Asiago Bagel Stacks Are the Star Ingredient Behind a Trio of New Panera Sandwiches

Panera‘s Asiago Cheese Bread has been a fan-favorite flavor of the chain’s patrons for years. The sourdough bread with flavorings of Asiago cheese is a the base for the chain’s popular loaves and bagels. Today, that flavor is at the center of a trio of Asiago Bagel stacks.

These sandwiches combine the cheesy flavor of Panera’s signature Asiago Bagel with substantial fillings that can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner. The stacks are available for a limited time at cafes nationwide, starting at just $7.99.

A press release details the three delicious options available to Panera customers: Chicken Roma, Spicy Steak, and Zesty Tuscan. Sandwiched between two halves of a soft Asiago Cheese Bagel is an assortment of fresh ingredients, including chicken, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, arugula, steak, provolone, salsa verde, red onions, peppers, soppressata, and garlic aioli, depending on your sandwich choice. These bagel stacks are the first time Panera has specifically crafted a lunch sandwich built for one of its bagels.

“Our Asiago bagel is a signature item that our guests have always loved for its rich, cheesy flavor, and we realized there was room to showcase it far beyond the breakfast menu as part of this new lineup,” said Mark Shambura, CMO for Panera Bread. “Our guests are going to love the bold, zesty flavors these new sandwiches offer, with a price that delivers great value for lunch or dinner.”

The launch of these three new sandwiches coincides with National Bagel Day, celebrated on Jan. 15, 2025. My Panera members earn a reward for a free bagel with the purchase of an Asiago Bagel Stack sandwich between Jan. 15 through Jan. 21.

Panera’s Asiago Cheese Bagel Is the Brainchild of One Man

The origin story of Panera’s Asiago Cheese Bagel was revealed in a 2011 feature for Syracuse.com. The inspiration for the combination of tastes didn’t come just from Panera’s chefs but from a small bakery in Yorkville, near Utica, New York.

Scott Davis worked for Au Bon Pain in the mid-1990s when that company purchased Saint Louis Bread Co. On their original menu was an artisan bread with Asiago cheese.

Davis thought the salty and sweet taste would pair perfectly in a bagel. “We wanted to build on the concept with a bagel and so we tested it,” he said to Syracuse.com. “So the first day we baked the cheese in the bagel. But it was missing the essence of what made the bread so good, the caramelized cheese cooked on top.”

After trying different variations on the recipe, Davis returned to New York and stopped at a bakery in Yorkville. There, he was reportedly inspired by watching a baker create a bialy, putting a small indent in the center of the roll and adding onions and poppyseed on top. When he returned to St. Louis, he asked his bakers to do the same for the still-in-development Asiago Cheese Bagel — and the result remains one of Panera’s most popular options.