Olive Garden’s Zoodles Primavera Review

Olive Garden’s menu is full of delicious American-Italian-inspired dishes from entrees to desserts. Most of the options are savory and filling, but also full of calories and saturated fats. Olive Garden released a Mediterranean menu last year that features light, healthy dishes, including the Olive Garden Zoodles Primavera, a keto-friendly option with the same savory flavors we’ve come to love from Olive Garden. 

History and Inspiration

With health-conscious customers in mind, Olive Garden introduced a light Meditteranean menu with dishes like the Salmon Piccata, Chicken Margherita, and the fresh Zoodles Primavera. The Zoodles are spiralized zucchini noodles cooked with a basil cream sauce and vegetables, giving customers a light alternative to pasta noodles. However, this wasn’t the first time the chain offered a zucchini noodle alternative. In 2017, they introduced spiralized zoodles and squash noodles mixed with whole-grain linguine, tomatoes, garlic, and a scampi herb sauce. The new Zoodles Primavera is completely carb-free, but how does it taste? 

Types of Zoodles Primavera

Olive Garden’s Zoodles Primavera is a vegetarian dish, served with a light basil cream sauce and veggies. However, you can add chicken or shrimp for some flavor variation and extra nutritional value. 

Zoodles Primavera Review

One of the main features of the Tastes of the Mediterranean menu at Olive Garden, the Zoodles Primavera, is a full bowl of spiralized zucchini noodles tossed in a basil cream sauce with broccoli, carrots, seasoned tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and mushrooms. The portion size is similar to any other entree served at Olive Garden – generous and filling. Except with this meal, you fill up on veggies and healthy ingredients, so you still feel light and awake after eating it, as opposed to some other heavier meals that may leave you feeling full or tired afterward.

1.      Taste and Texture [5/5]

The ingredients used in this dish are colorful, light, and beautiful even before they’re cooked together. The seasoned tomatoes are covered with a secret spice recipe and are sautéed with the mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, and red peppers for just a couple of minutes, so that they’re cooked well but still firm. The spiralized zucchini noodles (zoodles) are added last and cooked for just another minute or less so that they don’t get too soggy, but maintain a similar texture to pasta noodles. The quick preparation helps to preserve the flavor and texture of each ingredient while allowing them to marinate and compliment each other. The light basil cream sauce is just the right topping to complete this dish, making it one of the most popular dishes on the Mediterranean menu.

2. Are they healthy? [5/5]

What makes this dish unique is that you can order it to fit dietary requirements. For example, the basil sauce has sugars and wheat in it, but it can easily be substituted by Olive garden’s gluten-free meat sauce or marinara. While it’s advertised and prepared as a vegetarian dish, you can also add shrimp or chicken for extra flavor or protein. This dish also counts for five servings of your daily vegetables and offers plenty of fiber, so you can fulfill your daily nutritional needs while still feeling full and satisfied. 

3. Are they Worth it? [5/5]

The flavors, the nutritional value, the serving size, and the price all add up to one sensational meal option. It’s served during lunch or dinner so that you can order it at any time of the day. I like to order it for lunch because I can only eat about half of it. I can save the other half for a late-afternoon/early evening meal, and I feel no guilt about all the breadsticks I eat with it! Definitely worth it.

Final Verdict

This is such a great addition to Olive Garden. Even if I want to have a heavier meal, I often dine with friends or family members who have tighter dietary restrictions, so I love going to a restaurant that offers healthy, tasty options for all eating preferences. I love that it’s offered all day on the lunch and dinner menu, and of course, I appreciate the large serving of veggies. It’s a deliciously light alternative, and it’s a big hit with Olive Garden’s customers. 

Zoodles Primavera Nutrition Facts

Zoodles Primavera Pricing

The Zoodles Primavera is available as a lunch option for $8.99 or as a dinner size for $14.99, so it’s consistent with most of the chain’s other entree options. For just $2 more, you can add a serving of chicken; or for an extra $4, you can add a serving of shrimp. With the freshly baked breadsticks, this is an excellent deal.

What do you think?

Have you tried Olive Garden’s Zoodles Primavera? How would you compare it to their previous Zoodles release that came with linguine and the scampi herb sauce? Let us know in the comments below.