The Salad Check · 2026 menu
26 salads checked with 2026 prices and official nutrition. Some are protein powerhouses. Some are sandwiches in disguise. This page scores every salad on the number that matters at lunch: protein per 100 calories, then tells you what to actually order. Salads are one chapter of the wider menu we track, from sandwiches to drinks.
A Panera salad is a full-size salad served at Panera Bread, available with or without chicken. A Salad Stuffer is the same salad stuffed into a handheld roll, a format Panera launched in April 2026. This guide covers all 26 salads on the 2026 menu with 9-city average prices and official nutrition.
Independent guide, not affiliated with Panera. Prices are 9-city averages checked September 30, 2026. Nutrition taken from the official Panera Nutrition Guide dated September 2, 2026, for standard builds with dressing included.
Start here
If you order the Greek Salad because it sounds lighter than a sandwich, the numbers disagree. This is the one decision this page exists to fix.
Greens, feta, and dressing. It reads virtuous. It eats like a side with ambition: eight grams of protein will not hold you until dinner.
Fewer calories and more than double the protein, for less money. The bread was never the problem here.
Order the salad you want, not the virtue you think you are buying. If Greek is the craving, get it with chicken below. If light and filling is the goal, the sandwich or the Green Goddess Cobb does the job better.
Do the math once
Two salads prove the rule. Same bowl, plus chicken, with the verified deltas from the official guide. No estimates: these are Panera's own before and after numbers.
Caesar, before and after
The read: the plain Caesar is a side pretending to be lunch. With chicken it becomes a real meal. Note the sodium jumps to 2,620mg, so keep the rest of the day gentle.
Greek, before and after
The read: this is the trap fix. The chicken turns the weakest protein score on the menu into a legitimate lunch. Same sodium caution applies at 2,630mg.
The verdict: if the salad is your whole meal, add the chicken. Always. For about 130 to 140 extra calories you buy 21 to 22 grams of protein: the difference between still hungry at 3pm and actually done. If the salad is a side, skip it and keep the light number.
The check ledger
Every salad scored on protein per 100 calories. Above 4g holds you like a meal. Below 2g is greens with good marketing. Here is where the menu actually splits.
Pass the check
Protein-honest salads that eat like lunch, not like a garnish.
580 cal · 40g protein · $12.99 · 1,980mg sodium
Order it when: you want the best salad at Panera, full stop. Most protein, best score, still under 600 calories.
530 cal · 29g protein · $11.61 · 1,900mg sodium
Order it when: lightest is the priority but lunch still needs to count. Ties for fewest calories with real protein behind it.
800 cal · 33g protein · $13.37 · 1,690mg sodium
Order it when: you want steak and a big lunch. Heavy at 800 calories, but the protein is honest and the sodium stays under 2,000mg.
Fail the check
They say salad. The numbers say something else. Order them for taste, never for the halo.
630 cal · 8g protein · $8.82 · 1,400mg sodium
Skip it when: this is your whole lunch. It is the trap at the top of this page. Add chicken or pick the sandwich.
790 cal · 18g protein · $9.76 · 1,190mg sodium
Skip it when: light was the plan. At 790 calories it out-calories most sandwiches and still leaves protein short.
750 cal · 12g protein · $9.73 · 870mg sodium
Skip it when: you need staying power. The sodium is gentle at 870mg, but 12g of protein at 750 calories is a poor trade.
Every salad, scored
Price, calories, protein, and sodium from the same checked menu numbers, plus the check score: grams of protein per 100 calories. Green is meal-grade. Red sodium means one salad crosses 2,000mg. Use the filter to read one format at a time.
Signature salads are Panera's bowl salads: the base recipes everything else builds on.
Order it when: you want the healthiest real lunch here. Nothing else is close.
The Green Goddess Chicken Cobb Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 580 calories, 40g protein, and 1980mg sodium for $12.99.
Order it when: lightest matters. Ties for fewest calories with protein that actually holds.
The Asian Sesame Chicken Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 530 calories, 29g protein, and 1900mg sodium for $11.61.
Order it when: Caesar is the craving and lunch must fill you. Budget the sodium for the day.
The Caesar Salad with Chicken is a salad served at Panera Bread: 670 calories, 35g protein, and 2620mg sodium for $11.71.
Order it when: you want the big lunch. Priciest salad, honest protein, sodium stays in bounds.
The Ultimate Garden Steak Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 800 calories, 33g protein, and 1690mg sodium for $13.37.
Order it when: sweet and crunchy is the mood. Solid middle: real protein, mid calories.
