Every Single Olive Garden Pasta—Ranked by Nutrition

Olive Garden has been a family favorite since opening its doors in 1982, serving Italian-inspired comfort food at more than 900 locations nationwide. Known for its signature breadsticks and generous salad portions, Olive Garden is perhaps most famous for its pasta dishes. But while these dishes satisfy cravings for traditional Italian flavors, they can also be nutritional landmines.

Loaded with high-calorie ingredients, hefty levels of carbs, and sodium, Olive Garden's pasta dishes come in massive portions that significantly raise calorie counts. The rich, creamy, and cheesy sauces and toppings further add artery-clogging saturated fat and sodium, making these meals nutritional challenges.

That's why we've decided to rank every single Olive Garden pasta—from the least to the most nutritious—to help you navigate the menu with ease. To create these rankings, we analyzed each pasta dish based on total calories, saturated fat, sodium, and carbohydrates.

Below, you'll find 17 pasta dishes ranked from worst to best, based solely on the nutritional profile of the dish itself—excluding breadsticks, salad, or beverages. To keep calories in check, we recommend splitting a dish with a dining companion or saving part of it for another meal.

For more on exactly what you should be eating more of, here are the 12 Healthiest Dishes To Order at Olive Garden.

Olive Garden Pasta Dishes—Ranked from Worst to Best

• Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo
• Chicken Alfredo
• Tour of Italy
• Seafood Alfredo
• Ravioli Carbonara
• Shrimp Alfredo
• Chicken Marsala Fettucine
• Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara
• Fettuccine Alfredo
• Five Cheese Ziti al Forno
• Spaghetti & Meatballs
• Chicken Scampi
• Lasagna Classico
• Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce
• Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
• Shrimp Scampi
• Spaghetti and Marinara

The Unhealthiest Pasta on Olive Garden's Menu: Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo

The unhealthiest pasta dish at the Olive Garden is made with cheese-filled tortelloni baked in Alfredo with a blend of cheeses and toasted breadcrumbs and topped with grilled chicken. The calories for the Chicken Tortellini Alfredo alone are the amount recommended for an entire day! It provides 380% and 162% of the recommended daily max for saturated fat and sodium, respectively. It's just too much in terms of portions of each of the ingredients, especially when slathered in a creamy sauce.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

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Chicken Alfredo

Creamy Alfredo sauce served with fettuccine pasta and topped with grilled chicken is what you'll get in this entrée. Once again, it's the creamy sauce and large portion of the pasta that just makes it unhealthy. Plus, 81 grams of protein is too much—your body maximizes protein usage at around 30 grams at a time.

Tour of Italy

The Tour of Italy provides three Olive Garden classics in one entrée including chicken parmesan, lasagna, and fettuccine Alfredo. With all this creamy goodness come loads of calories, 250% of the recommended daily amount of saturated fat, and 140% of the recommended daily amount of sodium. And let's not forget the over six slices of bread equivalent to the amount of carbs here.

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Seafood Alfredo

The Seafood Alfredo is made with creamy Alfredo sauce tossed with fettuccine, and sautéed shrimp and scallops. Although shrimp and scallops are healthier, low-calorie options, the amount of high saturated fat ingredients used (like cream and butter) and the portion size of the pasta just make this dish over the top.

Ravioli Carbonara

This cheese ravioli dish is smothered in a creamy sauce with bacon and topped with a three-cheese blend. Although the calories are lower than some other menu options, the saturated fat is 315% of the recommended daily max and the sodium is 115% of the recommended daily max.

Shrimp Alfredo

This dish includes creamy Alfredo sauce tossed with fettuccine and sautéed shrimp. The Alfredo sauce, made with parmesan, cream, and butter are all ingredients that contribute to the calories, saturated fat, and sodium. The saturated fat is quite high providing 275% of the recommended daily max.

Chicken Marsala Fettucine

The Chicken Marsala Fettuccine features chicken sautéed with spinach and mushrooms in a creamy marsala mushroom sauce, served over fettuccine. At 1,400 calories—without including breadsticks, salad, or sides—this dish delivers 70% of the daily calorie recommendation based on a 2,000-calorie diet. The creamy sauce contributes to staggering levels of saturated fat and sodium, both of which exceed the daily recommended limits.

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Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara

The Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara combines sautéed chicken, shrimp, and spaghetti in a creamy sauce with bacon and roasted red peppers. While it includes a variety of food groups, the carb content is excessive—equivalent to five slices of bread. Additionally, the saturated fat is over twice the recommended daily limit, making this dish a less-than-ideal choice for a balanced meal.

Fettuccine Alfredo

This classic dinner entrée of creamy Alfredo sauce served over fettuccine is certainly not the healthiest. With close to three times the recommended daily amount of saturated fat and 53% of the recommended daily max of sodium, ordering this dish regularly can contribute to an increased risk of heart disease.

Five Cheese Ziti al Forno

The Five Cheese Ziti al Forno is a baked blend of cheeses, pasta, and a five-cheese marinara. The calories are 59% of the daily amount (based on a 2,000-calorie diet), while the saturated fat and sodium are 180% and 106% of the recommended daily max.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

This dinner option is served with three meatballs over meat sauce or marinara. With the meat sauce, the calories are 56% of the recommended daily amount (based on a 2,000-calorie diet) and the saturated fat is 135% of the recommended daily max.

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Chicken Scampi

Here you'll get chicken sautéed with bell peppers and red onions in a creamy scampi sauce served over angel hair pasta. A creamy sauce means out of control saturated fat and sodium, but you also get the equivalent of seven slices of bread with the amount of carbs in this dish.

Lasagna Classico

This classic dish is made with layers of pasta, Parmesan, mozzarella, pecorino Romano and meat sauce. It's more towards the top of the list with fewer calories than many of the creamy sauce options, but it's still 150% and 86% of the recommended daily max of saturated fat and sodium, respectively.

Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce

This entrée comes with ravioli filled with cheese and topped with marinara sauce or meat sauce. Compared to the daily recommended maximums, it's still 95% and 103% for saturated fat and sodium, respectively.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Meat sauce served over spaghetti is the better option. The calories are less than most options and the saturated fat is 35% of the recommended daily max. Be mindful of what you pair with this dish if you're aiming to keep the entire meal healthy— steamed veggies and limiting the bread can help!

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Shrimp Scampi

This classic dish is made with sautéed shrimp in garlic sauce, tossed with asparagus, tomatoes, and angel hair pasta. It's second on the better-for-you side as the calories, saturated fat, and even carbs are more reasonable than most other options.

The Healthiest Pasta on Olive Garden's Menu: Spaghetti and Marinara

This vegetarian Olive Garden pasta has a reasonable amount of calories and only 5% of the recommended daily amount of saturated fat—less than any other pasta option. The dish itself is still not balanced with 68% of the calories coming from carbs. To better balance it, order grilled chicken or veggies on the side.