What's Actually In The Chocolate Lasagna At Olive Garden?

An Italian provision hot spot and one of the top casual dining restaurants in the United States, Olive Garden is the place to go for laid-back Alfredo plates, creamy soups, unlimited breadsticks, and generous pours of unpretentious wines. Like most mainstream chain restaurants, Olive Garden also offers desserts on its menu. Among the more familiar items, like strawberry-topped cheesecake and tiramisu, customers can find something more peculiar: chocolate lasagna. A paradoxical name for a dessert, it wouldn't be so surprising if you weren't sure exactly what goes into such a zany sweet treat.

Spoiler alert — it's chocolate. But there's more to it, and don't worry, there's no ricotta involved. In fact, Olive Garden's chocolate lasagna doesn't feature any of the ingredients found in its savory counterpart. Instead, it gets its name from its layered presentation. Olive Garden's chocolate lasagna is made with stacked sheets of chocolate cake, creamy chocolate mousse, and crushed wafers, all topped with decadent, drippy chocolate sauce. 

Like savory lasagna, chocolate lasagna offers multiple flavors and textures in one forkful. The mousse, which comes together with whipped cream or egg whites infused with chocolate and custard or ganache, offers a light, airy, and creamy contrast to the moist cake and craggy wafer crumbles, while the chocolate sauce provides a silky, full-bodied finish. This unique Olive Garden dessert is vegetarian-friendly but includes dairy products not suitable for vegans. Similarly, because it features layers of cake, it's not a great option for gluten-free foodies.

When you have a craving for something rich, chocolatey, and dynamic, Olive Garden's chocolate lasagna is great as a solo order. But if you're stopping in at the Italian chain restaurant for a more well-rounded meal, pair the aptly named yet quirky dessert with one of Olive Garden's best dishes.

The bold and luxurious taste of chocolate cake contrasts nicely with lighter-tasting dishes like Olive Garden's shrimp scampi, fried calamari, herb-grilled salmon, or eggplant Parmigiana, all of which leave room for the heartier flavors found in the multi-dimensional dessert. To match the richness of chocolate lasagna, pair it with creamy dishes like chicken Alfredo or ravioli carbonara. Hearty, meat-based options can also stack up to the intense chocolate flavors of the sweet lasagna, making meatballs Parmigiana or a 6-ounce sirloin top-notch options for enjoying before ordering the dessert. As for drinks, pair Olive Garden's chocolate lasagna with rich red wines like a Cabernet or Chianti.

Dare we suggest indulging in a slice of true lasagna before enjoying this chocolatey iteration? Just make sure you have a place to lie down and nap after. Although chocolate lasagna has nothing to do with savory, saucy, meaty lasagna, it's presented similarly, making its name is a clever play on words and a nod to the restaurant's Italian roots.