Olive Garden Allergen Statement
Olive Gardens website has a document of all the allergens in every menu item they serve at their restaurants. These are the notes specific to folks who are on a gluten-free diet or are avoiding allergens like gluten:
At Olive Garden, were committed to making the dining experience for every guest, including our guests with food allergies, an exceptional one. Thats why we are proud to offer this information to help you make an informed food selection.
The information inside details which menu items contain the most common allergens and intolerances, based on the information provided by our suppliers. We work to keep this information as up-to-date as possible, and suggest you check our allergen information each time you dine with us. Please also note that this information does not indicate which items may have been made in a facility with an allergen.
Note on Gluten Our menu items are freshly prepared in our kitchens, which are not free of gluten. Cross-contact with other food items that contain gluten is possible. While we aim to accommodate the dietary needs of our guests, we cannot ensure that these items meet the definition of gluten-free. Please let your server know you are avoiding gluten.
Your Server Will Give You A Free Dessert On Your Birthday
Olive Garden is one of many restaurants that will help you celebrate your big day with birthday freebies that range from free mozzarella sticks to complimentary brownie sundaes. At OG, all you have to do is join the e-club and then dine there on your special day, when your server will sing Happy Birthday to your embarrassment, er, delight.
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Is Olive Garden Gluten
In short, Olive Gardens gluten-free pasta is good enough compared to other restaurant chains in the United States.
From my experience, eating gluten-free pasta at Olive Garden does not seem different from the taste of pasta with gluten on it.
The rotini pasta is the most popular and also the best gluten-free pasta option at Olive Garden. And I also recommend this pasta if you are on a gluten-free diet.
Gluten-free rotini pasta is served with meat sauce and marinara sauce because both sauces are also gluten-free.
Olive Garden gluten-free rotini pasta is only available on the lunch and dinner menu.
But, I strongly suggest you ask the host before ordering any gluten-free pasta at Olive Garden.
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What Is Zuppa Toscana Soup
Zuppa Toscana is based on the beloved Olive Garden Italian soup recipe that translates to Tuscan soup. Its basically a potato sausage soup and the main ingredients are potatoes, cream, sausage, and kale that get garnished with Romano cheese and bacon.
Whether you call it Zuppa Toscana, Tuscan soup, or a Tuscan potato soup recipe, its simply a bowl full of goodness. Our copycat version tastes amazing and just has a couple of tweaks from the original Olive Garden recipe.
What Are The Gluten
What Are The Gluten-Free Pasta At Olive Garden?
You already know that Olive Garden has several gluten-free pasta on its menu.
Gluten-free pasta options at Olive Garden:
- Rotini Pasta with Marinara
- Rotini Pasta with Meat Sauce
- Grilled Chicken with Rotini Pasta & Marinara
- Shrimp with Rotini Pasta & Marinara
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Items To Avoid At Olive Garden
These items all contain gluten or have a very high risk for gluten contamination:
- All pasta contains gluten except the Rotini, so make sure that is the only type you get!
- All salads, soups, and sides contain gluten except for the Famous House Salad and the Zuppa Toscana.
- The Meatballs and all fried items contain gluten. So does the Crispy Chicken Fritta.
How To Store For Later
This Zuppa Toscana crock pot recipe makes A LOT! Since you cant freeze it, youll be happy to know it does store well in the fridge for up to 5 days. I prefer to store it in a glass container with a lid that makes it easy to reheat in the microwave.
The Tuscan soup might thicken even more after it cools and gets stored in the fridge, to thin the soup just add a little more cream, half and half, milk, chicken broth or even water until its the consistency you prefer.
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But Soups And Pasta Are Made In
Frozen desserts, so what? Thats not so bad. At least Olive Garden chefs are cooking the important stuff as its ordered. I do wonder if the ravioli is made in-house, though. I know ravioli is technically a pasta, but its filled. So are Olive Garden chefs making their own ravioli shells?
All of Olive Gardens signature soups Pasta e Fagioli, Chicken & Gnocchi, Zuppa Toscana, and Minestrone are made by hand and from scratch every morning using fresh, whole ingredients such as kale, peppers, and squash, a representative for Olive Garden told Popsugar.
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What Is Gluten Free At Olive Garden
In this article and guide, well highlight all the gluten free menu items, sides, and other gf options available at Olive Garden. Want to learn more nutrition facts about Olive Gardens foods? Check out their Nutrition and Allergens page. More specifically Olive Garden has this page for a Gluten Sensitive Diet.
This is the statement Olive Garden shares in their allergen guide:
At Olive Garden, were committed to making the dining experience for every guest, including our guests with food allergies, an exceptional one. Thats why we are proud to offer this information to help you make an informed food selection.
