Olive Garden Dinner Menu with Prices & Calories 2026
Dinner at Olive Garden is a different experience from lunch. The portions are bigger, the menu is wider, and the whole thing moves at a pace that actually lets you sit down and eat rather than rushing back to work. Prices start at $12.99 and every meal includes the never-ending soup or salad plus classic breadsticks. That included soup or salad and the unlimited breadsticks arriving at the table before you have even looked at the menu properly, that is the Olive Garden dinner menu experience in two sentences.
This guide covers the full 2026 dinner menu with current prices, accurate calorie counts, honest opinions on what is worth ordering and what is not, the best deals available right now, and everything you need to know before you decide to go.
Olive Garden Dinner Menu with Prices 2026
The Olive Garden dinner menu covers the full range of what Olive Garden does, classic pastas, breaded chicken, grilled seafood, stuffed pasta, and the combination plates that let you try more than one thing in a single visit. Every dinner entrée comes with unlimited soup or salad and freshly baked breadsticks included in the price.
Dish
Price
Tour of Italy
$25.49
Chicken Alfredo
$21.49
Chicken Parmigiana
$19.99
Lasagna Classico
$19.99
Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno
$18.49
Eggplant Parmigiana
$17.49
Fettuccine Alfredo
$16.99
Herb-Grilled Salmon
$24.99
Shrimp Scampi
$21.49
Chicken Scampi
$21.49
Grilled Chicken Margherita
$19.99
Stuffed Chicken Marsala
$22.49
Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo
$21.49
Four Cheese Manicotti
$17.49
Three Meat Manicotti
$17.99
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
$14.99
Create Your Own Pasta
$13.99
Olive Garden Dinner Hours
Most locations open at 11:00 AM for lunch and close between 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM though hours vary. Dinner service begins at 3:00 PM when the lunch menu ends and runs until closing. On Friday and Saturday most locations extend to 11:00 PM to accommodate the weekend dinner rush.
Sunday is the exception, Olive Garden serves lunch from 11:00 AM and dinner through closing at most locations. Since there is no separate lunch window on Sunday, the full dinner menu runs from opening until close.
Day
Dinner Starts
Dinner Ends
Monday to Thursday
3:00 PM
10:00 PM
Friday
3:00 PM
11:00 PM
Saturday
3:00 PM
11:00 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM
10:00 PM
What Is Worth Ordering at Olive Garden Dinner Menu
This is the section most guides skip. Here is an honest read of the dinner menu rather than a description of every dish:
Order the Tour of Italy if you have never been
At $25.49 it is the most expensive standard entrée but it is also the most useful first visit order, Chicken Parmigiana, Lasagna Classico, and Fettuccine Alfredo on one plate tells you more about what Olive Garden does well than anything else you could pick. If you love all three you will be a regular. If you find the Alfredo too rich or the lasagna not quite what you expected, that information is worth having before you commit to a dish on your next visit.
The Chicken Alfredo is the most ordered for a reason
These are the most loved dishes so far in 2026, classic picks that keep people coming back for more. The Chicken Alfredo at $21.49 and 1,480 calories is not subtle. It is rich, heavy, and unambiguously indulgent. It also tastes exactly the same every time at every location which is either reassuring or boring depending on what you are looking for from a dinner out. For most people it is reassuring.
Herb-Grilled Salmon is the right call when you want to eat well
At 700 calories and $24.99 the salmon is the dinner for people who genuinely want something nutritious rather than just less bad. Try out Herb-Grilled Salmon, Minestrone Soup, or a soup and salad combo under 500 calories which are perfect without sacrificing flavor. It comes with broccoli and the preparation is straightforward, Mediterranean herb seasoning, grilled to order. It is the best dish on the menu for anyone who finds the pasta options too heavy for a weeknight dinner.
Stuffed Chicken Marsala is the underrated pick
Most people walk past this on the menu. At $22.49 and 890 calories it is chicken breast stuffed with Italian cheeses and sundried tomatoes in a mushroom marsala sauce, more complex than anything else on the dinner menu and the best choice for a date night when you want to order something that feels considered rather than default.
