8 Olive Garden Menu Items to Avoid, and 3 to Pick Instead

When someone mentions Olive Garden, you can probably start to smell those delicious breadsticks. There’s no doubt this restaurant is one of the most popular chains for soup, salad, and pasta fans. From their creamy and delicious Alfredo sauce to their never-ending soup or salad and breadsticks deal, what’s not to love?

Most people don’t consider Olive Garden healthy but even if you’re not counting calories, there are some menu items at Olive Garden you should avoid. If you’re not careful, you can end up consuming all your daily calories (and more!) from just one meal at this restaurant. If you want to enjoy a meal at Olive Garden but not overdo it, here are some menu items to avoid and ones to pick instead.

Avoid the Spinach Artichoke Dip

If there’s spinach in the name, it must be healthy, right? Well, not exactly. The Spinach Artichoke Dip at Olive Garden is certainly tasty, but the appetizer contains 1,160 calories. Even if you’re sharing it with a friend or two, that’s still a lot of calories, fat, and sodium you’re adding to your meal.

Avoid the Fried Mozzarella

The only thing better than mozzarella cheese is mozzarella cheese breaded and fried. As comforting as this dish is, it’s 800 calories without the marinara sauce. It also has 1,990 mg of sodium, plus another 320 mg of sodium if you choose to dip it in the sauce.

Avoid the Cheese Ravioli

Cheese ravioli is a classic choice when you’re in the mood for a portion of delicious, cheesy pasta. Whether you choose to top it with marinara sauce, meat sauce, or Alfredo, it might seem like one of the best options at Olive Garden. Unfortunately, the Cheese Ravioli leaves much to be desired in the cheese filling, which certainly doesn’t make it worth the 800 calories.

Avoid the Seafood Alfredo

The Alfredo sauce at Olive Garden is so delicious that you can even order it as a dipping sauce for your breadsticks. Despite how delicious the sauce is, this dish isn’t worth over $20 or 1,470 calories. If you want to order a seafood dish at Olive Garden, there are better alternatives.

Avoid the Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo

The Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo is another dish that comes with Olive Garden’s iconic sauce. Instead of fettuccini, this dish comes with cheese-filled tortelloni noodles. Before you order this dish though, keep in mind it contains nearly 2,000 calories and 3,720 mg of sodium.

Avoid the Tour of Italy

When you can’t decide what dish you want, the Tour of Italy may seem like the logical choice. This meal gives you a taste of the Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna Classico, and Fettuccine Alfredo. However, this meal is also a whopping 1,550 calories and if you enjoy an appetizer, drink, or dessert, your entire meal could be well over 2,000 calories.

Avoid the Meatballs Parmigiana

Even though it could be a full meal, the Meatballs Parmigiana is an appetizer on the Olive Garden menu. With five meatballs smothered in marinara sauce and cheese, there are over 1,000 calories in this appetizer alone. It also includes 83 grams of fat and 2,800 mg of sodium.

Avoid the Chocolate Lasagna

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a delectable dessert every once in a while, but if the dessert is going to be nearly 1,000 calories, it better be worth it. Unfortunately, the Chocolate Lasagna is not only 980 calories but it’s also a tad disappointing. If you’re going to enjoy a dessert after your meal, try the Tiramisu instead.

Try the Grilled Chicken Margherita

If you’re looking for a tasty meal at Olive Garden that doesn’t contain all your daily calories, try the Grilled Chicken Margherita. This dish includes grilled chicken breast topped with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and basil pesto. The Grilled Chicken Margherita has only 640 calories and 65 grams of protein.

Try the Shrimp Scampi

If you had your eye on the Seafood Alfredo, the Shrimp Scampi is a great alternative. With this dish, you still get a mix of delicious flavors but without the heaviness and extra calories. The Shrimp Scampi includes shrimp, asparagus, tomatoes, and angel hair pasta tossed in a tasty garlic sauce.

Try the Spaghetti & Meatballs

You can’t go wrong with a classic like Spaghetti & Meatballs. Even though this is still a high-calorie meal, there’s more of a balance of calories and protein than some of the other pasta dishes. If you choose the spaghetti with marinara sauce, it will have about 940 calories and close to 50 grams of protein.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Evgeny Karandaev/Shutterstock.com.