Did you know that we in Eastern Canada do not have an Olive Garden? At least, not that I can find using their locations finder. We certainly don’t have one in Nova Scotia. Apparently there are eight locations in Western Canada. But everyone in the country knows a lot about the restaurant chain from the mentions on popular tv shows. So, I thought it would be a good idea to see if there was anything there I could eat the next time I venture south. Time to learn how to eat keto at Olive Garden.
Olive Garden has 850 restaurants world-wide. They are an Italian, family-style restaurant. Wait, doesn’t Italian mean pasta? Yes it does. And pasta is not keto-friendly. So, I wasn’t overly optimistic about our options at this particular restaurant.
Keto at Olive Garden Options
The website has a great nutritional page that lists their appetizers, main courses, sides, desserts and drinks. It’s easy to read and easy to find. They also have a gluten-sensitive option and they list the nutritional information for those menu items as well. That’s where I found a couple of great options.
Like East Side Marios (which we do have in Canada), Olive Garden offers all you can eat bread sticks and salad or soup with the purchase of a main course. Obviously, the bread sticks are off limits if you stay on keto here. But their house salad seems okay with 9 grams of net carbs. If you get the house salad without the croutons, it is 5 grams of net carbs. It comes with an Italian dressing, which is 2 grams of carbs. You can also get it without the dressing or get it on the side and use a little less of it.
For your main course, they have a couple of options on their gluten-sensitive menu that would work. There is a 6 ounce sirloin steak that is served with a side of parmesan garlic broccoli. They also have a herb grilled salmon that is served with the broccoli. These would be your best bets.
My Picks to Eat Keto at Olive Garden
If I was going to Olive Garden, I would get the house salad with Italian dressing and the steak with broccoli on the side. It sounds like a pretty good option to me, and it would keep me within my carb count for the day. So, even at a pasta-heavy restaurant like this, you have a couple of options if you want to stay on-plan.
Olive Garden has had some bad press in the past. At one point, they cut their full-time positions drastically to reduce the amount of health benefits they had to pay. They were also rumoured to support Donal Trump during his campaign – a rumour they vehemently deny and have shown to be incorrect. They also were called out for advertising that they had a training facility in Tuscany, Italy. In fact, they do sent some of their managers, trainers, and cooks to Tuscany to get some training in an Italian restaurant during their off season. Honestly, that’s still pretty cool and lends a feeling of authenticity to the franchises.
Take the Good With the Bad
Any large-scale restaurant chain is going to have its challenges. I mean, it’s 850 restaurants, so not every single one is going to be steller. But one positive thing they all do is take surplus food each day and provide a weekly donation to local nonprofits. According to their website, they have donated over 40 million pounds of food to their local communities.
Olive Garden seems like a popular spot for many people. It’s good to know that when you are out with friends, there are some keto-friendly options for you.
Wendy
