by Bottom Line: The Spicy Fiesta Chicken Sandwich from Panera is a hefty sandwich that brings plenty of good and fresh flavor along with a bit of a kick.
Panera has been changing up its menu lately as the competition among fast-casual restaurants heats up. While the additions and adjustments to their lineup haven’t brought many items that actually have some heat, they recently added a couple of sandwiches that promise to deliver a kick. Those would be the Spicy Fiesta Chicken and the Kickin’ Grilled Cheese, and both appear to be permanent additions (or at least as permanent as you can expect from a chain like this). As a rewards member of Panera, they offered me fifty percent off of an entrée, so I decided to use that to try the new spicy chicken sandwich. Here is the official description:
The sandwich layers the new, creamy salsa verde spread with grilled chicken, white cheddar cheese, zesty sweet peppers, cilantro, and pops of roasted corn, all nestled on our warm and crusty artisan Ciabatta bread.
First of all, I have to say that this is one big sandwich. It was cut into two sections, and one of those was more than enough to fill me up for lunch (I left the other for the next day). The chicken is tender and has good taste but is rather bland by itself. The sauce is plentiful and delivers some creaminess along with some tang and slight notes of salsa verde, but not too much of a noticeable bite at first. The kernels of corn give a nice sweet pop from time to time, while the peppers add a vinegar kick and some sweetness, working well with the other ingredients.
The cilantro adds a noticeable herbiness, though some might find it a bit overwhelming (you may want to request they go easy on that if you’re not a fan of the herb). The white cheddar cheese gets lost in the mix, and I wouldn’t have known it was there if I hadn’t read the list of ingredients. The ciabatta is not too crusty or hard, and it has a soft interior along with a nice yeasty taste. It’s one of my favorite breads among their selections, and it delivers the freshness you expect from a place with “bread” in the name.
At first, this sandwich seems to have no heat at all. But as I got about halfway through, I started to notice a bit of a kick, and my lips even began to tingle. Still, I would only put it at Mild on my scale, but the bite it delivers is rather nice. Some jalapeños might have kicked this up more, but they don’t have that as a menu option. If you happen to have some habanero hot sauce on hand (what, you don’t carry a trusty bottle with you in case of emergencies?), that’s also a good way to add some heat.
Nutrition-wise, they claim the full sandwich comes up to 950 calories, but that seems to be on the low side. As I mentioned, I only ate half on the first day, and that was a hefty amount. If I go with their numbers, that would be 475 calories for the half sandwich, and the bag of chips it comes with totals 150 calories, so that’s not too bad. I decided to assume this leaned to the high side, though, and added some extra time on the treadmill at the gym.
Panera is not indicating that the Spicy Fiesta Chicken or Kickin’ Grilled Cheese are on loan from Limited-Time-Only-Ville, so I’m going to assume they will be around for a while (and keep an eye out for an upcoming review on the latter). The price tag on the new chicken sandwich is $11.59 in my area, and the spicy grilled cheese will run you $7.49. For the former, that’s not bad considering you can get two meals out of it, and the latter is not too high for a decent grilled cheese. Panera selections do tend to take a little more from your wallet because they use fresh, clean ingredients, but in the case of the new chicken sandwich, it is definitely worth it.
Nutrition Info:
Calories: 950
Fat: 33g (14g Sat/2g Trans)
Protein: 52g
Carbs: 109g
Sodium: 2020mg
