Olive Garden Pizza

[Northchild]

I've grown quite fond of the Olive Garden pizza minus the cheese plus artichoke hearts. Was just wondering if the crust was vegan. I wasn't able to find anything on their site about it.

Thanks! :)

[Artichoke47]

Actually, their form response to letters is that they won't guarantee anything as vegetarian, let alone vegan. Don't waste your money on these idiots. They also state in their form response that they have menu options created based on consumer preferences; therefore, they don't have vegetarian menu items.

WELL, DUH, YOU IDIOTS! WE CAN'T PREFER A CERTAIN MENU ITEM OVER ANOTHER IF NONE EXIST!

[tipsy]

my friends from work are going there tonight...i refused, because i knew that i would eat better at home, concidering i probably wouldnt eat anything that came from the kitchen of the olive garden.

but dont worry, im meeting them later to go to a haunted haus!...

yay for halloweeny! :D

[Tigerlily]

Wow. You'd think a place with "Olive" AND "Garden" in their name would have something appropiate for veg*ns.

[Wishin986]

This is what I have found about Olive Garden - I saved it so figured I'de share -

Olive Garden (www.olivegarden.com)
If you don't eat eggs there is not much reason to come here, as almost all the dishes contain meat and eggs. The pastas are made with eggs and the breading for the Eggplant Parmigiana contains eggs. Their house dressing contains eggs and cheese.

The breadsticks and marinara sauce at Olive Garden are vegan and are good.

One time I came here and asked the waitress what I could eat considering I was a vegetarian and did not eat eggs. Luckily she was a vegetarian (who ate eggs) and she went back in the kitchen and checked the ingredients of everything and she could not find anything that I could eat.

Letter From Olive Garden
We appreciate the challenges you face in honoring your personal convictions. Veganism and vegetarianism take many forms. A few of our menu items can be adjusted to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian diet, but none wholly meet the criteria. Our current nutritional database does not include information to the level of specific detail you require.

Depending on your personal philosophy, we can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan as they may contain some ingredients which do not comply with your personal philosophy:

Minestrone Soup
Garden Salad
Marinara Sauce
Capellini Pomodoro
Eggplant Parmigiana
Fettuccine Alfredo

Our Signature Salad Dressing does not contain anchovies, however, it does contain eggs and cheese. We certainly empathize with the challenges presented to you when you weigh decisions regarding dining out. We recognize that we do not meet the needs of everyone and our objective remains to offer what our guests, through their selections, indicate are favorites.

linked: Vegetarian Restaurant Information (http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/OtherInfo/FastFoodRest.htm)

[Artichoke47]

We can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan as they may contain some ingredients which do not comply with your personal philosophy:

We recognize that we do not meet the needs of everyone and our objective remains to offer what our guests, through their selections, indicate are favorites.

Yep, just like I said. Nothing is vegetarian or vegan (or at least they won't say it is), and we can't indicate a preference for a favorite dish, considering nothing is offered. So basically, they will never have anything for real vegetarians.

[ConsciousCuisine]

The breadsticks and marinara sauce at Olive Garden are vegan and are good.[/URL]

See, I have heard differently. It has been my understanding that NOTHING there is vegan, unless you order a salad, minus dressing and crutons and breadsticks (questionable at best) with no "buttery sauce". I have been told that there is egg in the pasta and cheese and even animal broths in some sauces, with the marinara having cheese.

Just the fact that there is so much conflicting information and that the company itself refuses to name a dish veg*n at all is enough of a reason to avoid that nasty place completely. Oh, that and they serve animals as food :p

[Northchild]

The news is disappointing, but welcome nonetheless. Thank you all for your time. :)

[xwitchymagicx]

How wierd not even having anything classed as vegetarian. :confused: Most places do now.

