18 Secret Menu Hacks At Olive Garden You Should Know
Olive Garden is a popular Italian restaurant chain with around 900 locations in the United States. The restaurant is well known for its unlimited breadsticks, pastas, soups, and salads. If you're a regular at Olive Garden, you likely have your go-to entrées. However, as good as the standard menu is, you may be looking to expand your horizons a bit.
Luckily, Olive Garden has a secret menu that offers several more options beyond those that are shown to customers. Once you're in the know, you can try ordering some of these dishes that combine standard menu components in new and exciting ways, making it easier than you may realize to customize your meal. Keep reading to learn more about Creamy Minestrone Soup, the Sampler Italiano, Chicken Parmesan Alfredo, and as well as other secret menu items and hacks.
1. Swap your pasta sauce with another
Don't limit yourself to the sauce that comes paired with the entrée you want the next time you order at Olive Garden. The kitchen is very accommodating and can replace the default sauce with one of your choice.
For example, if you like the idea of shrimp pasta, but aren't in the mood for Alfredo sauce, make a special request. Order the shrimp Alfredo, but ask for meat sauce or marinara sauce instead. Similarly, you can request that your cheese ravioli be prepared with Alfredo sauce. On the other hand, you could request that your ravioli dish be prepared with a creamy sauce with bacon and roasted red peppers. Usually, this sauce is part of the chicken and shrimp carbonara on the Olive Garden menu.
2. Order a Creamy Minestrone Soup
Ordering a bowl of soup is a nice way to start a meal at Olive Garden. The problem comes when you have to choose one. With so many wonderful options — from Chicken & Gnocchi to Minestrone to Zuppa Toscana to Pasta e Fagioli — it can be hard to choose just one.
With this secret menu ordering hack, you no longer have to limit yourself to one type. Order a Creamy Minestrone Soup, and the kitchen will give you half a serving of the Minestrone and half a serving of the Zuppa Toscana in the same bowl. You can enjoy the creaminess of the Zuppa Toscana — which consists of a rich sausage and potato soup — along with the hearty beans, vegetables, and pasta that come in the Minestrone soup. It truly is the best of both worlds.
3. Try the Sampler Italiano
It can also be challenging to decide on an appetizer to share with the people at your table. Some people in your party might feel like Calamari, while others are more in the mood for the Meatballs Parmigiana, Lasagna Fritta, or Toasted Ravioli.
Skip the arguments over what to get and order a Sampler Italiano instead. With this special appetizer, you can combine up to three different appetizers in one platter. Everyone can get a taste of what they're in the mood for and you can try some new options along with your classic favorites. If you only want two different appetizers, ask for a double portion of one of them for the platter.
4. Request an old seasonal special or a retired item
If one of your favorite Olive Garden entrées has been discontinued or is only available during particular seasons, you might still be able to order it. If all of the ingredients are available in the kitchen, the chefs will likely be willing to take a special request and whip it up for you.
Sadly, this menu hack won't work for all of your discontinued favorites. Some old menu items are either too time-consuming to make or feature ingredients that aren't in any of the current offerings. For example, the once-popular, but now-discontinued Spaghetti Pie would likely take too long to make — due to the fact that the noodles need to be formed into the shape of a pie each time — that the kitchen probably wouldn't be able to accommodate your request.
5. Take advantage of the kid's menu while ordering takeout
When dining in the restaurant, the Olive Garden kid's menu is only available for children under the age of 12. However, if you're ordering takeout, you can save some money by ordering a kid's meal instead of a full adult portion. If you find that you can never eat a full entrée from Olive Garden, this hack could work for you.
A kid's meal only costs about $7. In addition to the entrée, they also come with a drink. No soup or salad is included with the kid's meals, though, so you'll want to keep this in mind before placing an order. A few of the entrée options you'll be able to choose from include smaller portions of many regular menu items, such as Meat Sauce with Pasta, Alfredo Sauce with Pasta, and Cheese Ravioli. There are also a few additional options only available to kids, such as Chicken Fingers or Macaroni and Cheese.
6. Ask to them to hold the cheese
Because Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant, many of the menu items contain cheese. Between entrées like Lasagna, Chicken Parmigiana, and Cheese Ravioli, it can be difficult to escape cheese altogether.
However, that doesn't mean that you can't limit the amount of cheese you consume by asking your server to hold the extra cheese. Many pasta dishes, salads, and other dishes often come with extra cheese sprinkled on top, but this extra can be left off if you don't want it. If you're looking for something completely dairy-free, order an entrée that doesn't have cheese as a main ingredient, and also ask them to hold off on adding any extra cheese.
7. Make a more satisfying salad
If you're watching your carbs, you can ask your Olive Garden server to put the meat from the entrée you want over a salad instead of the pasta that it is typically served with. The staff may be able to accommodate special requests to add Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Marsala, salmon, or even meatballs over one of the salads.
While the menu may only offer the option to add the more standard grilled shrimp or chicken to a salad, all you need to do is ask to add these other meats. This way, you can enjoy a more decadent meal, without all the added calories and carbohydrates that come with pasta.
8. Swap out meat for vegetables
Here's another Olive Garden menu hack that you might be interested in if you're looking for healthier options. While many of the items on the menu include meat, you can ask your server to remove the chicken, shrimp, or beef for a vegetarian or vegan-friendly option.
The only problem with removing the protein from something like the Shrimp Scampi pasta is that it might not turn out filling enough. Without the shrimp, you'll only be left with a few pieces of tomato and asparagus along with the angel hair pasta. The solution for this is to ask for double vegetables to ensure that you feel satisfied after your meal.