Here are a few key points to know when reviewing this guide:
1. The information inside details which menu items contain the most common allergens and intolerances, based on the information provided by our suppliers. We work to keep this information as up-to-date as possible, and suggest you check our allergen information each time you dine with us. Please also note that this information does not indicate which items may have been made in a facility with an allergen.
3. Note on Gluten Our menu items are freshly prepared in our kitchens, which are not free of gluten. Cross-contact with other food items that contain gluten is possible. While we aim to accommodate the dietary needs of our guests, we cannot ensure that these items meet the definition of gluten-free. Please let your server know you are avoiding gluten.
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Olive Garden Gluten Free Menu
These are all the gluten free options we could find at Olive Garden. Note all items listed below do not contain wheat or gluten, based on the Olive Garden Allergen Guide. These items still have the potential for cross contamination and other traces of gluten, so please keep that in mind.
Notice anything missing or incorrect? Leave a comment below. This article was last updated:
What Is Chicken Gnocchi Soup
This recipe is a copycat of Olive Gardens famous chicken gnocchi soup. Not to brag, but this version might be even better. Gasp!
Theres a lot going on in this soup, but what makes it really special is the incredible flavor of the creamy broth. Its seasoned with Italian seasoning and the chicken is cooked in it which gives it the best taste. We splurge and use real cream in this recipe, cause sometimes nothing else will do.
Swimming around in the tasty soup are a few veggies like carrots, onion, celery, and spinach. They add sweetness and a little fresh crunch.
And both the chicken and gnocchi are so tender eating them feels like a real treat.
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Recipe Step By Step Directions:
I bet this picture will surprise you! I am typically a dump and go crock-pot type of person. I am lazy and often dont like to brown things before dumping them in. That being said, you will get much better flavors if you cook your leeks , pancetta, and sausage first.
Step 1: Heat the oil in a pan. Add the pancetta and leeks. Allow cooking until the leeks are soft, about 3 minutes.
Step 2: Brown the sausage, leeks, and pancetta for 5 minutes over medium heat until the leeks are soft.
Step 3: Now it gets easy. Dump the cooked sausage mixture and all of the other ingredients into your slow cooker. Your slow cooker is going to be really full until your kale and potatoes cook down. This is totally okay!
Step 4: Put the lid on your slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low 6-8 hours. When you come home from work, dinner is ready!!
If you are a meal prepper, you should add this easy Crock-Pot soup to your list of recipes.
Its easy to throw together, and you can enjoy it for a few days. While you are at it, take a look at my Gluten Free Pantry Essentials And Equipment Recommendations as a guide. You will find some valuable information that helps with daily cooking, baking, and batch cooking.
Is Zuppa Toscana Soup Gluten
If youre following a special diet or have health restrictions, the Tuscan soup will work for many health plans simply because it uses all-natural ingredients and its easy to make swaps if you prefer a different ingredient.
Zuppa Toscana soup is gluten-free, unlike many of the other Olive Garden copycat recipes out there, because it doesnt contain pasta.
To make the slow cooker Zuppa Toscana soup keto or low carb you can skip the potatoes entirely and swap it for cauliflower pieces. You wouldnt cook the cauliflower as long , but Id add the cauliflower the last two hours on low until its cooked through, or in the last hour if youre cooking it on high.
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Whats Gluten Free At The Olive Garden
Eating out when you cant eat gluten is hard to do, and the Olive Garden, unfortunately, doesnt make this process easier. In this post, Ill talk about whats gluten free at the Olive Garden and take you on a tour of the Olive Gardens gluten-free menu. I also tested three items for hidden gluten and reveal the results below. This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosures.
Before being diagnosed with celiac disease in 2012, I loved eating at the Olive Garden. Id always ordered a big bowl of pasta or chicken parmesan, and I always indulged in one too many soft and doughy breadsticks. I couldnt get enough of the bottomless salads with crunchy croutons either.
Alas, my breadstick and gluten-y pasta days are behind me now that I have celiac disease, a rare autoimmune disease where my body attacks the healthy tissue lining my small intestine every time I eat gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and sometimes oats.
However, despite being on a strict gluten-free diet, I still, on occasion, have had a meal at the Olive Garden. Its not my favorite restaurant because the gluten-free food is only okay, at best. And to be honest with you, after I wrote this article, and found hidden gluten in one of my dishes, I havent been back.
If you eat at the Olive Garden, you need to do so with a whole lot of caution, make good choices when ordering, and communicate your dietary needs as clearly and specifically as possible with your server.
