The Best Soup To Order At Olive Garden

Between its never-ending pasta bowls and unlimited breadsticks policy, opportunities to satiate an endless appetite abound at Olive Garden. But despite the maximalist approach, Olive Garden enthusiasts know that the real value of a bottomless house salad or bowl of soup derives from one simple fact: most options are, quite frankly, delicious.

Still, when you're availing yourself of the possibility of endless soup, you want to think carefully about which soup you're ordering. We don't blame you if your focus has been elsewhere (like on the lasagna or five cheese ziti) and we certainly don't fault you for not ordering all four to compare them one-to-one. Luckily for us, food writer Alex Springer taste-tested and ranked each Olive Garden soup, focusing not only on the obvious — like if they taste good (and look good) — but also on Olive-Garden-specific factors, like how well each soup pairs with (infinite) breadsticks. Among the crowded field of pasta e fagioli, minestrone, and chicken and gnocchi, zuppa Toscana stood out as the clear winner thanks to its robust flavor and pleasantly variable texture. 

Sensational soups pack flavor into every spoonful and zuppa Toscana satisfies that brief. It features spicy Italian sausage and lots of garlic and onion to create a flavorful, nuanced base. Russet potatoes add cozinesss, and are sliced thin to prevent the soup from feeling heavy or stodgy. Olive Garden also leaves the skin on its potatoes, which adds an earthier flavor and a hint of texture. Freshly chopped kale adds color and heft and helps to round out the soup, nutritionally.

Consistency-wise, zuppa Toscana is thicker than the minestrone thanks to the starch from the potatoes and heavy cream. But it's still thinner than the chicken and gnocchi. Zuppa Toscana lands in the sweet spot between creamy and brothy, which is the perfect consistency for breadstick dipping. Plus, the strong flavors of salty, spicy sausage and slightly bitter kale play well against a breadstick's buttery, sweet, and mellow taste.

When it comes to looks, the runner-up chicken and gnocchi lost points for its one-note appearance. It's true that zuppa Toscana looks a bit similar, but the broth itself has a rich, appetizing color and the dots of potato, sausage, and kale throughout will have you eager to dive in. Head to Olive Garden and put in your order for zuppa Toscana — then see just how many bowls you can make it through.