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.
Simply the best. I happened to find a recipe for cranberry-walnut bread in my bread machine book. I make it and it is like being at Panera, but at home. Thanks for the great recipe.
I am so glad you enjoyed this sandwich Rebecca 🙂
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)