Review: Panera's 2026 Fall Menu Is A Mix Of Cozy, Comforting, And Questionable

There are two undeniable truths about fall. The first is that stores already have full-on Halloween vignettes in their windows. The second is that every restaurant, bakery, and coffee shop loves to debut new menu items to accompany the autumn energy. Panera fits into all three categories and it's impressive. Between Panera's divine bakery section, full food menu, and specialty coffees and other beverages, fall is in full effect. What the summer months gives us in light and fresh flavors, fall delivers richer, more comforting options and that's certainly the case with Panera's seasonal items.

The sheer breadth of Panera's fall food is excellent and it's not all pumpkin spice. Is Panera considered fast food, it casual dining, or another category? Nobody knows, but I can tell you that the 2026 fall menu includes creamy aromatic soups that throw notes of squash, potatoes, and even lasagna into the air. Baked goods all put cinnamon and other essential autumn stars in the spotlight. Sandwiches and salads look and feel more substantial and hefty. Eight Panera items that check all of the fall boxes are now available in stores and I tried them all to give you the inside scoop.

I ordered all eight fall menu items from Panera. I started the tasting with hot dishes, like the sandwich and soups, to get the most out of the experiences. If any item had multiple components, like a sandwich with bread, protein, condiments, and toppings, I tasted them all independently also. I tried the baked goods as is and also slightly warmed because they beg for it. My review is based on quality, flavor, texture, seasoning, and more.

Let's dive right into the soups. First up is Panera's brand new Three-Cheese Lasagna Soup. Right off the bat I didn't love it. The consistency feels less like soup and more noodle heavy with a splash of tomato soup. It's already thick and the addition of noodles makes it even thicker. It tastes slightly like lasagna but mine did not have cheese on top and the bits of sausage are chewy and off-putting. The flavor itself isn't bad. It's savory, zesty, and tastes lasagna adjacent. The best way to describe it is to call it a lazy lasagna that doesn't feel like it's trying. 

Besides the flavor, I don't really have a ton of accolades. Lasagna is a national treasure and Panera's take is not up to standard. The noodles are fine and the hard sausage bits floating in the soup are not great. The bite I liked the most was actually dipping Panera's crusty baguette into the soup sauce. The inclusion of a classic Italian comfort dish to ring in fall is appreciated. Unfortunately, it's a fall fail for me overall. Don't tell nonna.

Panera's Rustic Baked Potato Soup is a perfect example of a soup that is meant to be thick. I'm talking stick to your ribs thick. The kind that feels good in your soul and leaves a cozy feeling in your chest. This potato soup deserves every bit of praise for pulling off a homey and toothsome consistency. Panera did not hold back on the potatoes here. It's impossible to take a single bite without the treat of perfectly soft potato chunks. My one complaint with this Panera soup is similar to the protein texture in the lasagna soup. The pieces of bacon in the soup are too chewy for my liking, but they do add a nice smoky layer of flavor.

The smooth and creamy base of the soup is seasoned well. You should also see how it clings to the hunk of bread like a champ. Panera did well with its Rustic Baked Potato Soup. It's satisfying and robust enough to be a full-fledged meal. There are a bajillion hacks to pull of the perfect baked potato, and Panera's soup is a good way to get the all the flavors in a bowl of soup. If the fall weather has you in the mood to kick back with a warm, velvety soup, Panera's Rustic Baked Potato Soup is a shoe-in.

Squash is a fall celebrity. If there were ever a mascot that stood for all things fall it wouldn't just be a pumpkin. Squash deserves a seat at the table and frankly she's usually invited to every table, every  dish, and every fall-themed tablescape. On Panera's fall menu, she's a standout for sure. The orange color of the seasonal Autumn Squash Soup is bold and beautiful. The same can also be said for the soup's silky texture. It's downright lush and delightful. The returning squash soup is much thinner than the other two on the fall menu, but still feels just as comforting. Panera's soups have such a cult following that many of them are sold in grocery stores, including the squash soup.

It kind of tastes slightly similar to a sweet potato casserole you have on Thanksgiving. Overall, Panera's Autumn Squash Soup is good but would be better if it was just a touch less sweet. Besides that one edit, the soup is like a warm and soothing hug anyone could easily snuggle into. I do wish it came accessorized with the pumpkin seeds shown in the ad. That little touch probably has a nice effect to stand up to the sweetness.

This new fall cookie is going to fly off Panera shelves and you heard it here first. Panera cookies are elite except for the shortbread ones. Don't waste your time with those. Stick to the others and definitely try fall's peanut butter and jelly version. For starters, the peanut butter cookie is a dream. The flavor is not overpowering and instead lays the foundation for a big cookie win. Inside the cookie is a layer of sweet grape jelly. It's a fantastic match for the richness of the peanut butter cookie, a power couple really. The top is dusted with a nice amount of powdered sugar to seal the deal.

The thing about Panera is that the chain is always consistent with its cookies. They taste like whatever they are supposed to. This peanut butter and jelly cookie captures all of the standout flavors of the quintessential sandwich. The textures and flavors are top tier and I have never once been let down by a Panera cookie. I personally think they don't get enough air time. The brand new PB&J cookie is chewy in all the right places and is absolutely worth the buy and further validates Panera is a beast at the cookie game. Keep it up, Panera.

