The Best Olive Garden Breadsticks Copycat Recipe
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Do you love Olive Garden Breadsticks as much as I do? My copycat Olive Garden breadsticks recipe is the closest match to the original and the absolute best out there! Olive Garden night at home anyone?
Olive Garden Breadsticks Copycat Recipe
I recently shared my Seafood Alfredo recipe that tastes like it came straight out of Olive Garden—but WAY better.
I talked about how the Alfredo sauce for the recipe made a little bit more than what the pasta dish needed, because I like to make extra for breadsticks.
I just LOVE the Olive Garden breadsticks dipped in the Alfredo sauce!
My mama got me to eat my breadsticks turned upside down, that way that delicious buttery topping hits your tongue first. Â And you know, Mama is always right.
Some of you might even be more excited about the breadstick recipe than you are about the Alfredo recipe.
I understand. These breadsticks are good!
I also love eating them alongside my lasagna, which in my humble opinion is the best lasagna recipe you’ll ever eat!
Why You’ll Love My Olive Garden Breadsticks
- Simple Ingredients: My recipe uses simple ingredients—bread flour, active dry yeast, melted butter, and a little sugar and salt.
- Soft and Buttery Texture: These buttery breadsticks are soft and pillowy inside with just the right chewiness. The topping, brushed on fresh out of the oven, soaks into the warm breadsticks, making them downright irresistible.
- Perfect for Any Meal: These breadsticks go with just about everything—Mississippi pot roast, lasagna, soups like my delicious short rib vegetable soup, best ever beef stew, or even as a side for steak.
- Tastes Just Like Olive Garden: If you love the unlimited breadsticks at Olive Garden, you’ll love this copycat Olive Garden breadsticks recipe. It has all the flavor of the restaurant version without the trip or the bill.
Ingredients for Olive Garden Breadsticks
Here’s the ingredients that you will need for this recipe. You can find the full printable recipe at the bottom of this post.
For the Dough:
- Warm Water: The water should be warm, not hot, so it helps the yeast bubble up without killing it.
- Active Dry Yeast OR Bread Machine Yeast: This is what makes the breadsticks rise and gives them that fluffy texture. If it’s your first time baking with yeast, don’t worry—this is an easy recipe to follow.
- Bread Flour: This makes the breadsticks soft and chewy. If you don’t have bread flour, you can use all purpose flour, but the texture will be slightly different.
- Unsalted Butter: Melted butter adds richness to the dough and helps keep it soft. It’s also used for the topping to create those buttery breadsticks.
- Sugar: A little bit of sugar helps feed the yeast and gives the breadsticks a tad bit of sweetness.
- Salt: A pinch of salt balances the flavors and makes the dough taste just right.
For the Topping:
- Unsalted Butter: As soon as the breadsticks come out of the oven, you’ll brush some melted butter all over for that beautiful buttery glaze.
- Garlic Powder: This gives the breadsticks their signature garlicky breadsticks flavor.
- Salt: Just a sprinkle enhances the garlic butter topping and makes every bite irresistible.
How to Make Olive Garden Breadsticks
Prepare the Dough: Start by adding the ingredients to your bread machine. For most machines, the first step is adding the liquids followed by the sugar, salt, and bread flour.
Make a little well in the flour and add your active dry yeast or instant yeast. Set the machine to the dough cycle and let it work its magic.
No bread machine? If you don’t have a bread machine, here’s how to convert a bread machine recipe to by hand.
Follow the steps in that post to get your dough ready before continuing on to the next step.
Shape the Breadsticks: When the dough is ready, pull off equal portions and roll them into long sticks. Make them thinner than a typical breadstick because they’ll puff up as they rise. Place the sticks on a prepared baking sheet greased or lined with parchment paper.
Let the Dough Rise: Set the tray in a warm place and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap if needed to keep out any drafts.
Bake the Breadsticks: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees while the dough is rising. Bake the breadsticks for 12-15 minutes until they turn a lovely golden brown.
