It's a hard reality when you realize that most chain restaurants aren't the best places to go when you're looking for healthy food options, or if you're gluten-free or doing the keto diet, but Olive Garden is here to make things a little easier for people trying to avoid a ton of carbs.
Zoodles, aka spiraled zucchini, are the perfect substitute for actual noodles if you're dieting or going gluten-free but still crave the deliciousness that is a great pasta dish. It makes total sense for Olive Garden to add a zoodle option to its menu.
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Olive Garden has dabbled in zoodle meals in the past (the restaurant once served both zoodle and squash noodles in a low-calorie dish, but it also contained whole grain linguine), so this is the first time the restaurant is going head first into zoodle land.
The dish, called Zoodles Primavera, is full of delicious vegetables. Of course there are the zoodles, but it also has broccoli, carrots, seasoned tomatoes, roasted red peppers, mushrooms and a classic light basil cream sauce. In total, the dish has five servings of daily vegetables, and you can add chicken or shrimp to make it a complete meal.
If you're a little hesitant to zoodles, don't be! If you'd rather try them at home first before getting the dish at Olive Garden, check out some delicious zoodle recipes here, here and here.