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Best Low-Calorie Olive Garden Orders in 2026

The best low-calorie Olive Garden orders in 2026, from Shrimp Scampi and minestrone to Lighter Portions pastas, with official calories and protein.

Reviewed by Menu Scan Editorial TeamLast reviewed 6 min read

The short answer

The best low-calorie order at Olive Garden in 2026 is a bowl of Minestrone with the dinner Shrimp Scampi: about 600 calories and 34 grams of protein, based on Olive Garden's nutrition guide. For more protein, the Grilled Chicken Margherita is 650 calories with 65 grams. A dinner Fettuccine Alfredo, by comparison, is 1,220 calories before breadsticks.

Olive Garden is easy to overdo. A few breadsticks, a creamy pasta and a dessert can pass 2,500 calories in one sitting. But the menu also has full dinners under 650 calories, if you know which ones to pick.

Here's what to order, using the numbers in Olive Garden's nutrition guide, which lists items as served unless noted. For the general rules behind these picks, see our guide to healthy Italian restaurant orders.

What is the lowest-calorie meal at Olive Garden?#

The lowest-calorie full dinner entrees at Olive Garden are the Shrimp Scampi and the Spaghetti with Marinara, both at 490 calories. For a lunch-size plate, the Spaghetti with Marinara is 370 calories. Here are the lightest entrees in the guide:

Entree Calories Protein Sodium
Spaghetti with Marinara (lunch) 370 11 g 970 mg
Cheese Ravioli with Marinara (Lighter Portions) 440 25 g 1,330 mg
Shrimp Scampi (lunch) 460 20 g 1,020 mg
Shrimp Scampi (dinner) 490 29 g 1,120 mg
Spaghetti with Marinara (dinner) 490 15 g 1,290 mg
Lasagna Classico (Lighter Portions) 500 29 g 1,290 mg
Herb-Grilled Salmon 610 45 g 1,360 mg
Chicken Parmigiana (Lighter Portions) 630 36 g 1,970 mg
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (dinner) 640 26 g 1,050 mg
Grilled Chicken Margherita 650 65 g 2,120 mg

Nutrition from Olive Garden's U.S. nutrition guide (version US_083126), checked October 2026. Breadsticks, soup and salad are extra. Lunch and Lighter Portions items may not be offered at every location or time of day.

What is the best low-calorie meal at Olive Garden?#

The best low-calorie meal at Olive Garden pairs a broth soup with a lighter entree. These meals are added up from Olive Garden's published values:

Order Calories Protein
Minestrone + Shrimp Scampi (dinner) 600 34 g
Minestrone + Cheese Ravioli with Marinara (Lighter Portions) 550 30 g
Minestrone + Grilled Chicken Margherita 760 70 g
Salad with Signature Italian Dressing + Herb-Grilled Salmon 760 48 g
Pasta Fagioli + Lasagna Classico (Lighter Portions) 650 37 g

Minestrone with Shrimp Scampi is the lightest full dinner here at about 600 calories. If you want the most protein for the calories, the Grilled Chicken Margherita has 65 grams for 650 calories, about 10 grams per 100 calories. Its catch is sodium: 2,120 mg, close to the FDA's 2,300 mg daily limit on its own.

How many calories are in Olive Garden breadsticks, soup and salad?#

One Olive Garden breadstick with garlic topping is 140 calories, and a plain breadstick without the topping is 130. Those add up fast: three breadsticks are 420 calories, almost as much as a Lighter Portions Cheese Ravioli.

The soups and salad are lighter than most people expect:

  • Minestrone: 110 calories, 5 grams of protein.
  • Pasta Fagioli: 150 calories, 8 grams.
  • Zuppa Toscana: 220 calories, 7 grams.
  • Chicken & Gnocchi: 230 calories, 11 grams.
  • Salad with Signature Italian Dressing: 150 calories. Without dressing it's 70, and the Low-Fat Italian Dressing is 30 calories per fluid ounce versus 80 for the regular.

A good rule: pick soup or salad, and stop at one breadstick.

