What to Eat at Kneaders: Healthy Menu Choices and Nutrition Facts

Known for its fresh artisan breads, green salads, daily soups, and tempting bakery items, Kneaders Bakery and Café offers options for all three meals of the day. However, most include carbs and gluten. Kneaders does note gluten-free and vegetarian items directly on the menu for those with specific dietary needs.

At Kneaders, you’ll eat less grease and fried food than you would at a typical fast food restaurant, as well as consume more fresh produce. Depending on your order, you can craft a meal at Kneaders for $10 or less. Note that the restaurant is closed on Sundays.

Navigating the Menu

Kneaders offers a breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu six days a week. And since it's a café and bakery, you'll also find treats like pastries, cupcakes, brownies, and cakes available all day.

You can review the Kneaders menu online prior to your visit. Kneaders also publishes a nutrition and allergen guide to give you the information you need to make selections that align with your needs and preferences.

Most Nutritious Option

The Thai chicken salad’s nutrition profile makes it a good choice. It even has fewer calories and less sodium than the green salad on the children’s menu.

Sandwiches

Kneaders offers a wide variety of cold sandwiches on a selection of freshly made hearth breads. Sandwich categories include Famous Sandwiches, Paninis, Croissant Sandwiches, Café Classics, Café Ranch, and Melt Sandwiches.

The café classic menu includes protein-rich choices such as ham, roast beef, and turkey, as well as vegetarian-friendly veggie avocado. If you'd like to reduce calories, choose a half sandwich, and opt for potato rosemary, paesano, or rosemary foccacia bread (90 to 100 calories per slice).

✓ Half Turkey Café Classic

The half turkey café classic sandwich on one slice of paesano bread provides 270 calories, 13g fat, 5g saturated fat, 24.5g carbohydrates, 17.5g protein, and 935mg sodium. This café sandwich has the lowest amount of sodium of any sandwich on the menu except for some of the kids' options.

✗ Turkey Bacon Avocado on Focaccia

The turkey bacon avocado on focaccia has 845 calories, 36g fat, 11g saturated fat, 89g carbs, 44g protein, and 2,590mg sodium. The chicken, cheese, and ham on ciabatta sandwich has a few more calories, but less sodium and fat. For both of these, if you enjoy the flavors and fillings, consider a half portion if you want to reduce calories, carbs, fat, and sodium.

Pastries & Desserts

Kneaders offers a wide array of sweet treats: brownies, cookies, muffin tops, pastries, bars, cakes, pies, and bread puddings. They are available in individual portions, or you can purchase a whole cake or pie. Some offerings are seasonal.

✓ Éclair

The classic eclair, made with choux dough and filled with cream, has 250 calories, 15g fat, 9g saturated fat, 24g carbs, 3g protein, and 220mg sodium.

If you don’t want a pastry, but do want a dessert, try a chocolate-dipped strawberry (60 calories each). Another option is the fruit tart, which contains fresh fruit and is relatively low in calories (430).

✗ Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding

The apple cinnamon bread pudding contains 1,010 calories, 53g fat, 28g saturated fat, 121g carbs, 10g protein, and 440mg sodium. All the bread pudding choices are high in calories and fat, although the raspberry option has the least fat at 36g and calories at 890.

If you prefer a bread pastry, consider a cinnamon roll, which has 530 calories. Or, if you love the homey taste of apple and cinnamon, a slice of rustic apple pie provides 400 calories and 15g fat.

Salads

The gourmet salads at Kneaders include fresh greens, vegetables, seeds and nuts, and a range of dressings. Most are topped with chicken or turkey for lean protein, The salads come with your choice of two slices of artisan bread, but you can skip this (or opt for just one slice) if you need to limit your carbohydrate intake.

✓ Thai Chicken Salad

Without dressing, the Thai chicken salad contains 130 calories, 3g fat, 1g saturated fat, 10g carbs, 16g protein, and 293mg sodium. This salad is the most nutritious option on the menu for entrees.

With fresh greens, grilled chicken breast, cashews, red bell peppers, red cabbage, cilantro, carrots, and sesame seeds, you get a healthy dose of iron, protein, and freshly chopped vegetables without adding a lot of calories and sodium to your meal.

✗ Southwest BBQ Chicken Salad

Without dressing, the Southwest BBQ chicken salad provides 435 calories, 15g fat, 2g saturated fat, 54g carbs, 21g protein, and 662mg sodium. For a chicken salad lower in calories and sodium, consider the Thai chicken, chicken ala mondo (349 calories), or chicken raspberry nut (282 calories). All calorie counts are without dressing.

Kneaders offers several salad dressing options, ranging from 90 calories (balsamic vinaigrette) to 210 calories (creamy ranch) per 1.5-ounce serving.

