Olive Garden's Most-Requested Dishes Return To Menus Today

Christmas is still a few weeks away, but Olive Garden is giving customers an early holiday present by bringing back its two most highly-requested dishes of all time.

The Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo and Stuffed Chicken Marsala are officially back at Olive Garden restaurants nationwide starting today, Dec. 2. Both popular dishes were removed from menus during the COVID-19 pandemic, much to the chagrin of fans. According to a press release shared with Eat This, Not That!, they're the top two requested Olive Garden items both in restaurants and on social media.

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"In fact, guests contact Olive Garden every day asking to bring these items back," the release added.

The Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo features grilled sirloin tips over fettuccine alfredo tossed with gorgonzola blue cheese and spinach. Finished with sun-dried tomatoes and a balsamic drizzle, this hearty dish will start at $20.99.

plates of Olive Garden's Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo and Stuffed Chicken Marsala on table — Courtesy of Olive Garden

Meanwhile, the Stuffed Chicken Marsala features grilled chicken breast that's stuffed with Italian cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes, topped with a creamy marsala mushroom sauce, and then served with mashed potatoes. This meal will start at $19.99.

Olive Garden had previewed its plans to bring the popular dishes out of retirement during a Sept. 19 earnings call with investors, but didn't reveal an exact launch date at the time. Rick Cardenas, CEO of Olive Garden's parent company Darden Restaurants, said that they wanted to "give their guests another reason to visit in the back half of this fiscal year" by adding new options like the Stuffed Chicken Marsala and Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo.

"Both have been recast with higher quality ingredients and easier execution for their restaurant teams. And both fill a gap on Olive Garden's menu for center of the plate protein-forward dishes," he added.

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The relaunch is great news for Olive Garden fans who've never gotten over losing the Stuffed Chicken Marsala and Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo in the years since they were discontinued. Fans are already celebrating the return of the two dishes on social media, and they seem especially excited to see the Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo once again.

"The Steak Gorgonzola is my all time favorite! I am so excited that it's coming back!" one fan wrote on Reddit recently.

"I stopped going after they took it off the menu," another said.