Panera Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt

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This Panera Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt is one of my favorites from Panera Bread! Pulled chicken, melty cheese, fresh avocado, cilantro, zesty sweet peppers and chipotle aioli on fresh baked focaccia.

Copycat Panera Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt — This post contains affiliate links which I make a little money on. Thanks in advance!

What You Will ❤️ About Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt

Panera Favorite! It’s one of the favorites for everyone at Panera for good reason – it’s delicious!
Cool & Spicy! The creamy avocado cools off that spicy chipotle sauce!
Leftover Chicken! This sandwich is a great use for leftover chicken – change those leftovers into a delicious sandwich!

Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt Ingredients

Panera’s Chicken Avocado Melt is delicious and I’ve got all the shortcuts (and potential substitutions) you need to make it super easy at home with all the same great taste!!

Black Pepper Focaccia Bread – You can use pre-baked focaccia from the bakery section or the kind in the tube in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. Or swap with ciabatta or sourdough bread.
Smoked Pulled Chicken – You can use any leftover chicken – I make this Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot and it would be perfect for this! Rotisserie chicken also works great!
Smoked Gouda Cheese – Originally this sandwich had smoked gouda – they’ve recently changed to aged white cheddar cheese so that works as well!
Avocado – slice one up or even use a little guacamole if that’s what you have!
Fresh Cilantro – leave it out if you’re not a fan
Sliced Sweet Peppers – they use Peppadew piquant peppers but I had a jar of Marinated Sweet Cherry Peppers and they worked just fine – you could also use roasted red peppers
Chipotle Aioli – I like using the dry seasoning instead of the canned and mix with mayonnaise to make the Chipotle sauce. Or – go the easy route – and use the Ortega Chipotle Sauce (it’s really good and at most grocery stores)

How do you make the Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt?

Mix together your chipotle sauce by mixing chipotle pepper seasoning & mayonnaise – set aside
Slice focaccia into sandwich sized slices and separate pieces of bread onto a rimmed baking sheet
Reheat pulled chicken in microwave for 30-40 seconds
On bottom of sandwich, spread 1 tbsp chipotle mayo
Layer with cilantro, pulled chicken, sliced sweet peppers and one slice gouda
On top half of bread, spread 1 tbsp chipotle mayo and one slice gouda
Lay open faced on pan
Preheat broiler and place sandwich open face on low for 5 min until cheese is bubbly
Remove open faced sandwich from oven/air fryer
Place avocado slices on top of cheese and place sandwich halves together

This post contains affiliate links which I make a little money on purchases. Thanks in advance! I am an Amazon associate as well as a member of other affiliate programs.

Tips, Tricks and FAQs

Are there options for the chipotle sauce?

Yes – you can use a premade version – like the one from Ortega. You can mix your own with canned chipotles in adobo sauce but a little bit goes a long way! Or use the dry seasoning like I did! I like the dry seasoning because it has all the flavor but is so much easier to use.

Can I use the air fryer instead of the broiler?

Yup – just heat open faced for 3-4 min – you’ll probably need toothpicks to hold the cheese down.

For the peppers are they fresh or canned?

They’re jarred and marinated in oil – you could use those fresh mini sweet peppers but they’ll be much crunchier.

What to serve with the Chipotle Chicken Melt?

Panera loves their “You Pick Two” – so you can make one of their soups or salads to serve with the sandwich!

More Panera Copycat Recipes…

Copycat Panera Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5

Total Time 15

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Servings sandwiches

Calories 585 kcal

Equipment

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Ingredients

4 slices focaccia bread
1 cup pulled chicken
4 slices smoked gouda or aged white cheddar
1 avocado sliced
fresh cilantro
1/4 cup bottled sweet peppers sliced
1/2 tsp Chipotle Pepper seasoning
3 tbsp Duke's mayonnaise

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Instructions

Mix together chipotle pepper seasoning & mayonnaise
1/2 tsp Chipotle Pepper seasoning, 3 tbsp Duke's mayonnaise
Slice focaccia into sandwich sized slices
4 slices focaccia bread
Reheat pulled chicken in microwave for 30-40 seconds
1 cup pulled chicken
Preheat broiler on low
On bottom of sandwich, spread 1 tbsp chipotle mayo
Top with cilantro, pulled chicken, sliced sweet peppers and one slice gouda
4 slices smoked gouda, fresh cilantro, 1/4 cup bottled sweet peppers, 1 cup pulled chicken
On top half of but, spread 1 tbsp chipotle mayo and one slice gouda
4 slices smoked gouda
Lay open faced on parchment paper covered cookie sheet
Broil on low for 5 min until cheese is bubbly and melted
Remove sandwich from oven
Place avocado slices on top of cheese and place halves together
1 avocado

Notes

Focaccia bread – I couldn’t find pre-baked focaccia at Kroger so I bought a can of the rollout dough. I baked it in just 6-7 minutes in my Instant Pot Omni Pro Air Fryer – it’s got a bunch of different settings. I did bake but it was still quicker than the instructions. If you’ve got pre-made focaccia near you – you can use that!
Pulled chicken – Panera uses a smoked chicken but for this recipe – I just used a frozen pulled chicken I got at Kroger – you can use any cooked chicken – I make this Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot and it would be perfect for this!
Sliced sweet peppers – they use Peppadew peppers but I had a jar of Marinated Sweet Cherry Peppers and they worked just fine
Chipotle pepper seasoning – I like using the dry seasoning instead of the canned – then I’m not left with a can of pepper I won’t use and you can control the spice level. Or – go the easy route – and use the Ortega Chipotle Sauce (it’s really good and at most grocery stores)
Can I use the air fryer instead of the broiler?
Yup – just heat open faced for 3-4 min – you’ll probably need toothpicks to hold the cheese down.

For the peppers are they fresh or canned?
They’re jarred and marinated in oil – you could use those fresh mini sweet peppers but they’ll be much crunchier.

I don’t like cilantro – do I need to use it?
Nope – just leave it out!

**We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**

Nutrition

Serving: 1sandwichCalories: 585kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 40.7gFat: 40.1gCholesterol: 94mgSodium: 773mgPotassium: 607mgFiber: 7.6gSugar: 4.9gCalcium: 246mgIron: 1mg

Keyword air fryer, avocado, chicken, chipotle, copycat, panera, sandwich

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