Soups

You can order three sizes of soups at Kneaders: 8, 12, and 32 ounces. Options range from seasonal choices such as apple butternut bisque to creamy soups like broccoli and chicken and wild rice.

The soups change each day, and you'll need to visit or call to find out the daily offerings. All the soups also have a high sodium content, so you may wish to stick to the smallest size to keep your salt intake down.

✓ Artichoke Portabella

The artichoke portabella soup (8 ounce size) contains 80 calories, 5g fat, 3g saturated fat, 7g carbs, 2g protein, and 650mg sodium. To keep calories low, you may wish to skip the bread bowl option.

The chicken noodle soup is another low-calorie, low-fat choice, at 100 calories and 2,5g fat in an 8-ounce portion.

✗ White Cheddar and Poblano

An 8-ounce serving of white cheddar and poblano soup provides 370 calories, 33g fat, 20g saturated fat, 13g carbs, 6g protein, and 2,300mg sodium.

If you're craving a cheesy soup, look to the parmesan sausage kale, which delivers 190 calories, 13g fat, 7g saturated fat, 12g carbohydrates, 7g protein, and 1,200mg sodium in an 8-ounce portion. As a rule, vegetable-based broth soups are generally more nutrient-dense than soups with "cream" or "bisque" in the name.

Smoothies

Full of tropical fruits, such as guava, razzleberry, and mango, you can get loads of vitamins A and C in one Kneaders smoothie. All smoothies come in a 16-ounce size and are available all day. Because of their high calorie counts, drink smoothies as a meal replacement instead of as a meal supplement.

✓ No Dairy Berry Smoothie

This option provides only 220 calories, no fat, no saturated fat, 58g carbs, 1g protein, and 20mg sodium. Since it's dairy-free, this smoothie doesn't contain any of the main food allergens.

✗ Pink Pina Colada

With guava juice, strawberries, bananas, cream of coconut, and pineapple sherbet, the pink pina colada smoothie offers 830 calories, 17g fat, 13g saturated fat, 172g carbs, 4g protein, and 90mg sodium That means this smoothie has nearly half the calories you need for a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet.

Pancakes and French Toast

Breakfast is served at Kneaders until 11 a.m., and you'll find plenty of options that include whipping cream and caramel syrup. But not all choices are sweet; Kneaders also offers steel-cut oatmeal and vegetable-filled omelets.

✓ Kids Pancakes with Caramel Syrup

Pancake lovers can order the kids size (not included on the kids menu) and still get a sizeable amount of flapjacks. Three individual cakes and two ounces of caramel syrup contain 460 calories, 10g fat, 6g saturated fat, 88g carbs, 5g of protein, and 560mg sodium.

On its own, the caramel syrup (2 ounces) contains 186 calories, 6g fat, 4g saturated fat, 36g carbs, 0g protein, and 124mg sodium. One of the most popular items on the menu, the syrup's ingredients are butter, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla, and baking soda.

✗ Pecan Pancakes

The pecan pancakes (three cakes and four ounces syrup) offers 1,070 calories, 46g fat, 13g saturated fat, 154g carbs, 10g protein, and 860mg sodium. If you order the pancakes without nuts, you save 100 calories (970 calories for three cakes and four ounces of syrup).

If you're not a pancake eater, Kneaders offers chunky cinnamon French toast. The nutrition profile is similar to the pancakes: 1,050 calories, 47g fat, 34g saturated fat, 148g carbs, 12g protein, and 640mg sodium.

Breakfast Sandwiches

Kneaders offers a few breakfast sandwich options available on your choice of bread or croissant. They range in calories from 455 to 850 per sandwich with protein counts from 21 to 36 grams each.

✓ Ham and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

The basic ham and cheese breakfast sandwich contains 455 calories, 28.5g fat, 7.5g saturated fat, 29g carbs, 22g protein, and 1,100mg sodium.

✗ Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

The sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich has 850 calories, 65g fat, 16.5g saturated fat, 30g carbs, 38g protein, and 1,440mg sodium. Skip the egg to save almost 200 calories, and 15g fat (but you'll also get less protein: 25g),

Frappes

Kneaders beverages include smoothies, hot and iced coffees, and frappes. For a sweet treat, you'll find chocolate, chai, and caramel options.

✓ Frozen Hot Chocolate

The frozen hot chocolate has 440 calories, 8g fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 79g carbs, 17g protein, and 260mg sodium. On a warm summer day, this makes for a refreshing alternative when you're craving a hot chocolate.

