The Cheapest Pasta Dish You Can Possibly Order At Carrabba's Italian Grill

Italian chain restaurants range from ultra-cheap spots to more upscale eateries that charge a few extra bucks, and Carrabba's Italian Grill sits in the middle of this price range. Most of its pasta dishes, for instance, are priced around $20 to $25, with items containing meat or seafood costing more than the rest. The cheapest of all, though, is the spaghetti with pomodoro sauce, a frills-free dish that costs $15.99 at most Carrabba's locations.

You won't get anything particularly fancy with Carrabba's spaghetti, but it's a bargain that definitely satisfies. Pomodoro sauce is much like marinara, with just a few differences that make it even simpler in flavor, creating a fresh, tomato-forward taste. The restaurant finishes off the noodle and tomato sauce combo with some herbs and grated Parmesan. You also get a fairly generous serving for your $15.99, and the taste doesn't disappoint.

We think Carrabba's is one of the restaurant chains with the best spaghetti and meatballs – and reviewers agree that the chain's spaghetti is cooked perfectly al dente, with or without meatballs. The pomodoro spaghetti also has a balanced ratio of noodles to sauce and a comforting homemade flavor. And if you prefer spaghetti senza gluten, Carrabba's is happy to offer gluten-free pasta with any dish, for no extra charge. But if this dish sounds too mundane for you, the chain offers other pastas for not much more money.

You can add meatballs, meat sauce, or both to your Carrabba's spaghetti for a bargain $3, bringing the total up to $19.99, which isn't half bad. But to shave a few dollars off, consider the second and third cheapest pastas at the chain, the Linguine Positano and Rigatoni Martino. The linguine dish costs $16.99 and combines the pasta with crushed tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and basil. The rigatoni costs $17.99 is more substantial, featuring sauteed mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato cream sauce, scallions, and ricotta salata cheese. You can add meat to these pastas for an up-charge, but stick to the basic versions for a lower check.

If you want to tighten your budget further, look to other Italian chain restaurants with cheap pasta. In the debate of Olive Garden versus Carrabba's, we think the latter is the better chain, but OG wins in terms of low prices. Three of its pasta dishes are cheaper than Carrabba's spaghetti: Four-Cheese Manicotti ($12.99) and spaghetti with meat sauce or marinara (both $13.99). While its more substantial dishes like shrimp scampi and chicken Alfredo are priced roughly the same as Carrabba's more tricked-out pasta dishes, Olive Garden's famously large portions could be better value overall.

However, the most affordable Italian-inspired chain is not Olive Garden. It's actually Fazoli's, whose pasta plates range from $8.49 to $12.99. Just know that it landed in last place in our ranked list of Italian restaurant chains, so don't expect a gourmet meal for such low prices.