12 Olive Garden Menu Hacks Worth Asking Your Server About

Olive Garden is known for many things, like its never-ending breadsticks, signature house salad, and the delightful pasta dishes, all of which keep guests coming back for more. However, the fun doesn't stop with the offerings clearly printed on the menu. Actually, there are a handful of cuisine hacks worth asking your server about if you want to access everything the restaurant truly has to offer, which, of course, you do.

From customizing the sauces, proteins, and veggies typically found in dishes to enhancing your experience with lesser-known dipping sauces to mixing up creative drinks (with or without booze), Olive Garden's menu is more than meets the eye. You just have to know what to ask for, and in many cases, the kitchen and your server will be more than happy to oblige. Even so, the key to unlocking the establishment's menu hacks does rely on you making requests in a reasonable manner and accepting rejection gracefully if the answer is no. Olive Garden aims to please, but there is no guarantee when asking for special favors. Regardless, stick with us, and you'll be all primed to tap into everything the restaurant is capable of on your next visit. You may even be able to teach your friends a thing or two about how to order like a seasoned pro.

Olive Garden has four soups on the menu, all of which are homemade: Minestrone, Zuppa Toscana, Chicken & Gnocchi, and Pasta e Fagioli. While the Zuppa Toscana is arguably the best of the bunch, they all have redeeming qualities. So much so that some fans have even started asking their servers to mix more than one into a single mouth-watering bowl. Several viable combinations exist, so whether you want extra creamy, extra meaty, or a perfect blend of both, the soup offerings can deliver.

The most popular secret menu soup involves mixing the Zuppa Toscana with the Minestrone. The former is a creamy recipe containing spicy Italian sausage, kale, and potatoes, and as noted, is generally thought of as the most delicious. However, adding the Minestrone, which consists of a tomato broth and a mix of veggies, beans, and pasta, only makes it tastier. For starters, it thins out the thick creaminess and adds lots of veggies. The resulting soup also boasts layers of yummy flavor and enables you to enjoy the best of both worlds in every bite.

If toning down creaminess isn't your preference, you can also mix Chicken & Gnocchi and Zuppa Toscana for an incredibly decadent bowl featuring chicken, sausage, dumplings, and potatoes. Conversely, if you want to avoid cream entirely, asking for a bowl with half Minestrone and half Pasta e Fagioli leads to a combination that gives even the best chili recipes a run for their money.

Olive Garden's house salad has a lot of draw, including the fact that you can order a never-ending portion of it. The house Italian dressing, which boasts lots of vinegary goodness backed up by savory spices, is another element that keeps people interested time and time again. Proof of that can be seen in the fact that the restaurant bottles and sells it at the grocery store. That aside, it isn't the only dressing on the menu: ranch and balsamic vinaigrette are also available, and they're quite tasty, too. With this in mind, our next menu hack involves combining the house Italian and ranch to create one show-stopping dressing that's bursting with flavor. The creaminess of the ranch mingles with the vinegary, savory flavors of Italian dressing to create a cling-tastic dressing overflowing with yummy goodness.

If a zesty, tangy dressing is more your speed, you can also ask for a mixture of the house Italian and balsamic vinaigrette on your salad. It won't be creamy, but the pairing is bold and delicious all the same. It also breathes new life into the standard house Italian, something that easily appeals to frequent visitors of the establishment. After all, it's great as-is, but spicing things up from time to time never hurts.

Olive Garden's house salad comes with a mix of lettuce, red onion, purple cabbage, shredded carrots, tomatoes, pepperoncini, olives, croutons, and a dressing — maybe even two, since we now know it leads to even more flavor. As-is, that's a tasty mix. However, you can also hack the menu and turn it into a hearty, complete meal with a few ingredient additions.

The online menu shows several sides that are prime for adding to a salad, such as chicken, either grilled or fried strips. Shrimp, again grilled or fried, also makes a mean upgrade, boasting lots of protein and bite. You also have the option to bulk up the salad by requesting extra of the veggies already found in it or add some new ones, such as broccoli, spinach, asparagus, and more. Basically, any vegetables found in the other dishes on the menu are readily available in the kitchen, so transferring them over to your bowl of salad shouldn't be an issue. Whichever route you take, though, it'll lead to a heartier salad that could easily suffice as an entire meal, especially since it also comes with breadsticks. 

