I Tried Panera's New Breakfast Asiago Bagel Stacks, And The Sauce Does All The Heavy Lifting

Attention, all bagel sandwich lovers: Your favorite fast-casual breakfast chain is celebrating National Bagel Day by giving bagel fans some new noms to start their day with. On Tuesday, January 13, Panera is bringing back a couple of fan-favorite breakfast stacks (the Chicken Roma Asiago Bagel Stack and the Spicy Steak Asiago Bagel Stack) as well as debuting three all-new Asiago Bagel Stacks that promise to have bagel-ites swooning.

As a bagel sando lover myself (and as someone who's bound and determined to give you the inside scoop on whether these hyped-up releases are actually worth your money), I obviously had to head in to try the new Asiago Bagel Stacks as soon as they hit my local menu. Are the offerings worthy of their tantalizing moniker, or do they underwhelm? My feelings were mixed, and I expect that many fans who try the sandwiches will have similar opinions. Before going to your local Panera to try the sandos for yourself, check out my thoughts — they might help you decide which to pick. 

You're definitely wondering by now: What exactly are the three new Asiago Bagel Stacks? The trio offers something a little different for every type of consumer. All of them contain egg, a sauce, and some type of breakfast meat, but that's where their similarities end, and I actually thought each did a pretty good job at separating itself from its counterparts.

The Wake-Up BLT Asiago Everything Bagel Stack is the most unique of the offerings. The chain's new Asiago Everything Bagel is featured, inside of which is tomato, arugula, scrambled egg, applewood smoked bacon, salt and pepper, and a cheesy Benedict sauce. Up next is the Farmhouse Duo Asiago Bagel Stack, which puts applewood smoked bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, salt and pepper, and the same cheesy Benedict sauce on an Asiago bagel. Last but not least, the Sausage & Egg Asiago Bagel Stack contains sausage, scrambled egg, melted American cheese, salt and pepper, and a garlic aioli sauce, all on an Asiago bagel.

The new Asiago Bagel Stacks are available in stores starting Tuesday, January 13, and it's unclear how long they'll stick around. Perhaps the Panera is waiting to gauge fan response? Either way, it's worth heading into your local outlet to grab one (or all) of the new menu items while they're available. The stacks will cost $7.99, and on January 15, customers can take advantage of a BOGO stack deal to get one free stack with the purchase of any other stack by using the code BOGOSTACK.

The Wake-Up BLT Asiago Bagel Stack has a total of 530 calories, with 21 grams of fat, 59 grams of carbohydrates, and 27 grams of protein. The Farmhouse Duo Asiago Bagel Stack has 700 calories, 37 grams of fat, 58 grams of carbohydrates, and 33 grams of protein. Lastly, the Sausage & Egg Asiago Bagel Stack has 780 calories, 47 grams of fat, 58 grams of carbohydrates, and 32 grams of protein. 

In my opinion, the Wake-Up BLT Asiago Everything Bagel Stack was the most balanced of Panera's new Stacks. Containing tomato and arugula helped it feel a little more wholesome than either of the following, and the two veggie elements also brought in some textural appeal that was lacking in either of the other two sandwiches. I did really enjoy the new Asiago Everything bagel, but that came as no surprise, given that Asiago and everything bagels are my two favorite bagel choices. 

My favorite part of this sandwich, though, was the cheesy Benedict sauce. It definitely gave a creamy hollandaise appeal, and was incredibly flavorful without overwhelming the sandwich — moreover, it was abundant. I'll never complain about a creamy sauce dripping off of a sandwich, and the sauce is what made this sando unique. That said, all of its other elements were still good. The bacon and eggs were both well-cooked and everything was well-seasoned. But without the addition of the sauce, this would have felt like a very average bagel breakfast sandwich. 

The Farmhouse Duo Asiago Bagel Stack was my least favorite of the trio. Again, that's not to say it was bad — it was just very underwhelming, and I personally don't think it's worth the caloric punch it packs. The sandwich gets its name from its "duo" of breakfast meats housed inside (applewood smoked bacon and sausage). Also present are an egg patty and the same cheesy Benedict sauce that I so enjoyed on the previous sandwich. And, this sandwich is on a regular Asiago bagel rather than an Asiago Everything bagel. 

I liked the flavors in this sandwich, but there wasn't enough going on texturally for it to be of much interest to me. Had the bacon been thicker and crispier, I think this could have been remedied. Again, the sauce added a really nice punch of flavor, and I appreciated the subtle spice that the sausage brought into the equation. Next to the previous bagel, though, this bagel tasted relatively plain, and the sandwich as a whole lacked the "oomph" that anyone buying into the Asiago Bagel Stack hype would expect to find here. 

Panera's Sausage & Egg Asiago Bagel Stack was my second favorite of the trio, though I'd definitely call it the most indulgent of the new Stacks — thank you, melty cheese. I think it also helped matters that this Asiago bagel was slightly more toasted than the bagel used in the previous sandwich. It definitely seemed more flavorful and had a better texture in this iteration. 

The stars of the show in this bagel sandwich are the melty cheese and the garlic aioli sauce. The American cheese was in itself like a sauce, and together with the garlic aioli sauce, it made for a creamy-dreamy showstopper of a sandwich topping. The rest of the sandwich was pretty forgettable, though. Without any veggies, sausage and egg make up the "meat" of this sandwich, but the two pale in comparison to the cheese and aioli. If the toppings didn't have to do most of the heavy lifting (or if there were at least some veggies in the mix), I'd have a higher opinion of this one. 

I won't dissuade anyone from trying whichever of the Asiago Bagel Stacks sounds most appealing to them, but I will caution against getting your hopes up too high. The sauce really does all the heavy lifting on each, and is the main component that makes them distinguishable from any other similar breakfast offering. That said, the sauces also make the sandwiches really good (even if two of them are lacking in any textural variety).

If I was out and about and only had a Panera at my disposal, I would have one again, especially considering they cost $7.99. Though I will say, the nutrition facts about the two non-veggie-containing sandwiches would have me looking to see what else is available first. And if you already have a favorite Panera sandwich, it's worth asking whether you could add the cheesy Benedict or garlic aioli sauces to your go-to order — seriously, the sauces are well-deserving of some recognition.