Healthiest Olive Garden Order: What to Get and What to Skip

The healthiest Olive Garden order is the Herb-Grilled Salmon with steamed broccoli, paired with minestrone soup and one breadstick — about 600 calories, 50g protein, and packed with omega-3s and fiber. Skip the Tour of Italy and creamy alfredo dishes if you're watching calories, since some entrées push past 1,500 calories before you even touch a breadstick.

What to actually order at Olive Garden

Italian-American chains lean heavy on cream, cheese, and refined pasta, but Olive Garden has more solid choices than people give it credit for. The trick is knowing which menu sections to scan.

Best entrées under 700 calories:

• Herb-Grilled Salmon — around 460 calories with broccoli. High protein, low carb, packed with healthy fats.
• Chicken Margherita — grilled chicken topped with tomatoes and mozzarella. Roughly 530 calories.
• Shrimp Scampi — about 510 calories. Lighter than most pasta dishes because it's tossed in a thin garlic-wine sauce instead of cream.
• Chicken Piccata — lemony, caper-based sauce that runs around 620 calories.

Soup and salad combo is the dark horse here. A bowl of minestrone is only 110 calories and loaded with fiber from beans and vegetables. Pair it with a side salad (no dressing or dressing on the side) and you've got a meal under 350 calories — though watch the breadsticks, which clock in at 140 calories each.

What to skip (or split)

Some Olive Garden classics are calorie bombs in disguise:

• Chicken Alfredo — 1,470 calories and 88g of fat. The pasta itself isn't the problem; the cream sauce is.
• Tour of Italy — 1,450 calories. Lasagna, chicken parm, and fettuccine alfredo on one plate.
• Stuffed Chicken Marsala — 770 calories before sides, and it's filled with cheese.
• Lasagna Classico — 850 calories per slice.

If you really want one of these, split it with your dining partner and order an extra side salad. You'll cut the damage in half and still get the dish you came for.

Smart swaps that actually work

A few small changes drop your meal's calorie count fast:

1. Ask for whole wheat linguine instead of regular pasta — same flavor, more fiber, steadier blood sugar.
2. Sub marinara for any cream-based sauce. Marinara is about 80 calories per serving; alfredo is over 400.
3. Get dressing on the side for the famous salad. The Italian dressing adds around 80 calories per tablespoon and most people pour on three or four.
4. Limit yourself to one breadstick up front instead of grazing through the basket.
5. Order water with lemon or unsweetened iced tea instead of soda or wine if calories matter that day.

The Olive Garden menu changes seasonally and the chain doesn't always update calorie counts in real time. If you want exact numbers for what's in front of you, scanning the menu with MenuScore gives you a score and macro breakdown for every item before you order.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the lowest calorie meal at Olive Garden?

The Herb-Grilled Salmon with steamed broccoli is one of the lowest-calorie entrées at around 460 calories. A bowl of minestrone soup with a side salad (dressing on the side) comes in even lower at about 280 calories total.

Are Olive Garden breadsticks unhealthy?

Each breadstick is 140 calories and 460mg of sodium, so they're not terrible individually — but most people eat three or four during a meal, which adds up to a second entrée's worth of calories. Stick to one if you're watching intake.

Is the soup and salad at Olive Garden actually healthy?

The minestrone and chicken gnocchi soups are reasonable choices, but the zuppa toscana has 220 calories per cup and is high in saturated fat from sausage and cream. The salad itself is fine; the Italian dressing is what bumps up the calories, so ask for it on the side.

What should I avoid at Olive Garden if I'm on a diet?

Skip alfredo-based pastas, the Tour of Italy, stuffed dishes (they're usually packed with cheese), and any fried appetizer like the calamari or fried mozzarella. These dishes often exceed 1,000 calories before sides.