Panera Has a New Grilled Mac & Cheese Sandwich

The eatery is also releasing a new, meaty flatbread pizza.

The suburban sandwich landscape has typically been a place where simple, standard creations thrive. Think pastrami on rye, a turkey club, and a BLT. You know, the classics. But Panera, the pinnacle of suburban chain eateries, is taking our palates to a new realm. The company announced two new menu items, a Grilled Mac & Cheese Sandwich and a Sausage & Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza.

The Grilled Mac & Cheese sandwich, another upgrade on what a grilled cheese can be, is made with Panera’s classic Mac & Cheese, which is made with a fontina and mozzarella cheese blend. The mac & cheese is layered with parmesan crips and packed between two toasted pieces of thickly sliced Classic White Miche bread. I don’t think there could be a heartier sandwich for cold weather.

Craving something with a bit more meat, but still plenty of cheese? Panera’s new Sausage & Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza comes topped with tomato bell pepper sauce, shredded mozzarella and fontina cheeses, crumbled chicken sausage, and pepperoni.

Both new menu items are available now at Panera nationwide. If you want to add something sweet to your meal, Panera Bread has brought back its pumpkin cookies for fall.

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Opheli Garcia Lawler is a staff writer at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @opheligarcia and Instagram @opheligarcia.