We Tried Panera Bread’s Frittatas: “It’s Just Too Much”

I kind of hate frittatas. Having been to a few too many bridal and baby showers, I’ve had more than my share of pale sad-looking frittata slices. Add mimosas and obligatory chit chat and it’s easy to develop irrational rage at egg dishes. 

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Don’t worry, no rage (or polite chit chat) was involved in my sampling of Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar and Five Cheese & Bacon Frittatas, part of Panera’s limited summer menu rollout. And people seem to like these―I got to Panera before 9AM and snagged the last of each kind. Remember, these were released all the way back in June. The novelty factor is over. People might actually be eating Panera frittatas, happily. Without alcohol. So what did we think?

Our Thoughts

Pros: The ideal texture (of a frittata, or quiche, for that matter) is sturdy enough to stand up in slice form, but still kinda creamy―like perfectly moist scrambled eggs. Both the Broccoli Cheddar and Five Cheese & Bacon retained a good amount of creaminess (maybe because, despite the name, they both have the same five cheese blend: cheddar, parmesan, asiago, Romano, and Neufchâtel). Flavors were balanced and more complex than I’d expected. The Five Cheese & Bacon was very bacony―but not overpowering.  

I actually think the flavor of the Broccoli Cheddar was more interesting. There was a subtle char when I first bit into the broccoli, which really enriched any possible wow factor.

Cons: Speaking of enrich: Too much salt. Too much fat. Did I mention salt? Believe me, all of the above are more than welcome in a good rich egg dish, especially if they contain a fistful of five cheeses and applewood smoked bacon. But the salt ruins all that balance and kind of terrorizes the creaminess. There’s so much fat that both the napkin and the brown Panera bag were soaked through. 

Our Verdict

It’s just too much salt and fat. Even though the clever food geniuses at Panera somehow do a really weirdly good job at hiding the salt, it creeps up on you. Each frittata starts well―but less than halfway into either, it all felt over-salted and greasy. A couple easy fixes come to mind: that fire-roasted broccoli would do better with fewer cheeses, any dish with five separate cheeses and/or cheese blends probably doesn’t need so much added salt, and bacon should easily be the salt hero of its own frittata. Probably don’t make a breakfast habit of these.