Over 24% Agree This Is The Best Pizza At Panera Bread
With more than 2,000 locations across the country (via the Panera Bread website), Panera Bread is one of the most popular fast-casual restaurants in the U.S. for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. While the national chain started as a bakery famous for its bread, its menu has grown exponentially over the years to include a wide variety of soups, sandwiches, and salads. In recent years, Panera has continued to release tons of new menu items, from creamy macaroni and cheese to bowls loaded with chicken and veggies and rice to, yes, even pizza. The flatbread pizzas are made with fluffy Panera-worthy dough made in-house and they range in calories from 770 to 950 (via Panera).
There are five types of pizza you can order at Panera, including Cheese, Pepperoni, and Chipotle Chicken and Bacon. But which one is the best? Mashed polled 604 people in the U.S. to find out which Panera pizza they view as most worth ordering. Here's which flatbread option won over nearly a quarter of survey respondents.
Diners love the Panera Margherita pizza
Of all the pizzas on the menu at Panera, the Margherita pizza is the best, according to Mashed's poll results. When all was said and done, 24.83% of respondents dubbed it their top pick. The Margherita pizza is topped with a tomato bell pepper sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, a shredded mozzarella and fontina blend, sliced grape tomatoes, and fresh basil (via Panera). It's the lowest-calorie pizza at Panera, with 770 calories for the entire pie. "With the airy flatbread crust and the fairly minimal toppings, the Margherita Flatbread Pizza felt pretty light for a pizza of its size," the blogger behind Brand Eating said. "The crust was thin overall and crispy at the edges but softer and chewier towards the center."
As for how the other pizzas at Panera stacked up? The Sausage and Pepperoni pizza was a close second, receiving 22.35% of the votes, followed by Pepperoni with 21.52%. Chipotle Chicken and Bacon wasn't far behind, as 20.86% of people chose the meaty, cheesy flatbread as their favorite. Last place went to Panera's classic Cheese pizza, which only 10.43% of diners said is the best.