I Tried Every Breakfast Sandwich at Panera & the Best Was Big and Cheesy

Panera Bread is a go-to spot for soups, salads, and baked goods galore, but it's also a convenient stop for a hot breakfast. The popular chain's breakfast sandwiches are enticing enough that even those who usually skip the morning meal are excited to dig in.

Panera's breakfast sandwiches are a thing of beauty. You get egg, cheese, and usually some type of meat—perhaps a special ingredient, too—piled onto one of the chain's specialty breads. They're easy to take on your morning commute—or, if you have the time, you can sit down and enjoy it with coffee.

Panera serves a wide variety of breakfast sandwiches. I ordered all 10 of them to find out which are the best and which to pass on. Panera's breakfast sandwiches are only served until 10:30 a.m., so don't sleep late if you want to get in on these. You can customize them, but in the name of fairness, I ordered each sandwich exactly as described on the menu with no modifications. I did not add anything to the sandwiches so I could sample them on their own merits.

With most sandwiches coming in at around 400 calories, they seem like a pretty good option to start your day with some energy. After trying all of the sandwiches, there was one I'd order again and another one that was so strange that I don't know how Panera came up with it!

Read on to see Panera's breakfast sandwiches ranked from worst to best.

Ham, Egg & Cheese on Cinnamon Crunch Bagel

If you can't decide between sweet and savory, this sandwich may be for you. It contains black forest ham, scrambled egg, aged white cheddar, salt, and pepper on a toasted Cinnamon Crunch bagel. Price: $6.99.

The look: This looked like ham and egg on a giant, sugary donut. I was confused by why Panera would put these ingredients on a big, sweet pastry.

The taste: Although sometimes sweet and savory can complement each other, this was not the case with this breakfast sandwich. The crunchy sugar on the "bagel" competed with the ham and cheese. This was one crazy sandwich, and not in a good way.

Rating: 1/10

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Bacon, Scrambled Egg & Cheese on Ciabatta

Applewood-smoked bacon, scrambled egg, aged white cheddar, salt, and pepper on artisan ciabatta make a classic breakfast sandwich. Price: $6.59.

The look: The giant ciabatta was a turnoff since I knew this would be like eating a giant loaf of bread, but the bacon peeking out of the sandwich did look well done and appealing.

The taste: The ciabatta was an unfavorable bread selection because it was too hard, dense, and difficult to bite. The bacon was too fatty for my taste.

Rating: 2/10

Scrambled Egg & Cheese on Ciabatta

With scrambled egg, aged white cheddar, salt, and pepper on artisan ciabatta, this sandwich looked like a good choice for someone who is not a fan of breakfast meats. Price: $5.49.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: If you like eating a giant loaf of ciabatta in the morning, this sandwich might be appealing, but I was disappointed by how huge and hard the bread appeared. It seemed to overwhelm the other sandwich ingredients.

The taste: This tasted like one big bread sandwich, and the absence of sausage or bacon made it bland and basic.

Rating: 3/10

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Scrambled Egg & Cheese on Brioche

This sandwich, with scrambled egg, aged white cheddar, salt, and pepper on brioche, looked savory and portable. Price: $5.49.

The look: I liked the shiny brioche bun, and because it was smaller than the ciabatta, I anticipated it would be easier to eat. Melted cheese on the outside of the roll made me hungry for my first bite.

The taste: I enjoyed the brioche roll, but since it was sweet, it needed a salty ingredient, such as a breakfast meat, to balance it out. In the end, there wasn't enough of this sandwich to recommend it.

Rating: 3/10

Sausage, Scrambled Egg & Cheese on Ciabatta

This sandwich, made with sausage, scrambled egg, aged white cheddar, salt, and pepper on artisan ciabatta, sounds like a solid way to start your day. Price: $6.59.

The look: The ciabatta looked like a giant loaf of bread, and I felt a little cautious about how much bread I'd be consuming. The sausage and yellow egg I could see from the side of the sandwich looked inviting.

The taste: The ciabatta was huge and hard to bite into. This is not my preferred bread for sandwiches. The sausage had a good flavor and was not too fatty, but the cheese got lost in this sandwich, and I couldn't taste it.

Rating: 4/10

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Sausage, Scrambled Egg & Cheese on Brioche

Sausage, scrambled egg, aged white cheddar, salt, and pepper on a brioche bun sounds like a winning combination in my book. Price: $6.59.

The look: This sandwich had that appealing brioche roll and yellow ingredients peeking out the side that screamed good morning to me.

The taste: Biting in, I noticed the sausage missing from my sandwich! Without it, the sandwich was bland. Since I had sampled the sausage in other Panera sandwiches, I am confident that if it were present, it would add two points to the rating, so I figured that into my total.

Rating: 4/10

Chipotle Chicken, Scrambled Egg & Avocado on Ciabatta

Chicken for breakfast? Panera says "yes." Raised without antibiotics, the chicken is smoked and pulled, then piled into this sandwich with scrambled egg, smoked Gouda cheese, sweet peppadew peppers, fresh avocado, cilantro, salt, pepper, and chipotle aioli on artisan ciabatta. Price: $6.59.

The look: This breakfast sandwich had a lot going on, with many ingredients piled onto the ciabatta. The shredded chicken looked like it was leftover from another dish.

The taste: The most overwhelming taste in this sandwich was the very spicy chipotle aioli. I like spicy sauces, but this one overpowered all the other ingredients. With chicken and egg, this sandwich was chicken overload and seemed more like a lunch sandwich with eggs thrown in for no good reason.

Rating: 5/10

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Bacon, Scrambled Egg & Cheese on Brioche

Featuring applewood-smoked bacon, scrambled egg, aged white cheddar, salt, and pepper on a brioche bun, this sandwich is what the doctor ordered (unless you have high cholesterol). Price: $6.59.

The look: This sandwich had Panera's signature glossy brioche bun with delicious-looking bacon and eggs spilling out the sides.

The taste: The bacon in this sandwich did a nice job of balancing out the sweetness of the brioche. Overall, one decent sandwich.

Rating: 6/10

Avocado, Egg White, Spinach & Cheese on Multigrain Bagel Flat

This breakfast sandwich is made of egg whites, aged white cheddar, fresh avocado, spinach, vine-ripened tomato, salt, and pepper on a multigrain bagel flat. This is advertised as a new recipe. Price: $6.59.

The look: With an oat-covered bagel flat and brightly colored spinach and tomato peeking out the sides, this sandwich looked very appealing.

The taste: While I'm not usually a fan of egg whites (they are so bland), all of the other ingredients in this breakfast sandwich gave it a big punch of flavor, especially the avocado. This was one of the healthiest sandwiches I tried and pretty tasty, too.

Rating: 7/10

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Sausage, Scrambled Egg & Cheese on Asiago Bagel

This calorie bomb of a sandwich features sausage, scrambled egg, American cheese, salt, pepper, and garlic aioli on a freshly baked Asiago bagel. Price: $6.99.

The look: This was one big, cheesy sandwich. It was the only sandwich where I could see a visible slice of cheese peeking out the side.

The taste: This breakfast sandwich had it all—spicy sausage, cheese, cheesy bread, and egg. It was yummy, but with so much bread and being so high in fat and calories, I'd proceed cautiously. Maybe share it with a friend?

Rating: 8/10