The Fuji Apple Chicken Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 710 calories, 28g protein, and 1770mg sodium for $11.73.
Order it when: Greek flavors are the point. Dressing on the side helps. Keep dinner light.
The Greek Salad with Chicken is a salad served at Panera Bread: 760 calories, 30g protein, and 2630mg sodium for $11.77.
Order it when: you want the fullest bowl. At 880 calories it is the heaviest salad here: make it the main event.
The Harvest Medley Chicken Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 880 calories, 34g protein, and 2100mg sodium for $12.86.
Order it when: ranch and a kick are non-negotiable. Protein is real; so is the calorie count.
The Southwest Chicken Ranch Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 810 calories, 30g protein, and 2080mg sodium for $12.63.
Order it when: you want BLT energy in a bowl. Mid-pack on every number: fine, not a health play.
The Ranch Parm BLT Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 750 calories, 23g protein, and 1900mg sodium for $9.71.
Order it when: it is a side next to soup. As a solo lunch, add the chicken: see the math above.
The Caesar Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 530 calories, 14g protein, and 1390mg sodium for $8.81.
Order it when: crunch is the craving and calories are not the concern. Never order it as the light option.
The Farmhouse Crunch Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 790 calories, 18g protein, and 1190mg sodium for $9.76.
Order it when: low sodium is the top rule and you will eat again soon. Gentlest salt here, weakest protein.
The Harvest Medley Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 750 calories, 12g protein, and 870mg sodium for $9.73.
Order it when: you truly just want the Greek flavors as a side. As a meal, it is the trap: add chicken.
The Greek Salad is a salad served at Panera Bread: 630 calories, 8g protein, and 1400mg sodium for $8.82.
Salad Stuffers take a signature salad and stuff it into a hollowed Italian roll. The roll adds roughly 50 to 120 calories over the bowl.
Order it when: you want the best salad here with no fork. The spotlight pick below.
The Green Goddess Chicken Cobb Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Green Goddess Chicken Cobb salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 600 calories, 29g protein, and 1580mg sodium for $11.48.
Order it when: you liked the bowl and need it handheld. Roll costs about 50 calories over the bowl.
The Asian Sesame Chicken Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Asian Sesame Chicken salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 580 calories, 22g protein, and 1640mg sodium for $10.47.
Order it when: Caesar with chicken, to go. The roll makes it filling; the sodium makes it a once-in-a-while.
The Caesar Salad Stuffer with Chicken is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Caesar with Chicken salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 720 calories, 27g protein, and 2190mg sodium for $10.57.
Order it when: the hearty bowl, handheld. Slightly lighter than its 880-calorie bowl version.
The Harvest Medley Chicken Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Harvest Medley Chicken salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 770 calories, 25g protein, and 1770mg sodium for $11.25.
Order it when: steak in a roll beats steak in a bowl for your commute. Same neighborhood as the bowl.
The Ultimate Garden Steak Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Ultimate Garden Steak salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 790 calories, 25g protein, and 1560mg sodium for $11.66.
Order it when: the Fuji bowl is your usual and the line is moving. Nearly identical math, handheld.
The Fuji Apple Chicken Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Fuji Apple Chicken salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 700 calories, 21g protein, and 1450mg sodium for $10.53.
Order it when: Greek with chicken, no fork required. The roll version keeps sodium just under 2,000mg.
The Greek Salad Stuffer with Chicken is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Greek with Chicken salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 770 calories, 23g protein, and 1960mg sodium for $10.62.
Order it when: Southwest is the flavor and you are eating in the car. A full meal in a roll.
The Southwest Chicken Ranch Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Southwest Chicken Ranch salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 800 calories, 24g protein, and 1820mg sodium for $11.12.
Order it when: BLT in a roll sounds right. Cheaper than the bowl here, similar trade.
The Ranch Parm BLT Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Ranch Parm BLT salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 780 calories, 21g protein, and 1740mg sodium for $9.05.
Order it when: cheapest way to try the format. As a meal, step up to the chicken version.
The Caesar Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Caesar salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 650 calories, 16g protein, and 1570mg sodium for $8.46.
Order it when: crunch in a roll is the craving. Same liar math as the bowl: taste order, not a light order.
The Farmhouse Crunch Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Farmhouse Crunch salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 790 calories, 18g protein, and 1380mg sodium for $9.02.
Order it when: you want the gentlest sodium in a handheld. Pair it with soup if this needs to hold you.
