The Olive Garden Ordering Trick For Extra-Creamy Minestrone

Olive Garden's Never Ending Soup, Salad, & Breadsticks may just be one of the best things about the restaurant chain. In addition to the establishment's generous refill policy, patrons are also privy to dishes made fresh daily. This is particularly evident in Olive Garden's selection of homemade soups, including minestrone. While many diners would say that this tomato-based soup is just perfect on its own, there is a special hack you can use to thicken it up.

Next time you're enjoying a meal at the restaurant, ask your server if you can have a half portion of minestrone and a half portion of potato soup in the same bowl. The result is a much richer version of minestrone thanks to the creamier base within the potato soup. Keep in mind that not all Olive Garden restaurants may be able to accommodate this secret menu hack, as some locations may not carry potato soup. In this case, you can request that your minestrone be combined with another classic homemade soup from the establishment.

According to the Olive Garden menu, the chain's minestrone soup features a variety of hearty and filling ingredients. Along with the tomato-base that makes up the broth, minestrone also includes pasta, beans, and an assortment of wholesome vegetables that are always sourced fresh. While this combination of ingredients is admittedly delicious, they can be amplified by adding another classic homemade soup to the mix.

The restaurant also offers Zuppa Toscana (also known as Tuscan soup), which features a creamy base. Other ingredients include potatoes, kale, and Italian sausage for the perfect amount of spice. Keep in mind that adding a half portion of this soup to your minestrone alters its vegetarian designation thanks to the sausage. However, meat lovers are bound to appreciate the complex flavor imparted by the spicy sausage, as well as the creamier texture.

Now that you know how to enhance the flavors of Olive Garden's delicious soups, you may be wondering whether you can enjoy the establishment's Never Ending Soup offer to go. Officially, the deal is available for dine-in only. Despite that claim, some Olive Garden employees state otherwise.

As reported by Daily Dot, a customer at Olive Garden was filmed taking home a surprising amount of soup when enjoying the restaurant's Never Ending Soup, Salad, & Breadsticks deal. While the clip is no longer available online, it featured the person pouring soup into a container they appeared to have brought from home before ostensibly getting another refill. Commenters on the original video, many of whom claimed to be current or former servers, stated that they would provide to-go containers for customers to take home soup. As one put it, "As a [sic] OG server just tell me how much soup you want and I'll bring them all out to go."

Despite these claims, many customers commented that their Olive Garden locations denied their request for to-go soup, as it violates the chain's dine-in only policy. As a result, it appears that the practice varies from location to location, and perhaps even from server to server. The same variations possibly apply to soup customization, which means not every customer can take advantage of either the secret menu or to-go hacks. Of course, it never hurts to try, especially when freshly-made soup is at stake.