9 Store-Bought Panera Bread Soups, Ranked From Worst To Best

Nothing beats a good bowl of soup, and Panera Bread is one fast-casual restaurant that offers some tasty options when it comes to enjoying a bowlful that you don't have to make yourself. While you could eat soup at a Panera location, there are actually quite a few Panera-brand soup options available at most grocery stores, conveniently packaged and ready to consume (well, after a quick trip to the microwave to warm up). 

Of course, like many store-bought soups out there, Panera's variety of store-bought soups can be hit or miss. To figure out which ones are more hit than miss, I purchased and taste-tested nine popular Panera store-bought soup flavors, particularly in search of that one flavor that stands out above the rest. Fortunately, I didn't find any of these soup flavors to be downright awful, but some certainly shone more than others. 

When determining the ranking of these Panera goods, I paid attention to flavor, texture, and whether the soup lived up to what it was supposed to be or tasted like. Did the lobster bisque actually taste like lobster? Was the creamy tomato actually creamy and tomato-y? Was there plenty of tortellini to be found in the Tuscan-style tortellini soup? These were all questions I asked myself (and found the answer to) when trying and ranking these soups.

As I've already stated, I didn't necessarily find any of Panera's store-bought soups to be bad, so that sentiment is important to keep in mind when talking about this last place one. The premise was certainly promising enough, especially for someone like me who prefers creamy, thick soups over brothy ones. But between a certain lackluster flavor and textural issue, it quickly became apparent that this soup was the weakest link out of all the flavors I tried.

While the Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice definitely delivered on its creamy namesake, that's about all it delivered on. Bite after bite was creamy but not much else, and I found myself longing for a little added savoriness or a hint of herby flavor. The chicken added a certain meatiness, but it didn't necessarily offer up any flavor that didn't get masked by sheer creaminess. Meanwhile, the rice was a bit harder than expected — not rock hard by any means, but still chewier than one might hope for rice to be in a soup. Overall, this soup didn't taste terrible, but it just didn't quite deliver enough for me to rank it any higher or consider returning to it anytime soon.

Ah, tomato soup — a comfort classic for the ages, and one that is darn hard to mess up. I wouldn't say that Panera messed up its store-bought iteration of tomato soup, but I would say that it delivered a lackluster iteration. I get it, I get it, tomato soup can only be so complex or interesting, but when a tomato soup claims to be creamy, I at the very least expect that it'd be, well, creamy.

So, as you may have already guessed, my biggest issue with this is that I didn't find it creamy. Tomato-y? Sure. Acidic? Definitely. But creamy, not so much. I could even forgive this lack of creaminess if there was any other real flavor at play besides tomato, like a basil undertone or a strong garlicky flavor, but there were no such additional flavors happening here. In a pinch, and ideally, paired with a grilled cheese, Panera's store-bought tomato soup could be satisfactory, but it's never going to be exceptional or something truly worth seeking out.

The soup realm can be a confusing one, and more specifically, it can be difficult to keep track of all the different types. For example, there's a difference between a soup and a bisque, with the latter being a type of soup with a specific seafood focus. Bisques are often creamy, but don't necessarily mistake a bisque for a chowder, because those are technically different too, with the former typically being smooth and the latter chunky. All of these soup technicalities lead me to Panera's store-bought lobster bisque, a soup that certainly checks the boxes in terms of being a silky smooth, seafood-based bisque, but one that delivers a lackluster flavor all around.

When I first tried this soup, I was overwhelmed by a very wine-forward flavor. Sure enough, sherry wine is indeed a top-listed ingredient, but ideally, the lobster would have been the flavor I picked up on first. I didn't necessarily mind the wine flavor, because it added a certain flair of sophistication to the bisque, but the seafood flavor (and specifically, that luxe lobster flavor) was seriously lacking. The bisque was creamy and smooth, but I wanted it to scream with lobster flavor, which just wasn't the case.

As someone who has already established their love of creamy soups, it's no surprise that a good chowder is right up my alley. So I was excited to try Panera's take on Mexican street corn, aka elote, in chowder form. Naturally, corn and a thick, cheesy broth were the stars of the show here, but this soup also boasted other goodies, like potatoes, onion, red bell peppers, poblano peppers, and plenty of spices — a good foundation for what could hopefully be a good chowder.

Overall, I enjoyed Panera's store-bought Mexican street corn soup, though be warned that this chowder doesn't really taste much like elote at all. It highlighted corn in a tasty way, along with hearty chunks of potato and a surprisingly tasty, cheesy broth. I was worried that the chowder base might teeter into a fake cheese-tasting territory (something like Velveeta), but it actually had a surprising amount of complexity without being overly cheesy. Altogether, this soup was savory and hearty, but I longed for more inclusions overall, specifically in the corn and potato department. 

Though I couldn't necessarily tell you what makes Panera's Greek Style Lemon Chicken soup Greek specifically, I can attest that it tastes pretty good regardless. I didn't have high hopes for this one, mostly because I couldn't quite envision what the flavor profile would be. Would it be creamy, savory, or citrusy? Perhaps a mix of all three?