Are Olive Garden's Lighter Portions low in calories?#

Mostly, yes. The Lighter Portions section of Olive Garden's guide lists smaller versions of classic pastas, and several land at or under 500 calories:

  1. Cheese Ravioli with Marinara: 440 calories, 25 grams of protein.
  2. Lasagna Classico: 500 calories, 29 grams (the dinner size is 940).
  3. Cheese Ravioli with Meat Sauce: 500 calories, 29 grams.
  4. Chicken Parmigiana: 630 calories, 36 grams (the dinner size is 1,020).
  5. Five Cheese Ziti al Forno: 630 calories, 24 grams.

Not every lighter portion is light, though. The Lighter Portions Fettuccine Alfredo is still 920 calories, and the Spicy Alfredo Fettuccine is 1,000.

Which Olive Garden sauce has the fewest calories?#

Marinara has the fewest calories of the Olive Garden pasta sauces, at 150 calories for the portion served with an entree. The guide lists the others at:

  • Meat Sauce: 300 calories.
  • Five Cheese Marinara: 400 calories.
  • Creamy Mushroom Sauce: 860 calories.
  • Alfredo Sauce: 870 calories.
  • Spicy Alfredo Sauce: 980 calories.

On the Create Your Own Pasta menu, spaghetti (340 calories) with marinara (150) and grilled chicken (130 calories, 26 grams of protein) comes to about 620 calories and 42 grams. Swap the marinara for Alfredo and the same plate is about 1,340 calories. Words like "creamy" and "Alfredo" are some of the clearest menu words that signal hidden calories.

What should you skip at Olive Garden when counting calories?#

Skip the Alfredo dishes, the fried appetizers and the big combination plates. These are some of the highest-calorie items in the guide:

  1. Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo: 1,980 calories.
  2. Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo: 1,580 calories.
  3. Tour of Italy: 1,550 calories.
  4. Chicken Alfredo with grilled chicken: 1,480 calories.
  5. Shrimp Fritto Misto appetizer: 1,280 calories and 5,010 mg of sodium.
  6. Lasagna Fritta appetizer: 1,130 calories.

Desserts add a lot too. The Chocolate Lasagna is 980 calories and the Warm Italian Doughnuts are 810, while the Tiramisu is 470. A Coke adds 140 calories; a Diet Coke or unsweetened tea adds none. A glass of red wine is 160 calories.

How do you stay on a calorie deficit at Olive Garden?#

Decide on the whole meal before the breadsticks arrive. Pick one starter (soup or salad), one lighter entree, and either one breadstick or a drink with calories, not both. A meal of Minestrone, Shrimp Scampi and one breadstick is about 740 calories, which fits most calorie-deficit days. The FDA notes that food prepared away from home generally provides more calories, sodium and saturated fat than meals eaten at home, so a plan helps.

For more on planning around restaurant meals, our guide to eating out on a calorie deficit covers how to budget the rest of the day.

At an Italian place without posted nutrition, Menu Scan AI can help. Snap the menu with your iPhone and it estimates calories, protein, carbs and fat for each dish from the menu descriptions, then labels the best matches for your goal. The app is free to download; its listing says an annual subscription is required for full access, including menu scanning and AI nutrition analysis.

Frequently asked questions#

What is the lowest-calorie entree at Olive Garden?#

The lunch Spaghetti with Marinara is the lowest-calorie entree in the guide at 370 calories. Among dinner entrees, the Shrimp Scampi and the Spaghetti with Marinara are tied at 490 calories.

How many calories are in an Olive Garden breadstick?#

One breadstick with garlic topping is 140 calories, according to Olive Garden's nutrition guide. A plain breadstick without the garlic topping is 130 calories.

Is Olive Garden's Shrimp Scampi healthy?#

It's one of the lighter dinners on the menu: 490 calories with 29 grams of protein and 1,120 mg of sodium. Paired with a bowl of Minestrone, it's about 600 calories.

What is the highest-protein low-calorie dish at Olive Garden?#

The Grilled Chicken Margherita has 65 grams of protein for 650 calories. The Herb-Grilled Salmon has 45 grams for 610 calories and less sodium (1,360 mg versus 2,120 mg).

How many calories are in Olive Garden's soup and salad?#

The soups range from 110 calories (Minestrone) to 230 (Chicken & Gnocchi) per serving, and the salad with Signature Italian Dressing is 150 calories.

Sources#

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