Olive Garden is a family-friendly casual dining restaurant. It specializes in American takes on Italian classics—mostly pastas and pizzas. Most food on the menu has been designed to be comforting and hearty—which we all know usually means covered in melted cheese! With that in mind, it can be tough to find vegan options at Olive Garden.
According to the online nutrition menu, there are 12 vegan items at Olive Garden. For an appetizer, you can enjoy either the minestrone soup, the garlic-topped breadsticks (yum!), or the house salad, as long as you ask for no croutons or dressing. When it comes to entrées, you have a slightly more limited choice. There are 5 pasta shapes that you can choose from, but only 2 sauces. We recommend the spaghetti with marinara sauce, but you could swap out marinara for tomato sauce if you prefer.
You could also order the cheese pizza without cheese if you want more choice for vegan food at Olive Garden, but there are no veggies or extra toppings you can add, so it would be a simple affair. The best idea may be to fill up on appetizers—eat plenty of breadsticks before your main and you’ll be sure to leave feeling satisfied!
