panera You Pick Two?
Depends on the pair: half Green Goddess Cobb with a cup of broccoli cheddar is 570 calories, while half Bacon Turkey Bravo with a cup of mac & cheese is 920. Add 190 if you take the baguette side.
What is the healthiest order at Panera?
The whole Green Goddess Cobb with chicken is the standout: 580 calories with 40g of protein. For something lighter, the half at 290 calories with a cup of broccoli cheddar stays under 600.
How many calories in the Kitchen Sink Cookie?
810 calories, as much as a whole Grilled Cheese sandwich and just 50 short of the entire whole Bacon Turkey Bravo.
How many calories in a Cinnamon Crunch Bagel?
430 calories with 13g of protein, before any spread.
How many calories in Panera charged lemonade?
It no longer appears in Panera's current official nutrition guide; it has been removed from the listed menu. The current lemonades run from 10 calories (Tropicana Light, 20 fl oz) to 380 (Tropicana, 30 fl oz).
How many calories in the Bacon Turkey Bravo?
430 for a half, 860 for a whole, with 24g and 47g of protein.
Is Panera actually healthy?
It can go either way, further than most chains: the same menu holds a 570-calorie soup-and-salad lunch and a 1,950-calorie bread-bowl-and-cookie run. Halves and cups are the lever.
How many calories in Panera's Green Goddess Cobb salad?
290 for a half, 580 for a whole with chicken, with 20g and 40g of protein.
How many calories in Panera grilled cheese?
400 for a half, 810 for a whole.
What is the easiest way to track Panera calories?
Type the whole tray into Nouri as one note, "half bacon turkey bravo, cup of broccoli cheddar, baguette," or tell Siri on the way to your table. You get calories and macros instantly, with each item's reasoning shown so you can check it against your order. The weekly Nouri Report then shows how your lunches added up across the week.
Order the half, keep the soup a cup, then log the whole tray in Nouri as one sentence instead of three database entries. If combos are where your tracking falls apart, see How to Log Restaurant Meals, and Common Food Logging Mistakes covers the baguette-side blind spot and its cousins.
Sources
- Panera Bread official Nutrition Guide PDF, effective June 17, 2026: panerabread.com (checked August 29, 2026)
- Found via Panera's allergen and nutrition page: panerabread.com (checked August 29, 2026)
- All combo totals are sums of the official per-item values above
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