A restaurant known for pasta isn't always the first thing that comes to mind for people with a gluten sensitivity or intolerance, but Olive Garden is one such spot that is more than willing to accommodate the dietary preference or need. In fact, it offers an entire gluten-sensitive menu with several versatile options. Even so, you don't necessarily have to stick to the dishes found in the section, especially when it comes to pasta. You can also swap out regular noodles for gluten-free rotini in any of the classic pasta dishes, ensuring you don't have to miss out on any of the signature creations and their yummy flavors.

Interestingly, the gluten-sensitive portion of Olive Garden's menu only shows a select few pasta plates, all of which feature some type of red sauce and a basic protein. However, if the shrimp scampi, baked ziti, or another flavorful dish on the menu calls to you, simply order it and substitute the noodles you desire, which, in this case, would be the gluten-free rotini. It's that easy. If your gluten sensitivity is serious, just make sure to let your server know so the kitchen can take all the necessary precautions and alert you to any hidden ingredients that may not align with your needs.

Similar to how you can bulk up Olive Garden's house salad with even more veggies, you can also do the same with the pasta dishes. As you may have guessed by now, all you need to do is ask. When you do, you not only get the benefit of more nutrition — gotta get those greens, after all — but you also get a helping hand in the way of flavor and texture. Sounds like a win-win to us.

One of the most recommended veggie enhancements for pasta at Olive Garden involves adding spinach to the myriad of Alfredo plates. Straight from the menu, you can order fettuccine Alfredo plain, with a spicy sauce, or with a protein like chicken, shrimp, or a mix of seafood. Still, adding spinach to make it a Florentine-style Alfredo takes the offerings to new heights. Veggies like tomatoes, broccoli, and asparagus also easily fit into the mix. The same goes for many of the pasta bowls made with red sauce or meat sauce as well. So, if you aren't seeing enough color and veggies on a plate, just ask to add some. If the kitchen has it on hand, they shouldn't have any issues jazzing up your meal. Of course, doing so may come with an upcharge, but considering the boost in flavor, nutrition, and texture, it'll be more than worth it.

Whether you are dipping the breadsticks, one of Olive Garden's tasty appetizers like the Fried Mozzarella, Toasted Ravioli, or Calamari, or chowing down on pasta, you can also hack the sauce your dish comes with to ensure the boldest, yummiest flavors possible. How? Well, just like with the salad dressings, asking to combine two of the restaurant's sauces leads to incredibly tasty results.

Mixing a cream-based sauce, like the famous Alfredo, with one of Olive Garden's tomato-based sauces is always a winning pair. Whether we are talking about the classic marinara, meat sauce, or five cheese marinara, adding creamy Alfredo gives you a serious boost in texture and flavor. The Alfredo tones down the acidity of a tomato-based sauce in spectacular fashion while also adding a nice saltiness from the cheese, two things that are sure to turn some heads. Heck, it's so tasty that even if they don't want to mix them for you, you can easily ask for a side of the sauce you want to infuse and stir it in yourself. Considering that all of Olive Garden's sauces are made from scratch — one of the many facts to know about the chain — cashing in on more saucy goodness will serve you well.

Olive Garden's menu features a section titled Lighter Portions, which sounds great if you don't need a large meal. However, the items listed are still plates of pasta, just in smaller serving sizes. While this is great and all, sometimes you just want fewer carbs altogether. When that mood strikes, instead of simply settling for a smaller portion (which is not more nutrient-forward), there's another great way to hack the menu and get exactly what you are after: Substitute the pasta in a regular menu item for a bed of veggies.

Anything from tomatoes to spinach to broccoli to mushrooms makes for a hearty, nutritious ingredient swap. Pasta is delicious, but it isn't necessarily winning any awards in that regard. Regardless, opting for a base of vegetables still provides lots of bite as well, so you won't have to feel like your meal isn't satisfying or filling. Best of all, you get an infusion of vitamins and minerals that noodles simply don't have. Fingers crossed Olive Garden brings the special zucchini noodle dish back sometime soon so we can add that option as well. 

You won't find Italian sodas listed on Olive Garden's drink menu, but that doesn't mean you can't sip on one while dining at the establishment. Actually, asking for one is yet another tasty hack that helps you unlock all the restaurant truly has to offer. Whether your server happens to know it or not, all you need to make an Italian soda is two ingredients: soda and syrup. And guess what? Olive Garden has both.

