Olive Garden Salad is one of the best things about the Olive Garden. The Olive Garden salad is so fresh and made up just for you. You can make the Olive Garden salad at home; we will show you how. It is easy to make a salad just like the restaurant.
Olive Garden Salad
Have you ever wondered how to put together this famous salad? It is relatively easy to prepare this salad. I like to use a bag of American salad mix to start with, but then you need the special ingredients. What makes this salad special? It is all of the wonderful extra ingredients in it that make it extra special. I don’t know about you, but when we grew up eating salad at home, we would add tomatoes, and if we were fancy we would add some sliced cucumber.
Pitted black olives add the right touch to this. I usually have a can or two of these black olives on hand. For the peppers, you have a couple of choices. If you like the peppers hot, add pepperoncini. If you like those peppers mild, you could use banana peppers.
Red onions make this salad special. Slice your red onions very thin. When red onions are freshly sliced they can be a little hot, the air oxides them and takes away the heat. You will want your salad piled high with croutons. If you have some leftover bread, you could always toast up the bread and make them fresh. Finally, don’t forget the Olive Garden salad dressing. The salad dressing is sold everywhere now, or you can make your Olive Garden Salad dressing with this copycat recipe.
Olive Garden Salad Mix – use our recipe, and make this at home.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces iceberg salad blend
- 1/2 red onion sliced
- 6 pitted olives
- 4 pepperoncini (if you like sweet pepper, use banana peppers)
- 1/2 cup croutons
- 1 tomato, quartered
- Freshly grated Romano or Parmesan cheese (optional)
- Olive Garden Salad Dressing
Instructions
- Chill your salad bowl in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Empty the bag of salad into the bowl. Top the salad with the onion, olives, pepperoncini, croutons, and tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated cheese, if you like. Add plenty of Olive Garden salad dressing and mix well. Serve immediately.
Cherrie
That’s a shame they use iceberg lettuce which has no nutritional value whatsoever. I would probably use romaine like someone suggested.
Barbara
actually they use a mix of iceberg and romaine lettuce, along with roma tomatoes, red onion, black olives, and pepperocinis. I know this as I use to work for them. Then add your croutons. Not sure on all the spelling but you get the idea
Stephanie
Thank you, I though that’s what I tried to write up in the recipe.
Judy
Check your local grocer….ours carries the Olive Garden brand salad dressing now. LOVE this salad.
Katy, Ca
Before OG changed their onions to raw red onions, they use to be a bright pink, thinly sliced, marinated onion that complimented the dressing wonderfully …do u have a recipe?
And before they started cutting large tomatoes, they used cherry tomatoes, tasted better.
I’m 53, n as a young girl these two items left a lasting impression…onions that were pretty n tasty….n learning how to fork a rolling tomato n trying not to squirt a tomato from my mouth. Lol
stephaniemanley
Thank you for your comment. I am sorry but I do not recall that their tomatoes were marinated. I don’t happen to have a recipe for these, they sound delicious though.
Lisa
I was so happy when they switched tomatoes, personally. I don’t like the cherry tomatoes. Your recipe sounds great, and we will try it aoon. Thanks!
Stephanie
Thank you. I hope you enjoy it.
Amanda ( The Kitcheneer)
This salad looks so good! I will have to make this for my family!
Renee(Renee'sKitchenAdventures
This looks delicious and spot on! I do love their salad and dressing! Yum!
Mike Arienti
Why are people raving about this? It’s frickin’ ICEBURG LETTUCE, some other veggies, old bread and factory-made Italian dressing!
stephaniemanley
It’s not for me to judge, its for me to recreate 😉
Donna
I love their dressing. We were just there last night and I noticed they also had very tiny slivers of red cabbage. On the dressing, I’d use Agave instead of the Corn Syrup. Thank you SO much for sharing this recipe. YEA!
Donna
Mike Arienti: When I look at a recipe, I will substitute ingredients for a similar one with a higher nutrition content. Anyone can change the lettuce, make their own croutons, but I wanted some idea of what they use in their dressing because I love the taste.
km
Is it just me, or is Leahbean16 extremely rude (and quite honestly a giant bitch)?
stephaniemanley
I thought they really liked the recipe.
CookingWizard
It’s Leahbean’s mean spirited comments to others post that are so rude…mental health issues I’m sure
Kelly McCulley
You can now buy the Olive Garden dressing at Wal-Mart or Sam’s club. Sam’s also carries the olive garden brand of croutons.
Stephanie
Thank you for sharing that info. I have seen it for sale now. My recipe came out long before they started to sell this in the store. I hope you don’t mind if I keep the recipe up :-P.
Jt
If u don’t want to make the dressing it is now available in two packs at Sam’s. (Walmart)
Kathy Patton-Bender
I have made this several times and EVERYONE LOVES it! The only change I make is that I use bagged Hearts of Romaine lettuce instead of the iceberg American mix as we enjoy that more as our choice of lettuce
stephaniemanley
I bet the romain lettuce is a very nice change in this recipe.
pammysue
I have been making this salad for years. there is no artichokes in this salad. but there is pepperoncini peppers. after purchasing the pepperoncini at different stores, I really prefer them from Gordon’s Food Store. They are not so bitter and taste great live theres. Also the tomato is a roma tomato they serve at Olive Garden
Leahbean16
unbeilable so good my family and i are preparing the olive garden salad for our dinner
Leahbean16
unbeilable so good my family and i are preparing the olive garden salad for our dinner
stephaniemanley
I am so happy you can enjoy your favorite recipe at home!
Dena
I believe that Olive Garden’s salad has artichoke hearts in it?
Stephanie
I don’t think it has any artichoke hearts in it, but it sure would be tasty if it did have artichoke hearts in it.
Leahbean16
no you dork why would it and if it does than grose
Leahbean16
no you dork why would it and if it does than grose
bb
Leahgbean16 – do you usually post 2X??? LOL
Mary Heath, Augusta, GA
I asked 2 different people at the Olive Garden what kind of cheese do the use and both said Romano. Just thought you would like to know.
Thanks for the update! ~Stephanie
Leahbean16
but head
anonymous
Are you a 4 year old?
Leahbean16
but head
Shawna Morris
What?
Dude
They use pepperoncelli peppers, not banana peppers.
Rose
I’m pretty sure the recipe said that…and banana was an option to make it sweeter
Name (required)
thank you for this recipe I was too embarrassed to ask at the restaurant and so happy to see it on your website. thank you my family will be sooo happy! J
Anonymous
The peppers are supposed to be pepperoncini peppers and roma tomatoes sold at most grocery stores- Wal-mart, Kroger, Mejiers…etc. The dressing is sold at the Olive Garden Restaurant!
Shawna Morris
Just a FYI smart and final Carey s it.
Stacey
The cheese is actually grated Romano cheese.
Lizzy
They’re actually peppercini’s, which is a sweeter pepper.
Suz
banana pepper = sweet
pepperoncini = medium hot