Every Panera Bagel, Ranked

I've never been a sweets-for-breakfast type of gal. It's not that I don't have a sweet tooth — mine just never hits in the morning, and an 8 a.m. donut is more likely to make me feel anxious and sick than full and satisfied. I will, however, take a healthy load of savory carbs any time of day, any day of the week, including during the early morning hours. Bagels have long been a breakfast favorite, and while I've since graduated to making my own sourdough bagels, I'll still pop into a bagel shop now and then.

That said, I've frequented Panera regularly throughout my life, particularly growing up in the suburbs where Panera locations were abundant. I haven't visited the chain much since moving to a city setting, but I still make it out for new releases, like its early 2026 debut of Asiago Bagel Stacks. My opinions of the chain's offerings aren't very consistent; some are hits and others are misses, as it usually goes with larger chains.

One thing I hadn't done, though, was take the time to review the company's entire bagel selection, so I figured it was high time to take its most popular items out for a test run. Surprisingly, I only found nine bagel varieties at my location (I thought there used to be more), so I tried and ranked all of them (untoasted, both with and without cream cheese) to see how they stacked up both solo and with a spread. Here's how they did. 

Okay, I wasn't surprised that Panera's multigrain bagel flat fell, well, flat. This was an easy last-place choice — unless I was in a dietary situation that made this my only bagel option, I wouldn't have it again, and it won't satisfy a bagel craving. I could see it being a decent bread option for a sandwich because you'd have other ingredients to help lift the decidedly lackluster bread. On its own, though, it doesn't hit the mark. 

My biggest complaint about this "bagel" is that it was hopelessly dry. I don't dislike multigrain breads by any means (in fact, I usually prefer them to white bread brands), and multigrain breads don't have to be dry. This one, however, was dry as a bone and pretty tasteless, though not totally bland; I got some flavor from the oats on top at least, but that's about it. Don't go for this one unless dietary constraints make it your only option. 

Up next is a selection that, at the very least, qualifies as a bagel (which is more than I can say about the previous variety). The only reason I can't give Panera's plain bagel any higher than eighth place is because it lacks adornments, and none of the following disappointed enough to merit receiving a lower spot. Don't like your bagel with stuff on it? Then this plain bagel fits the bill. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and choose something with a little more pizzazz. 

Panera's plain bagel does exactly what it's supposed to — it acts as a neutral vehicle for your spreads and toppings of choice. If you want a bagel sandwich with all the fixings, but you don't want your actual bagel choice to clash with the innards, a plain bagel is a safe bet. Similarly, if you want to try a new spread, a plain bagel will let you get the full impression of it, unadulterated. Though a great choice for picky kids and picky adults alike, this bagel will likely underwhelm anyone who wants a little more from their breakfast. 

If you want to graduate from plain bagels to something slightly less plain, but still neutral, a sesame bagel would be your best bet. Sesame bagels have the potential to be great — when you get a thick, chewy bagel absolutely loaded with crunchy sesame seeds, it puts a nice twist on your classic bagel without going too big on the fixings. Considering that, I found Panera's sesame bagel a little underwhelming, though still a step up from its plain brethren.

You can probably tell from looking at the above picture why it couldn't possibly earn higher than a seventh-place spot here. Unfortunately, it seemed like half of the bagel was devoid of sesame seeds altogether. Even if sesame bagels are your go-to, I don't think you'd find this satisfying. Cream cheese helps with the flavor, but makes the lack of sesame seeds even more noticeable. This is a fine standard option if you want a light crunch on a plain bagel, but the remaining selections on this list are more flavorful. 

Everything bagels are my go-to, and I put everything bagel seasoning on, well, everything. Even though I love the breakfast bake, I wouldn't say I have very high standards when it comes to everything bagels. I'm not picky about whether or not mine has caraway seeds, nor am I picky about the ratios of the other ingredients in the seasoning. One thing I'll never compromise on, though, is the amount of seasoning on my bagel. If the seasoning isn't covering everything, can it really be called an everything bagel?

I found the amount of seasoning incredibly lacking. A quarter of the bagel hardly had any seasoning at all. What was there was fine, and tasted as it should, but it didn't do enough to make it feel like I was eating an everything bagel. Pairing it with cream cheese made the seasoning even more lackluster — rather than complementing each other, the cream cheese took over the bite, leaving me with a hint of tangible garlic. I adore everything bagels, and this wouldn't satisfy an everything bagel craving. Still, it was more flavorful than the sesame bagel, and as such was a good sixth-place contender. 

Blueberry bagels have never been my bagel of choice, but I can still appreciate what they offer their fans. Fruit-bread combos are obviously endearing, after all, and sweet berries make for a nice contrast to cream cheese or another tangy spread. All of this is to say that I'll enjoy the occasional blueberry bagel when it's done correctly. Panera's version of the breakfast staple fell unfortunately short.

