Many might claim that Olive Garden defines Italian-American restaurants. Serving classic
dishes like Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna, Chicken Marsala, and Stuffed Shells, the eatery is
known for its bustling yet relaxed atmosphere and the free breadsticks that come with every
entrée order. One of the restaurant's signature dishes — the Chicken Alfredo – helped
put this chain on the map. Basically, the dish contains just three main components:
Alfredo sauce, chicken, and fettuccine pasta. Despite its simplicity, it's still made today
from a decades-old recipe.
Chicken Alfredo is a dish filled with creamy, cheesy goodness mixed with fettuccine and
topped with chicken and parsley. If you're looking to make Italian Alfredo sauce, the
recipe calls for a mixture of butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese. The creamy, rich,
Americanized version of Alfredo sauce that we know and love is an alternate take on the
Italian version with the addition of cream or milk.
Olive Garden's website describes their Chicken Alfredo as consisting of a sauce made from
butter, cream, and parmesan cheese poured over fettuccine pasta. It's then topped with
sliced chicken and garnished with parsley. The chain claims the sauce is made fresh from
scratch daily, and according to a company spokesperson, it also contains about three
to four cloves of minced garlic and Romano cheese.
The dish has been a customer favorite since the restaurant opened in 1982 and is a permanent
staple on the menu. In fact, the item has been so successful, the recipe hasn't changed
since it first appeared.
There are numerous online reviews of Olive Garden's Chicken Alfredo raving about the
dish. TripAdvisor reviewer Rick K. says,
"The Chicken Alfredo was the best I've ever had, anywhere."
TripAdvisor's Eric Z writes,
"Olive Garden to me, is the only place I can get my Chicken Alfredo the way I like it,
creamy and tasty. Nobody else makes it like they do."
And Yelp's Kimberly Q. says,
"Today I had Chicken Alfredo and finished all of it even though the portion was big
because it was so delicious."
This signature pasta may have won so many diners over because of its complementary blend
of ingredients. According to PopSugar, fettuccine is the best pasta for Alfredo sauce because
the width of the noodles allows for the rich sauce to adhere well to the pasta. They also
note that chicken is one of the best toppings for fettuccine Alfredo because the light meat
contrasts well with the heaviness and thickness of the sauce.
"Mmm, that alfredo really hit the spot"
While the Alfredo sauce may draw diners in, the dish wouldn't be what it is without fettuccine.
Interestingly though, the pasta isn't prepared in the same way you might make it in your
own kitchen. According to Business Insider, Olive Garden cooks do not salt the water before
boiling the noodles because salting the pots could risk voiding the cookware's warranties.
One investor was vehemently opposed to this practice, stating,
"The first step of Pasta 101 is to salt the water."
Eater reports that the chain does not cook its pasta al dente either, instead, opting
to cook it until it is soft in order to please customers.
Of course, the recipe wasn't always reserved for pasta. The Chicken Alfredo Pizza Bowl
was added to the lunch menu in 2019 and featured the same grilled chicken and Alfredo sauce
you know and love, only it was served on top of a pizza crust. Sadly, it no longer graces
the chain's menu.
All that flavor comes with a price, however. Olive Garden's Chicken Alfredo has a ton of
calories. According to Eat This, Not That!, the dish contains 1,570 calories, 95 grams
of fat, 2,290 milligrams of sodium, 96 grams of carbs, and 81 grams of protein. The FDA
recommends consuming less than 2,300 mg of sodium in one day and that a person should
consume an average of 2,000 calories per day. The chain recognizes the latter statistic,
stating at the bottom of its Amazing Alfredos section of the menu,
"2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, but calorie needs vary."
That said, you wouldn't want to eat Chicken Alfredo for every meal every day, but you
can't go wrong with it as a treat every once in a while. With a winning combination like
this, the Italian-American chain found a lasting menu item that has kept diners coming back
for more.
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