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Updated October 20, 2026
Our Famous House Salad

Olive Garden Our Famous House Salad

$8.99 290 cal Soups, Salad & Breadsticks

Our Famous House Salad served with our signature Italian dressing (served on the side). Includes two breadsticks.
Olive Garden Menu View on OliveGarden.com

About This Dish

Olive Garden Our Famous House Salad is the salad that comes unlimited with every dine-in entrée and is sold on its own for $8.99, with 290 calories, 17 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium per serving. The bowl is a mix of crisp lettuce, red onion, tomato, black olives, pepperoncini and croutons, tossed with the signature Italian dressing; the to-go version comes with the dressing on the side and two breadsticks in the bag. It is listed on the Soups, Salad & Breadsticks menu and is what guests mean when they ask for the Olive Garden salad.

Most of the calories and nearly all of the sodium come from the dressing and the croutons, which is why the Gluten Sensitive menu offers a version without croutons at the same $8.99 price. The salad scales up too: a jumbo family-size bowl that serves 6 and includes a dozen breadsticks is $24.49 on the family-style and catering menus. If you dine in and order any entrée, you do not need to buy the $8.99 salad at all; it is included and refilled on request, alongside the choice of soup. The signature dressing is also sold in bottles at the restaurant, which is the shortcut most home cooks use for the copycat version.

Nutrition Facts

Per serving

290 Calories
17g Total Fat
1380mg Sodium

* Nutritional values are approximate and may vary. Last updated Oct 20, 2026

How to Copycat Olive Garden Our Famous House Salad at Home?

Prep: 15 min Cook: 0 min Total: 15 min Easy

Two things make the restaurant salad taste the way it does: the lettuce is served very cold and very crisp, and the dressing is a creamy Italian, not a clear vinaigrette. The mayonnaise and parmesan in the dressing give it body so it coats the leaves instead of sliding off. Make the dressing first so the flavors have time to blend, keep the greens in the refrigerator until the last minute, and toss just before serving so the croutons stay crunchy.

Ingredients

4 servings

Salad

Copycat Italian dressing

Instructions

0 / 4

  1. Whisk all the dressing ingredients together (or blend for 20 seconds for a smoother, emulsified dressing). Refrigerate at least 30 minutes so the garlic and herbs mellow.

    5 min

    The dressing tastes sharp right after mixing; it rounds out as it chills.

  2. Wash and dry the lettuce thoroughly, chop into bite-size pieces and chill in the refrigerator until serving.

    5 min

  3. In a large chilled bowl, combine the lettuce, red onion, tomato wedges, olives and pepperoncini.

    3 min

  4. Just before serving, add the croutons, pour over about half the dressing and toss well. Add more dressing to taste and finish with grated parmesan.

    2 min

Pro Tips

  • Dry the lettuce well; wet leaves water down the dressing and go limp.
  • Chill the serving bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes for that restaurant-cold first bite.
  • The dressing keeps a week in a jar in the refrigerator, so make a double batch.

Variations

No croutons (gluten-sensitive)

Leave out the croutons, as Olive Garden does on its Gluten Sensitive menu, and add extra olives for crunch.

Jumbo family bowl

Triple the recipe and serve in one big bowl with a dozen breadsticks for a group, like the $24.49 family-size salad.

Lighter dressing

Replace half the mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt and skip the sugar.

Serving Ideas

  • Serve with warm garlic breadsticks for the full soup-salad-breadsticks experience.
  • Pair with a bowl of Zuppa Toscana or Pasta e Fagioli for a light dinner.
  • Add grilled chicken or shrimp on top to make it a main course.
  • The dressing doubles as a marinade for chicken breasts.
  • Keep dressing on the side for lunchboxes and toss when you eat.

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Find Our Famous House Salad Near You

Visit one of Olive Garden's 900+ locations to enjoy the Our Famous House Salad at $8.99.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Our Famous House Salad is $8.99 as a stand-alone to-go item, and it includes two breadsticks. When you dine in and order an entrée, the salad is included and unlimited at no extra cost. The jumbo bowl that serves 6 is $24.49.
A serving has 290 calories, 17 grams of fat and 1,380 milligrams of sodium with the dressing. Ask for the dressing on the side and use half of it to bring the salad closer to 150 calories; skipping the croutons trims it further.
Lettuce, red onion, tomato, black olives, pepperoncini peppers and croutons, tossed with Olive Garden's signature Italian dressing. Grated parmesan is added at the table on request. The Gluten Sensitive menu version leaves out the croutons.
Yes, for dine-in guests who order an entrée. Servers bring a family-style bowl to the table and refill it as often as you ask. The unlimited offer does not apply to to-go or delivery orders, which is what the $8.99 price is for.
Toss chopped iceberg and romaine with thin-sliced red onion, tomato wedges, black olives, pepperoncini and croutons, then dress with a copycat Italian dressing made from olive oil, white wine vinegar, mayonnaise, parmesan, garlic and Italian seasoning. The full recipe with the dressing quantities is on this page and takes 15 minutes.

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