The Best Panera Bread Drink We Wish Would Make A Comeback

Panera Bread doesn't just have an extensive selection of bread, pastries, sandwiches, soups, and salads. It's also one of the few fast food chains where you can order a smoothie. While there are certainly menu items to avoid at Panera Bread, a smoothies aren't one of them. They certainly did well in our ranking of 13 drinks from Panera Bread, and this particular option was our favorite by far. Our favorite drink at Panera was the top ranking peach, blueberry, almondmilk smoothie. Unfortunately, Panera discontinued it, but we think it deserves a comeback!

Consisting of fresh blueberries, peach and mango purees, white grape and passionfruit juice concentrates, and almond milk, this smoothie is dairy-free. While we appreciated it first and foremost for its accessibility to dairy-free and vegan customers, dairy lovers would enjoy this deliciously fruity and creamy smoothie all the same. Almond milk is admittedly thinner than the full-fat dairy milk and yogurt Panera uses on its other smoothies, but this peach blueberry smoothie somehow managed to achieve a soft-serve consistency and a richness that blew us away. Still, the almond milk did give the smoothie a lightness that made it ultra refreshing. Despite the mango, grape, and passionfruit additions, the peach and blueberry duo were the stars of the show. The sweet peachy flavor complemented the tart berry flavor of the blueberries beautifully, tasting like summer in a sip. Plus, the almond milk brought a peaches and cream vibe that made the smoothie both refreshing and decadent.

In addition to being dairy-free, the peach, blueberry, almond milk smoothie was one of the lower-calorie smoothies on the menu. One Redditor praised it for being "so refreshing, filling, and dairy-free," proclaiming, "this was so filling and delicious that I had it as an entire meal." Now, the dairy-free option offered at Panera is the tropical green smoothie that uses purée concentrates, juices, and ice instead of plant-based milk. Like its discontinued counterpart, the tropical green smoothie also contains 200 calories. It'd be a delicious accompaniment to a dairy-free meal that you can get with a menu hack of requesting dairy-free sandwiches or salads by simply removing the cheese and dressing. There are also plenty of dairy-free options that you don't need to customize, like the chicken walnut salad and turkey chili. Furthermore, many cookies, types of bread, and muffins are dairy-free. If you're vegan, you can pair a tropical green smoothie with one of our favorite Panera menu items, the Mediterranean veggie sandwich; just be sure to ask for it without the feta!

Certain TikTokers have pointed out that the smoothies at Panera are high in added sugars because they use fruit purees and fruit juice concentrates. So, if you're avoiding added sugars, we recommend making a smoothie at home. And you can recreate our favorite Panera drink with frozen blueberries, frozen peaches, and your favorite brand of almond milk.