The Hands-Down Cheapest Olive Garden Appetizer Is Still The Best Choice

The most famous Olive Garden menu item, to this day, continues to reign supreme — and it's not just the chain's best appetizer, it's also the cheapest. Olive Garden's beloved breadsticks are iconic for a reason — they're delicious, always soft, warm, and have that singular buttery sauce taste with just enough saltiness (all while also being dairy-free and not made with real butter). Plus, they are reliable and always come free when dining in at the restaurant and ordering an entree. But, if you're just ordering appetizers or getting takeout or delivery, it's another story. Still, they won't break the bank — starting at $4.99 for six, these breadsticks are worth every penny. In this instance, you even have the option to get them unbaked, which is a great hack for making sure you're getting a fresh Olive Garden breadstick experience. (Of course, you then bake them yourself.)

For only around 50 cents more, you can get an elevated breadstick experience. Olive Garden's appetizer menu also includes dipping sauces, which includes your choice of fresh marinara, homemade Alfredo, or five cheese marinara sauce. A regular order of dipping sauces includes four breadsticks. A large order is slightly more expensive (but not by much, as it's still under $8) and includes eight breadsticks. This is still cheaper than other available appetizers.

Olive Garden's sought-after breadsticks might even be the reason the chain is still around today after a disastrous opening in 1982. Customers showed up at the new Orlando, Florida location in droves, lined up out the door. Cooks couldn't keep up with all the orders and customers endured long wait times for their meals. Everyone was having a bad time, and the restaurant needed a fix.

This is when the endless supply of breadsticks, salad, and soup first came to be. Guests were brought breadsticks and a choice of soup or salad, keeping them from getting hangry. Cooks could catch up on orders with some peace. This would soon come to be a staple of Olive Garden's brand identity, embodying the generous Italian spirit it prides itself on. This is still the case today, but now guests also have the option of ordering endless soup, salad, and breadsticks as their entree. Long live the Olive Garden breadstick — a tube of bread so delicious, it pretty much saved the company.