Make the Topping: While the breadsticks are baking, mix together melted butter, garlic powder, and a pinch of salt to make the garlic butter topping.
Brush and Serve: As soon as the breadsticks come out of the oven, brush them generously with the garlic butter mixture. Make sure they’re coated all over. Let them cool for a few minutes at room temperature before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Make a Softer Dough: Use bread flour if you have it for a chewier texture. If not, all-purpose flour works fine, but the texture might be a little lighter.
- Perfect Rising Spot: Let your dough rise in a warm place like an oven that’s been turned off but still a little warm. This helps with that all-important second rise before baking.
Flavor Variations
- Add Italian Seasoning: Sprinkle a mix of Italian seasoning and garlic salt over the breadsticks before baking.
- Cheesy Breadsticks: Before baking, sprinkle shredded Parmesan or mozzarella on top.
- Marinara Dipping Sauce: Serve the breadsticks with warm marinara sauce for dipping.
- Make Them Smaller: Roll the dough into thinner strips to make bite-sized breadsticks.
More Easy Bread Recipes
- Longhorn Bread (another copycat recipe!)—It’s so good with Texas Roadhouse Butter Recipe!
- Irish Brown Bread
- Herb Focaccia Bread
- Pumpkin Bread
How to Store Olive Garden Breadsticks
If you have leftover breadsticks, don’t let them go to waste! Wrap them in a plastic bag or an airtight bag to keep them fresh.
Store them at room temperature for up to 2 days. To keep them soft, add a slice of regular bread in the bag to absorb any extra moisture.
Refrigerating for Later: If you want to keep them a little longer, place the breadsticks in an airtight container and store them in the fridge. They’ll stay fresh for about 3-4 days.
To reheat, pop them in the oven at 350°F for a few minutes. Brush with a little olive oil or butter before serving to bring back that fresh-out-of-the-oven taste.
Freezing Breadsticks
For long-term storage, make frozen breadsticks by wrapping each breadstick in foil or plastic wrap and then placing them in a freezer bag.
They’ll last up to 2 months in the freezer. When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw at room temperature and then warm in the oven.
Olive Garden Breadsticks
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast OR 2 1/4 teaspoons bread machine yeast
- 4 1/4 bread flour use all purpose if it's not available
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- For the topping:
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- In your bread machine, add all the ingredients as instructed by your bread machine manufacturer. Usually its the liquids first, followed by seasonings, then flour - and very last you make a well in the flour and add the yeast.
- Set your bread machine on the 'dough cycle'.
- When the dough is done, pull of pieces of dough and roll into strips. Remember, they will get bigger after they have risen, so roll them out thinner than a typical breadstick to give room for them to grow.
- Place on a greased baking sheet. Set in a warm, draft-free area and let rise 45 minutes. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.
- While the breadsticks are baking, combine the topping ingredients. As soon as the breadsticks come out of the oven, brush the topping all over the breadsticks - saturating them with the yummy buttery concoction. Let cool for a couple of minutes before serving. While the breadsticks are baking, combine the topping ingredients. As soon as the breadsticks come out of the oven, brush the topping all over the breadsticks - saturating them with the yummy buttery concoction. Let cool for a couple of minutes before serving.
I don’t have a bread machine, Can you give me instructions for those of us without one?
In case you haven’t found out yet, scroll back up, and click on the red “here” (just found it myself, LOL)…that will take you to another page that gives instructions on making it without a breadmaker
Could you explain the amount of the bread flour? I assumed that it meant 4 and 1/2 cups and that’s what I used. They did not turn out good so I am obviously thinking that that was not the right amout….
4 1/4 cups is the 4 cups plus 1 quarter of a cup – you used 1/4 cup too much.
Yes, you used 1/4 cup more flour than you needed. The recipe calls for 4 and 1/4 cup. 1/4 cup is half of 1/2 of a cup.
Doubled the recipe for my family and guests! We loved them! So many compliments! I love Olive Garden breadsticks and these tasted very similar!
I’m so glad that you liked them!!
