How Olive Garden Gets Its Soups So Smooth And Creamy, According To Reddit

The famous breadsticks and the salad aren't the only things unlimited at Olive Garden. Its soups are never-ending, too, and if you order another hot bowl, you're allowed to try one of the other three delicious kinds instead of repeating the one you already had. Part of what makes them so good is how smooth and creamy they are, and there's a cooking trick that helps make that happen by using an everyday thickener.

A former kitchen worker at the Italian casual dining chain shared on Reddit: "[The] secret ingredient inside the soup is cornstarch." They explained that a "white sauce base" is used at the restaurants, which "[gives] the soups and the Alfredo [sauce] the classic consistency. It's a flour/cornstarch mix but I'm not sure [of] the ratio." 

When cornstarch is used to thicken soup, it's mixed with an equal amount of water or broth to form a slurry. That liquid is then slowly mixed into the pot, and it's left to simmer so it can work its magic and any starchy flavor cooks away. The powdery ingredient does the job well, so you should only use a small amount if you're doing this at home — a standard ratio is 1 tablespoon of slurry to 4 cups of soup — or too much can create an unpleasant, sludgy texture.

The thickening power of cornstarch also works in sauces, gravies, and even for cake frosting. Some other methods use starchy ingredients like cooked potatoes, rice, or beans, or a mix of butter and flour in a roux or a beurre manié. But unlike flavorless cornstarch, they could affect how it tastes.

According to the restaurant, Olive Garden's soups are made fresh in-house. People who work at the chain said in another Reddit thread that large amounts of the soups are prepared each morning. They're then portioned out into specially made plastic bags that can be cooled and then reheated as needed as soup is ordered throughout the day.

Each restaurant makes all four different kinds. The two creamiest are the Zuppa Toscana, which has spicy Italian sausage, kale, and potatoes, and Chicken & Gnocchi, made with roast chicken, spinach, and gnocchi, small Italian potato dumplings. The Pasta e Fagioli includes white and red beans, ground beef, tomatoes, and short tubetti pasta, and the Minestrone has vegetables, beans, and pasta in a tomato broth base. All of them come with two breadsticks.

In addition to being able to get Olive Garden's soup at one of its restaurants, or from a normal delivery or pickup order, another unexpected way you can buy it is in jumbo-size half-gallon and gallon plastic containers. You order it online through the catering menu, which allows you to get either the smaller size for six people, or the larger gallon for 12. Breadsticks don't come with these big soups, so you'd have to order them separately.