The Harvest Medley Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Harvest Medley salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 700 calories, 14g protein, and 1160mg sodium for $9.03.
Order it when: Greek as a snack roll. As lunch, the with-chicken stuffer above is the fix.
The Greek Salad Stuffer is a Salad Stuffer served at Panera Bread: a handheld roll stuffed with Greek salad, a format Panera launched in April 2026. 700 calories, 12g protein, and 1350mg sodium for $8.51.
How to read the check: the score is protein divided by calories, times 100. A 6.9 means 6.9g of protein for every 100 calories you spend. Above 4g eats like a meal. 3g to 4g is solid with a side. Below 3g needs help or is a side by design. Sodium flags mark any single salad over 2,000mg: the Greek with Chicken at 2,630mg and the Caesar with Chicken at 2,620mg both pass the full 2,300mg daily value alone. Prices are 9-city averages. Standard builds include full dressing: on the side lowers the real number.
New format spotlight
Launched April 2026. A Stuffer is the full salad stuffed into a hollowed Italian roll: same greens, same dressing, no fork, no bowl. Panera built it for the drive, the desk, and the one-hand lunch.
The roll is the only real cost. Against the bowl, it adds roughly 50 to 120 calories depending on the build. Protein dips a little because the roll displaces some salad. What you gain is portability: the salad that stays together.
Green bar is the bowl. Gold is the roll. The Green Goddess barely moves: that is why it wins the format.
29g protein · $11.48 · 1,580mg sodium · 4.8g per 100 cal. The bowl is 580 cal and 40g protein, so the roll costs you 11g of protein and 20 calories. In return you get the best salad at Panera in a form you can eat walking.
If the bowl is an option, take the bowl for the full 40g. If you need handheld, this is the only stuffer that still scores meal-grade.
Compare all stuffersWhere your next question leads
Wondering which salads are genuinely light? These are the salads that hold up as a healthy pick. Want the full numbers before you choose? Check the complete nutrition breakdown for every salad.
Salad feeling like only half a lunch? Add a soup or half sandwich with a You Pick Two pairing.
Questions, answered
The Green Goddess Chicken Cobb Salad: 580 calories, 40g protein, 1,980mg sodium for $12.99. It scores 6.9g of protein per 100 calories, the best of any salad on the menu, so it fills you up without the calorie cost of the heavier bowls. Full check is in the ledger above.
Two salads tie at 530 calories: the Asian Sesame Chicken Salad (29g protein, $11.61) and the Caesar Salad without chicken (14g protein, $8.81). If calories are the goal but lunch still needs to hold you, the Asian Sesame is the better buy. All 26 are scored in the check board.
If the salad is your whole meal, yes. Caesar goes from 530 cal and 14g protein to 670 cal and 35g protein: plus 140 calories for plus 21g protein. Greek goes from 630 cal and 8g to 760 cal and 30g: plus 130 calories for plus 22g protein. The chicken pays for itself every time. See the math.
Salad Stuffers launched in April 2026. Each one is a full salad stuffed into a hollowed Italian roll, so it eats handheld instead of with a fork. The roll adds roughly 50 to 120 calories over the bowl. The Green Goddess Stuffer is the best of them: 600 calories, 29g protein. The spotlight breaks down the premium.
They can be. The Greek Salad with Chicken is 2,630mg and the Caesar Salad with Chicken is 2,620mg, both above the 2,300mg daily value in one salad. The Harvest Medley Salad at 870mg and the Harvest Medley Stuffer at 1,160mg sit at the gentle end. The nutrition page puts salads in the full-menu sodium context.
It depends on the pick, not the category. The Greek Salad is 630 calories with 8g protein, while the Mediterranean Veggie sandwich is 520 calories with 18g protein. The sandwich wins on both numbers. Order the salad you want, not the virtue you think you are buying. That comparison opens this page at the trap.
Yes, if you are watching calories or sodium. Standard builds include the full dressing in the numbers on this page. On the side turns a fixed load into your call, fork-dip by fork-dip, and it is the one customization that only ever moves the numbers in your favor.
Keep deciding
The check tells you which salad. These pages tell you what to do with the rest of the tray.
All 247 items with calories, protein, and sodium, plus the watch list and the traps. See exactly where salads sit against sandwiches and soups.
Nutrition guideHalf salad plus cup of soup is the classic light lunch. The builder shows estimated combined numbers before you order, badges included.
Pick Two builderThe homepage finder ranks 99 meals by your goal. If protein per calorie sold you here, protein per dollar is the next lens.
Open the finder