What Is Olive Garden Creamy Garlic Sauce?

Unlike Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce, the Creamy Garlic Sauce is lighter and doesn’t contain Parmesan cheese. It’s made with butter, plenty of fresh garlic, half and half and a little flour to thicken it. The result is creamy without being overly rich, which lets the garlic really shine.

How to make Olive Garden Creamy Garlic Fettuccine

This is a quick dish – you are juggling a couple things at once – but nothing is difficult. Cook the chicken while the pasta is boiling and then make your sauce and put it all together! The sauce comes together in about five minutes – which is always a dinner win!

1. SLICE chicken breasts horizontally so you have four thinner, even slices of chicken breast. Place chicken in a ziplock bag and pour in Italian dressing. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours (or overnight). 
2. BOIL a large pot of water on the stove. Add fettuccine and cook according to package directions. 
3. SAUTE – Heat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil. When oil is hot, remove chicken from marinade and add to skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden. Remove chicken to a covered plate to keep warm. 
4. DRAIN – When pasta is finished and drained, in the same pot, melt butter, over medium low heat. (You do NOT want the butter to BROWN.) Add in garlic and cook for 1 minute (no more!). 
5. WHISK in flour. Quickly add half and half, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir frequently until the sauce begins to simmer. Turn to medium low and let sauce thicken slightly. 
6. ADD in spinach and cherry tomatoes and stir until spinach is wilted. Add in drained fettuccine pasta and toss to coat. 
7. SLICE chicken breasts and serve over top of pasta.

Supplies Used

• Stock Pot – I love my HexClad stock pot – but this version is nonstick and affordable. It’s great for boiling pasta, making sauces and even deep frying!
• Pasta Bowls – I love these beautiful colored pasta bowls – but there’s also something to be said for simple and white!
• Nonstick Skillet – I love my Caraway nonstick skillet – it’s beautiful and functional!
• Silicone Whisk – when you’re making a sauce – you need a good whisk!

How to Store & Reheat Creamy Garlic Fettuccine

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days
• Reheat in microwave for 60 seconds or in a sauce pan with a splash of milk for 3-5 minutes.
• I don’t recommend freezing this pasta. Cream-based sauces can separate when thawed and reheated, which changes the smooth texture of the sauce.

Make It an Olive Garden Dinner

Here are other delicious recipes to make it an Olive Garden dinner night! But no breadsticks recipe – just buy the frozen ones!

• Olive Garden Salad & Dressing
• Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli
• Olive Garden Stuffed Ziti Fritta

How to Make Olive Garden Seafood Alfredo

For the LOVE – don’t buy jarred Alfredo!!!! It takes about 5 minutes to make homemade Alfredo sauce and it’s so much better! Once you’ve had this copycat Olive Garden recipe – you’ll never go back! Here’s how to make this amazing dish at home:

1. PASTA – Cook pasta according to directions on box. Drain and set aside. (Be sure to salt the water – I forgot and I could tell!)
2. PREP SEAFOOD – Rinse shrimp and scallops and pat dry. Season generously with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
3. SAUTE – In a large skillet, add olive oil and 2 tbsp butter over medium high heat. Once butter is melted, add shrimp and scallops and saute for 1-2 min on each side until opaque. Remove from pan and set aside. Lightly cover.
4. ALFREDO – In a saucepan over medium-high heat, Add remaining butter and garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
5. WHISK – Lower to medium heat and whisk in flour and quickly add milk, heavy cream, Parmesan and Romano cheese to saucepan and stir frequently until the cheese melts and incorporates into the sauce and it begins to simmer and thicken. Add salt & pepper and whisk to combine. Remove from heat.
6. TOSS – Toss pasta with Alfredo sauce. Top with shrimp and scallops and garnish with Italian seasoning and fresh parsley

Kitchen Tools for the Best Seafood Alfredo

You don’t have to have a Chef’s Kitchen to make restaurant-style Alfredo at home – a couple of good pans and a whisk is all you need! Here’s what I use:

• Rotary Cheese Grater – this is so handy especially for hard cheeses – you’ll be done in less than a minute!
• Silicone Whisk – these are invaluable – no scratching pans and they do the trick!
• Non-stick Skillet – I just got this Caraway skillet and love it! You barely need any oil!

