It’s easier than you think to recreate the iconic Olive Garden Salad from home!
It’s rare for a restaurant to receive universal acclaim, but the salad at Olive Garden is something different. It’s one of the reasons why their offer of never-ending soup, salad, and breadsticks has been so popular for so long. To be fair, their breadsticks are undeniably great, too. But the Olive Garden salad is by far one of the most memorable restaurant salads you’ll ever find. That’s why I’m excited to share how it’s possible to imitate this incredible salad at home.
Obviously, the Olive Garden salad is no ordinary salad. However, it’s not that hard to replicate in your own kitchen. There are no special instructions or tips. The key is just using the same high-quality ingredients. If you can find fresh romaine lettuce, Roma tomatoes, shredded Parmesan, pepperoncini, and a few other items, it’ll only take you a few minutes to recreate Olive Garden’s famous salad.
When it comes to the salad dressing, you could pick up a bottle of Olive Garden’s signature Italian dressing. Alternatively, you could whip up your own using this Easy Italian Salad Dressing Recipe. If you prefer to try something different than traditional Italian dressing on your salad, I recommend making either Homemade Strawberry Vinaigrette or Honey Balsamic Dressing.
Is Olive Garden Salad Healthy?
Depending on the dressing you use, Olive Garden salad should be a healthy choice for most diets. Romaine lettuce is the primary ingredient and is filled with nutrients, such as vitamins A and K. The red onion and Roma tomatoes are also packed with vitamins and minerals while the Parmesan cheese adds calcium. However, there is a fair amount of sodium in this dish due to the pepperoncinis, olives, Parmesan, and salad dressing. Also, the overall fat and calories in this recipe largely depend on the type of dressing you use and how much dressing you put on your salad.
What Else Should I Add?
If you want to truly replicate the Olive Garden salad, there is no need to add any extra ingredients. However, just like any other salad, there is room to customize this dish. For instance, I’m always tempted to add shredded carrots or sliced cucumbers to my salads. Vegetables like that would work well in this recipe. If you want a little more spice and kick, you could add a few banana peppers. However, I suggest not going overboard with off-recipe ingredients, if you want to experience the authentic flavors of an Olive Garden salad.
INGREDIENTS
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
- 1/2 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup whole black olives, pitted
- 1/3 cup pepperoncini peppers
- 1 cup garlic croutons
- 1/2 cup Italian dressing, plus more as needed
- 5 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine
Mix lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives, pepperoncini, and croutons in a bowl.
Dress
Add Italian dressing and toss.
Serve
Top with Parmesan cheese.
Devour!
How to Make Ahead and Store
An Olive Garden salad is best when consumed within 2 hours of preparing it. If you expect there to be leftovers, avoid mixing the croutons with the other ingredients because they will get soggy. You can store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to a day or two, but keep in mind the veggies are likely to wilt.
Serving Suggestions
If you’re making an Olive Garden salad, you might as well make an Italian dish as the main course, right? If you want to go all out, I suggest making classic lasagna, or perhaps an Easy Vegetable Lasagna. Another great Italian dish that goes well with this salad is Baked Chicken Parmesan. You might also consider making any type of pasta you like and covering it with homemade Alfredo Sauce. Finally, if you want to go the extra mile and recreate the soup, salad, and breadsticks from Olive Garden, make this salad, find some breadsticks, and then check out this recipe for the Best Minestrone Soup.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 Roma tomatoes sliced
- 1/2 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup whole black olives pitted
- 1/3 cup pepperoncini peppers
- 1 cup garlic croutons
- 1/2 cup Italian dressing plus more as needed
- 5 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced red onion, black olives, pepperoncini peppers, and croutons.
- Drizzle Italian dressing over the salad and toss to coat evenly. Optionally, add more dressing, depending on your preferences.
- Sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese over the salad and serve immediately.
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
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