Panera Bread Launches New Fall Menu With Sweet and Savory Items

Panera Bread launched its new fall menu on the first week of September, introducing a range of seasonal items that emphasize both sweet and savory flavors. The fast-casual chain is bringing back two popular soups: rustic baked potato soup and autumn squash soup. A significant addition to the soup selection is the new three-cheese lasagna soup, which features a ricotta tomato broth, Italian-style sausage, lasagna ribbon pasta, parmesan cheese, and asiago cheese. Complementing the soups are new ciabatta dippers, available in two varieties: a plain French ciabatta dipper and a chicken pesto ciabatta dipper, designed for dipping into the hearty soups. The savory offerings also include a harvest medley salad, which contains ingredients such as crunchy beet strips, mandarin oranges, and pumpkin seeds. On the sweeter side, Panera Bread's fall menu sees the return of its chocolate chip bagel. The chain is also introducing two new desserts: a PB&J cookie and cinnamon croissant bites. The complete list of Panera's fall menu additions includes the new three-cheese lasagna soup, the returning rustic baked potato soup, autumn squash soup, French ciabatta dipper, chicken pesto ciabatta dipper, harvest medley salad, chocolate chip bagel, the new PB&J cookie, and the new cinnamon croissant bites. Panera Bread has been under the ownership of JAB Holdings, a private investment firm, since 2017. In recent years, like many other restaurant chains, Panera has implemented changes to address reduced foot traffic and shifts in consumer spending habits. One notable change announced last year was the closure of all its fresh dough facilities, transitioning to a par-baked model. In this model, bread is partially cooked before delivery and finished baking at the restaurant location, a change that was reported by Nation's Restaurant News. Panera has also experimented with innovative menu items, such as stuffing salad into bread rolls. These strategic adjustments appear to be yielding positive results, as Panera recently indicated to Fast Company that it anticipates increasing its number of locations by the end of 2026 compared to the beginning of the year.