Panera Soups, Ranked: The Bowls Worth Ordering (And Which Ones to Skip)

Korin Miller

Thu, September 18, 2025 at 10:05 AM UTC

6 min read

Panera Bread's Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup was ranked as the least favorite among five core soup options due to overpowering wild rice and lack of seasoning.
The Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup at Panera Bread was rated as the best soup option for its well-balanced flavors and thoughtful portioning of ingredients.
Panera Bread's Bistro French Onion Soup received mixed reviews but was praised for its rich, savory broth and indulgent cheese topping.

Panera Bread has managed to stand out from the crowd with its impressive selection of sandwiches and soups . That's because the bakery-style cafe chain makes fast, convenient food that tastes homey—something I can't say about other fast food joints.

I've been a Panera Bread fan for years, thanks to its delicious menu items that include plenty of classic comfort food options, including its signature soups. I love a good pot of soup , and I make different from-scratch recipes at home for my family on a regular basis. Panera Bread doesn't claim to have the best soup that'll ever pass your lips, but a bowl of Panera soup is a solid choice when you're on the run and need a quick meal or just don't feel like cooking.

But when you're staring down the menu in a crowded drive-thru lane or standing at the counter trying to figure out what to order, it can be hard to make a split-second decision about which Panera soup to try. They all sound delicious, but which is really going to make your You Pick Two meal worth it?

To figure that out, my family and I tasted our way through the five core options to find the best Panera Bread soup. Read on to see which ones are worth scooping up and which ones to skip, just in time for prime sweater weather.

How I Tested These Panera Soups

Panera Bread rotates through different soups based on the season, but the chain has five tried-and-true options that are always on the menu. It's also crucial to point out that everyone has different tastes and, because of that, I thought it was important to get different opinions on these soups. To do just that, I recruited my husband and my four children (ranging in age from three to 12) to try out these soups alongside me.

For this tasting, we tried the soups as-is and also dipped in the bread that comes along with the soup to see if it made a difference in taste. Each soup was tested in order, and then tested again to make sure we gave them a fair shake.

There were some differences in opinion among age groups, but the overall consensus was that while none of these soups were bad, some were definitely tastier than others.

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5 Panera Bread Soups, RankedWorst to Best

The good news about these Panera Bread soups is that they're always on the menu. So, if a few sound like they would be a hit with you, you can cycle through them during different visits. But if you're torn between soups at any given moment, there was a clear favorite that emerged. Here's what my testing team and I discovered.

5. Panera Bread Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

Something has to take the last spot in any ranking, and for us, that was Panera Bread's Cream of Chicken & Wild Rice Soup. To its credit, the texture is rich and creamy, and the ingredients list looks promising with chicken, long grain and wild rice, celery, onions, carrots and herbs. Unfortunately, the flavor wasn't what we were expecting.

The wild rice completely overpowers everything else, leaving little trace of the chicken, vegetables or seasoning. It's also noticeably under-salted and under-spiced, so the overall taste is flat—more like plain rice than a hearty and savory soup. And as a final letdown, my cup included just one tiny piece of chicken, which makes the name feel a bit misleading.

4. Panera Bread Creamy Tomato Soup

I wanted to love this soup, and I did to some extent. But here's my main issue: It was severely under-seasoned. The soup is a purée of tomatoes and fresh cream, with oregano and red pepper added for flavor. The overall effect is that of a creamier marinara sauce that falls flat (as in, not something an Italian nonna would approve of).

I added a dash of salt and instantly loved it. You can suddenly taste the oregano and depth of the soup. But when you eat it as is—including with bread—it's clearly missing something. If you're a tomato soup devotee, just ask for salt when you order this soup. It's a game-changer.

Interestingly, Panera's packaged Creamy Tomato Soup, which you can find in the refrigerated section of the supermarket, was the winner of Parade 's store-bought tomato soup taste test . It seems they've got the seasonings dialed in on the packaged version.

3. Panera Bread Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Panera Bread's Broccoli Cheddar Soup has a solid fanbase, and it's easy to see why. This soup has a perfectly creamy texture with plenty of flavors to keep you wanting more. I like that they include lots of chopped broccoli, along with shredded carrots that don't overpower the overall flavor.

This soup pairs amazingly well with Panera Bread's bread and also makes an excellent dipping sauce with several of the brand's sandwiches. My only complaint is that the soup is slightly under-seasoned and not super cheesy. It's more of a creamy broccoli soup than a cheesy one, although the overall effect is still spot-on.

2. Panera Bread Bistro French Onion Soup

Panera Bread's Bistro French Onion Soup is one of the chain's most polarizing menu items. Some people love it, while others feel it doesn't quite stack up to the French café standard. Personally, it's my go-to order.

French onion soup is notoriously tricky to execute, but I think Panera Bread delivers a rich, savory broth topped with enough melted cheese to make it feel indulgent. Sure, it's not going to rival a homemade version or the one you'd get at a local bistro, but for a fast-casual spot, it's impressive.

The only reason it didn't take the number 1 spot in our ranking is that it wasn't a favorite across all age groups—kids, for instance, struggled with the slippery texture of the onions, which is pretty standard for this type of soup. Pro tip: This soup tends to arrive piping hot and stay that way, which means you'll need some patience before digging in.

1. Panera Bread Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

Panera Bread's Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup genuinely surprised me. I almost always skip it when I eat at the chain, because I assumed that a fast-food version of this classic wouldn't measure up—but it's excellent. As someone who regularly makes chicken noodle soup from scratch, I was impressed by how well-balanced it is.

The broth has a rich, herby flavor that tastes like it simmered for hours, and the mix of white meat chicken, carrots, celery and noodles is thoughtfully portioned so no ingredient overwhelms the others. Each spoonful delivers a harmonious blend of textures and flavors that make this a standout among Panera Bread's soups.

The Bottom Line

Panera Bread has had all of these soups on the menu for a while, and they're unlikely to go anywhere. That means you have plenty of time to work your way through them if you want to judge for yourself. But if you want to play it safe and get a soup you know you'll love, the Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup is the way to go.

This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the Food & Drink section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.