Panera Bread took four of the top 10 places in a recent Consumer Reports ranking of fast-food breakfast items. Its avocado, egg white and spinach sandwich came in first, ahead of offerings from chains including McDonald’s and Starbucks.
The $5 sandwich is served on a sprouted-grain bagel flat. It includes egg whites, tomato, spinach, aged white cheddar and avocado, and has 410 calories and 21 grams of protein, according to the report.
Consumer Reports gave it an overall score of 75, with four out of five for nutrition and five out of five for taste and texture.
McDonald’s also appeared in the ranking, though lower down. Its Egg White Delight placed 13th with a score of 66, while the Egg McMuffin came in 19th with 64. Wendy’s and Burger King did not make the list.
Panera claimed second and third place, too, with steel-cut oatmeal topped with strawberries and pecans, and oatmeal with almonds, quinoa and honey.
Jamba Juice’s oatmeal with strawberries and brown sugar crumble ranked fourth. Dunkin’ also made the list with its whole-grain oatmeal with dried fruit and its veggie egg white sandwich on an English muffin.
Other Panera items included were Greek yogurt with mixed berries and a ham, egg and cheese sandwich on whole-grain bread, which ranked just ahead of the Egg McMuffin.
Starbucks had several entries, among them red pepper sous vide egg white bites, a spinach, feta and egg white wrap, and a berry yogurt parfait.
Opinions about Panera’s winning sandwich were mixed on Reddit. Some customers questioned how much avocado they received. One user said their sandwich seemed to have less than an eighth of an avocado, describing it as roughly one visible slice.
Another customer, who said they had ordered it many times, felt the quality had slipped. They complained that the bread on their most recent sandwich was especially thin.
Others were more enthusiastic, with one calling it a favorite breakfast sandwich and another saying they hoped Panera would keep it on the menu.
Social media users also named their own picks. One Facebook commenter said a Sausage McMuffin was enough for them, while another preferred McDonald’s Sausage Biscuit, followed by Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Biscuit.