How to Store & Reheat Olive Garden Seafood Alfredo

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
• Reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds
  • I would recommend taking the shrimp and scallops out of the Alfredo before reheating. They only need 20-30 seconds to reheat. Any more and they will turn into rubber!
• This is not a dish to freeze leftovers – dairy just doesn’t freeze well.

FAQs

• What seafood does Olive Garden use in their Alfredo? Olive Garden uses shrimp (tails off) and sea scallops in this Shrimp & Scallop pasta.
• Can I make Olive Garden Alfredo sauce from scratch? Yes! You can make this homemade Alfredo sauce from scratch in about 5 minutes!
• What’s the difference between sea scallops and bay scallops? Sea scallops are larger and meatier. Bay scallops are very small (1″) and a bit sweeter in flavor.
• Can I use frozen shrimp for Seafood Alfredo? You can – but you’ll need to thaw them first. It’s best to thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.

More Olive Garden Recipes

• Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi Pasta
• Olive Garden Giant Stuffed Shells
• Olive Garden Chicken Tortellini Alfredo

More Seafood Recipes

• Shrimp & Grits
• Air Fryer Sea Scallops
• Red Lobster Crab Alfredo

Short Cuts & Variations

Whether you want to go quicker, easier or change it up – I’ve got you covered!

• Marinara – I love my copycat Olive Garden marinara – but you can use a store-bought marinara sauce if you like. I typically have a jar of Rao’s on hand. Or swap it with the five cheese marinara for more cheese!!!
  • You can also make the marinara ahead of time – you only need 1/2 the recipe for this dish – use the other half for spaghetti on another night for two family dinners in one!
• Cut the Cheese – Haha…I’m funny. What I mean is you could just use mozzarella and ricotta and it would fine. Or buy a pizza blend to go with the ricotta.
• Sausage – add cooked Italian sausage to the ricotta mixture for some amazing meaty manicotti!
• Spinach & Mushrooms – add some veggies!!! Lightly sauteed mushrooms and spinach (or frozen spinach that has been thawed and drained) in the ricotta mixture is good as well!
• White Manicotti – add grilled chicken to the manicotti and use alfredo instead of marinara!

How to make Copycat Olive Garden Manicotti Recipe

1. MAKE THE MARINARA – If you’re going to make it from scratch for the familiar flavors of the Olive Garden – do that first! It takes longer so that way it’s ready for when you are going to put this in the oven.
2. PREHEAT the oven to 400º. Spray a large 9×13 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Add about 1 cup of marinara to the bottom of the dish.
3. PREPARE your noodles – if you’re using manicotti – you’ll need to boil them to al dente (no more!!!). These noodles will tear as you’re filling them if they’re too done – so a little more firm is what you want.
4. MIX your filling! In a large bowl – mix together all those cheeses, egg and seasonings. (Full instructions and amounts in recipe card below.)
5. GET YOUR PIPING BAG – I tried doing this with a ziploc and just snipping off a corner but the filling is really thick. It works best with some type of bag – either a piping bag or a thicker large ziploc bag and a PIPING TIP. Use a tip with a large opening vs. a fancy decorative one. This works well for either bag or noodle. Fill the bag with the cheese mixture.
6. DRAIN & RINSE noodles with cool water to stop the cooking.
7. FILL the noodles with the ricotta filling. Lay each filled noodle into the prepared baking dish.
8. TOP with more marinara and mozzarella. Be sure to cover all pasta with marinara to prevent it from drying out – especially if using no-bake cannelloni.
9. BAKE for 20-25 minutes covered with foil.

What to Serve With Olive Garden Manicotti

Turn this cheesy pasta into a full Italian dinner with a few classic sides:

• Garlic bread or breadsticks
• Caesar salad
• Olive Garden copycat salad with Italian Dressing
• Steakhouse broccoli or green beans
• Italian sausage or grilled chicken

Tips Tricks & FAQs

More Olive Garden Recipes

• Olive Garden Five Cheese Marinara
• Olive Garden Fettuccini Alfredo
• Olive Garden Giant Stuffed Shells

More Ricotta Recipes

• Ricotta Egg Bites
• Salmon Stuffed Shells
• Olive Garden Stuffed Ziti Fritta

How to make Five Cheese Ziti al Forno

This copycat Olive Garden recipe is my nephew’s favorite! Once I figured out the 5 Cheese Marinara – it was easy peasy to make this recipe! Here’s how you’ll do it (preview: it’s a little work – but it’s not hard – I promise!)

