The Worst Olive Garden Pasta Is Just A Plate Of Goop

There's an alluring aura that looms around Olive Garden. Although it can't be seen by the naked eye, it can absolutely be felt. Hence, more than four million people regularly eat at various locations every week. You can thank its extensive menu for that. There are enough options to satisfy the pickiest of palates and fulfill any craving for extra cheesy, carb-centric meals. Plus, you don't have to spend a fortune to spoil your family with their favorite comfort foods. Although the promise of "never-ending" breadsticks and salad is always a great, savory addition to your meal, the inclusion of homemade soups and pasta sauces really takes your dining experience up a notch. However, not all of Olive Garden's menu items perfectly execute that homemade element. In fact, there are at least 11 different dishes you should avoid ordering the next time you visit Olive Garden. One dish that deserves the top spot on that list is the Lasagna Classico.

While Tasting Table once ranked it on our list of the best dishes to order at Olive Garden, the last time our team tried it, they had such an awful experience that they ranked it as the absolute worst Olive Garden pasta. Its appearance alone is enough to make you wish you had ordered something else. Unfortunately, this pasta dish is the ultimate catfish. Instead of having beautifully constructed layers of pasta, meat, cheese, and sauce, this lasagna looked like a soggy, deconstructed version of itself. Then, to make things worse, the lasagna was cut while it was still hot, causing all the layers to slip off and create a watery Italian soup that nobody asked for.

Two things you should know about Olive Garden are that the company doesn't serve al dente pasta, nor does it salt its pasta water. So, there's a high chance you'll be served lackluster, overcooked pasta. And this is probably what happened to our team's serving of lasagna. The pasta was extremely mushy and wasn't enjoyable to eat. Plus, the pasta failed to add any flavor or texture to the meal. It's as if the noodles were an afterthought.

Although this lagana is supposedly made fresh daily, you wouldn't be able to tell. Depending on the batch you get, the layers of mozzarella, pecorino romano, and parmesan might be incredibly bland, which is surprising since these cheeses are known for their strong, distinct flavors. Even the ricotta cheese layers could be flavorless and have an unpleasant, watery consistency. And the top layer of cheese, which is usually toasted to perfection for more depth of flavor, could taste and feel like plastic.

Unfortunately, the homemade meat sauce doesn't help with the overall flavor. In fact, the sauce might be the worst part of the dish. It tasted mainly like tomato paste that featured the world's tiniest amount of seasoning. Instead of offering a well-balanced flavor profile, the sauce was extremely sweet and had a strange tartness. It completely overpowered the subtle flavors that were already struggling to be noticed. Made with Italian sausage and pan-seared beef, there was barely any ground beef present, and the bit that was there was extremely wet. It did nothing to stabilize this slippery mess of a meal. Nor did either meat add any flavor. This honestly shouldn't even be called lasagna. It's essentially a soggy tomato, cheese, noodle, meatless mess.