Panera has a new mac & cheese grilled cheese sandwich

If you’ve ever dreamed macaroni and cheese could be a bit more portable and, well, fork-less, Panera’s newest menu item is made just for you.

Hitting menus nationwide this month, Panera’s new Grilled Mac & Cheese Sandwich combines their fan-favorite macaroni and cheese with a grilled cheese sandwich. The pasta is made with fontina and mozzarella cheeses and sprinkled with parmesan crisps, then sandwiched between slices of toasted country-style white miche bread.

Panera’s macaroni and cheese is quite popular, so it’s not really a surprise they decided to turn it into a sandwich.

The restaurant chain started including the option to add bacon to the dish a few years ago. They followed that up a few months later with an option to build your own mac and cheese with a variety of toppings like smoked pulled chicken, avocado, pico de gallo, apple-cider-vinegar barbecue sauce, frizzled onions and fresh cilantro.

They even created a new dish using the comfort food last year by combining it with another popular menu item — broccoli cheddar soup. Their Broccoli Cheddar Mac & Cheese combines two cheddar cheese sauces into a velvety blend that covers macaroni, broccoli florets and julienned carrots. You can find it at grocery retailers nationwide.

If you don’t have a Panera near you, or just want to try your hand at making your own macaroni and cheese, Disney recently shared their Ultimate Mac and Cheese recipe from Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival.

The recipe uses Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs cheese and is topped with herbed panko. You’ll also need white cheddar and yellow cheddar cheeses, plus a handful of other ingredients like milk, flour and butter.

If macaroni and cheese isn’t for you, Panera has added a few other items to their fall menu as well, including a sausage and pepperoni flatbread pizza and a limited-time Cinnamon Crunch Latte, which is made with freshly brewed espresso, foamed milk and cinnamon syrup, all topped with whipped cream and cinnamon sugar.

What are your favorite fall comfort foods?