What should I order at Panera for high protein?
A whole Toasted Italiano sandwich carries the most protein on the menu, 58 g. For a smaller appetite, a half Green Goddess Cobb Salad with Chicken is 20 g for 290 calories. Figures come from Panera's own printed nutrition guide, effective August 2026.
Key takeaways
- Panera sells half portions as a real, separately listed menu option, which makes it easier here than at most chains to land on a smaller protein number without estimating.
- A whole Toasted Italiano sandwich tops the menu at 58 g of protein, but also carries 1,330 calories.
- Half sandwiches and half salads mostly land in the 18 to 22 g range for 290 to 430 calories, a consistent band across several different options.
- Bread bowl soups and catering-sized portions are left out of both lists here because they're multi-serving formats, not a single order.
Panera's menu is unusual in this section for offering half portions as a real, separately listed order rather than something you'd have to estimate. The figures below come from Panera's own printed nutrition guide, effective August 2026.
The highest protein items
- 58 gToasted Italianowhole sandwich, 1330 kcal
- 52 gChicken Bacon Rancher Sandwichwhole sandwich, 1010 kcal
- 52 gCiabatta Cheesesteakwhole sandwich, 1160 kcal
- 51 gSpicy Fiesta Chickenwhole sandwich, 940 kcal
- 48 gGrilled Chicken & Avo BLTwhole sandwich, 940 kcal
- 47 gBacon Turkey Bravowhole sandwich, 860 kcal
High protein, low calorie: better for a smaller appetite
Half portions and salads are where this menu's best ratios turn up, mostly clustered in a fairly narrow calorie band.
- 27 gStrawberry Poppyseed Chicken Salad1 salad, 410 kcal
- 22 gSmokehouse BBQ Chickenhalf sandwich, 410 kcal
- 20 gGreen Goddess Cobb Salad with Chickenhalf salad, 290 kcal
- 20 gToasted Frontega Chickenhalf sandwich, 430 kcal
- 20 gTurkey & Cheddarhalf sandwich, 420 kcal
- 18 gCaesar with Chickenhalf salad, 340 kcal
Ordering it
- A half sandwich paired with a cup of soup is a common Panera combination; check the soup separately since it's not counted in the numbers above.
- The Green Goddess Cobb Salad, half portion, is the leanest single item on either list here.
- Bread bowls turn a soup into a much bigger order; skip the bowl if you're watching the total.
If Subway is more often on your route, the Subway high protein menu works the same way.
If you're managing a GLP-1 prescription and unsure how a heavier order fits your plan for the day, that is a question for your prescriber or dietitian rather than a menu page.
More questions about Fast food
What's the highest protein item at Panera?
A whole Toasted Italiano sandwich, at 58 g of protein for 1,330 calories. The Chicken Bacon Rancher and Ciabatta Cheesesteak are close behind, both around 52 g.
What should I order at Panera if I'm on a GLP-1 medication?
A half sandwich or half salad rather than a whole one: a Green Goddess Cobb Salad with Chicken, half portion, is 20 g of protein for 290 calories, and several other half options land in a similar range. Check bigger changes to how you eat around your prescription with your prescriber or dietitian.
Is a half sandwich actually half the nutrition of a whole one?
Close to it, since Panera lists the half as its own menu item rather than an estimate. It won't always be exactly half, because of how bread and fillings are portioned, but it's a real ordered item with its own listed numbers, not a guess.
