{"id":11941,"date":"2026-08-18T11:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/11941\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T11:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:14:09","slug":"7-best-orders-at-olive-garden-according-to-diners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/11941\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Best Orders at Olive Garden, According to Diners"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diners recommend these Olive Garden favorites, from classic pasta dishes to soups, salads, and appetizers.<\/p>\n

Most people have their favorite dish at Olive Garden, but are you curious what everyone else is ordering? America\u2019s most popular Italian chain is home to so many great dishes, ranging from salads and starters to the main course. But not all are considered diner favorites. What should you try the next time you dine at the restaurant? Here are the 7 best orders at Olive Garden, according to diners.<\/p>\n

\tTour of Italy<\/p>\n

\"\"” src=”https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Tour-of-Italy.jpg” alt=”” width=”640″ height=”469″ \/>Olive Garden<\/p>\n

The Tour of Italy is a crowd-pleasing sampler that comes with some of the chain\u2019s most popular items. \u201cIf you want a sampler style. Piece of lasagna with meat sauce and cheese, portion of fettuccine alfredo, and crispy chicken parmesan with marinara and cheese,\u201d an employee recommends. I love it because you get a big piece of protein, get to indulge in the creaminess of the Alfredo sauce, and also the savory meat sauce and deliciousness that is their lasagna.<\/p>\n

\tFettucine Alfredo<\/p>\n

\"\"” src=”https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/classic-fettuccine-alfredo.jpg” alt=”” width=”640″ height=”469″ \/>Olive Garden<\/p>\n

Fettuccine Alfredo, part of the\u201dAmazing Alfredo\u201d options, comes in five options, each made with the signature Alfredo sauce, which is made fresh in-house every morning with ingredients such as Parmesan, cream, garlic, and butter, and is served over fettuccine. In addition to chicken, shrimp, seafood, and meatless Alfredo, you can also order a chicken tortellini Alfredo. \u201cSay what you will about the rest of it, their fettuccine Alfredo is all cream and butter and they make it fresh and it is heaven,\u201d a Redditor exclaims.<\/p>\n

\tShrimp or Chicken Scampi<\/p>\n

\"\"” src=”https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Shrimp-Scampi.jpg” alt=”” width=”640″ height=”469″ \/>Olive Garden<\/p>\n

The chicken scampi is my go-to pasta order at OG: a concoction of peppers, onions, and lightly breaded chicken tenders with a garlicky lemon sauce. However, other diners obsess over the shrimp scampi. \u201cTheir chicken scampi is my favorite. I feel like I can get just as good as an Alfredo anywhere, and can make better red sauce at home, but the scampi is something I\u2019ve tried and failed to recreate it home, they just do it well, for what it is,\u201d a diner says. \u201cTheir chicken scampi is my favorite. I feel like I can get just as good as an Alfredo anywhere, and can make better red sauce at home, but the scampi is something I\u2019ve tried and failed to recreate it home, they just do it well, for what it is,\u201d another says. \u201cCame to say the same thing. The scampis are so good,\u201d another agreed.<\/p>\n

The #1 Healthiest Order at Olive Garden, According to a Dietitian<\/p>\n

\tSoup, Salad & Breadsticks<\/p>\n

\"\"” src=”https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Soup-salad-bread-sticks.jpg” alt=”” width=”640″ height=”469″ \/>Olive Garden<\/p>\n

A lot of times I will order just the soup, salad, and breadsticks. \u201cI only ever order one thing at Olive Garden: the unlimited soup\/salad\/breadsticks. I have one bowl of soup, my husband eats the breadsticks, and I polish off two bowls of salad on my own. It\u2019s crack,\u201d one Redditor writes. \u201cOooh yes. I did this a few weeks ago. Was glorious. I order a meal with it to eat later and just fill up on salad. Dip the breadsticks in the dressing after eating the salad. So good,\u201d another says.<\/p>\n

\tThe Toasted Ravioli App<\/p>\n

\"\"” src=”https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Toasted_Ravioli.jpg” alt=”” width=”640″ height=”469″ \/>Olive Garden<\/p>\n

Not sure what starter to pick? The toasted ravioli app is a true icon, featuring lightly fried pockets of beef-filled ravioli served with homemade marinara sauce. \u201cI had the Olive Garden toasted ravioli appetizer months ago and cannot stop thinking about it,\u201d a Redditor exclaimed.<\/p>\n

\tChicken Parmigiana<\/p>\n

\"\"” src=”https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Chicken-Parm.jpg” alt=”” width=”640″ height=”469″ \/>Olive Garden<\/p>\n

The classic Chicken Parmigiana from Olive Garden is another fan favorite, served with a hearty side of spaghetti and plenty of melted cheese. The \u201ctexture is amazingly crispy, resembling a well-fried schnitzel, while the interior remains plump and succulent. Some of the edges were a little burnt, but not really in a bad way,\u201d our reviewer Matt Kirouac explains, adding that there is also a \u201cblanket of gooey cheese.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tFive Cheese Ziti Al Forno<\/p>\n

\"\"” src=”https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Five-Cheese-Ziti-Al-Forno.jpg” alt=”” width=”640″ height=”469″ \/>Olive Garden6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e<\/p>\n

The Five Cheese Ziti al Forno, a blend of five Italian cheeses (ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, and fontina) and a mix of marinara and Alfredo sauces, is beloved for its cheesy, baked, bubbly goodness. You can also add protein to it. \u201cI add the crispy chicken and it is so delicious!\u201d one says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Diners recommend these Olive Garden favorites, from classic pasta dishes to soups, salads, and appetizers. Most people have their favorite dish at Olive Garden, but are you curious what everyone else is ordering? America\u2019s most popular Italian chain is home to so many great dishes, ranging from salads and starters to the main course. But<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11942,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[57,49,50,37,8],"class_list":["post-11941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-italian-restaurants","tag-italian","tag-italian-restaurant","tag-italian-restaurants","tag-restaurant-chains","tag-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117116220565916134","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}