[Elis]

I worked at Oliven Garden for about 5 months during college waitressing. There's nothing Italian about the place and they don't care either. It's all run by a corporate office (in Florida if I remember correctly) and they plan everything - including the words with which the waitstaff greet you - according to marketing research. Quality is not what matters, and therefore ingredients are certainly one of the last things on their minds. Just think about it, there is no such thing as real italian pasta with eggs in it. They don't know a thing about Italian wines or real olives either. Most of their menu is not even Italian, it's some commercialized immitation invented by marketers - not cooks - and in Italy you'll have serious trouble looking for food that is similar. But then I'm biased because I hated working there.

[tipsy]

See, I have heard differently. It has been my understanding that NOTHING there is vegan, unless you order a salad, minus dressing and crutons and breadsticks (questionable at best) with no "buttery sauce". I have been told that there is egg in the pasta and cheese and even animal broths in some sauces, with the marinara having cheese.

Just the fact that there is so much conflicting information and that the company itself refuses to name a dish veg*n at all is enough of a reason to avoid that nasty place completely. Oh, that and they serve animals as food :p

yeah, that is reason enough to avoid the place!!! :eek:

my friend told me they cook the breadsticks with butter on them...

plus the salad there is practically all gross, wilted, white, nutritionless lettuce...ick!

[grail]

:mad: Wait, doesn't their menu say that the minestrone is vegetarian????

I've been USED!!!!:mad:

[paec311]

Per Greg at the Olive Garden off of Phillips Highway in Jacksonville, FL, their marinara sauce contains no animal products. Their wheat pasta is the only pasta that contains no eggs (or animal ingredients). The guy was very nice and helpful in reading the labels from their various products.

However, before I called the actual restaurant I spoke with a customer service rep from the corporate office who stated that all their pastas contain no egg ingredients :rolleyes: . Luckily I double checked, and called back to give corporate a nice heads up.

[Vegmom]

Wow, I'm glad I read this. I loved Capellini Pomodoro and had no idea it was made with eggs. Also, I knew the dresseing was not vegan but if you ask they will give you a non dairy and non egg italian dressing. At least I hope it was vegan...or else they lied to me!

[24]

Wow, I'm glad I read this. I loved Capellini Pomodoro and had no idea it was made with eggs. Also, I knew the dresseing was not vegan but if you ask they will give you a non dairy and non egg italian dressing. At least I hope it was vegan...or else they lied to me!

I've had the cappelini pomodoro before but with whole wheat linguine. Do you think there is still egg in it?

[Vegmom]

I've had the cappelini pomodoro before but with whole wheat linguine. Do you think there is still egg in it?
I have no idea. You could call and ask , or at least ask the next time you are there.

[eclectic_one]

See here (response #132): http://veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6328&page=7

It does depend on the restaurant, as I've asked at a couple of Olive Gardens and the two I went to did NOT have egg in their pasta. They had the package the pasta came in and egg was not listed.

[Mahk]

I've never been to one of these Olive Garden restaurants but from the wording of this FAQ (http://www.olivegarden.com/company/contact_us/faq.asp) I'd question whether you could get an accurate response even from a letter from a corporate dietitian:

Which menu selections are vegetarian?
A few of our menu items can be adjusted to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian diet, but none wholly meet the criteria. Depending on your personal philosophy, we can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan:

Minestrone soup (vegetable and mushroom base; no meat protein)
Garden Salad (without dressing)
Marinara Sauce (mushroom base; no meat protein)
Capellini Pomodoro
Eggplant Parmigiana
Fettuccine Alfredo

Notice they seem to think veg*ans are concerned with consuming "meat protein" yet meat fat would be OK.:rolleyes:

[VeganMomma]

I contacted my local Olive Garden restaurant and told them we were coming to the restaurant but someone had an "egg allergy" and needed to know which of their pastas DID NOT have eggs in them. I was on hold for about 20 minutes while they checked and rechecked, and they reassured me that "absolutely" none of their pastas had egg in them. However, they are processed in a facility that manufacturers other foods with eggs. I feel confident that they are giving me the correct information as of August 2009. The person said they were 100% sure that none of their pastas have eggs in them. Happy eating! :)