Skip the breadstick trap
The unlimited breadsticks are genuinely good and genuinely dangerous. A single breadstick is 140 calories. Most people eat three or four before their food arrives without thinking about it. If you are having a full dinner entrée this matters. If you are specifically coming for the Soup, Salad and Breadsticks combination then go ahead, but going into the dinner knowing this is worth something.
Olive Garden Dinner Calories - The Honest Guide
Most dinner entrées at Olive Garden run between 850 and 1,550 calories. This is before the soup or salad, before the breadsticks, and before any dessert. A complete Olive Garden dinner including one breadstick, a bowl of Zuppa Toscana, the Chicken Alfredo entrée, and a glass of Chianti comes to approximately 1,880 calories, a full day’s intake for many people in a single meal.
This is not a reason to avoid Olive Garden. It is a reason to go in knowing what you are actually ordering.
If calories matter to you, the dinner math looks like this:
Start with the lightest soup, Minestrone at 110 calories instead of Chicken and Gnocchi at 230 calories. One breadstick instead of three saves 280 calories. Choose the Grilled Chicken Margherita at 570 calories instead of the Chicken Alfredo at 1,480 calories. Skip the dessert or share it. That combination brings a complete Olive Garden dinner in at approximately 820 calories, a reasonable number for an evening meal at a sit-down restaurant.
If calories do not matter, the dinner math also looks like this:
Lasagna Fritta appetizer shared across the table. Zuppa Toscana to start. Tour of Italy as the main. Black Tie Mousse Cake shared for dessert. Two glasses of Chianti. This is approximately 2,800 calories per person and one of the most indulgent meals you can have at a national restaurant chain, but it is also genuinely enjoyable from the first breadstick to the last spoonful of mousse cake.
For the full calorie picture across every soup and salad option that comes included with dinner visit our Olive Garden Soups Menu page.
Olive Garden Dinner Specials and Deals 2026
The dinner pricing is what it is most of the time but Olive Garden runs promotions that change the value calculation significantly when they are available.
2 for $25
The 2 for $25 deal is a popular limited-time promotion offering 2 entrées and 1 shared appetizer or dessert. This combo provides excellent value for couples or friends. When this is running it is the most obvious dinner deal, two full dinner entrées plus a shared appetizer or dessert for $25 total works out to $12.50 per person for a complete sit-down Italian dinner. Check the app before visiting.
Buy One Take One
Order a qualifying dinner entrée and take a second one home for later at no additional charge. The most useful deal for solo diners or couples who want lunch sorted for the following day. Chicken Alfredo, Fettuccine Alfredo, and Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno are the most popular Buy One Take One selections because they all reheat well.
Never Ending Pasta Bowl
The Never Ending Pasta Bowl is available as a dine-in dinner promotion when running, unlimited pasta servings at a flat price with the choice of shape, sauce, and protein. The flat price makes sense if you genuinely eat multiple servings. One serving of pasta at the dinner price point covers the cost. Everything after the first bowl is pure value.
Happy Hour
Happy hour typically runs Monday through Friday, 3 PM to 6 PM, with discounted drinks and appetizers. Popular happy hour drinks include Italian margaritas, house wines, and seasonal cocktails typically priced between $5 and $8 during the offer window. This makes the first hour of dinner service, arriving at 3:00 PM, the best time to visit for customers who want a drink with their meal at the lowest possible price.
For the full drinks lineup and wine pairing suggestions visit our Olive Garden Drink Menu page.
Olive Garden Dinner for Special Occasions
Olive Garden handles celebrations better than most casual dining chains because the unlimited format and shared dishes make group dinners naturally social rather than a series of individual orders arriving simultaneously and disappearing.
Birthday dinners: The unlimited soup and salad format means the table is always full of food which creates the kind of relaxed atmosphere that birthday dinners need. Signing up for the Olive Garden eClub rewards birthday members with a promotional offer valid for 30 days around their birthday.
