The Olive Garden Soup You're Better Off Not Ordering

Soup can be one of the most reliable and satisfying options on any restaurant menu. That's especially true for Olive Garden, which prides itself on its soup selection as a key part of its famous unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks. However, one choice on the chain's soup menu is best avoided: familiar, classic minestrone.

When Mashed sampled the restaurant's fare, the minestrone was the only one of the four standard menu soups to land on the list of worst dishes we tried at Olive Garden. A dish that dates back to Roman times, minestrone is a tomato-based vegetable soup that played a key part of the cuisine of poorer Italians for generations before becoming a familiar American option. 

While food preferences are always subjective, items that landed low on Mashed's ranking did so for reasons ranging from poorly flavored or textured sauces to overcooked meat. In the case of the minestrone, it lost points for "overzealous spicing" and "watery broth" along with a poor ratio of beans to veggies. The best remark the reviewer could muster was that the soup was a decent option for dipping breadsticks.

Don't despair if you find yourself at Olive Garden craving a warm, comforting bowl of soup. Mashed recommends the Zuppa Toscana, a creamy soup packed with spicy Italian sausage, kale, and potatoes. It's tasty enough that it's even worth making at home with our copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana recipe. Diners can also try out the unique pasta e fagioli (made from multiple types of beans, ground beef, and pasta in a savory tomato broth) or the hearty, creamy chicken and gnocchi soup, which highlights its namesake ingredients alongside fresh spinach.

Even if the minestrone doesn't live up to expectations, the chain remains a top spot for many soup lovers. This is partly because Olive Garden's soups are made fresh every day. Former employees have confirmed on social media outlets like TikTok and Reddit that massive batches of each are freshly made daily and reheated in appropriate quantities as needed. That's a far cry from using the same batch for multiple days or relying on pre-made bags or cans.