Olive Garden's Highest-Sodium Entree Has Over 60% More Than The Daily Limit

Checking our favorite menu items' nutritional information can be a sobering experience. While it's entirely possible for something to be both healthy and delicious, too often the reason food tastes sinfully decadent is because it is. Regrettably, this is the case with Olive Garden's Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo, which contains a stunning 3,720mg of sodium, or over 60% more than the daily sodium limit recommended by the American Heart Foundation (via Heart.org). Described by Olive Garden's official website as "Asiago-filled tortelloni baked in Alfredo with a blend of Italian cheese and toasted breadcrumbs, topped with sliced grilled chicken," we won't deny the appeal — there's a reason it nabbed the number one spot in our ranking and taste test of Olive Garden pastas. Likewise, we also reckon it's the ultra-creamy and rich pasta dish you should always order at Olive Garden.

While the human body needs a moderate amount of salt in order to function, consuming too much can increase blood pressure, raising the risk of heart disease and strokes. The American Heart Foundation warns that Americans consume far too much sodium — more than 3,300g daily! — and that a whopping 70% of that, at least, comes from packaged, prepared, or restaurant food. So, if you're an Olive Garden fan who's watching their sodium intake, what to do? Check the nutritional information for the Olive Garden menu, and you'll find the Fettucine Alfredo, Seafood Alfredo, and Shrimp Alfredo all feature less than the AHF-recommended max of 2,300mg of sodium. With only 650mg, the healthiest Olive Garden meal you can order is the chain's lunchtime spaghetti with marinara sauce. 

Chicken Tortelloni Alfredo is an indulgent meal in every sense, and trying to make it otherwise without rendering it unrecognizable is probably a doomed endeavor. Still, it's possible to prepare a version of the dish that doesn't put you in the sodium danger zone. First, the pasta: For the best quality and to stay closest to the Olive Garden original, try Giovanni Rana Cheese Lovers Tortelloni, which contain a mouth-watering mixture of Asiago, parmesan, provolone, fontina, and raclette cheese. This combination helped it reach the second-highest spot on our ranking of store-bought fresh pasta brands. Per serving, these tortelloni (which are typically bigger than tortellini) contain 680mg of sodium, or 30% of your daily recommended value.

Unfortunately, Alfredo sauce is usually quite sodium-heavy in its own right, and while there are low-sodium recipes out there, we cannot guarantee they would all compare favorably to Olive Garden's. At Serious Eats, however, James Beard Award-winning chef J. Kenji López-Alt offers an easily adaptable recipe for a "lighter" fettucine Alfredo that promises to be "just as good as these cream-packed renditions, but has a cleaner flavor and doesn't leave you in a food coma." López-Alt's recipe provides 806mg of sodium per serving, or 35% of your daily value, so combined with the pasta, this would put you at around 65% of your daily allotted amount. Provided your chicken is lightly seasoned and you use lower-sodium breadcrumbs such as panko, this should still allow for a modest garnish of grated parmesan without pushing your levels over the max.