Panera Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich Recipe

I have noticed that many people access my blog each day looking for a recipe for Panera's Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich. I don't have any specialized knowledge, but I eat at Panera lot and I use a lot of online cooking sites. Combining these two, I would recommend anyone trying to imitate Panera's recipe at home to try the following ingredients:

red seedless grapes, cut in half
celery, diced
raw almonds
mayonnaise*
salt and pepper to taste
cooked chicken breast, cubed or shredded

Those are certainly the basic ingredients for Panera's Napa almond chicken salad. Based on my own experience and those of other online reviewers, I don't think there is another solid ingredient (i.e. chopped apples or green onions) in the salad. If there is something else adding that extra zing, I would guess it's a wet ingredient mixed with the mayonnaise to make a kind of special, Panera dressing. Other chicken salad recipes I have found add creamy, cucumber salad dressing or pineapple juice to the mayonnaise. One recipe calls for miracle whip instead of mayonnaise. I haven't tried it yet, but I bet a little lemon juice would not go astray.

That's my amateur, but Panera-loving advice. Good luck!

*update: 9/27/09 I recently read that the dressing is not a mayonnaise base, but instead a light olive oil base. The sandwich is not advertised as a low-fat option; this is in keeping with a current trend of "stealth health" food.


(Panera logo reproduced without permission).

You Pick Two Review: Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich and Vegetarian Summer Corn Chowder

[To anyone looking for a recipe for the Napa Almond Chicken Salad, please see my newer entry here].

Today I tried these two menu items. The Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich is new to Panera and the Summer Corn Chowder is a seasonal offering.

I found the sandwich to be too heavy on the pepper, but otherwise very good. The celery and grapes were a refreshing twist on the chicken salad that I am used to. The sesame semolina bread seemed a bit boring at first (I love Panera's asiago cheese bread, which is packed with flavor), but, surprisingly, once I got to the crusts, I found them to be delicious.

The corn chowder was a bit too spicy for my taste; I found myself avoiding the peppers. The roasted corn was sweet and cooling, though. I enjoyed the soup when I was mostly eating bits of my whole grain baguette as croutons, soaked in the creamy broth, and avoiding the most spicy tastes.

Here is the nutritional information for these two menu items, provided by Panera's website. Click to enlarge the image. All credit goes to the Boyfriend for figuring out how to do a screen capture.



Through some googling, I found this approximation of the chowder recipe. Credit goes to http://itsalwayssomethingisntit.blogspot.com.

3- 10 3/4 cans condensed cream of potato soup (plus 3 cans full of 1% milk)
1- 18 oz carton ready to eat Southwest Corn Soup (Campbell's Select)
1- 15 oz cubed potatoes
1- 11 oz Mexicorn
1- 14 1/2 oz petite diced tomatoes
2/3 c. finely chopped yellow onion
1 roasted poblano pepper
1 c. finely chopped cilantro
2 T. butter
1 1/2 t. sugar
1 1/2 t. cumin
1 1/2 t. minced garlic

In a large heavy bottomed soup pot, combine soups and milk. Drain and rinse cubed potatoes, mexicorn and tomatoes. Add to soup mix. Dice onions. In small skillet, melt butter. Halve poblano pepper and remove seeds and veins. Set pepper halves, skin side down directly on stove top burner to blacken and blister skin. Remove skin with tongs or rub off with a towel. Meanwhile, sautee onions in butter with sugar and cumin until soft and translucent. Finely dice pepper and add to onion sautee. Cook another few minutes. Add to soup mixture. Chop cilantro. Serve bowls of soup with cilantro as garnish, stir in immediately before eating. Serves 8.