Olive Garden will never be healthy, but these 25 dishes have the most calories on the menu

Olive Garden has many signature dishes, but it’s perhaps most famous for its breadsticks. The Italian food restaurant chain won over fans with its unlimited breadsticks deal, even as some investors criticized the policy for being wasteful.

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From a nutritional perspective, the health benefits of these breadsticks are questionable. Each individual breadstick, and its garlic-butter spread, contains 140 calories, 25g of carbs and 460mg of sodium. While that may not seem like a lot, we all know how easy it is for one breadstick to turn into two or five.

Regardless, the breadsticks are far from the restaurant’s most caloric items. Using information from Olive Garden, HealthGrove, a health research site powered by Graphiq, set out to find the 25 most caloric items on the menu. In the event of a tie, menu items with more sodium are ranked higher. Of course, calories aren’t the only factor that determines a food item’s nutritional value. To provide more context, we also list each menu item’s total fat, sodium and carbs.

Unsurprisingly, many of the top items on this list contain cream-based sauces, such as carbonara or Alfredo. Perhaps more surprising is how frequently chicken-based dishes appear on the list. While it’s true that chicken is normally a healthier alternative to beef or pork, when it’s doused in cheese sauce and fried, the health benefits start to disappear.

*Note: Dinner portions are used for items that appear on both the lunch and dinner menus. This list does not consider all seasonal or limited time only items.

25. Zeppoli

Calories: 810
Fat: 28 grams
Sodium: 510 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 119 grams

24. Ravioli di Portobello

Calories: 820
Fat: 46 grams
Sodium: 1,150 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 73 grams

23. Fried Mozzarella

Calories: 860
Fat: 59 grams
Sodium: 1,870 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 48 grams

22. Cheese Ravioli with Meat Sauce

Calories: 860
Fat: 46 grams
Sodium: 2,190 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 65 grams

21. Classic Calamari Appetizer

Calories: 870
Fat: 56 grams
Sodium: 2,400 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 67 grams

20. Black Tie Mousse Cake

Calories: 880
Fat: 54 grams
Sodium: 290 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 89 grams

19. Lasagna Classico

Calories: 930
Fat: 53 grams
Sodium: 2,070 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 56 grams

18. Asiago Garlic Alfredo Sauce

Calories: 940
Fat: 91 grams
Sodium: 1,320 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 14 grams

17. Stuffed Chicken Marsala

Calories: 950
Fat: 58 grams
Sodium: 1,950 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 33 grams

16. Chicken Marsala

Calories: 970
Fat: 43 grams
Sodium: 1,910 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 71 grams

15. Fettuccine Alfredo

Calories: 1,010
Fat: 56 grams
Sodium: 850 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 97 grams

14. Sausage Stuffed Giant Rigatoni

Calories: 1,020
Fat: 60 grams
Sodium: 2,740 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 58 grams

13. Eggplant Parmagiana

Calories: 1,060
Fat: 54 grams
Sodium: 1,990 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 113 grams

12. Chicken Parmigiana

Calories: 1,060
Fat: 52 grams
Sodium: 2,980 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 86 grams

11. Lasagna Fritta

Calories: 1,070
Fat: 71 grams
Sodium: 1,650 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 73 grams

10. Braised Beef and Tortelloni

Calories: 1,120
Fat: 58 grams
Sodium: 2,370 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 83 grams

9. Shrimp Alfredo

Calories: 1,150
Fat: 69 grams
Sodium: 1,490 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 92 grams

8. Five Cheese Ziti al Forno

Calories: 1,220
Fat: 71 grams
Sodium: 2,160 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 103 grams

7. Chicken Scampi

Calories: 1,260
Fat: 72 grams
Sodium: 1,990 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 105 grams

6. Lobster Ravioli

Calories: 1,300
Fat: 88 grams
Sodium: 2,780 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 79 grams

5. Steak Gorgonzola-Alfredo

Calories: 1,380
Fat: 85 grams
Sodium: 2,810 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 88 grams

4. Northern Tour of Italy

Calories: 1,420
Fat: 82 grams
Sodium: 2,570 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 108 grams

3. Chicken Alfredo

Calories: 1,480
Fat: 94 grams
Sodium: 1,480 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 95 grams

2. Tour of Italy

Calories: 1,520
Fat: 96 grams
Sodium: 3,250 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 92 grams

1. Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara

Calories: 1,590
Fat: 114 grams
Sodium: 2,410 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 78 grams

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