Olive Garden Is Forcing Diners To Split That Last Breadstick
Olive Garden does have a policy on how many breadsticks come in each basket. Servers are asked to bring one stick per person plus one extra stick in your first basket, according to one Redditor who used to work there. The second basket, however, should only contain enough breadsticks so that each person gets only one. Since when does unlimited mean but kind of limited?
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Where Can You Find Gluten In Restaurants
Depending on the restaurant youre visiting, you may find gluten in a variety of places.
At fast food restaurants, there will be gluten in hamburger buns, the breading of crispy chicken sandwiches or chicken nuggets, some French fries, salad dressings, croutons on salad, and chili or soup options.
At other restaurants, youll find gluten in flour in sauces, in pizza or other pastry dough, pasta, and as a thickener in some soups.
Where gluten is found in the menu items will vary from restaurant to restaurant. Thats why its always a good idea to review menus from home, and see if you can find any allergen information before you get to the restaurant itself.
Being able to review nutritional information and allergen statements before visiting a restaurant can be the difference between ordering something that you think is safe for your gluten-free diet and getting sick.
Being knowledgeable about what specific menu items youll be able to eat without any worries of later reactions is crucial to sticking with your gluten-free diet.
Olive Garden Gluten Free Menu Position
Olive Garden does make an attempt to cater to folk who are eating a gluten free diet. Would I say Olive Garden is Celiac safe? it would be tough to say, but I would lean towards no. There are some positive actions though that Olive Garden says the take.
Their website says they do try to avoid cross contaminations. They say When you tell your server that you have a food allergy, they will add this information to your order. This will alert the kitchen that you have a food allergy and will trigger several processes, including changing their gloves and serving utensils. Each of our managers has completed a food safety course, which includes basic information about food allergies, in addition to safe food handling practices.
Even with processes and procedures in place, we are mindful that we are not an allergen-free facility. As such, we cannot guarantee that any item is free of any allergen. While we regret that this may disappoint some guests, we feel strongly about being transparent about what we can and cannot guarantee.
When you are making your decision, keep this in mind. It appears they will do their best assist you.
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The Chain Breaks One Major Pasta
If you dont salt boiling water when you cook noodles, youre in pretty prominent company: Olive Garden doesnt either. It skips the seasoning to maintain a longer warranty on its pots, Business Insider reports.
Apparently, though, guests dont mind the lack of salt the company just reported its best quarterly sales in years.
Olive Garden Gluten Free Kids Entrees
- Kids Grilled Chicken and Rotini Pasta with Marinara Sauce
- Rotini with Marinara
- Kids Rotini with Meat Sauce
These are some dishes that you can enjoy gluten-free. Now you might want to know Olive Garden nutrition, here you can check for Olive Garden menu nutrition.
According to your locality, the food might differ so here is the official menu of Olive Garden. You can check for gluten-free food here. Just put the location of your nearest Olive Garden restaurant and you can see the menu of gluten-free food.
While looking for a gluten-free Olive Garden menu, you might read about what Olive Garden has to say regarding gluten-sensitive diets here.
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Does Olive Garden Have A Gluten Free Menu
Related Articles
You dont have to be a member of the Gluten Free Society to know if you have gluten intolerance, Celiac disease or a wheat allergy. You already know the consequence is never pleasant and often painful. Pasta tops the societys list of foods to avoid if youre trying to follow a gluten-free or limited gluten diet. At first glance, this recommendation suggests that you should decline dinner invitations to the Olive Garden, whose many specialty dishes contain pasta. But the chain restaurant offers a menu billed as gluten-sensitive that may suit your dietary needs as nicely as the eatery’s famous salad.
How To Make Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
This cozy soup is quite easy to make. Heres the rundown about how youll make it:
Full recipe instructions in the recipe card below.
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Spaghetti With Marinara Sauce
Speaking of marinara, Olive Gardens lip-smacking marinara sauce is also 100 percent vegan. Their plain tomato sauce is also a great vegan option, so make sure you ask for extra pasta!
The creamy mushroom sauce and five cheese marinara are meat-free menu items, and so is their eggplant parmigiana , so theyre vegetarian-friendly. Unfortunately, these have yet to be made vegan approved.
Is Olive Garden Dressing Gluten
According to the Olive Garden website, There are no gluten-containing ingredients in the dressing. However, gluten is present in the facility where the dressing is made.
Please be sure to tell your server if you are avoiding gluten when you order your salad so that we can leave off the croutons.
If youve been wondering if you can go to Olive Garden for a lunch or dinner with friends and family and find options for your gluten-free diet, I hope this post has given you the information you need to make an informed decision that works for you.
Know that all the items Olive Garden offers in their Gluten Sensitive menu are for folks with a gluten intolerance and shouldnt be eaten if you have celiac disease, as the risks for cross contamination are too high.
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