The #1 Pasta Dish To Order at Italian Chains, According to Chefs
Craving the carby-meets-savory indulgence of an Italian-style pasta meal? For a great meal, you don't have to splurge on a pricy meal at a fancy Italian restaurant. Chef Roderick (Pete) Smith is a culinary innovator with years of experience at top-tier establishments, including his tenure at the prestigious Salamander Resort. We recently asked him: What is your go-to pasta dish at an Italian chain? You may (or may not) be surprised by his answer.
Chef Smith's go-to pasta dish may come as a surprise. When the Virginia-based chef craves a dose of Italian-style carbs, he heads to Olive Garden and orders the Shrimp Alfredo. What makes it his dish of choice? "Known for its creamy sauce and perfectly cooked shrimp, this dish is a crowd favorite among pasta lovers," he tells Eat This, Not That!
According to Olive Garden, the Shrimp Alfredo meal consists of its trademark creamy alfredo sauce "made from scratch with ingredients like parmesan, cream, garlic and butter" tossed with fettuccine and sautéed shrimp, a grand total of 1,470 calories, 93 grams of fat, and 1,620 grams of sodium. The $20.79 meal comes with your choice of soup or salad plus unlimited breadsticks.
If you don't like shrimp, Olive Garden also offers other "Amazing Alfredos" including Chicken Alfredo, Seafood Alfredo, Chicken Tortellini Alfredo, and also a sans protein Fettuccine Alfredo.
Our reviewer, Megan Hageman, is also a fan. "Thick and tasty all around. The long, flat noodles were plumper here than at other chains yet still cooked well—soft but not mushy," she writes in her review. "The sauce, though, is where the dish truly shines. It leaned more towards buttery rather than cheesy, and it was unbelievably rich and creamy. It adhered well to the pasta, after I gave everything a good twirl, and there was plenty of it to go around, without being overwhelming. It may not be the most authentic plate of fettuccine Alfredo out there. But, it's a classic comfort food and dish I wouldn't mind eating, especially with never-ending refills."
However, remember that while delicious, it isn't the healthiest item on the menu. In our ranking of the unhealthiest dishes at the chain, it came in pretty low by Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, MS, RD, CDN. "This dish includes creamy Alfredo sauce tossed with fettuccine and sautéed shrimp. The Alfredo sauce, made with parmesan, cream, and butter are all ingredients that contribute to the calories, saturated fat, and sodium. The saturated fat is quite high providing 275% of the recommended daily max," she wrote.
