Panera’s Dippers Hit The Spot, But They Don’t Leave A Lasting Impression

When you’re craving a comfort meal that won’t weigh you down, few restaurants hit the spot quite like Panera Bread. The chain is known for its fresh salads and bowls, cozy soups, hearty sandwiches, and — most importantly — its delicious bread, from which it gets its name. A typical lunch order consists of one of Panera’s famous sandwiches on its iconic bread, after all, be it the Mediterranean veggie, ciabatta cheesesteak, or toasted Italiano. Of course, you might also find yourself asking for a cup of soup as an afterthought, then dunking that sandwich like your life depends on it — only to realize the dipping was the best part of the meal.

Quite frankly, few lunches are as satisfying (or as fun to eat) as a favorite sandwich dunked into soup. Consequently, Panera is heeding the call of its loyal fan base by offering a pair of menu items specifically designed to be dipped and dunked. And while the new Ciabatta Dippers may sound a bit familiar, there’s a little something new this time around.

I got my hands on both items — the French Ciabatta Dipper and chicken pesto Ciabatta Dipper — to help you decide whether or not it’s worth swinging by Panera for either option. In this review, I’ll provide an honest opinion based on the flavor and quality, breaking down the soup-and-sandwich combos to determine if they’re a worthy duo, or if Panera could have stepped up its game. So grab plenty of napkins, ditch the spoon, and let’s get dipping.

The French Ciabatta Dipper and chicken pesto Ciabatta Dipper are both available at Panera Bread as of September 10th, 2025, though only for a limited time. It’s unclear exactly how long these soup-and-sandwich meals will stick around, but it’s safe to assume they’ll be available for most of the fall season (or while supplies last). The Dippers concept isn’t new at the chain, as Panera released two Ciabatta Dippers last November, as well, which stuck around until the following January. The 2024 Dippers release included the French Ciabatta Dipper, in fact, making this the return of a fan-favorite ephemeral menu item.

I picked up the two sandwiches at a Panera Bread location in Hudson Valley in New York. The French Ciabatta Dipper came out to $13.49 while the chicken pesto Ciabatta Dipper cost $11.59 (please note prices may vary depending on location). In typical Panera fashion, each sandwich came with a complimentary side (I went with apples) in addition to the soup-turned-dipping-sauce.

The French Ciabatta Dipper — including the sandwich and soup — comes out to 1,120 calories, 55 grams of fat (including 19 grams of saturated fat), 2,820 milligrams of sodium, and 68 grams of protein. Meanwhile, the chicken pesto Ciabatta Dipper clocks in at 930 calories, 34 grams of fat (of which 20 grams are saturated fat), 2,540 milligrams of sodium, and 63 grams of protein. This nutrition info doesn’t include the optional side of either a bag of chips, an apple, or a baguette.

Panera Bread’s French Dipper is not to be confused with a French dip, although it certainly takes inspiration from the classic California (not France)-born sandwich recipe. It pairs marinated sliced steak with melted provolone and asiago cheeses, is dressed with garlic aioli on the chain’s famous ciabatta bread, and comes with a side of bistro French onion soup for dipping.

Although the perfectly-toasted, buttery ciabatta wound up being the star of the show, this sandwich and soup duo has the potential to quell any cold weather comfort food cravings. The steak was sliced a little on the thick side, making each bite a bit chewier than it should have been, though the soup helped soften everything up a bit. My taste buds were a bit clouded by the excessive salt on the meat, too, and I had to search for the herbaceous flavor in the marinade. I eventually detected it, but it would have been preferable if it wasn’t so buried.

There was certainly no shortage of cheese, which gave the sandwich most of its flavor, including an umami burst from asiago. As for the soup, it was on the bland side, and had me wishing for some au jus instead of the beef broth-like, vaguely-oniony soup. Its consistency was excellent for moistening the bread and meat without making it extremely soggy, though it mainly imparted a more prominent meat taste rather than a hit of savory onion flavor.

Ahh, chicken and pesto — a classic combo. This Panera Dipper comes with chunks of grilled chicken, a blend of provolone and parmesan cheeses, and basil pesto on ciabatta bread, with a side of creamy tomato soup. Now, a pesto-based sandwich is one of the best side dishes to have with tomato soup; tart, sweet tomato and garden-fresh, herby pesto are a match made in flavor heaven. While this Panera Dipper didn’t completely miss the mark, it unfortunately drowned out the timeless chicken, tomato, and pesto trio with too much cheese and salt.

Since the fresh-from-the-oven bread combined with pesto was the metaphorical cherry on top of this sandwich, I was wishing the cooks at Panera had heavy-handed the pesto instead of getting a little loose with the cheese. The pungent parmesan drowned out a lot of the basil flavor, though the creamy tomato soup was able to tie everything together pretty nicely to make up for it.

The soup had a mouth-coating creamy taste, along with plenty of fresh tomato flavor and a slight peppery bite. Similar to the bistro French onion soup, it had an excellent consistency, as well: Not too thick (like a sauce), yet not thin and runny. It latched onto the ciabatta nicely without making the bread mushy. However, I found myself hoping for some higher quality chicken in this sandwich, because the thick slices of marinated chicken had the flavor and texture of meat from a can.

I don’t know about you, but when the weather starts to turn crisp and cool? I find myself pining for a cozy soup-and-sandwich meal. During one of these cravings, I wouldn’t be completely disappointed with either Ciabatta Dipper option from Panera Bread … but I also might not be totally fulfilled.

The meat was the biggest downfall in both sandwiches. It was obviously on the lower quality side, with the bread and cheese trying to make up for it — which they mostly did, I might add. Conversely, the most noteworthy aspect of both meals was easily the ciabatta bread. It had the ideal balance of crispy-to-soft, plus a delicious buttery taste. The cheese packed a punch of flavor, as well, and appeared to be of much higher quality than the meat.

Overall, I preferred the chicken pesto Ciabatta Dipper to the French Dipper, but only marginally. Although both sandwiches felt a little boring and lackluster, the chicken pesto Dipper had a bit more going on in the flavor department (it would’ve been a different story had the bistro French onion soup leaned more onion than beef broth). Additionally, I felt there was too little soup for dipping; I used almost all of my cup on only half the sandwich, but maybe I’m just a more passionate dipper than most. I also wasn’t completely satisfied with this level of quality for the price. In fact, if these meals fell in the under-$10 range, I’d be much happier with my lunch.