The Secret To Olive Garden's Iconic Breadsticks Is Almost Too Simple

When most people go to Olive Garden, it isn't just the pasta dishes that they look forward to — it's also the famous breadsticks, which the chain has been serving to customers since 1982. The restaurant's menu has changed a lot over the years, but judging by a 1988 commercial reposted on YouTube, it appears the breadsticks have remained exactly the same since then.

You'd think that Olive Garden's recipe would have some sort of magical ingredient, or at least be made from scratch every day, but a self-identified Olive Garden server revealed on TikTok that neither is the case. Instead, as she demonstrated in her viral video, the breadsticks come bagged and pre-baked. Much to the surprise of the people in the comments, the only thing employees need to do before serving them to customers is heat them up in the oven for four minutes, brush on some melted butter, and season them with garlic salt.

It's no longer a secret that Olive Garden's breadsticks aren't made in-house, but where the restaurant actually gets them from isn't common knowledge. According to Darden Restaurants — the company that owns Olive Garden and a number of other chains — Turano Baking Company is the longtime supplier of its breadsticks. The same company also supplied Olive Garden's cookies back when they were on the menu and is responsible for Bahama Breeze's similarly iconic Cuban rolls. Turano also has a garlic and herb version of its breadsticks, but it seems Olive Garden prefers to add its own seasoning to the plain ones.

Technically, only restaurants can purchase these breadsticks directly from Turano, though a few retailers do sell them in bulk. If you're in the mood for some Olive Garden breadsticks, your best bet is to just order a batch from Olive Garden — after all, they are unlimited. You can even buy them unbaked through the restaurant's website.

If you plan on recreating Olive Garden's — or rather Turano's — breadsticks at home, you should know that they aren't like traditional Italian breadsticks, also called grissini. While grissini are made with dough that's similar to pizza crust dough, Olive Garden's breadsticks are made with a yeasted dough. This allows them to rise and become fluffy rather than crispy and thin like grissini.

There are plenty of tasty copycat recipes out there, but many of them are slightly off because of the seasoning. For starters, the butter that gets brushed on top is actually a vegan soy butter, according to a former employee who commented under one of the many copycat recipes on TikTok. In an interview with Cosmopolitan, another Olive Garden employee added that the garlic salt they sprinkle on top isn't the same as the store-bought kind, but is instead Olive Garden's own blend. It's hard to say whether the butter and garlic salt make that much of a difference, but considering the breadsticks have been a staple on the menu since the '80s, it's safe to say it definitely plays an important role in the flavor.