Just made these for the fam…they were a hit! They did come out more like hoagies, so I know to make them skinnier next time. Thanks for sharing with us!
It would be great to be able to freeze these for quick week night meals. Any advice on freezing? I heard something once about cooking at a low temperature for a longer time then cooling and freezing; however, I’m not sure. Any advice?
I have frozen breadsticks a lot and you just pull them out of the oven (bake normally), cool, then put them in a Ziploc bag. Before serving, thaw and pop in the oven to warm. Then brush on the topping. 🙂
Just made these and they turned out A-MAZING! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
Just finished making the dough with my bread machine. Was unsure if they were supposed to be a dry kind of dough? I guess we’ll find out if I made them right!!!
Made these again tonight, but made the alfredo sauce to go along with them. My stomach hurts I ate so much of it! So good!
I’m sorry your stomach hurts because you overate (happens to me ALL the time haha) but so glad you loved them both!! 🙂
I used to work at OG and they use store bought bread sticks then just brush on melted butter with garlic powder on top. That’s it!! They put them in an oven to brown up and get warm but they were otherwise precooked and easy to do!
Chaz, do you know what brand of breadsticks Olive Garden uses?
Flowers Bakery. We have one here of the outlet stores and they sell them and the Outback bread.
Actually Galasso’s bakery makes the breadsticks.
a printer friendly version would be nice…
these were delicious just made them….I wish there was a trick to making them perfectly even
I’ve been looking for a recipe for awhile to mimic OG’s breadsticks. This is as close as you can get! Really really tasty!
Made this with whole wheat flour. Very yummy, just add a tablespoon or two more of liquid to ensure it’s still soft.
I made these and they were fantastic! My only question is what is the green spice topping seen in the pictures that’s not listed in the ingredients? If anyone could let me know that’d be great.
Oh, that’s a garlic powder sprinkle I buy from Savory Spice Shop – it’s called Garlic Tableside Sprinkle. It’s basically garlic powder with little bits of dried herbs.
Is 1.5 1/2 cups of water as the dough came out of my bread maker really dry
these were great! my husband said he liked them better than Olive Gardens! instead of letting them raise for 45 mins I shaped them and put them in the oven at warm/170 for about 12 mins and then turned up the heat to 400 and cooked them as directed.
I have a bread machine question. When you use the dough cycle, do you allow it run through the whole cycle and is that one rise or 2?? I have a cuisinart and I don’t understand all the beeps… I’ve only had a couple of months, I’m loving it but it confuses me about the cycles…
I’m not sure about the settings on your particular bread unit, but there should be a dough setting on your bread machine – and you’d select that & let it run until it’s done.
I cam across your recipe yesterday and decide I was going to make them today to take to my life group. These breadsticks are amazing!!! They really do taste like Olive Garden’s! Thanks so much for sharing! They are truly delicious!!
Mmm. I wonder if these can be made gluten-free? Mel at mothersheeporganics
Just made these for dinner and they are amazing. I used my bread too. I think on mine the inside was similar to olive garden but to me overall mine tasted like crazy bread from little ceasers which we didn’t mind cause we love them. Thanks for sharing your receipe!!
Made these they turned out amazing! Merci !!!
Hi! Can you make them the night before and put the topping on in the oven the day of?
I’ve never tried, but I’m sure you can!
Just came back to this recipe to make it for the millionth time and figured I should leave a comment, finally! Thank you for this amazing recipe! It will go with our pasta Christmas dinner tonight.
I am so glad to hear this! Thank you for sharing
Wow. They turned out just great. We were impressed. I make all of our bread and these are terrific. Soft and fluffy. Will go well with my homemade spaghetti and meatballs that we are having for dinner.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea its really help me a lot keep posting such amazing ideas
This recipe makes amazing breadsticks. So yummy. Huge hit with my family. Thank you!
This recipe is wonderful, and I’ve made these breadsticks many times! I’m wondering, instead of making breadsticks, can I make a loaf out of this bread dough recipe? How do you think that would turn out?