I really love when Panera comes out with new menu items – they’re always really tasty and people go crazy over them. So when I heard the first commercial for their new Warm Grain Bowls – I ran to Panera to try them!
Last week, I made their new Mediterranean Warm Grain Bowl and this week I’m tackling the Baja Warm Grain Bowl. (Previously I made a copycat of the Panera Broth Bowls – so good!)
Review: Panera Warm Grain Bowl – Are the Panera Warm Grain Bowls good?
Panera recently came out with two warm grain bowls – pictured above. (Left – Baja, Right – Mediterranean) I went out right away and got both of them!!! I definitely liked them – the Med bowl has arugula and I liked the addition of the greens to it. I’ll say – the Med was my favorite of the two – it’s why I made it first! I loved the hummus in with the chicken. Their chicken didn’t have much flavor but it wasn’t dry – which was nice. I love all the ingredients in the Baja bowl – but it just didn’t have as much flavor as the Med. I’m not a fan of brown rice and quinoa – but it was fine in these bowls – there’s enough other ingredients to cover the blandness of brown rice and quinoa. (haha)
What are the ingredients in the Panera Baja Warm Grain Bowl?
The Panera Baja Warm Grain Bowl has the same base as the Mediterranean: marinated chicken, brown rice and red & white quinoa. The toppings are sliced grape tomatoes, feta, avocado, greek yogurt, corn & black bean salsa and salsa verde.
So I was looking for brown rice and red and white quinoa. Rather than buy all three, I found some in the freezer aisle! I got a bag of frozen and it heated up in less than 5 minutes in the microwave. Or Minute Rice sells a brown rice and quinoa in little cups as well that heat up in a minute.
These Panera Warm Grain Bowls are so delicious! I love that they’re also healthy for me. I’m not the biggest fan of brown rice and quinoa but when you pile it up with all the other ingredients – it’s not so bad! I mean – really – how can you go wrong with avocado and cheese!
Panera Copycat Recipes & Other Favorites
My review of the Panera Broth Bowls is one of my most viewed pages so then I recreated them at home. Last week I made the Mediterranean Warm Grain Bowl. The broth bowls and grain bowls are so healthy – you can even splurge a little on these copycat Chinese Buffet donuts!
Copycat Panera Warm Grain Bowl – Baja
Yield: 2
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 20 Mtotal time: 30 M
Panera has introduced their new Warm Grain Bowls – there are two varieties – the Mediterranean and Baja. I had to try them both! They’re both delicious!!! This week I’m sharing my copycat version of the Baja – it’s super easy to make and really tasty! So healthy!
ingredients:
- 2 cups brown rice and quinoa
- 2 chicken breasts
- lemon/garlic marinade (My favorite!)
- 10 grape tomatoes, sliced
- black bean & corn salsa
- salsa verde
- avocado
- 1/3 cup feta crumbles
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
instructions:
How to cook Copycat Panera Warm Grain Bowl – Baja
- Marinate chicken breasts in your favorite citrus/garlic marinade overnight.
- Bake chicken breasts for 20 minutes at 350 until cooked to 165 degrees.
- During last ten minutes of baking, microwave frozen rice/quinoa for 4 minutes in a microwave safe bowl.
- Prep veggies: slice tomatoes and dice avocado
- When quinoa is cooked, divide between two serving bowls
- Remove chicken from oven and let rest for 5 minutes
- Top quinoa/argula with tomatoes, salsa and avocado
- Slice chicken and place on top of quinoa.
- Add a heaping spoonful of yogurt to the bowl
- Top with crumbled feta and salsa verde
Did you make this recipe?
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Mayte says
Which salsa verde you used?
FoodHussy says
I used the Taco Bell Salsa Verde
Ingrid says
Can you tell us how you made the salsa verde?
FoodHussy says
i purchased the salsa verde
Unknown says
How much of the 2 kinds of salsa did you use?
FoodHussy says
taco bell salsa verde is $1.89 and black bean & corn salsa is $2.50-$3 (at Meijer anyway)
Anonymous says
can this be made in a crockpot?
FoodHussy says
Probably not – not sure what part you'd make in the crockpot. You could make the quinoa – but for the most part it's a cook separately and assemble dish. Hope that helps.
Anonymous says
How much of the salsa's did you use? Not sure how much to put in each bowl.
Food Hussy says
It's up to you – based on how much you like . I really like black bean & corn salsa – so probably 1/4 cup of that and maybe a couple tablespoons of the salsa verde.
psubec says
Really great and delicious copycat! I think that if you are just making this for yourself you could get three servings out of it. It's super filling.
Jeralyn says
I read somewhere that they also add slices of marinated red onion (red wine vinegar) and today I added tzatziki instead of plain Greek yogurt and I added some Everything Bagel seasoning! Oh my gosh love this salad so much!!!!
FoodHussy says
those additions sound very good – i’m obsessed with tzatziki!
Alice says
What brand do you like for the black beans and corn salsa?
FoodHussy says
My favorite is Newman’s Own but I’m not picky – haha
Denise Kreider says
Love this recipe ❣
Debra says
Made this for dinner and it was delish!