The soup was somewhat a mix of all three, leaning more towards a savory profile with a somewhat surprisingly strong lemon influence. I often find that lemon flavor can get lost in a busy soup, especially a store-bought one, but there was a citrusy undertone to each and every bite that was tasty and much appreciated. The broth wasn't super creamy, but it had a certain richness that also served it well (otherwise this could have just been an overly-creamy repeat of the creamy chicken and wild rice soup). 

The brown rice was perfectly tender and not chewy, while the chicken added a savory bite that paired well with the lemon flavor. I appreciated the balance that this soup had to offer, though nothing about it exactly blew me away. So, the Greek-style chicken and lemon soup makes for a good middle-ground option — one to seek out if you especially like a citrusy undertone, but nothing to flock to the store over.

I've never been the biggest fan of store-bought or canned chicken tortilla soup, largely because I find that the tortilla part is best enjoyed as a fresh, crunchy garnish. Obviously, store-bought soups can't exactly feature fresh tortillas or tortilla chips in such a way, so they often incorporate tortilla chips into the soup itself (as Panera's version does), leading to a decidedly soggy take on chicken tortilla soup.

Despite any soggy tortilla additions to this soup, however, I found the flavors prevailed nonetheless. This was a hearty, chunky soup, and that alone earned it points in my book. Between the shredded chicken, bits of tortilla, and veggie additions, each bite had a chunkiness. Of course, the flavors are what really sold me, with strong notes of cumin, garlic, cilantro, and general chile flavors shining through. Although this wasn't my absolute favorite Panera soup out of all the ones I tried, it managed to impress me with its sheer heartiness and nicely spiced flavor profile. The only way to make this soup a little better would be to garnish it with your own tortilla chips or strips for added crunch.

If there's one soup that I just expected to feel "meh" about, it was definitely the baked potato one. Don't get me wrong — I love baked potatoes and I love potato soup, but I expected this to taste creamy and potato-y, but not much else. And, to be fair, it did mainly taste creamy and potato-y, but there was a surprising amount of added complexity to the flavor of this soup that made it taste like a baked potato.

For starters, while this soup was creamy by default, it had a more sour cream flavor. That added tanginess helped in terms of complexity and made the soup taste more baked potato-inspired than just potato-inspired. Also, there was a pleasant level of bacon-forward flavor, which helped cut some of that creaminess while still contributing to the overall richness. And, of course, it wouldn't be potato soup without plenty of potato chunks, and this soup delivered in textural balance between the creamy, chowder-like base and actual chunks of potato throughout. An unsuspecting highlight of Panera's store-bought soup collection, the baked potato soup is one that I'd absolutely purchase again.

There's nothing like a soup that plays double-duty as a pasta dish all in one, and the Tuscan Style Tortellini delivers on that front. Featuring a creamy soup base with cheese tortellini throughout, I was not surprised that I enjoyed this soup, though it was a bit surprising just how much I devoured it and couldn't stop going back for bites.

The first successful element comes in the form of the broth, which was creamy but with plenty of added complexity. One of the first flavors I picked up on in this Tuscan tortellini soup was a wine flavor, similar to the lobster bisque. But here it was more balanced with a general creaminess and Parmesan-forward flavor. The cheese tortellini, simple as they were, made this soup a success, adding such a chunky and cheesy bite that especially tasted good with that creamy broth. I don't have any complaints about this Tuscan tortellini soup, and anyone who likes a good bite of pasta in their soup would be wise to give this flavor a try. 

It's hard to deny the popularity of Panera's Broccoli Cheddar soup, both in terms of the restaurant and store-bought versions. In a Tasting Table poll, the Panera soup prevailed as the top choice, and we also ranked the broccoli cheddar soup highly in our Panera restaurant-bought soup ranking. Needless to say, the broccoli cheddar soup has a reputation for being quite tasty, and I'm happy to confirm that its store-bought version is on par with the restaurant one.

The first thing that stuck out to me was how well-balanced the broth was. It's a creamy broth, no doubt, but not one that's quite as thick and rich as a chowder, and not one that tastes overly-creamy by any means. There's also plenty of savory cheddar flavor in the broth, which kept me going back, bite after bite. The broccoli and carrots added a hit of veggie-forward flavor without taking away from the cheesy broth too much, and the broccoli helped add a certain textural goodness that added a soft bite without making it chewy. It's hard to beat a well-done broccoli cheddar soup, and from the nine store-bought soups that I tasted from Panera, this reigns supreme without a doubt.

When ranking these store-bought Panera Bread soups, flavor and texture were the two most important factors. Obviously, just about any soup is going to lean into savory territory, so I paid specific attention to those soups that captured a savory flavor profile better than others, and those that didn't just rely on creaminess to get by. Certain options were also a bit lacking in a desired flavor, like the lobster bisque or creamy tomato, resulting in a lower ranking. 

More successful soups struck a balance between exceptional flavor and texture. The winning broccoli cheddar soup is a good example of such a feat, because even despite being such a simple soup, it nailed that cheesy, rich broth with hints of broccoli scattered throughout. Meanwhile, the creamy chicken and wild rice soup ranked low due to overly chewy rice and an overly creamy broth, leading to a less-than-desirable texture and flavor profile.