Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe

Homemade Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe

This is an awesome copycat Olive Garden breadsticks recipe that you can make from scratch at home! These beauties take more time to rise than my go-to breadsticks, but it is fun to change it up every once in a while.

The thing I love above these homemade breadsticks is that all of the ingredients are quite simple – you could probably just whip these up today if you want to! All it takes is warm water, yeast, sugar, flour, salt, and oil.

I use instant yeast, but you can use active dry. You just need to let active dry yeast dissolve and proof before adding the flour.

Speaking of flour, I happen to have bread flour on hand right now, so that is what I used. Bread flour will provide a more chewy texture, but all-purpose flour will work fine as well.

How to Make Olive Garden Breadsticks at Home

Ready to start baking? There are only five steps needed for these homemade Olive Garden breadsticks!

Step 1. Make the Dough

Start with 3 cups of flour total and only add more if needed. The dough should pull away from the sides and bottom of the bowl while kneading. It will become smooth, elastic, and only slightly sticky.

It will probably take about 7 minutes of kneading in the mixer. You can knead by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer, but plan for the kneading to take longer.

Step 2. Let the Dough Rise

The dough is all ready to be covered and start rising!

Step 3. Measure the Dough

I like to use a kitchen scale to ensure that each breadstick will be the same size. Uniform size means they look better and bake more evenly (you can eyeball it though if you want). You should get 12-13 breadsticks.

Step 4. Shape and Bake the Breadsticks

Tuck each dough piece into a ball (to help remove air bubbles and make it easier to roll evenly), then start rolling out the snakes. In case your play dough days are long gone and you are out-of-practice with the rolling, I find it helps to use two hands and gently stretch outward while you roll.

Side note: This homemade play dough is supposed to be awesome!

Step 5. Finish Up

Once you have your breadsticks shaped and on your pan (they should all fit on one pan), cover them and let them rise for an hour. Then, place them in the oven!

While they’re baking you can whip up the salt and garlic powder mixture. After they’re done baking, spread butter on them immediately and sprinkle the salt mixture on top. Done!

Final Thoughts

I even brought home some breadsticks from Olive Garden to make sure this recipe was on point. My verdict? No need to look further! This recipe is a fantastic copycat for Olive Garden breadsticks!

I heard that Olive Garden actually uses a frozen breadstick, then adds the topping. True? I don’t know. But I do know that Olive Garden uses margarine on top (I use butter though) and that palm oil is used in the dough.

If you’re someone who loves the breadsticks at the Olive Garden, you’ve definitely got to try this recipe out. I think you’ll really enjoy it!

Baking Mat We Used in the Recipe

If you’ve never tried using baking mats, check out our guide on baking mats for more in-depth info! This is one of my favorite brands:

Artisan Silicone Baking Mats

You might also like these Olive Garden copycat recipes:

• Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
• Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli Soup Recipe
• Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe

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Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe

If you've ever wanted to make homemade Olive Garden breadsticks, look no further! This copycat recipe is right on!

4.59 / 5 ( 12 Reviews )

Print Rate

Prep Time: 3 hours hours

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 3 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Serves: 12

Adjust Servings: 12

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Stand mixer
• Baking sheet

Ingredients

Breadstick Dough

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1 ¼ teaspoons yeast
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar divided
• 3-3 ¼ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 ¾ teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Topping

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

• In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar until yeast is dissolved. If using active dry yeast, let it proof for 10 minutes. If using instant yeast, no need to let it proof.
• Whisk in remaining sugar, 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and oil. Attach a dough hook to the mixer and add the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour. Knead mixture until dough is smooth and elastic, pulls away from the sides and bottom of bowl, but is still slightly sticky. Add up to 1/4 cup more flour, if needed. Transfer dough to a large buttered or cooking sprayed bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Punch the risen dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough evenly into 2-ounce portions, about 12-13 pieces. Tuck each piece into a dough ball and keep covered with plastic wrap as you work. Roll each ball into a 9-inch rope and place on prepared baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 425°F/220°C. Bake for 11-13 minutes, until golden on the bottoms. Briefly broil, if needed, to finish browning the top of the breadsticks.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. When breadsticks are done baking, remove from oven and immediately spread margarine or butter over each breadstick. Then sprinkle evenly with salt mixture. Serve warm or allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

Bread flour will give a more chewy texture, but all-purpose flour will work fine as well.

Nutrition

Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 6g | Sodium: 439mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g

Recipe Adapted From: Cooking Classy