Last Updated on October 15, 2025 by Mandy Tyler, M.Ed., RD, CSSD, LD

Healthy Options at Olive Garden for Athletes

Olive Garden is a popular Italian food restaurant that athletes and teams frequently visit for pre- and post-game meals. Knowing what healthy options at Olive Garden to order can help set athletes up for sports nutrition success.

Let’s take a look at general tips for making nutritious choices at Italian food restaurants. Then we will explore the Olive Garden menu to identify healthy options for athletes

Making Healthy Choices at Italian Food Restaurants

As a sports dietitian nutritionist, I quickly learned that it is helpful to provide athletes with practical guidance on the best options to order when dining out. 

Tips that can help athletes with making healthy choices at Italian food restaurants include:

• Choose a healthy appetizer: Opt for a broth-based soup, salad, shrimp cocktail, or tomato bruschetta over fried calamari, fried ravioli, or fried mozzarella cheese sticks.
• Select lean proteins: Order chicken, seafood, or turkey meatballs for a lean protein option with your meal. Italian sausage and meatballs tend to be higher in saturated fat and less healthy choices for athletes.
• Be aware of high-fat sauces: Select a marinara or tomato-based sauce for your pasta. Alfredo sauces, cream sauces, and butter-based sauces tend to be higher in saturated fat.
• Order a healthy side item: Vegetable side items, such as roasted asparagus, steamed broccoli, or grilled squash, are nutritious choices to enjoy with your meal.
• Choose a nutritious beverage: Hydration is important for athletes. With your meal choose water, unsweet tea, low-fat milk, or 100% fruit juice over sodas, lemonade, sweet tea, or alcoholic beverages.

Healthy Options at Olive Garden for Athletes

Now that you have ideas for building a nutritious meal at an Italian food restaurant, let’s take a look at the Olive Gaden menu to identify healthy options.

All the nutrition information included in this article comes from the Olive Garden website. Menu options and nutrition information may change as products are updated. For the most current nutrition information, refer to the Olive Garden website.

A Note on Sodium in Olive Garden Menu Items

It is important to note that many of the Olive Garden menu items discussed below are high in sodium. In general, consuming sodium in the diet can help athletes with replacing the sodium lost in sweat.

However, athletes who have been advised to restrict sodium in their diet should work with a sports dietitian nutritionist to develop an individualized plan for meeting their sports nutrition needs.

Healthy Olive Garden Soups and Salad Options

To start the meal, Olive Garden has several healthy soup choices that athletes can choose from. Since soups provide both fluid and sodium, they can support athletes with meeting their hydration needs.

My top choices for healthy soups at Olive Garden are listed below.

Minestrone Soup

Olive Garden’s Minestrone soup contains fresh vegetables, beans, and pasta in a light tomato sauce.

• Minestrone Soup: 110 calories, 17 g carb, 5 g protein (per serving)

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

The Pasta e Fagioli soup is my personal favorite at Olive Garden. The soup contains ground beef, beans, fresh tomatoes, and pasta in a savory broth.

• Pasta e Fagioli Soup: 150 calories, 16 g carb, 8 g protein (per serving)

Pro Tip: Olive Garden’s Chicken & Gnocchi soup as well as the Zuppa Toscana soup are higher in saturated fat and less healthy options for athletes.

Enjoy Olive Garden’s Famous House Salad with the Meal

Along with the soup, athletes can enjoy Olive Garden’s house salad that is served family-style at the table. The salad includes lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, black olives, pepperoncini peppers, croutons, and parmesan cheese.

I recommend ordering the salad with the Italian salad dressing served on the side. This will allow individuals at the table to control the amount added to their salad.

• Olive Garden’s House Salad (without dressing): 70 calories, 11 g carb, 2 g protein (per serving)
• Olive Garden’s House Salad (with Italian dressing): 150 calories, 13 g carb, 3 g protein (per serving)

Pro Tip: Olive Garden also offers a low-fat Italian dressing that athletes can order as a topping for their salad.

Are the Olive Garden Breadsticks Healthy?

The Olive Garden breadsticks can be an easy way for athletes to add carbohydrates to their meal.

Carbohydrates provide athletes with the energy needed to perform at their best. Thus, including breadsticks with an athlete’s pre-game meal can provide them with energy for the upcoming competition.

Olive Garden offers the option to order their breadsticks without the garlic topping, which I recommend to athletes (especially pre-competition). This allows athletes to add carbohydrates to their meal, with less saturated fat.

• Breadstick with garlic topping (1 breadstick): 140 calories, 25 g carb, 4 g protein
• Breadstick without garlic topping (1 breadstick): 130 calories, 25 g carb, 4 g protein

Pro Tip: While athletes can enjoy Olive Garden’s breadsticks with their meal, they should be mindful of portion sizes. I suggest having 1-2 breadsticks with your salad and then saving room for your meal.

Healthy Olive Garden Pasta Options

Ordering pasta at Olive Garden can be a great pre-game meal choice for athletes. The carbohydrates will provide athletes with energy for the upcoming competition.

Following a game, a meal rich in carbohydrates can support athletes with meeting their recovery nutrition needs.

Olive Garden has several healthy pasta options that athletes can enjoy as part of their sports nutrition meal plan.