Date nights: The Stuffed Chicken Marsala and Herb-Grilled Salmon are the two best date night orders, both feel more considered than the standard pasta options and signal that you put thought into what you ordered rather than defaulting to Chicken Alfredo. The wine program starting at $8.99 per glass with Pinot Grigio, Chianti, and Moscato available makes a proper wine pairing accessible without requiring wine expertise.
Family dinners: The dinner menu and the Olive Garden Family Meals options work best together for groups of four or more, individual dinner entrées for the adults who want their own specific dish and a family pan for the children or less decisive diners at the table.
Olive Garden Dinner for Takeout and Delivery
Every dinner entrée is available for takeout through the Olive Garden app, website, or by phone. Delivery is available through DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub at participating locations.
The dinner takeout experience is solid for pasta dishes that travel well, Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno, and Chicken Parmigiana all hold up during transport better than cream-based pastas. The Chicken Alfredo thickens significantly as it cools and requires a splash of water and gentle reheating to restore properly.
Soup, salad, and breadsticks are included with dinner takeout orders though the unlimited refill policy obviously does not apply outside of dine-in. Breadsticks are best consumed within 30 minutes of pickup. they lose the garlic butter warmth that makes them special fairly quickly once they cool.
FAQs
What time does Olive Garden serve dinner?
Most Olive Garden locations across the USA open around 11:00 AM and close between 9:30 PM and 10:00 PM depending on the city and customer traffic. Dinner begins at 3:00 PM when the lunch menu ends and runs through to closing. Friday and Saturday service typically extends to 11:00 PM.
What is on the Olive Garden dinner menu?
The full dinner menu covers Classic Entrées including Chicken Alfredo, Lasagna Classico, Tour of Italy, Chicken Parmigiana, Herb-Grilled Salmon, Shrimp Scampi, and more than a dozen pasta and protein combinations. Every dinner entrée includes unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks.
How much does Olive Garden dinner menu cost?
Prices start at $12.99 and every meal includes the never-ending soup or salad plus classic breadsticks. Most dinner entrées fall between $16.99 and $25.49 with the Create Your Own Pasta starting at $13.99 as the most affordable option.
Does Olive Garden have dinner specials?
Yes. The 2 for $25 deal offers 2 entrées and 1 shared appetizer or dessert at participating locations. The Buy One Take One and Never Ending Pasta Bowl also run as seasonal dinner specials. Check the Olive Garden app for current promotions at your nearest location.
What is the most popular Olive Garden dinner?
The Chicken Alfredo is consistently the most ordered dinner entrée at every location. The Tour of Italy, Lasagna Classico, and Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno are the next most popular choices.
Does Olive Garden have happy hour at dinner?
Happy hour typically runs Monday through Friday, 3 PM to 6 PM, with discounted drinks and appetizers. Confirm with your local restaurant as availability varies by location.
Can I order Olive Garden dinner for delivery?
Yes. Dinner is available through the Olive Garden app, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub at participating locations. Every order includes soup or salad and breadsticks.
Final Thoughts
Olive Garden dinner menu is what it has always been, generous, consistent, and built around the kind of Italian-American comfort food that most people grew up thinking was Italian food. That is not a criticism. The Chicken Alfredo has been on the menu since the beginning because it works. The unlimited breadsticks keep coming because people keep eating them.
What makes the dinner experience worth planning around in 2026 is the value of what comes with every entrée. Every meal includes the never-ending soup or salad plus classic breadsticks. At dinner that included starter, your choice of four freshly made soups with unlimited refills, combined with the breadsticks and a full-sized entrée makes the per-person value genuinely stronger than most alternatives in the same price range.
For the complete picture of everything available at Olive Garden including the full appetizer, dessert, and drink menus visit our Olive Garden Menu with Prices homepage.
Important Notice:
OliveGarden-MenuPrices.com is an independent informational website. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with Olive Garden® or Darden Restaurants, Inc. If you need assistance with restaurant reservations, online ordering, gift cards, customer support, or any official services, please contact Olive Garden through its official website.
Website link: https://olivegarden.com/