✗ White Chocolate & Berries

The white chocolate and berries frappe contains 830 calories, 12g fat, 9g saturated fat, 165g carbs, 16g protein, and 330mg sodium. If you're hungry for a frozen berry beverage, consider the No Dairy Berry or Strawberry Tsunami smoothie for significantly fewer calories.

Bread Slices

You can purchase hearth and American style bread either by the slice or by the loaf (which Kneaders will cut into perfect slices for you if you ask). Calories range from 90 to 450 per slice.

✓ Paesano

The popular paesano bread has 100 calories, no fat, no saturated fat, 21g carbs, 3g protein, and 240mg sodium per slice. You can ask for this bread on any of Kneaders sandwiches to save calories and add a tasty crumb to your sandwich.

✗ Baguette

Although delicious, a 6-inch serving of the Kneaders baguette contains 410 calories, 2g fat, 0g saturated fat, 85g carbs, 13g protein, and 910mg sodium.

The rosemary focaccia, however, only has 100 calories per slice, 0.5g of fat, and no saturated fat, making it a lower-calorie alternative with a savory herb flavor.

Kids Menu

The kids menu offers a few different sandwich options and a green salad. The combo meal comes with applesauce or chips, a choice of soda, milk, or apple juice, and a kid's size sugar cookie. Kneaders doesn't allow for substitutions. If your child isn't a sandwich eater or has allergies to nuts or dairy, your only choice is the cup of green salad.

✓ Green Salad

The kids green salad contains 150 calories, 6g fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 15g carbs, 9g protein, and 290mg sodium, and is the only non-sandwich option on the children's menu. You can also add applesauce and milk to round out the combo and create a heartier lunch or dinner.

✗ Peanut Butter and Jam on Wheat

The Peanut Butter and Jam on wheat sandwich provides 350 calories, 14g fat, 2g saturated fat, 47g carbs, 10g protein, and 390mg sodium. Ordering a combo meal will add at least 590 calories to the meal, depending on the beverage and side choice.

Diet-Specific Options

Kneaders offers a few choices for gluten-free and vegetarian diets, but as the restaurant is known for its fresh bread, the options are limited. Those looking for low-carb options should stick to salads and vegetable soup choices.

Gluten-Free

Most items contain gluten, as Kneaders is known for its artisan bread (even the soups and salads come with your choice of bread). To stay gluten-free, skip the bread and croutons. You'll also need to avoid the Thai chicken salad dressing and the kids' green salad; both contain wheat.

• Turkey bacon avocado salad
• Large green avocado salad
• Thai chicken (with another dressing choice)
• No Dairy Berry smoothie
• Some seasonal soups

For a nutrient-rich, gluten-free meal, try the large green avocado salad with a cup of soup such as the artichoke portabella.

Vegetarian

Vegetarians will find options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and the veggie avocado sandwich is an especially nutritious option. You can also order most of the green salads without the chicken or turkey topping.

However, vegans will have a much more challenging time as most entrees include dairy, and most of the pastries are made with eggs.

Menu items for vegetarians include:

• Veggie avocado sandwich
• Provolone and Muenster cheese melt
• Large green avocado salad
• Broccoli sunflower salad
• Fresh fruit salad
  

Low-Sodium

When eating out, you tend to consume far more sodium than what you would dining at home. For a lower-sodium meal at Kneaders, choose the broccoli sunflower salad with a slice of the potato rosemary bread for 414mg sodium. A few other lower-sodium options include:

• Veggie avocado half sandwich
• Large green avocado salad with poppyseed dressing (or no dressing)
• Thai chicken salad with poppyseed dressing (or no dressing)
• Blueberry lemon sweet bread
• Steel cut oatmeal
  

Food Allergies and Safety

Those with egg, gluten, and wheat allergies should be cautious at Kneaders because many items include bread. Items such as soups, pastries, and sandwiches (bread), are made with milk. Therefore, people with lactose intolerance or who follow dairy-free diets will find ordering to be challenging.

To ensure you stay safe when you order, download the nutrition and allergen menu, which lists the following allergen information for all items:

• Wheat
• Egg
• Soy
• Milk
• Peanut
• Tree nut
• Fish
• Shellfish

When in doubt, ask an employee for assistance on what ingredients are used in each menu item, as well as what type of environment the food is cooked in, i.e., near tree nuts.

A Word From Verywell

Kneaders offers convenient options for eating on the go, especially for a quick lunch or dinner without grease and high-calorie preparations. To keep the salads low in fat, ask for low-calorie and fat-free dressing options. You can also substitute spinach on salads for an additional cost if you want to up your iron count.

And if you're hungry for a flaky pastry or creamy smoothie, you'll find it at Kneaders. Enjoy it, and focus on more nutrient-dense choices for your other daily meals.