If you love Panera Sandwiches, you will LOVE this Copycat Panera Roasted Turkey, Apple, and Cheddar Sandwich! Made with slices of roasted turkey, sweet apples, and sharp cheddar cheese on homemade cranberry walnut bread, this is the best recipe for a turkey sandwich!
Looking for more copycat Panera recipes? Check out White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese and Panera Broccoli Cheese Soup.
The Best Turkey Sandwich
I fell in love with Panera’s Turkey Sandwich on a fall day after a long doctor’s appointment.
After 6 hours of doctor appointments for Cystic Fibrosis, I was facing a 3 hour drive home from my clinic. I had left my house nearly 10 hours earlier, and even though it was a relatively good appointment, I was EXHAUSTED! And hungry.
I wanted a sandwich. A turkey and cheese sandwich. An odd craving, but it was what I wanted and I was bound and determined to find a Panera or local grocery shop that I could get a good quality turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread.
My craving was satisfied when I stopped at Panera and ordered their seasonal Roast Turkey with Apple and Cheddar. The sandwich had slices of apple, sharp cheddar cheese served on whole grain cranberry bread. Sweet, tart, savory and filling–it was everything a turkey sandwich should be.
But as much as I love Panera, my bank account does not want to pay $10 per sandwich. So I decided to recreate their masterpiece at home.
And I was successful–the sandwich at home was AMAZING–maybe even better than Panera and certainly cheaper!
How to make the Best Turkey Sandwich
This turkey sandwich is really quite easy to make, especially when you have leftover turkey and at home. This sandwich is my go to the day after Thanksgiving.
Ingredients Needed
- Turkey: Leftover Roasted Turkey, Instant Pot Turkey Breast, Sliced Deli Turkey or even Rotisserie Chicken work in this sandwich.
- Bread: Cranberry Walnut Bread is an amazing base for this sandwich. It is chewy and the flavors of cranberry and walnut make the sandwich pop. However, whole wheat bread or a store bought grain bread is also an option.
- Sharp White Cheddar Cheese: White cheddar pairs amazingly well with sweet apples, as it is is sharp and flavorful. Muenster or Sharp Cheddar work if you do not have white cheddar cheese.
- Gala Apples: Sweet, firm apples are a must for this sandwich. Gala is a great option, as is Honeycrisp, Fuji or Golden Delicious. I do not recommend Red Delicious or Granny Smith for this turkey sandwich.
- Honey Mustard: Tangy, sharp and a bit sweet, the honey mustard adds just the right zing to this sandwich. I make my own homemade honey mustard by mixing together 3 parts Dijon mustard to 1 part honey, but store bought mustard is a perfectly fine option.
- Red Onions: Sliced onions are not on the Panera sandwich, but I love the sharpness they add to the sandwich. They are a great contrast to the sweet apples.
- Lettuce: Another optional ingredient, the lettuce adds texture and freshness.
Once you have the ingredients this turkey sandwich comes together with ease! Simply layer the ingredients and dig in!
This is the BEST turkey sandwich and is a MUST–especially with leftover Turkey!
More Leftover Turkey Recipes
- Turkey Club Wrap
- Thanksgiving Pizza
- Turkey Quesadilla
- Southwestern Turkey Soup
- Turkey Tetrazzini
- Thanksgiving Egg Rolls
Copycat Panera Turkey Sandwich
Ingredients
- 8 slices Cranberry Walnut bread
- 4 ounces of sharp white cheddar cheese sliced
- 1 gala apple thinly sliced (or other sweet apple)
- 8 pieces of lettuce about size of bread
- 8-10 ounces thick sliced roasted turkey breast
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
Homemade Honey Mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Make the Honey mustard by mixing together the honey and mustard. Spread on all 8 slices of bread.
- Layer 4 slices of bread with the turkey, apple, cheese, onion, and lettuce. Place remaining 4 slices of bread on top of sandwiches and slice. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Apples: Use sweet, firm apples, like Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji or Golden Delicious.
- Bread: Use whole wheat bread or a whole grain bread in place of cranberry walnut bread.
- Feel free to leave off the onion for a more authentic Panera sandwich.
Originally published September 2017, updated in November 2019.
Kristen Chidsey
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Try it toasted. Your life will never be the same!
Oh yes, I love Toasted Bread. Thanks!
Do you know the nutritional value of this sandwich?? I’d like to make the bread and the sandwich
Good Morning Kay! I do not calculate my nutrional values because I strongly believe that if you are eating all real foods, you don’t need to get too worked up over calories. However, I completely understand that some people have to know for various reasons. I entered all the ingredients into MyFitnessPal for a rough estimate: 450 calories and 10 grams of fat and 30 grams of protein. I can tell you that Panera’s Sandwich has 750 calories, 32 grams of fat and 32 grams of protein. So you are guarenteed to save a lot making this at home (plus cut sodium down way low)
This sounds delicious!! Can’t wait to give it a try 🙂
I hope you love it!! This is one of my most favorite sandwiches ever!
I was just texting a girlfriend today about Panera Bread. We don’t have one here but when we visit the in-laws they have one and as a treat for us get fresh bagels to have. It’s such a treat! We’ve even gone there for lunch and the sandwiches are amazing! This sandwich makes me think of one similar that McAllisters has (we do have one of these) that I love except without apples. They would be a good addition! Thanks for this I’ll have to remember it and I’ve only got 2 more weeks before we’re near a Panera Bread!
Tricia, Panera is so good! But you can make this at home. I hope you try it!
My mouth is watering! 🙂 One of my favorite sdandwiches!! Looks great! 🙂
Cathy
Thanks Cathy!
That looks better than Panera!!
Diana, I would have to agree it is better than Panera :)Hope you try!
I love it when restaurant dishes are easy to figure out how to recreate. I did that once with a mussels and chorizo dish, and our homemade version was so delicious that we’ve made it multiple times since that first attempt.
Oh boy Kathryn–that mussel and chorizo dish sounds fabulous!
I toasted the bread, added garlic sandwich sauce, and warmed up the Turkey for 35 seconds with thin layer of shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese on top 🙂 delicious!
Oh, this is my favorite sandwich from Panera! I love the idea of making it at home for a quick and easy lunch.
Thanks Ashley. It is my favorite too–I think you will LOVE it!
Thanks for posting this! My kids love to eat Panera sandwiches, and this would be a great one to make at home this weekend. Yum!
Your kids will devour this one! I hope you try it out soon!
Gorgeous sandwich Kristen! Love apples and cheddar with turkey, such a treat. Will have to remember this post-Thanksgiving! Glad you found what you needed after a super long day (including inspiration!) and glad things went well at your appointment. xo
Thanks Allie–it was a good appointment and a great sandwich (but homemade better!) Hope you give this a try post-T day 🙂
This is my all time favorite sandwich from Panera- Making it!
YEA!!! I hope you LOVE it as much (or more than Panera!!)
It sounds delicious, Kristen! I love Panera sandwiches too…a good copycat sounds fabulous to me!
YOu will love it Michelle!
I used to work at Panera Bread you can buy cole slaw mix and fuji apple dressing and use fuji apples to make the apples slaw they use. You can even just eat the slaw as a side too.
Very true, my version is just a bit cheaper and cleaner 😉 And the slaw is delicious as a salad! Great suggestion!