Thanks to Olive Garden's lineup of tasty flavored iced teas and lemonades, it carries quite a few syrups, like raspberry, peach, strawberry, passion fruit, and mango. They are all ready and waiting to be turned into an Italian soda; just ask your server for your favorite carbonated bevvie mixed with the flavor you want. If you want to take it a step further and go all in on an Italian cream soda, you can do that as well. Just request a side of half and half, something that's typically on hand for people who want coffee, stir it into your cup, and viola! It's not that Olive Garden doesn't already have an impressive lineup of non-alcoholic beverages, but an Italian soda at an Italian restaurant? Yes, please!

Sometimes you are reading through the Olive Garden menu and a particular dish speaks to you, but you want a small tweak. Take, for example, the Shrimp Scampi, made with tomatoes, asparagus, and angel hair pasta tossed in scampi sauce. Maybe all of the base ingredients sound yummy, but a different sauce, like marinara or Alfredo, is more your style. If that's the case, you don't have to settle. Olive Garden makes it easy to swap out the sauce on any dish for exactly what you want. At this point, you know how to attain it too; just ask your server.

The same goes for the protein featured in the dishes at Olive Garden. Again, with the Shrimp Scampi, maybe you like the type of noodle, veggies, and sauce, but really, you'd prefer meatballs, grilled chicken, or Parmigiana-style chicken. They can all easily be substituted as well. So, while the menu definitely helps point customers in the right direction, don't hesitate to customize the plates to suit your ideal preferences. Olive Garden has your back. After all, they also have a build-your-own pasta offering on the menu, so customizations are nothing new for the kitchen. Make sure to tap into the options so you get the most satisfaction from your meal possible.

Olive Garden features an impressive list of Italian-inspired cocktails for you to enjoy. By the looks of the creative recipes, they are pretty tasty, too. Still, if you spot a drink on the non-alcoholic menu that you find intriguing, you can choose to give it an adult spin by ordering it with a shot of your preferred spirit.

If you need some inspiration, all of Olive Garden's iced tea flavors would be yummy with a shot of vodka added to the mix. The Sweet Pear Limonata would also be fantastic with vodka or tequila. The same goes for the Strawberry-Passion Fruit Limonata, but you can go ahead and add rum to the list of suitable spirits as well. Heck, you could even infuse a cappuccino or coffee with a shot of Irish cream and whiskey. 

Just like with other bars, the mixologists at Olive Garden are ready and willing to give you what you want, especially in the world of boozy drinks. Just remember to imbibe responsibly, because something tells us the resulting cocktails will be drool-worthy enough to go down quickly.

One look at Olive Garden's menu and you can see there are plenty of dishes containing meat. For many people, that is ideal. However, if you practice a plant-based diet, vegetarian or vegan, you still have plenty of options to pick from. The menu features lots of recipes that don't need to be special ordered to accommodate plant-based diets, either. Even so, that doesn't mean you can't unlock even more options by simply asking for veggies in place of protein on any dish you are craving.

Whether it is the Shrimp Carbonara with roasted red peppers in a creamy sauce or the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and gorgonzola blue cheese sauce, you can opt to swap out the proteins for more of the included veggies or another one entirely. Obviously, the creamy sauces won't work for vegans, but leaving out the steak, bacon, or shrimp certainly fits the bill for vegetarians, and those are just two examples. There are many more.

Lo and behold, the breadsticks at Olive Garden are not only vegetarian, but they are also vegan. Surprising, since they seem so buttery and delicious, but it's true. A dairy-free margarine spread is brushed onto the breadsticks after baking, not real butter, so you don't even need to make a special request for them to be vegan. Although you could always ask for an order without the margarine spread if you want.

The dessert menu at Olive Garden is far from lacking. It features cheesecake, tiramisu, strawberry cream cake, and more, but even so, the offerings hold the final restaurant hack up for your consideration, so here goes... The Italian doughnuts, which are fried and tossed in vanilla sugar — yum — are customarily served with your choice of raspberry or chocolate sauce to dip them in. However, you actually have more options than the standard selection.

Thanks to the other desserts featured on Olive Garden's menu, there are a couple of other sweet dipping sauces you can pick from. The first of which is strawberry. It typically comes drizzled over the cream cake and cheesecake, but there is no reason why you can't use it to dip your doughnuts in as well. In addition, Olive Garden also features seasonal options, like caramel, which are delicious as a dipping sauce. So, the next time the Italian doughnuts are in order, ask your server what other sweet sauces they might have in the kitchen, and you may be surprised at what you find out. Even if they only have strawberry sauce at the moment, it could be just the thing to amplify the end of your meal and make you feel like a real Olive Garden ordering pro.