Olive Garden’s Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

The spaghetti with meat sauce at Olive Garden is a good choice for athletes, providing both carbohydrates and protein. The meat sauce, made with pan-seared beef and Italian sausage, is served over spaghetti.

• Spaghetti with meat sauce (lunch portion): 360 calories, 51 g carb, 14 g protein
• Spaghetti with meat sauce (dinner portion): 640 calories, 85 g carb, 26 g protein

Spaghetti with Marinara

Olive Garden’s spaghetti with marinara sauce is a great, high-carb option for athletes following a vegetarian or vegan diet. The homemade tomato marinara sauce comes served over spaghetti.

• Spaghetti with marinara sauce (lunch portion): 290 calories, 50 g carb, 9 g protein
• Spaghetti with marinara sauce (dinner portion): 490 calories, 83 g carb, 15 g protein

Pro Tip: Athletes not following a plant-based diet can boost the protein content of the pasta by adding either sauteed shrimp or grilled chicken as a topping.

Shrimp Scampi

Olive Garden’s shrimp scampi is one of my personal favorite pasta choices. The pasta features shrimp sauteed in garlic sauce, along with asparagus, tomatoes, and angel hair pasta.

• Shrimp scampi (lunch portion): 460 calories, 52 g carb, 20 g protein
• Shrimp scampi (dinner portion): 490 calories, 52 g carb, 29 g protein

Build-Your-Own Healthy Pasta at Olive Garden

A popular option at Olive Garden is the Create Your Own Pasta dish. Athletes can build a healthy pasta by choosing from the items below.

• Pasta: Rigatoni, spaghetti, angel hair, gluten-free rotini
• Sauces: Marinara, meat sauce
• Toppings: Grilled chicken, sauteed shrimp, broccoli

Healthy Olive Garden Entrée Options

There are several healthy, protein-rich entrée options available on the Olive Garden menu. My top choices for athletes are listed below.

Herb-Grilled Salmon: Healthy Olive Garden Seafood Entrée

Olive Garden’s herb-grilled salmon is a great way for athletes to include both protein and healthy omega-3 fatty acids in their meal.

The salmon comes served with parmesan garlic broccoli, providing a healthy way for athletes to add veggies to their meal.

• Herb Grilled Salmon: 610 calories, 9 g carbs, 45 g protein

Pro Tip: Olive Garden tops the salmon with garlic herb butter. For a healthier option, I recommend athletes request the sauce be served on the side so they can control the amount added to their meal.

Grilled Chicken Margherita

The grilled chicken margherita is another entrée option that I frequently recommend to athletes when eating at Olive Garden.

The entrée includes grilled chicken breasts topped with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil pesto and a lemon garlic sauce.

Similar to the salmon, the grilled chicken margherita comes served with a side of parmesan garlic broccoli.

• Grilled Chicken Margherita: 650 calories, 15 g carbs, 65 g protein

Does Olive Garden Have Gluten-Free Options?

Athletes following a gluten-free diet can find a variety of options at Olive Garden that meet their nutrition needs. The Olive Garden website provides a full list of gluten-sensitive options that guests can enjoy.

It is important to note that Olive Garden refers to their items as gluten-sensitive rather than gluten-free. Although Olive Garden has procedures in place to minimize cross-contact with gluten-containing items, they are prepared in a shared kitchen.

Thus, Olive Garden states that these items may not be suitable for individuals who are highly sensitive to gluten.

Gluten-Sensitive Options at Olive Garden

Olive Garden offers a gluten-free rotini pasta, which is a great way for athlete’s following a gluten-free diet to add carbohydrates to their meal.

Athletes can enjoy the gluten-free pasta topped with either marinara or meat sauce. In addition, the grilled chicken is gluten-free and can be enjoyed as a protein-rich addition.

The herb-grilled salmon, discussed above, is also listed as gluten-sensitive and is a nutritious option for athletes.

The house salad ordered without croutons is a healthy gluten-free addition to the meal. Athletes can also enjoy the broccoli as a healthy, gluten-free side item at Olive Garden.

Pro Tip: Since menu items and ingredient can change, always check with your server to ensure the item being ordered is gluten-sensitive and in line with your nutrition needs.

Catering a Team Meal from Olive Garden

If you are responsible for planning a team meal, Olive Garden catering can be a good option for both pre- and post-game meals as well as team dinners.

I often cater Olive Gardens Create Your Own Pasta Station for athletic teams using the healthy sauces and toppings discussed above. The catering size pans of spaghetti with meat sauce, spaghetti with marinara, or shrimp scampi are also great options.

When ordering the house salad, request the dressing be served on the side. I also always make sure to order plenty or breadsticks to go with the meal, as they are definitely a fan favorite!

Healthy Options at Olive Garden Athletes

You are now set with ideas for healthy options to order the next time you eat at Olive Garden.

For additional sports nutrition tips on dining out, check out my blog: 10 Healthy Options at Chick-fil-A.

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About the Author

Mandy Tyler is a Sports Dietitian Nutritionist in the San Antonio, TX area. She is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian, a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, a Licensed Athletic Trainer, and is a Certified Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine.  Mandy has experience working with athletes at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. She believes the key to reaching one’s full potential, both in everyday life and in sports performance, relies on a healthy nutritional foundation.