Healthiest Menu Items at Olive Garden
Here's How to Order a Healthier Dinner at Olive Garden (Sorry in Advance For Nixing the Breadsticks)
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Planning to eat out at a restaurant can be tough when you're trying to eat clean. Sometimes it's nice to just indulge and let yourself have a day off from your usual regime, but if you're sticking to your plan, fear not — we've got you covered.
Example: if you're at Olive Garden, you're probably there for bottomless breadsticks and pasta. But let's just say you're trying to eat a little cleaner — there are still plenty of options that won't undo your diet. With low-carb chicken dishes and lighter fare bowls of pasta (read: no cream sauce), you can find filling, protein-rich meals or stick to low-cal bottomless veggie soup and salad.
We found the seven best options from this American staple restaurant so you can go out to eat with friends without a ton of extra guesswork. And yeah . . . you won't find unlimited breadsticks on this list, but you'll still be plenty satisfied.
Bottomless Salad
Anywhere that serves bottomless salad is a winner in our book. The Olive Garden Famous House Salad is the only variety on offer, and it's a pretty basic option, with tomatoes, onions, olives, and croutons. With dressing, one salad comes in at 140 calories with nine grams of fat.
Remember, it's important to pair your salad with a little bit of fat to better absorb the nutrients from the veggies. If you want more control over your calorie and fat intake, ask for the dressing on the side.
Shrimp Scampi
Shrimp Scampi makes the cut for the Lighter Italian Fare menu thanks to a total of 500 calories for the entire meal (and if you've been to Olive Garden, you know how hefty those portions are). This is also a low number for the restaurant's menu, considering some of its classics are in the 1,200-calorie-per-dish range.
With this dish, you'll get hearty protein and branched-chain amino acids from the shrimp. You'll still get 19 grams of fat and 56 carbohydrates (it's still a bowl of buttery pasta, regardless of how light it is), and the sodium is high — but you'll get 26 grams of protein, six grams of fiber, and only one gram of sugar.
Chicken Piccata
Load up on the protein with Chicken Piccata: "grilled chicken topped with a lemon garlic butter sauce, sundried tomatoes and capers. Served with parmesan-crusted zucchini." At only 390 calories and 12 carbohydrates, you'll get 36 grams of protein and three grams of fiber.
The parmesan-crusted zucchini side has 180 calories with 11 grams of fat on its own (and the Chicken Piccata already brings 23 grams of fat to the table), so if you're eating lighter, ask for a side of 20-calorie steamed broccoli.
Minestrone Soup
Bottomless soup and salad? Yes! Skip the creamy, fat-laden recipes and opt for a hearty, veggie-packed minestrone. At 110 calories per serving, you're light on calories while loading up on vitamins from carrots, zucchini, celery, and spinach. This vegan option will give you four grams of fiber and five grams of protein.
Garlic Mussels Marinara
This savory, garlicky dish offers 30 grams of protein and comes in at 510 calories for the entire dish. Garlic Mussels Marinara has the benefit of mood- and energy-boosting vitamin B12 and omega-3s (thanks to the nutrient-dense shellfish), but be mindful of the sodium content (nearly 1,400 milligrams).
Garlic Rosemary Chicken
Garlic Rosemary Chicken is another protein-loaded, low-carb option at 400 calories. With 38 grams of protein and an iron-packed side of spinach, this will be a filling, satisfying meal without undoing your diet.
Cucina Mia! Build Your Own Pasta
Still craving some pasta? We'll show you how to build the right dish — be wary of some total gut-bomb options! Example of what NOT to get: the Asiago Garlic Alfredo sauce. Just the sauce alone in one serving has 940 calories, 91 grams of fat, and 57 grams of saturated fat — that's two and a half days of saturated fat.
Here's the healthiest, lightest option: the angel hair pasta is lowest in calories (340 calories, 67 carbohydrates), so use that as your pasta base. For sauce, opt for Traditional Marinara (also the lightest and leanest) with only 140 calories, seven grams of fat, and no saturated fat. Add protein and balance the dish with lean sautéed shrimp for 60 calories, zero grams of fat, and 14 grams of protein. Not only is it healthy, but it's really, really delicious. Add a little red pepper for metabolism-boosting spice, and you'll feel like you're indulging without backtracking.