1. You’ll make a marinara sauce
2. Then you’ll make an alfredo sauce with a five blend: Parmesan, Romano, Asiago, Gouda and Ricotta Cheese.
3. Then mix them together!!! (Here’s the full recipe for the Five Cheese Marinara)
4. Boil some ziti pasta – it’s easy to find. Rigatoni would work as well.
5. Pour your ziti into an oven-safe casserole dish, cover with the 5 Cheese Marinara
6. Sprinkle the top with Mozzarella
7. Bake ziti for 25 minutes, then Low Broil for 5 minutes until the top is golden brown

Make it Quicker & Easier

You can cheat a bit for a semi-homemade version of the 5 Cheese Ziti al Forno recipe – but I encourage you to make your own alfredo – it’s worth the extra step!

• Jarred Sauce – you can buy a cheesy marinara jarred sauce
• Semi-Homemade – buy a jarred marinara but make your own alfredo (it’s worth it!)
• Pre-shredded mozzarella – I prefer to shred my own but the bagged works fine too

More Olive Garden Sauce Recipes

• Olive Garden Meat Sauce
• Olive Garden Marinara
• Olive Garden Alfredo

What to serve with Olive Garden 5 Cheese Ziti

• Hawaiian Roll Garlic Bread
• Olive Garden House Salad
• Olive Garden Pasta Fagioli

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!

1. 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.
2. TOMATOES – add all your tomatoes and marinara seasonings and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. PASTA – boil your pasta while marinara is simmering
4. BUTTER – in a saucepan or skillet, melt butter and add garlic. Whisk in flour.
5. DAIRY TIME – add in half and half and all cheeses – whisk until the sauce thickens and remove from heat.
6. COMBINE – Pour your alfredo sauce into your marinara! Stir to combine and spoon onto pasta!

More Olive Garden Sauce Recipes

• Marinara Sauce
• Meat Sauce
• Mushroom Sauce
• Spicy 3 Meat Sauce

Side Dish Recipes for Pasta

• Olive Garden House Salad
• Little Caesars Italian Cheese Bread
• Dominos Parmesan Bread Bites

Make it Quicker & Easier

Sometimes we all need a short cut – here are a couple of ideas to make this very simple recipe for salmon even a little simpler!

• Herbed Butter – you can buy a premixed herbed butter to save time
• Faster Butter – throw it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes if you are short on time
• Baked – if you’re a little worried about overcooking or burning the salmon filets in your skillet, put it on a rimmed baking sheet into the oven and it will come out delicious. Bake at 375º for 15 minutes (cook to internal temperature of 145º)

How to Make Olive Garden Herb-Grilled Salmon

This recipe is pretty easy – but you might be a little nervous about cooking salmon – but you can do it! Follow these simple steps and you’ll have a perfect dish that Olive Garden will be jealous of!

1. Herbed Butter – In a small bowl, stir together softened butter, parsley, lemon zest and minced garlic. Roll it up and chill until firm.
2. Herb It Up – Coat salmon with olive oil and spices.
3. Sear Salmon – Get that pan hot (either big non-stick or cast iron skillet) and pour in olive oil. Once it’s shimmering, salmon goes in, flesh side down, for 3-4 minutes.
4. Flip Him Over – Using a fish spatula (thin metal & curved) flip the salmon over and turn the heat down to medium heat and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes. 
5. Butter It Up – Slice the butter log into thick pieces and place pats of butter on top of the salmon. Cook for 1-2 more minutes or until the salmon flakes (internal temperature should be 135°F for medium).
6. Plated – Serve salmon with any remaining butter. Fling on some fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon. 

