Can You Actually Eat Gluten-Free At Olive Garden?

The Olive Garden experience is one of pure delight, so long as you don't mind the occasional tattooed breadstick. There's a little something for everyone on the Olive Garden's menu, from a selection of soups and appetizers and their famously tasty salads and breadsticks to the limited-time-only, customizable Never Ending pasta bowl. But what about people who live the gluten-free life, either due to gluten sensitivity or celiac disease — is there anything for them at these restaurants, which are known for their carb-heavy offerings?

The Olive Garden does offer a gluten-sensitive menu, though it is quick to point out that it makes no claims that its food is actually gluten-free. Instead, the chain provides items that consist of gluten-sensitive, or non-gluten-containing ingredients, and has cross-contamination protocols in place, but the gluten-sensitive foods are still prepared in a shared kitchen where cross-contamination is possible. For this reason, people who experience adverse reactions to even the slightest hint of gluten are advised to use caution and their own best judgment when dining at the Olive Garden.

The Olive Garden actually has a decent selection of gluten-sensitive items, starting with its pasta-less Zuppa Toscana soup (its main starch is potato) and house salad, provided you ask for no croutons. Its popular Italian salad dressing (which Olive Garden actually sells bottled) is also made out of non-gluten containing ingredients, though again, it's processed in a shared facility.

There are five adult entrees on the gluten-sensitive menu: Rotini pasta with marinara (the gluten-free pasta is made primarily out of brown rice flour), rotini with meat sauce, the 6-ounce sirloin, grilled chicken parmigiana, and the herb-grilled salmon. And there are three for kids, including grilled chicken with rotini, rotini with marinara, and rotini with meat sauce. Some entrees, including the steak and the salmon, as well as all three of the kids' meals, come with a side of broccoli, and the kids can swap out the green veg for grapes.

There are a few other items on the Olive Garden's menu that are also gluten-free, like its Italian sausage and sauteed shrimp (both of which can be added as a protein for a Create Your Own Pasta dish using gluten-free rotini). There are also French fries, but where those are concerned, the restaurant chain is refreshingly transparent about the fact that it does not have dedicated gluten-free fryers.

As anyone who has eaten gluten-free for any period of time will tell you, there is a lot of advocating for yourself involved when dining out. A 2018 study found that many foods listed as gluten-free actually contain an excessive amount of gluten. So if you're dining at the Olive Garden, let your server know that you have gluten sensitivities or celiac disease so that they can inform the kitchen staff to take special care when making your food. You can also choose to dine during non-rush hours, so the cooks can take more time to prepare your food safely.

Before you head out to eat, you might also call the restaurant and ask about the kitchen staff's cross-contamination-prevention protocols, which should at least include changing gloves and minimizing contact with wheat-containing ingredients by using clean pots and pans, sanitizing cooking surfaces, etc. If an Olive Garden employee seems hesitant or unsure, that could be a sign that you should perhaps eat elsewhere.

Ultimately, if you do have celiac disease or are very gluten sensitive, Olive Garden probably isn't the very best option for dining out due to all the possible ways your food could end up cross-contaminated. However, if you have only minor gluten sensitivities, you should be able to enjoy a nice meal along with all your wheat-enjoying dinner companions.