Stop Ignoring This Section On Olive Garden's Menu If You Want To Save Money

One of the biggest mistakes you can make at Olive Garden is to pay full price. Even if the never-ending pasta bowl promotion actually comes to an end (it always seems touch-and-go as to whether it'll return), you can still save money by ordering from the kids' menu. Another way to reduce your bill is to check out the family-style meals. If you're eating with a group and everybody can agree on an entrée, then family-style is practically a no-brainer.

Say you're a group of six; you can get six servings of chicken parmigiana for under $55, which comes out to about $9 per person, instead of paying over $20 for the same dish by ordering it a la carte. Disclaimer: These numbers are based on the June 2025 prices for the Olive Garden in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Your mileage may vary depending on when and where you're reading this.

If you're a solo diner (welcome to the tribe!), ordering a family-style meal for pickup or delivery isn't out of the question, either. After all, some pasta dishes taste even better as leftovers. So the next time you're going for an Olive Garden, whether you're eating in or taking out, make sure to check out the family-style bundles.

Ordering from the kids' menu is admittedly cheaper than going family-style, as in most cases you can get an entrée, side, and drink for around $7. The downside, though, is that not only are the portions sized for a 12-year-old appetite, but the selection of dishes runs to little more than a few fairly plain pasta dishes along with chicken tenders and pizza. The family-sized meal selection is much more extensive, including such dishes as shrimp or chicken scampi, chicken and shrimp carbonara, five cheese ziti al forno, chicken tortelloni alfredo, and cheese ravioli with a choice of marinara or meat sauce.

These entrées come unaccompanied, but it's possible to add breadsticks to your order. Family-style soups are also available in your choice of chicken and gnocchi, minestrone, pasta e fagioli, and zuppa Toscana. You can even get a supersized salad along with a dozen breadsticks. If everyone can agree on lasagna, your best bet to save money is a family-sized bundle. These are available in the standard six-serving size as well as a large one that feeds up to a dozen, and come with both breadsticks and salad. The smaller one is priced at around $59, while the larger is about $90, but in either case, you get a whole lot of food for your money.