Side Dishes to Serve with Salmon

• Bob Evans Mashed Potatoes
• Longhorn Steakhouse Broccoli
• Longhorn Steakhouse Rice Pilaf
• Air Fryer Asparagus

More Olive Garden Recipes

• Olive Garden Shrimp Scampi
• Olive Garden Herbed Garlic Sauce
• Olive Garden Shrimp Alfredo

How to make Olive Garden Meatballs

Meatballs aren’t difficult to make but you do need to be delicate with them. Overmixing will make them tough like a meat rock! Here’s how to make them perfectly:

1. In a small bowl, stir together breadcrumbs and milk.
2. In a large bowl, add ground beef, ground pork, breadcrumb mixture, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic and egg. Gently mix with your hands just until combined. Be sure to break up the breadcrumb mixture. Do not over mix.
3. Cover and refrigerate meatball mixture for at least 30 minutes. This helps the flavors meld together.
4. Remove meat mixture from refrigerator. Lightly oil or dampen your hands with water and delicately form 2” meatballs and set on parchment paper lined baking sheet. 
5. Place baking sheet with meatballs in the refrigerator for another 10 minutes. This gives the fat in the meat time to solidify so they hold their shape.
6. Preheat the oven to 425°F
7. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until the meatballs are 165º internal temperature. Serve over pasta with Olive Garden marinara and breadsticks (of course).

Ways to Use Leftover Meatballs

I’m a big fan of meatballs – but you’re short-changing yourself if you just have them on spaghetti! Here are more ideas for meatballs!

• Wraps – make yourself an Italian wrap and add spinach, mozzarella and your meatballs!
• Sandwich – make a Greek meatball sandwich by adding feta, cucumber, dill and Greek yogurt
• Lasagna Roll Ups – for a quick air fryer meal – make lasagna roll ups and add slices of meatball
• Side Dish – they’re delicious on their own! Top with a little sauce and cheese and broil for a few minutes for a delicious appetizer.

More Olive Garden Recipes

• Olive Garden Salad
• Olive Garden Meat Sauce
• Best Recipes from Olive Garden

Quick Tips for Making Shrimp Alfredo!

• Shrimp – use large, raw, deveined shrimp – it’ll make your life easier!
• Cheese – buy a block of cheese and grate yourself! The pre-shredded has a coating that doesn’t melt right!
• Garlic – use cloves of fresh garlic – it’s a main flavor! No “jarlic” for this one

Recipe Variations

Shrimp Alfredo is pretty great on it’s own – but here’s a few tweaks you can make to make it just how YOU like it!

• Seafood – make it a full on seafood alfredo by adding seared scallops and fresh crab!
• Veggies – add broccoli, onions or mushrooms for a more complete meal
• Swap Protein – swap the shrimp for grilled chicken!
• Lighten It Up – swap heavy cream for 2% milk – you might need a little more flour to thicken or have a looser sauce but it will still taste delicous!
• Pasta – don’t feel like you HAVE to use fettuccine! Avoid angel hair but spaghetti, linguine or even rotini are great too!

How to make Copycat Olive Garden Shrimp Alfredo Recipe

I cannot express to you how easy this Olive Garden Signature Dish is to make! Alfredo sauce only takes five minutes! Why would you ever buy the jarred stuff????

1. Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot. Drain and set aside. 
2. While pasta cooks, In a skillet, add olive oil and melt 2 tablespoons butter to a large skillet over medium high heat. Once butter is melted, add shrimp and sauce for 1-2 min on each side until opaque. Remove from pan and set aside in a bowl and toss with Italian seasoning.
3. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add remaining butter and garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
4. Lower stove to medium heat and whisk in flour.
5. Quickly add milk, heavy cream, Parmesan and Romano cheese to saucepan and stir frequently until the cheese melts and incorporates into the sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer and thicken. Add salt & pepper and whisk to combine. Remove from heat.
6. Drain pasta and toss with Alfredo sauce. Top with shrimp and garnish with Italian seasoning and fresh parsley. Serve with side salad, garlic bread or breadsticks and enjoy!

Tips, Tricks & FAQs

What to serve with Shrimp Alfredo

• Olive Garden Signature Salad & Italian Dressing
• Dominos Parmesan Bread Bites
• Air Fryer Broccoli

More Olive Garden Recipes

• Giant Stuffed Shells
• Traditional Red Sauce with Meat
• Chicken Scampi (per personal favorite!!!)
• More Olive Garden Recipes