If your ideal sweet treat involves flaky layers, a generous amount of cinnamon and sugar flavor, and thick, creamy icing, Panera's brand new Cinnamon Croissant Bites called and they want to talk to you. These are good and even better if you warm them up. The tiny triangles have that signature croissant texture that makes them craveable. The light and airy pastry is covered in a scrumptious cinnamon crunch topping. Panera gets high grades for the texture of these simple triangular confections. That's not where the flavor journey ends.

Many viral sensations have tapped into croissants. Before Panera's croissant bites came croissant donut mashups called cronuts. Recently some culinary genius launched crookies into the foodiverse by stuffing buttery croissants with gooey chocolate chip cookies. Whoever said you can't have it all, does not understand the versatility of a croissant. Panera, you knew exactly what you were doing when you paired the new Cinnamon Croissant Bites with this specific icing. It tastes like cinnamon roll icing in the best way possible. It's luxurious and sweet with a slight tinge of citrus at the end. These are a win and should not be skipped if this taste test made you feel anything while reading.

It's time to talk about Panera's Chocolate Chip Bagel. Technically it's not new but the returning fan favorite is getting top billing on the newly launched fall menu. Let's get one thing out of the way and address the elephant in the room. Being part of a huge family of New Yorkers, in addition to being married to one, makes me a tough crowd when it comes to bagels. While Panera has a Chocolate Chip Bagel on its menu, is it really a bagel? It looks like one, but the ones from chains feel more like a baked good disguised as a bagel. That's all to say that it's hard to consider Panera's Chocolate Chip Bagel the real deal. However, it's delicious. Surprisingly it does not come with an overpowering sweetness and is tasty.

Imagine a chocolate chip cookie and a day-old bagel had a baby, and that's the Panera Chocolate Chip Bagel in a nutshell. It's fun, chocolate chips make everything better, and the best way to enjoy it is toasted with a touch of butter, or cream cheese if you want to go off the rails. Perhaps this is a sign that I should use chocolate chip bagels for a new spin on French toast! They are also a surefire kid-friendly menu option and might just make you the coolest mom if you packed one in the lunchbox.

I love the idea of Panera's Ciabatta Dippers. Anytime there is an opportunity to dip food into other foods, I'm all in. There are two fall dippers on the menu. Panera offers a Chicken Pesto Ciabatta Dipper and a French Ciabatta Dipper. I tasted the latter on this visit. A French dip sandwich is a whole experience and I'm all about it. The savory thin-sliced beef, smothered in cheese, and served on a crusty bread? Needless to say, the anticipation to dig into Panera's French Ciabatta Dipper is real.

The flavor is decent as is Panera's ciabatta. I appreciated that the cheese doesn't take over the protein and instead complements it. The French dipper comes with a side of piping hot au jus, arguably the most important piece of the French dip experience. Panera's au jus is eerily familiar to the chain's onion soup but I'm not mad about it. Panera is just working smarter not harder and that's okay. The steak is too tough and chewy and made me yearn for the melt-in-your-mouth versions that all the good French dips are known for. I did not love the sandwich because of that. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy removing the protein completely and dipping the cheese bread into the savory onion heavy au jus and would do that part again.

The Harvest Medley on Panera's fall menu is a great salad. There are so many fun textures and flavors that it's impossible to have a boring bite. The Harvest Medley Salad is overflowing with mixed greens, arugula, feta, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, a blend of whole grains, and crunchy pieces of toasted pecan and beet strips. It's an honorable lineup and tastes like part salad, part grain bowl. Panera's fall salad checks all of the texture boxes and offers a hearty, filling salad. It's also a beautiful spectrum of colors which always earns extra points for a salad.

While I ordered the regular Harvest Medley Salad on the menu, there is the option to add chicken for a nice protein boost. The Harvest Medley Salad comes with the elegant and classic balsamic vinaigrette and it's a delicious pairing. Panera successfully delivers substance, earthiness, sweet and salty bites, and a textural wonderland as far as salads are concerned. For all of the casual dining salads that don't succeed, Panera's Harvest Medley Salad is my new fall staple.

Generally speaking, Panera's 2026 fall menu is mostly positive with a few items I would not go back for. The flavors are unmistakably fit for fall, even in the items that underdelivered in other ways. My favorite item of the eight I tried was the seasonal Harvest Medley Salad followed by Panera's brand new PB&J cookie. All of the proteins across the board had texture issues that left a bad taste in my mouth. However, the other soups, salad, and baked goods carried the team.

I would gladly order the French Ciabatta Dipper again without the steak and dip it egregiously in the au jus. Panera's cookie and croissant bites make the bakery shine and the soups are consistent. I wouldn't rush to reorder everything again, but I would definitely make some changes if I did. The bottom line is that I would skip the French Ciabatta Dipper. I'd also fix the bacon issue in the potato soup, as well as the sausage issue in the lasagna soup. Other than that, Panera is off to a solid start for fall foodies.

Panera's fall menu items are currently available in all chain locations and the following pricing is based on purchasing the items at my local Boca Raton, Florida location. The Three-Cheese Lasagna Soup, Rustic Baked Potato Soup, and the Autumn Squash Soup all go for $9.19. The PB&J Cookie costs $3.39, while the Cinnamon Croissant Bites and Chocolate Chip Bagel are each priced at $1.99. The French Ciabatta Dipper costs $13.09, while the Harvest Medley Salad is $11.29.