Panera drops 'bread bowl for your salad.' Is it actually a sandwich?

Is it a salad or a sandwich?

On April 8, Panera Bread launched its new Salad Stuffers, "a bread bowl for your salad," according to the bakery-café chain's news release. Made with a new Italian Stuffer Roll, guests may order any one of Panera's salads inside the bread pocket.

Promoted on Panera's social media, the Salad Stuffers have received mixed feedback, with some looking forward to trying the new bread-salad combo, while others are confused by it.

Here's what to know about Panera's new Salad Stuffers.

Panera introduces two specialty Salad Stuffers

To celebrate the new menu item, Panera crafted two specialty Salad Stuffers:

• Steakhouse Salad Stuffer: Romaine and arugula, sliced steak, applewood-smoked bacon, gorgonzola, pickled red onions, grape tomatoes and frizzled onions, tossed in Panera's new Farmhouse Ranch dressing
• Santa Fe Salad Stuffer: Romaine, grilled chicken, taco seasoning, roasted corn, feta cheese, sweet peppers, pickled red onion, cilantro and blue corn tortilla chips tossed in ranch dressing

When are Panera's Salad Stuffers available?

Panera's new Salad Stuffers are available for dine-in and via delivery, drive-thru and Rapid Pick Up starting Wednesday, April 8.

Elevated salad or just another sandwich?

In a TikTok video taste testing two of the new Salad Stuffers, user Bailey Fink said the new menu item may be Panera's bread bowl gone too far.

"It's delicious, but this is basically a chicken Caesar sandwich," Fink said about the Caesar Salad Stuffer with Chicken.

In her own taste test of the two specialty Salad Stuffers, TikTok user Morgan Champs said the new menu item is a "truly amazing texture experience" with the saucy salad and crispy, soft roll.

"It's just a sandwich with extra steps," one TikTok user commented on Champs' video.

Panera responds to guest feedback

In a statement obtained by USA TODAY, Panera said the Salad Stuffers are part of its new "RISE" strategy, introduced last year to reach more than $7 billion in sales by 2028. The acronym stands for "Refreshing the menu, Igniting Value, Serving our guests with excellence and Expanding our network."

"This idea was inspired by our iconic bread bowl as we challenged ourselves to find new and innovative ways for guests to eat our salads," the statement said. "It took us more than 20 iterations to develop our proprietary recipe for the all new Italian Stuffer Roll designed to create the perfect bite of bread and salad together."

Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].