I went back and forth on whether to rank this above or below the everything bagel, but I ended up ranking it higher because an everything bagel should be easier to execute correctly. I can understand the difficulties of working berries into bread. But the solution is never to skimp on the amount of berries you add to the dough, which appears to be what Panera did in this instance. I had to go searching for the blueberries in this bagel, which eventually meant they were completely overwhelmed by the cream cheese I added to it, rather than presenting a welcome sweet-tangy contrast. The blueberries that were there tasted great, but this offering was too underwhelming to score any higher. Though I'm sure it's not the worst blueberry bagel out there, it's certainly not the best. 

I love Asiago bagels. Before I discovered the joy of the everything bagel (don't judge — I was an incredibly picky eater as a child), Asiago bagels were my go-to. I love the character the sharp cheese gives the bagel without taking away from its versatility. Asiago bagels work well as the bookends of a sandwich or just on their own with cream cheese, and while I can still say this applies to Panera's version of the classic, I wasn't super impressed with what it offered. 

I tasted the Asiago, but I wanted more. I shouldn't have to reach a bagel's halfway point to get to the inclusions, which felt like the case here — all of the Asiago was concentrated in the middle of the bagel, and I'd have appreciated it being more spread out. Moreover, there was virtually no Asiago on the bottom bagel slice. So, while this tasted good, I still wanted more. I've had better-executed Asiago bagels from other bagel shops. 

We've made it to my top three choices, and all three of these are bagels I could get again at Panera. Two of them were wholly surprising top choices, the first being Panera's cinnamon raisin bagel. Like the blueberry bagel, I wouldn't typically choose a cinnamon raisin bagel — again, I typically prefer savory breakfast carbs rather than sweet. I might change my tune from now on, though. I thought Panera's was a relatively good execution of a cinnamon raisin bagel; at least, it turned me on to the bagel variety.

The proportions of ingredients here were pretty good, and unlike the blueberry bagel, I found an even scattering of raisins throughout this bagel. The bagel itself was nice and cinnamon-y — I could have used more cinnamon, but I'm also a fiend for the spice, so I didn't let that cloud my judgement. The bagel is sweet but not overly so, so it works well with a sharp cream cheese spread. This wasn't my favorite bagel of the bunch, but I appreciate what it offered, and I can recommend it to cinnamon raisin bagel fans.

It stands to reason that one of the top spots would go to a combination of my two favorite bagel flavors. I mean, how can you go wrong pairing Asiago cheese with everything bagel seasoning? You can't, and Panera certainly didn't. In fact, I'm pretty surprised I haven't yet seen this bagel mashup at other bagel shops — it seems like a no-brainer combo, so I'm hoping the trend will catch on.

Well, I'm happy that at least one spot has this gem, and you can bet it'll be my go-to on savory Panera mornings for as long as it's on the menu (which I'm hoping is forever). I didn't love this solely because it gives me a two-in-one deal on my favorite bagel flavors — it also has way more everything bagel seasoning and Asiago cheese than either of its predecessors mentioned above, which shows me Panera is clearly capable of doing more. I'm thankful this exists as a welcome upgrade from its lackluster kin. The only reason it couldn't get the top spot on my list is because the following was a wildly welcome surprise that I'll struggle to stay away from in the future. 

The No. 1 spot on this list goes to a bagel that's a surefire winner for anyone with a sweet tooth, and one that might inspire my own sweet tooth to wake up a little earlier (for better or for worse). Panera's Cinnamon Crunch bagel is, honestly, a little out-of-this-world. It feels unfair to pit this pastry-like concoction against the other bagels mentioned here, but hey, life's not fair. All I know is that this cinnamon crunch bagel felt like a sinful treat in the best way. 

You could certainly pair this bagel with cream cheese, but it doesn't need a spread, and I thought cream cheese detracted from the experience a little. I ate this completely plain — untoasted with absolutely nothing on it — and it was delightful. It tasted like a sticky bun in bagel form. I didn't get a ton of "crunch" from the bagel, but I hardly minded. The top is sticky, sweet, and super flavorful, and that flavor carries through to the bottom half of the bagel (though it's not as abundant). I loved this bagel, and if you're a cinnamon fiend with a morning sweet tooth, this should absolutely be your top choice the next time you head to a Panera. 

To conduct this taste test, I got one of each of the nine available bagel flavors from my local Panera, as well as a small tub of the spot's cream cheese. I tried each bagel on its own and paired it with cream cheese spread, and evaluated how it tasted each way. Some bagels were automatic bottom-spot contenders because they naturally don't offer a ton of flavor, like the plain and sesame bagels. 

Other bagels could have scored higher if more of their titular ingredients had been present, as was the case with the everything, Asiago, and blueberry bagels. My top choices packed a ton of flavor and didn't skimp on the inclusions, and would taste great paired with cream cheese or enjoyed solo.