How To Olive Garden Breadsticks

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Olive Garden Breadsticks are the perfect accompaniment to any dinner. A little sweet, a little garlicky, buttery, and so melt-in-your-mouth tender, not to mention so easy to make and bake in just 25 minutes!

For more great copycat restaurant recipes like this one, try my Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup , Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup , or my Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits .

Olive Garden breadsticks partly covered in a napkin on a plate.

Is there such a thing as bread lovers anonymous? If so, I am fairly certain I need to become a member. "Hi, my name is Tiffany, and I am a carboholic." And not just any carbs…I'm talking breads, especially the homemade kind. Especially the easy-to-eat-10-of-and-not-really-notice-kind. Like rolls , biscuits , and these amazing breadsticks!

I almost always double this recipe because, let's face it, I can eat a single batch myself. And, that's kinda rude I suppose to do to the kids and husband, so, I must make one batch for me, and one for them. I mean, a whole breadstick is basically like one pretzel right? Samsies.

If you're like me and want all the bread, then this recipe is for you. Even if you have self-control this recipe is for you, too. (Also, tell me your secret.)

top view of Olive Garden breadsticks and salad on a plate with more breadsticks on a plate.

Heres how you Make it

Turn that oven to preheat to 400 degrees while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast, and honey or sugar. Let it rest for 10 minutes to let the yeast have time to activate in the hot water and sweet stuff. It should rise and foam while it activates.

3. Then, stir in 2 cups of flour, the olive oil, and salt to the yeast mixture. Gradually whisk in more of the flour (about 1 ½ to 2 cups) until you have a soft, shaggy dough.

4. Dust your hands with some flour and get the dough out of the bowl and turn it out onto a floured surface, kneading for another 2-3 minutes.

5. Put the dough back in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rise for another 10 minutes. Once it has risen, divide the dough into two halves. Then divide each half in half again and again until you have 16 equal-sized balls of dough.

6. Roll each ball into a log about 10 inches long and put them 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Put them in the oven for 5 minutes. While they're baking, stir together the melted butter and garlic powder.

7. Pull this Olive Garden breadsticks recipe out of the oven and brush with half the garlic butter. Return to the oven for 6-8 minutes to bake until they are golden brown. Pull them at this point as they will continue to bake a little even after you've taken them out of the oven.

8. Brush with the rest of the garlic butter and eat up!

close up of Olive Garden breadsticks with salads on the side on a plate.

Can you just buy Breadsticks from Olive Garden

Yes, you can just buy Olive Garden breadsticks. You can eat them at the restaurant or order them for carryout.

But, let's say you want them RIGHT NOW or you can't get to the store for some reason or it's closed, or you want to save money and make them yourself? All good reasons to make your own and use this easy breadsticks recipe!

Have them whenever you want and as many as you want by making them yourself. You will regret nothing! (And save money and time!)

Can you Freeze Olive Garden Breadsticks?

Yes, you can freeze these breadsticks one of two ways:

1. Freeze the dough. That's right, make the dough all the way through splitting them into 16 balls. Freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet before stacking into an airtight bag and storing in the freezer. Dough will keep frozen up to 3 months. When you're ready to thaw, take the bag out of the oven and let the dough thaw in a warm, dry place. Then roll into breadsticks when the bread has warmed up and bake as instructed.

Freeze the cooked breadsticks. To freeze this easy breadsticks recipe, allow the bread to cool all the way to room temperature. Then, wrap the breadsticks tightly in aluminum foil then put in a heavy-duty, airtight freezer bag. They will keep for about 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and then put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes to toast back up.

close up of Olive Garden breadsticks partly covered with a napkin on a plate.

Did you make this Olive Garden Breadsticks recipe? Great! Please rate the recipe below!

up close breadsticks with napkin on plate

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

resting time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 16 breadsticks

▢ 1 ½ cups very warm water
▢ 1 packet instant yeast
▢ 2 tablespoons honey - or sugar
▢ 3-4 cups flour - more for kneading
▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
▢ 3 teaspoons salt
▢ 6 tablespoons salted butter - melted, see note
▢ 2 teaspoons garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) stir together water, yeast, and honey (or sugar). Rest for 10 minutes to let the yeast activate. It should rise and foam.
Stir in 2 cups flour, olive oil, and salt.
Gradually mix in more flour (1 1/2-2 cups) until you have a soft, shaggy dough.
With flour-dusted hands, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rise for 10 minutes.
Divide dough into two equal parts. Divide each half into two equal parts again. Continue to do this until you have 16 equal-sized pieces of dough.
Roll each into a log about 10 inches long and place 2-inches apart on a greased baking sheet.
Bake for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together melted butter and garlic powder.
After 5 minutes, brush with half of the garlic butter and return to oven for 6-8 minutes until golden. (They will continue to brown a little more after you pull them out of the oven so don't over-bake them).
Brush with remaining garlic butter and serve.

If using unsalted butter, add 1 teaspoon salt to the garlic butter mixture.

This recipe makes 16 breadsticks, if you only need a portion of the batch for your meal, I suggest freezing some of the breadsticks for later. To do this, follow the recipe as written but remove the breadsticks from the oven (the ones you intend to freeze) after the first 5 minutes of baking. Do not brush with butter. Allow to cool, then freeze in an airtight zip lock bag. When ready to eat, brush the breadsticks with garlic butter and wrap loosely in foil, then bake at 400 for 6-8 minutes and brush with butter again just before serving.

Calories: 148 kcal , Carbohydrates: 20 g , Protein: 3 g , Fat: 6 g , Saturated Fat: 3 g , Trans Fat: 1 g , Cholesterol: 11 mg , Sodium: 475 mg , Potassium: 32 mg , Fiber: 1 g , Sugar: 2 g , Vitamin A: 131 IU , Vitamin C: 1 mg , Calcium: 6 mg , Iron: 1 mg