Panera Fall Menu Brings Back Black Bean Soup, Taps Gilmore Girls Stars for Cozy Campaign
Black Bean Soup returns after seven years as Panera unveils a trio of soups plus Crème Brûlée Latte and Harvest Medley Chicken Salad in a nationwide kickoff starting Sept. 24.
Panera Bread is launching its fall lineup nationwide, anchored by the return of Black Bean Soup after a seven-year hiatus. Beginning Wednesday, Sept. 24, Panera’s fall menu will feature a trio of comfort classics—the Fall for Your Favorites Meal, which centers on Black Bean Soup, Fireside Chili and Autumn Squash Soup—and two new seasonal items designed to highlight autumn flavors. The campaign also leans into pop culture, pairing the soups with stars from Gilmore Girls to evoke the season’s familiar, cozy rhythms.
The centerpiece is the Fall for Your Favorites Meal, featuring the Black Bean Soup alongside the Hearty Fireside Chili and Autumn Squash Soup. The Black Bean Soup is a vegetarian option built on black beans and vegetables, including onion, celery, red bell pepper, carrots, lima beans, potatoes, lemon juice and garlic. Panera’s campaign casts the trio as distinct personas, with Matt Czuchry and Jared Padalecki from Gilmore Girls introducing the line in a way that mirrors the show's style and Rory Gilmore’s circle of suitors. The return of the fan-favorite soup was teased on Panera’s Instagram before the official rollout, drawing enthusiastic responses from followers who welcomed its comeback.
Fireside Chili is a hearty blend featuring beef, kidney beans, fire-roasted tomatoes and green chili peppers, simmered in a spiced broth with cilantro. Panera describes it as “the reliable one” that feels like home, a nod to Padalecki’s Dean Forester persona. Autumn Squash Soup remains a fall staple, combining butternut squash and pumpkin with vegetable broth, honey, apple juice and warm spices such as cinnamon and curry, finished with sweet cream and topped with roasted pumpkin seeds. The dish is presented as the more sophisticated option in the lineup, echoing Czuchry’s Logan Huntzberger character.
The campaign also leans into a playful, character-driven framing of the menu. Padalecki, who plays Dean Forester, described the Black Bean Soup as “brooding, mysterious, hot,” drawing a light parallel to Milo Ventimiglia’s Jess Mariano in the show. He added that fall and Panera soup “go together, just like a nostalgic rewatch of your favorite fall show,” noting how the project allowed the team to enjoy autumn flavors while on set.
In addition to the three soups, Panera is introducing two new items to showcase fall flavors: a Crème Brûlée Latte and Harvest Medley Chicken Salad. The Crème Brûlée Latte blends espresso with foamed milk and crème brûlée syrup, finished with whipped cream and a light dusting of salted caramel sugar. Harvest Medley Chicken Salad layers mixed greens and fresh arugula tossed in balsamic vinaigrette, then tops them with whole grains, grilled chicken, mandarin oranges, feta, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, toasted pecans and crunchy beet strips. Panera also brings back its seasonal Pumpkin Cookie, expanding the bakery’s fall-forward offerings.
Mark Shambura, Panera Bread’s Chief Marketing Officer, said the company aims to celebrate fall with “warm, comforting classics alongside fresh, seasonal flavors.” He noted that the campaign’s playful, character-driven approach is meant to deliver the cozy, craveable flavors guests love—“and yes, that includes the long-awaited return of Black Bean Soup.” The marketing push aligns with Panera’s broader strategy to refresh seasonal menus while leaning on nostalgia and recognizable pop-culture references to deepen engagement.
The social-media response to the Black Bean Soup’s reintroduction has been upbeat, with fans praising the soup’s return and the campaign’s creative tie-ins. A Panera spokesperson described the rollout as nationwide, with the full fall lineup available at Panera locations across the country beginning Sept. 24.
The fall menu represents a strategic moment for Panera as customers increasingly seek comforting, familiar options during seasonal shifts, while also exploring new flavors that can be enjoyed as part of a broader, on-trend dining experience. Panera’s emphasis on a “Fall for Your Favorites Meal”—paired with a lighthearted campaign featuring television icons—highlights how the company is blending product nostalgia with modern marketing to drive traffic during a key quarter for the restaurant industry. The rollout’s nationwide scope also underscores Panera’s reliance on a standardized menu that can be efficiently delivered across a large footprint, while still offering seasonal, limited-time items designed to boost check sizes and frequency of visit.
Overall, the fall lineup aims to balance comfort with novelty, offering consumers a familiar quartet of soups, a new latte and a revised salad—along with the bakery’s seasonal favorite cookie—to keep Panera top-of-mind as the weather cools and pumpkin-spice season takes hold.