Top 13+ discontinued Panera menu items we wish would come back

Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese

Sometimes, you just want something basic and comforting, even when you go out to eat, and that's just what Panera Bread's Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese offered. This dish wasn't supposed to be groundbreaking — it was supposed to be creamy and cheesy with a hint of veggies mixed in, and it delivered just that. It was perfect for picky kids and less-picky adults on days when they just needed some relatively nutrient-dense comfort in a bowl.

This mac and cheese was made with shell pasta, which is the ideal pasta shape for mac and cheese, if you ask us. And in addition to broccoli, it also contained carrots as well. Adding in some crushed black or red chili pepper really rounded out the dish, giving it an earthiness that worked well with the creamy cheese. Alas, you can no longer snag this stuff when you go to Panera. This one is classic enough, though, that we hope the chain will bring it back someday.

Chocolate Chip Bagel

There's nothing like getting your day started with a good bagel. It's warm, it's filling, and it's just bread made specifically for mornings — what's not to love about that? Although you can find a wide variety of bagels available at plenty of fast food and fast casual spots, you're not always going to see a Chocolate Chip Bagel on the menu. At one point in time, you'd see just that at Panera Bread, but now, the reign of the Chocolate Chip Bagel has sadly come to an end.

This bagel basically felt like you were getting a slightly lighter version of a donut. The bagel itself wasn't that sweet, but those chocolate chips delivered a subtle sweetness that offered just the right amount of sugar for first thing in the morning. We think this bagel tasted its most delicious when it was adorned simply with some melted butter, but it was also delicious with cream cheese and/or strawberry jam. Sure, you can still get plenty of other types of bagels at Panera Bread, but none can compete with the deliciousness of this chocolate-studded version.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Way back in the day, you used to be able to order Butternut Squash Ravioli at Panera Bread, and it always seemed like a perfect order on a chilly fall day. You see cheese- and meat-filled ravioli on just about every menu at restaurants that serve pasta, but this veggie-forward version of filled pasta felt elevated for its time. The flavors were muted, with a subtle sweetness and hint of sage that kept things tasting savory without having an overpowering flavor to it.

These days, though, the Panera menu is sadly void of any squash-filled ravioli. Apparently, the dish wasn't that filling, which is supposedly why its popularity waned. After all, ravioli is generally a pretty satiating dish, so when a serving of it doesn't deliver, it can definitely turn some diners off. Although it may not have been the heartiest dish on the menu, we miss those fall flavors and hope the chain will bring them back some day.

Frozen Chocolate Cold Brew

There are times in your life when you need some good old-fashioned caffeine, fast. During these times, some black gas station drip coffee will do the trick because it's all about meeting a practical need. Then, there are other times when you need a sweet treat in drinkable form that just happens to contain some caffeine, and it's during those times when you could have ordered a Frozen Chocolate Cold Brew from Panera Bread. This drink was part coffee, part milkshake, and that's exactly what we loved about it.

Now, don't get us wrong — the iced, blended cold brew base for this drink was still pretty strong, since it was made from cold brew. Therefore, this drink still offered a decent dose of caffeine. But flavor-wise, it was definitely stretching into milkshake territory, evidenced by the inclusion of chocolate. To make it even more dessert-like, the chain topped it with whipped cream and even added some chocolate syrup on top. It wasn't exactly a drink we would think to order every day, but for those times when you wanted an indulgent treat along with a cup of coffee, it was the perfect order.

Sadly, you'll have to stick with slightly less exciting coffee options at Panera now. Sure, there are still sweeter, more filling coffee options to choose from, but if you ask us, none of them compare to the gloriousness that was this ice cream-adjacent beverage.

Sonoma Chicken Stew

Chicken pot pie fans, there was once a time when all the flavors you love in chicken pot pie could be found in soup form at Panera Bread. This soup was called the Sonoma Chicken Stew, and it was absolutely one of the best soups the chain has ever produced. Chicken was the star of the show, of course, but it was also packed with tons of veggies, like leeks, carrots, and potatoes. But don't assume that this was a super-light, brothy number. The broth was thick and rich with a lovely creaminess to it, and it was even served with a biscuit, which really drove home the similarity to chicken pot pie.

Unfortunately, you're no longer going to find this stew on the Panera menu, so don't bother scanning the menu for it the next time you visit. The upside, though, is the fact that this soup is really, really similar to just plain chicken pot pie filling, so you can pretty easily make a dupe at home. We know that's not as thrilling as ordering it when you go out to Panera, but hopefully, that flavor is not lost to you forever, even if it never makes another reappearance on the Panera Bread menu again.

Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies

We love red velvet anything. And while you can find red velvet cake and cupcakes at a wide variety of restaurants, you're not going to find red velvet cookies just anywhere. That's part of why we loved Panera Bread's Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies so much. These soft, brownie-like cookies were super chocolatey but with that gorgeous red hue that makes red velvet what it is. Not only were these cookies delicious and fudgey, but they were also undeniably pretty, which made them even more appealing.

Panera's red velvet cookies debuted all the way back in 2012, when Instagramming a blurry picture of a pretty cookie was a completely normal thing to do. They were released during the holiday season, which makes sense given their striking appearance. But you couldn't take an ugly picture of them to post to your social media these days even if you wanted to since the cookies were removed from the menu not long after they first made their appearance. Unfortunately, it's been a while that they've been gone, so we're not completely confident they'll ever come back.