Olive Garden

Olive Garden is harder to navigate. Breadsticks arrive before your meal and pasta is the default. Know your order before you sit down.

• →Breadsticks will show up. Go straight to your meal.
• →The Lighter Portions section launched in January 2026. Check it when you look at the menu.
• →Order something you want and plan to box half of it.
• →Soup and salad as a full meal is a completely normal order here. Minestrone is the right soup.
• →Water and diet sodas are both zero-calorie and work well here.

In your first few months, order the minestrone soup and house salad as your full meal. It is a low-risk order and completely normal at Olive Garden. If you want an entree, the salmon.