Olive Garden FIVE Cheese Marinara
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This Copycat Olive Garden Five Cheese Marinara is a cheesy, tomato dream come true—creamy, bold, and ready to smother your pasta like it means it. With gouda, parmesan, romano, ricotta, and asiago, it’s basically the diva of red sauces!
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Okay – this one is a little funny – the 5th cheese is a mystery! The obvious four are Parmesan, Romano, Asiago and Ricotta – but what is #5? I don’t think it’s mozzarella because the sauce doesn’t have a cheese pull – so I went with Gouda – but you can use either.
- Tomatos – you’ll need 3 types of tomatoes: crushed, puree and diced to get the consistency of the restaurant marinara
- Onion – small sweet yellow onion
- Seasonings – garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, sugar
- Dairy – butter and half and half
- Flour – for thickening the alfredo
- Cheeses – Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, Ricotta, Gouda (or Mozzarella)
- You could also use Gruyere or Fontina Cheese instead of Gouda or Mozzarella
Make it Quicker & Easier
This really doesn’t take long – you can make the alfredo while the marinara simmers – but if you’re wanting to make it a little quicker – here are a few ideas:
- Super Easy – just mix a jar of marinara and a jar of alfredo – boom done.
- One Jar – use a jar of marinara but make the alfredo – it’s easy and tastes much better than jarred
- Jazz Up the Jars – if using jars, add fresh herbs (basil and garlic) and grated cheeses (Parmesan) to freshen up the flavor from a jarred sauce
- Cheese Blend – instead of buying all the cheeses just find an Italian cheese blend that has most of them to save money and time
How to make Olive Garden Five-Cheese Marinara Sauce
This is an easy recipe to make and I think it’s really great to know how to make these from scratch! No preservatives and you know everything that’s going in it! Plus it’s on the table in 40 minutes!
- SAUTE – Heat olive oil and add onions and garlic. Be sure to use a large pot but not cast iron because the tomatoes will react with it and make the sauce taste acidic.
- TOMATOES – add all your tomatoes and marinara seasonings and simmer for 30 minutes.
- PASTA – boil your pasta while marinara is simmering
- BUTTER – in a saucepan or skillet, melt butter and add garlic. Whisk in flour.
- DAIRY TIME – add in half and half and all cheeses – whisk until the sauce thickens and remove from heat.
- COMBINE – Pour your alfredo sauce into your marinara! Stir to combine and spoon onto pasta!
Stir it together with ziti pasta and top with mozzarella. Bake ziti in a baking dish for 15-20 minutes at 375º and you’ve got Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno! You can also use it as a dipping sauce for breadsticks just like Olive Garden does!
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More Olive Garden Sauce Recipes
Side Dish Recipes for Pasta
Olive Garden 5 Cheese Marinara
Ingredients
Marinara Sauce
Alfredo Sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 tsp flour
- 2 cups half and half
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1/4 cup Romano cheese grated
- 1/4 cup Asiago grated
- 1/4 cup Ricotta
- 1/4 cup gouda grated
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven (do not use cast iron, as the acidity of the tomatoes may make the sauce taste metallic) over medium heat.2 tbsp olive oil
- When the oil is hot, add onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add garlic. Cook until the garlic becomes translucent and very fragrant.1 small sweet onion, 5 cloves garlic
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, ground black pepper and sugar to the pot and stir to combine.28 oz crushed tomatoes, 28 oz tomato puree, 28 oz diced tomatoes, 2 tsp Italian seasoning blend, 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp sugar
- Lower the heat and place a lid on the pot. Simmer (not boil) for 25 to 30 minutes.
- While marinara is simmering, boil water for pasta and cook to package directions.
- When the pasta has about 4-5 minutes left, in a saucepan on medium heat, sauce butter and garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp garlic minced
- Whisk in flour2 tsp flour
- quickly add half and half and all cheeses to saucepan and stir frequently until the sauce begins to simmer. Remove from heat.2 cups half and half, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup Romano cheese, 1/4 cup Asiago, 1/4 cup Ricotta, 1/4 cup gouda
- Pour Alfredo sauce into marinara sauce and stir to combine.
- Drain pasta and serve with a large scoop of 5 cheese marinara. Sprinkle with basil and parmesan cheese.