9. Switch up the Stuffed Ravioli
Olive Garden offers two different types of ravioli on its menu: Cheese Ravioli and Ravioli Carbonara. However, it may be possible to request a custom filling when placing an order.
If you're in the mood for ravioli but aren't feeling the carbonara or cheese options that are available, ask your server if they can make a substitution. The kitchen may or may not be able to honor this request, depending on whether or not the ravioli were all prepared ahead of time. But, if you ask the right person, you just might be able to try a different filling inside the pasta dish.
10. Change up the protein
Another way the staff at Olive Garden works to be as accommodating as possible, to offer the best dining experience possible, is to let you change the type of protein that comes with a particular dish.
If you're feeling like shrimp instead of chicken, or beef instead of shrimp, speak up. If the ingredients are available in the kitchen, the chefs can put them together in new ways to create a meal that you're certain to love. Try asking for Chicken Scampi instead of Shrimp Scampi, or Shrimp Tortelloni Alfredo (instead of Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo) to try something new.
11. Ask for more sauce
If you like your pasta with extra sauce, there is a way to achieve this while dining at Olive Garden. The next time you order Fettuccine Alfredo, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Chicken Parmigiana — or whatever classic pasta dish you love to get at Olive Garden — ask them to add some extra sauce.
Depending on the server you have, they may charge you a fee, but often, you won't even need to pay anything extra for this meal enhancement. Even if you think the amount of sauce that comes on the pasta is sufficient, you might want to take advantage of this ordering hack to get some extra to dip your breadsticks in. You could even ask for it on the side, instead of over the pasta dish.
12. Request an Italian soda
An Italian soda is a refreshing, fizzy, and sweet beverage that is made using club soda and fruit syrup. Sometimes, the cream is added to the recipe, making it an Italian cream soda. Even though Italian sodas were invented in America — not Italy — you might be craving one to go with your pasta meal from Olive Garden.
Because the ingredients needed to make an Italian soda are used for other drinks that are offered by Olive Garden, the bartender will likely be willing to whip one up. You'll just have to choose a syrup flavor that the restaurant has on hand, so you might need to ask what the available options are.
13. Try an alternative Zeppole dipping sauce
Zeppoles are an offering on the Olive Garden dessert menu, sometimes under the name Warm Italian Doughnuts. The donuts are coated with sugar and served warm. They're also served with a special dipping sauce, typically one made from melted chocolate.
However, if you don't like chocolate, or are just in the mood for something different, you can ask for a raspberry sauce to be brought with your Zeppoles instead. You could even ask for both the chocolate and the raspberry sauces to be brought out together, though you might end up paying a little extra for this option.
14. Make a spiked drink
If you're feeling like an adult beverage when you visit Olive Garden, you'll find that they offer a wide assortment of cocktails, such as peach Bellinis, Blue Amalfis, Italian Rum Punches, and Amaretto Sours. With this next menu hack, you won't have to limit yourself to the list of printed cocktails on the menu. You can ask the bartender or your server to spike any beverage on the menu.
By reading through the cocktails listed on the menu, you should be able to figure out which types of liquor are available. Then, simply ask for a shot of something you'd like to be added to your Coke, Diet Coke, iced tea, or other beverage you want to spike.
15. Ask to swap out your regular pasta with a gluten-free one
If you're one of the many people who either can't eat gluten, or simply prefer not to, the restaurant offers a gluten-sensitive menu where you should be able to find something to order. However, the only pasta available on the gluten-sensitive menu is rotini, and it is only offered with marinara sauce or meat sauce.
If you're looking for something a little different, you can request that the gluten-free rotini be substituted in any of the other pasta dishes on the menu. But because some of the other ingredients in these dishes may contain gluten, this hack is probably best for those who are trying to limit or avoid gluten by choice, not those who have a gluten allergy.
16. Order the secret menu item Chicken Parmesan Alfredo
Chicken Parmesan Alfredo is a secret menu item that combines two customer favorites: the Chicken Parmigiana and the Chicken Alfredo. The Chicken Alfredo features a bowl of fettuccine noodles, a creamy Alfredo sauce, and grilled chicken. The Chicken Parmigiana consists of two fried chicken breasts topped with marinara and mozzarella, as well as a side of spaghetti.
When you try this menu hack, the standard grilled chicken from the Chicken Alfredo is replaced by those fried chicken breasts from the Chicken Parmigiana. You can request that the chicken be topped with Alfredo sauce. On the other hand, you could keep the marinara and mozzarella in the mix as well, for an especially decadent dish.
17. Substitute vegetables for noodles
You can hack the Olive Garden menu by asking your server to give you vegetables instead of pasta. Some of the entrées come with a side of broccoli, and the Shrimp Scampi is served with asparagus and tomatoes, leaving you with at least three different types of veggies you could ask for.
You can request that the restaurant tops your vegetables with the sauce and meat for the dish you're requesting, rather than simply serving them on the side. For example, if you want the Seafood Alfredo, ask them to pour the sauce and shrimp right over a bed of asparagus and broccoli.
18. Request the Chicken Fettuccine Florentine
Chicken Fettuccine Florentine used to be a featured menu item at Olive Garden. The recipe combined fettuccine noodles, a creamy Alfredo sauce, spinach, and grilled chicken, creating a mouthwatering treat.
Olive Garden no longer offers this dish on its official menu. But it's still available through the secret menu. Order it the next time you visit Olive Garden, and the chefs will toss some spinach in with the standard Chicken Alfredo that is available on the menu. In addition to the flavor the spinach adds to the meal, as The Mayo Clinic shares, it is also a good source of folate, magnesium, vitamin A, and vitamin C.