Panera Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup

Today, we are reviewing the Panera Bread Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup. The heart of winter is a great time to enjoy a hot soup. Among the various options, chicken noodle soup stands out as one of the best choices for the colder months. Panera Bread offers a diverse selection of soups, but some are available only for a limited time. However, the Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup is offered daily, making it an easy choice for a warm meal.

Panera Bread is a bakery-cafe store chain in the United States and Canada. Ken and Linda Rosenthal founded it as the Saint Louis Bread Company, and there are still stores in the St. Louis, Missouri, area that carry that name. Au Bon Pain purchased the brand in 1993 and rebranded it as Panera. In 2017, JAB Holding Company purchased Panera for 7.5 billion dollars. There are over 2,000 franchises in operation today.

The Construction

Panera Homestyle Chicken Noodle is a soup served “as is,” – meaning there are no customization options.

Stock: Chicken Bone Broth
White Meat Chicken
Curly Egg Noodles
Carrots
Celery
Herbs
Size: Bowl
Weight: 425 grams (about 15 ounces, including bowl)
Price: $7.99

There is a bread bowl option, where the soup is served in a hollowed-out sourdough bread bowl. This option seems to offer less soup.

The Experience

The following is how scoring is handled for Panera Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup. This formula is similar to that used for Cousin’s Maine Lobster Clam Chowder. Ultimately, I put chicken and noodles into one category as the primary ingredients, and the others were placed under “extra.”

Stock (Broth): 4 points
Chicken and Noodles: 3 points
Extras (Carrots, Celery, Herb): 1 point
Intangibles: 2 points

Stock (Broth)

The chicken bone broth of the Homestyle Chicken Noodle soup was rich and tasty. It certainly has a pleasant chicken taste with the appropriate level of saltiness. The surface of the broth had a slight amount of oil on the top, but this wasn’t problematic.

Score: 2.75 points out of 4 points

Chicken and Noodles

The chicken used in Panera Homestyle Chicken Noodle soup is white meat. The chicken was nice and tender, but I wish there was a little more of it.

The noodles are curled egg noodles. I’m not the biggest fan of egg noodles (because I don’t like eggs), but these noodles neutralize that. The problem with the noodles is something I find with many large-scale chain market soups—they are overcooked. Maybe that’s the result of being kept warm after reheating. In 2019, a Panera Bread spokesperson told USA Today that the restaurant makes the soups off-site and freezes them to keep them fresh without needing additional preservatives. The method also ensures that all Panera Bread locations can serve the same menu items without any difference in quality. In preparation for serving, soups and some of the other items are warmed in a rethermalizer, which uses hot water to heat and cook products evenly.

Score: 1.5 points out of 3 points

Extras (Vegetables and Herbs)

The “extras” with the Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup are sliced carrots, chopped celery, and a mix of herbs. Overall, these are pretty average. There was nothing bad about these, but nothing spectacular about them either. Perhaps again, I would have liked to see a little more quantity.

Score: 0.5 points out of 1 point

Intangibles

The primary intangible aspect of the soup is its favorable taste. Overall, the experience of enjoying the soup surpasses the individual components, which is a positive aspect. However, there are still a few shortcomings to consider.

As I mentioned, with the chicken and vegetables, I would have liked to see larger quantities. The soup didn’t require a significant increase, but I believe a slight increase would have made a positive difference. As for the noodles, I would recommend a slight decrease. The other thing is – this still seems like a small bowl for a large soup. It’s 425 grams or 15 ounces (including the bowl). This portion still needs to be bigger as it is more like a side item to me.

Score: 1.25 points out of 2 points

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

In the end, I think the essential component of the soup is the broth, and the Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup broth is quite satisfying. They say chicken soup is a good elixir for sore throats in the wintertime, and no doubt Panera’s chicken soup hits the mark here. The soup features delicious chicken and satisfying vegetables, so I believe there should be more of them. I repeatedly mentioned that I prefer the egg noodles to be cooked a bit less, but I understand the overall preparation. Despite the overcooked egg noodles, I will definitely return for this soup.