Top 10 Panera Bread Soups

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When covering the top ten Panera Bread soups, it boils down to what’s been able to “wow” the consumers. Panera Bread has excelled at this since first opening up shop as The St. Louis Bread Company in 1987. Founded by Ken and Linda Rosenthal, what started out as a small Missouri-based business eventually grew to become one of America’s most beloved fast-casual restaurants. Today, Panera Bread operates not only across the United States but in Canada as well.

Top 10 Panera Soups

# 10 – Mexican Street Corn Chowder

If you’re into corn chowder, Panera’s Mexican Street Corn Chowder might be a tasty experience for you. This is assuming you are game to kick the flavoring up at least a notch or two. The sweet, somewhat creamy corn in this soup recipe has a combination of chili powder, cilantro, fire-roasted poblanos, lime juice, and russet potatoes added to it. The mix of smoke and spice, along with the topping of blue corn tortilla chips, is what makes this otherwise tame corn chowder into a fiesta for the palette.

# 9 – Ten Vegetable

Panera Bread’s Ten Vegetable soup has Aleppo chili, brown rice, carrots, celery, chickpeas, corn, garlic, poblano peppers, red fife, and tomato. Seasoned with salt and pepper, this is a relatively light soup as a vegetarian favorite. What’s nice about the ingredients in this soup is it makes a great dipper for bread. The sweetness of the bread goes well with the soup’s somewhat bitter flavoring.

# 8 – Vegetarian Autumn Squash Soup

As a soup, Panera’s Vegetarian Autumn Squash recipe can be enjoyed at any time. The butternut squash and pumpkin blend offers a rich flavoring that’s just as awesome to eat as it is to take in the aromatic experience. The hints of apple juice, cinnamon, curry, and honey bring this soup from ordinary to extraordinary. Together, they add just enough sweetness and spice to the pumpkin and squash to make this such an easy soup to enjoy. The garnish of pumpkin seeds sprinkled on top of the soup makes it even better. Their ability to stay nice and crunchy as you eat the soup actually makes this a rather fun meal to enjoy.

#7 – Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

While Panera Bread is known for experimenting with flavors, this is a company that also excels in traditional classics. Its Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup is a hearty and thick soup that wonderfully lives up to its name. If you’re looking for a good creamy soup, this is it. If you love chunks of chicken that are mixed well with quality wild rice, this is definitely the soup for you. Among traditionalists, Panera Bread’s approach to the cream of chicken and rice soup seems to share the same recipe used by cooks during what now seems like a bygone era.

# 6 – Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

There is a reason why chicken noodle soup remains an all-American classic. With Panera, its Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup lives up to that expectation as a go-to favorite, especially among soup fans who happen to be traditionalists. The combination of chicken, egg noodles, carrots, and celery works beautifully with the herbs used to make this wonderful soup. If you’re turning to a good soup as part of your recovery process from the common cold, this would make a great option to do so. If you’re simply a fan of chicken noodle soup for any occasion, it also works, especially if you pair it up with a nice sandwich.

# 5 – Broccoli Cheddar Soup

While Panera is known for turning traditional favorites into scrumptious soup experiences, they’re also known for keeping the tradition as an all-time classic. This is the case with its Broccoli Cheddar Soup. There are some notable differences with this recipe compared to the norm, however. While most brands use potatoes to thicken up this hearty soup, Panera goes with flour instead. There are also some shredded carrots mixed in, adding a bit of sweetness to this soup recipe. The flavoring of the broccoli in the soup is excellent. As for the cheese, it doesn’t overpower this vegetarian-friendly soup. This makes it smoother for consumption and it’s also easier to digest as it reaches the stomach.

# 4 – Thai Chicken Soup (by Panera Bread)

The Thai Chicken Soup is Panera’s smoky approach to traditional chicken soup. The combination of ingredients used in this recipe includes fish sauce so if you’re allergic to seafood, this wouldn’t be the soup for you. If you prefer traditional chicken soup, this wouldn’t exactly be for you, either. However, among soup fans who want something out of the ordinary, the mix of chicken, carrots, edamame, red bell peppers, and shiitake mushrooms beautifully blends with the seasonings that make this Thai chicken soup recipe so exquisite.

# 3 – Turkey Chili Soup

From Panera Bread, the Turkey Chili Soup tastes like the best of two worlds coming together as one. This brothy soup with rice is the perfect solution to warming yourself up on those cold days. If you’re a fan of soup with some kick to it, this may be the one for you. Although spiced with chili, this approach to turkey soup doesn’t overdo it as Panera manages to keep this subtle. This allows you to enjoy the flavor combination of the meat, the rice, and the vegetables that make soups so awesome, to begin with.

# 2 – Creamy Tomato Soup

Panera’s Creamy Tomato Soup has taken something that’s otherwise a plain jane recipe into an incredibly tasty experience. Instead of using those big beefsteak tomatoes, Panera goes with the smaller pear tomatoes as soon as they’re ripe enough to take from the vine. Once pureed, these tomatoes are mixed with some butter and whipping cream, along with some black pepper focaccia croutons, olive oil, and red pepper. This thick and hearty soup surprisingly enough doesn’t turn the croutons into mush. Instead, this vegetarian-friendly soup serves up a wonderful meal on its own without necessarily needing a sandwich to go with it.

# 1 – Bistro French Onion (by Panera Bread)

When French Onion soup is done right, it’s amazing. While nothing truly homemade fresh, Panera Bread comes pretty close to delivering that same quality with its recipe. The flavor is there, along with its heartiness. The flavor of the caramelized onion, as well as the rich stock, makes this one a tasty favorite to the palette. The saltiness rivals what can be found at a fine dining restaurant. The texture of the cheese and focaccia breading combo with Panera’s Bistro French Onion is definitely worth every bite. I will be honest here. My ultimate favorite soup is French Onion. However, it has to be done right. Panera Bread is among the few who have been able to accomplish this.