The Chain Gang

Olive Garden Stakes Its Future on ‘Spaghetti Pie’

Traditionally made from
Traditionally made from “two or three leftover meals mixed together.” Photo: Olive Garden

Always looking for new ways to jam all-you-can-eat carbs down customers’ maws, Olive Garden has announced two summertime menu additions that may be the work of the R&D; team forgetting they had a pitch meeting. The first is … even more breadstick sandwiches: eggplant Parmigiana and spicy Calabrian chicken. Which brings us to the next new menu addition: spaghetti pie. The carb-dense glob will be available in either “meatball deep dish” or the ever-popular “chicken alfredo” variety, all of which is mixed with noodles and seven-cheese mix before being baked in a pie crust. Also, there is bacon. Even if it seems like a strange thing to add to the menu during swimwear season, spaghetti pies can no doubt be excellent comfort food, but they’re one typically sought via recipe searches like “kid-friendly dinner ideas” and “what to do with leftovers.” In capable hands, the dish might even be good in a nostalgic kind of way. The version sold at the restaurant looks … unappetizing.

Lest critics again accuse the chain of pumping out more inauthentic Italian fare, Olive Garden’s executive chef, Jim Nuetzi, reminds BuzzFeed that spaghetti pie is “actually a traditional Italian dish.” Wonder what it would taste like stuffed between some breadsticks?

[BuzzFeed]

Olive Garden Rolls Out ‘Spaghetti Pie’