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When you think of big, national restaurant franchises, fresh, scratch-made food probably isn't the first thing that comes to mind. For the sake of efficiency and consistency, it's no secret that many big name restaurant chains rely heavily on pre-made food that arrives at each location frozen and is merely microwaved to order. It wouldn't be unreasonable to guess that Olive Garden, the massive Italian-American restaurant chain with over 900 locations, follows a similar process. But by most accounts, the majority of items on Olive Garden's menu are made in-house, from scratch, on a daily basis — including its signature soups.
Many of us are pretty accustomed to eating soup that comes from a can, and would probably agree that canned soup doesn't have quite the same ick factor as, say, an entire chicken fajita meal defrosted in the microwave and dumped onto a plate. But despite the fact that restaurants might be better able to pass off premade soup as fresh than some other dishes, soup is evidently not an area where Olive Garden is slacking.
According to numerous Olive Garden marketing materials, the soups (as well as the sauces) are made fresh in-house each day — and the testimony of several purported Olive Garden employees on social media backs this up. So, if you're suddenly craving a bowl of pasta e fa*gioli, we don't blame you.
On itsmenus, Olive Garden describes the soups as "homemade" and regularly claims that its many soups and sauces are made "the Italian way" — by hand, in house, on a daily basis. The brand has posted videos of the inner workings of an OG kitchen, where viewers can clearly see chefs cooking with fresh ingredients. Being the frequent butt of jokes for itsless-than-traditional take on Tuscan fare, it's debatable if Olive Garden is actually cooking anything "the Italian way," per se. But there's decent evidence that its soups, authentic or not, are indeed made fresh daily.
It's been reported, based on the testimony of an anonymous representative of the brand who spoke to PopSugar, that all soups "are made by hand and from scratch every morning using fresh, whole ingredients such as kale, peppers, and squash."Additionally, alleged Olive Garden employees have shared detailed descriptions online of how things work in the kitchens and how the soups, in particular, are made. According to one self-identified server on Quora, "a large vat of each flavor is started very early in the morning, then vacuum sealed in large bags and kept in a warmer until needed. This keeps it warm and fresh without burning/overcooking."
The Real Deal...probably
One Redditor, supposedly a former Olive Garden general manager, affirmed that the soups are made in house, and offered some additional insight: Individual ingredients, like the sausage that goes in the Zuppa Toscana, may arrive frozen or, in the case of vegetables, pre-chopped, but the actual cooking happens onsite. (Of course, it's always worth taking anonymous social media posts with a grain of salt, but this particular poster's credibility is bolstered by the fact that they were able to share specific recipes for numerous Olive Garden dishes.) Other supposed Olive Garden employees have gone on Reddit to say similar things, vouching that the majority of dishes, including the signature salad and soups, are made in-house, with the one universally agreed upon exception being the desserts, which arrive frozen.
Regardless of how you personally rate the quality of Olive Garden's soups, you can't deny that the Italian-inspired chain hits the mark in terms of quantity, thanks to its famous Never Ending Soup, Salad, and Breadsticks deal. Next time you sit down for a bowl (or two, or seven) of minestrone (which happens to be vegan, by the way), rest assured that it was most likely made fresh that same day.
Our soup and sauce masters create dishes by hand and from scratch, every day. With fresh, whole ingredients like kale, peppers and squash. Because they know cooking that way – the Italian way- everything tastes better. to everything they make.
The soups are made in-house daily—but all the desserts are frozen. The pasta, however, is made to order. The restaurant only uses microwaves for heating dipping sauces and warming desserts. Otherwise, everything is pan fried, deep fried, or grilled.
The worst order at Olive Garden is…the Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo. "Overall, the Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo is the worst choice due to its excessive calories, saturated fat, sodium, and lack of nutritional balance," Sabat tells us.
Our food recipes do not use added MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) and, based on information from our suppliers, MSG is not added to any of the ingredients we use. However, certain foods and ingredients naturally contain glutamate or glutamic acid (such as tomatoes, milk, cheese, mushrooms and certain yeasts and proteins).
Zuppa Toscana – Olive Garden Copycat (VIDEO) Zuppa Toscana is Olive Garden's most popular soup. This one-pot, homemade Zuppa Toscana recipe is hearty and loaded with Italian sausage, kale, bacon and potatoes.
One of the things she mentioned is that Olive Garden uses microwaves to heat up pre-made items. "Yes, they do use a microwave," the former server is said to have alleged about Olive Garden. "Your potatoes, your veggies, certain sauces, and some of your meats are just microwaved and put on your plate."
According to Olive Garden's menu, the lunchtime Alfredo is around 650 calories, while a dinner portion is closer to 1,310 — nearly double the size of the lunchtime serving.
The Olive Garden's Minestrone has 100 calories per bowl. If you eat a 2,000-calorie diet, the soup amounts to 5 percent of your total daily intake. Other nutritional values for the Minestrone include 1 g of total fat, 1,020 mg of sodium and 3 g of total carbohydrates.
We use highly refined canola oil or highly refined soy oil in our fryers. Based on information from our suppliers, these oils are highly refined and do not include any soy protein.
Pasta e fa*gioli - White and red beans, ground beef, fresh tomatoes and tubetti pasta in a savory broth. Minestrone (V) - Fresh vegetables, beans and pasta in a light tomato broth - a vegan classic.
Our signature garden salad and freshly baked breadsticks with Never Ending servings of your choice of homemade soup. Never Ending refills of Soup, Salad & Breadsticks available dine-in only.
Any leftover chicken gnocchi soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, microwave in 30-45 second increments, stirring occasionally until hot. It will be thicker the second time around, so feel free to splash in a little water or milk to get it to that perfect consistency.
Canned soups are typically pre-cooked and ready to consume right out of the can. However, heating them on the stove can help enhance the flavors and ensure that the soup is heated to your desired temperature.
--Soup should be the first of six courses.It should be followed by fish, the entree, salad, dessert and coffee. Six is the maximum number of courses for even the most elaborate dinner; and for an informal luncheon, two or three courses are sufficient--soup, entree and dessert.
Introduction: My name is Patricia Veum II, I am a vast, combative, smiling, famous, inexpensive, zealous, sparkling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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