How To Make The Ultimate Salad Topper With Olive Garden's Breadsticks

There's a lot to love about Olive Garden's casual environs and comforting Italian-American fare. Yet amidst all the entree options, it's the endless breadsticks that dependably demand special attention. Especially since an out-of-house brand makes Olive Garden's iconic breadsticks, their addition proved quite a savvy entrepreneurial move. Originally introduced to keep hungry patrons patient, they've grown into one of the restaurant's central selling points.

Plus, you can even continue your breadstick enjoyment at home by repurposing them into crunchy croutons. Crispy, garlicky, and ideally textured, this bread undoubtedly makes for an ultimate salad topper. The breadstick's small circumference ensures you'll get lots of crust in each batch of croutons, upping your salad with a delightful crunch.

Best of all, the transformation's fairly straightforward. Slice the bread up into small rounds or cubes, ensuring each piece of bread is bite sized. Then hit with additional seasoning to complement the garlic, say a generous sprinkle of parmesan, dried oregano, or good old Italian seasoning. Cover with a drizzle of olive oil, then bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for around five to 10 minutes, until the bread turns a beautiful golden brown. Serve atop the salad of your choosing and enjoy one of the tastiest hacks for Olive Garden leftovers.

Before whipping up a batch of these croutons, you may wonder how to grab some of these leftover breadsticks. After all, Olive Garden's breadstick policy is one stick per diner, so what's the best route to obtain a bunch? For starters, you can simply add them to a to-go order, whether you're ordering online or over the phone. They're available in quantities of six and 12, baked or unbaked, for $4.99 and $7.49, respectively. So if you'd like to have croutons readily available, consider keeping a number of sticks in the freezer.

Furthermore, according to an Olive Garden Reddit thread, you can get two free breadsticks with your to-go orders upon polite request. Purchase a dipping sauce, and the staff will throw in extras. Meanwhile, if you're dining in at the restaurant, be polite and order extra breadsticks to take home; as per a different AskReddit thread, a manager-administered bread cut-off isn't a fun experience. If you're caught trying to sneak them out in a bag, you're likely not to get any more — unless you buy them.

And if you're tired of crafting croutons only, you can even take Olive Garden breadsticks to sweet new heights by transforming the bread into French toast — just make sure to ask for them without garlic. Now, you have an Olive Garden breadstick app and dessert; what could be better than that?