The Actual Best Panera Soup Will Make You Forget About Broccoli Cheddar

Panera Bread is known for its marginally healthy food options — like salads, sandwiches, and fresh baked items. Sometimes, though, the chain's soup offerings get lost in the shuffle of its large menu. And even when you talk about Panera's soups, the famous broccoli cheddar (which you can also easily pick up at Costco) is probably one of the first ones that come to mind.

But, overall, Panera has a decent range of pretty good soups. And when we reviewed all of Panera's eight soup options — ranking them from worst to best – our favorite was quite the surprise. It wasn't that broccoli cheddar, nor was it the delicious creamy tomato soup. Our favorite was actually the seasonal hearty fireside chili. While we're not surprised Panera makes quality soups, you can say we didn't expect for the chain's chili to hit the way it did.

It was deliciously spicy, tasted like actual chili, and was reminiscent of a homemade stew made from beans and meat. The chili contains roasted tomatoes, chili peppers, kidney beans, cilantro, and beef, and has a hint of sweetness inside the broth. It's a fantastic, classic version of chili.

The thing about chili is that it's quite simple to make, but that doesn't mean it's easy to create a great-tasting version. Panera's chili tasted just like a good chili should — one that's easily worthy of taking to any potluck dinner if you're short on time as well. At $8.29 for a single bowl, we won't necessarily call it cheap. But one thing to know about ordering soup at Panera is that it does come with a baguette (or apple or chips as options) for dipping and should fill you up as an excellent lunch option.

Customers across social media are fans of Panera's chili, so you don't have to just take our word for it. If chili isn't your thing, no worries. Panera also has other great soups, including the previously mentioned creamy tomato soup, the black bean soup, and the bistro French onion soup. The biggest miss on the soup menu is definitely the autumn squash soup, though, which is overly sweet and, quite frankly, not worthy of Panera's menu.

Chain restaurants aren't always known for making the best food, especially since the quality can vary greatly across locations — of which Panera currently has more than 2,200 restaurants. But when it comes to soup, Panera definitely has some reliable options, and the hearty fireside chili tops that list.