The Best Bagel In Panera's Bakery Will Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

When you punch that alarm in the morning, and the grind begins, there's no better way to start the day than with a balanced breakfast. Instead of slinging a coffee and carrying on with your routine, a warm, soft bagel with some cream cheese might be in order. And what better place to get that than at Panera Bread? The popular restaurant's bagel variety is unmatched, always fresh, and truly delicious. But when we ranked Panera Bagels from worst to best, we found that one stood out amongst the pack: the cinnamon crunch bagel.

Our reviewer said that Panera's cinnamon crunch bagel tasted more like a pastry and was perfect for anyone with a morning sweet tooth. She enjoyed it plain — saying it didn't even need a spread — and found that cream cheese may actually detract from the flavor experience. While it didn't offer as much crunch as the name suggests, the sweet and chewy topping paired perfectly with the warm, soft notes of cinnamon baked into the bagel itself. If anything, it was more like a sticky bun than a bagel — talk about comfort food.

While sweets are not everyone's go-to first thing in the a.m., this bagel is certainly worth a try, even as an afternoon snack or dessert. Of course, there are savory options that ranked well in our reviewer's opinion, too, like the new asiago everything bagel, and there are other breads at Panera to try and rank yourself.

Panera fans tend to agree with our expert ranking. "That bagel is out of this world delicious," one person commented on a post in the Merrimack Valley Eats Facebook group. Another added, "Get one of those with the honey maple cream cheese!" While some people on Reddit have theorized that the cinnamon crunch bagel recipe had recently changed and tasted slightly different, an overwhelming number of customers still love and crave the sweet menu item.

There are a few popular ways to enjoy this bagel. While our reviewer preferred it plain, many people like it paired with the honey walnut or sweet cream cheese. Some even recommend asking for it warmed up, so the cinnamon crunch gets bubbly and even stickier. Then of course, there's the breakfast sandwich route. Instead of getting a ham, egg, and cheese on ciabatta bread — one of 17 items to avoid ordering at Panera — ask for it on a cinnamon crunch bagel. Pair it with an iced caffe latte or cappuccino, and the day is yours.