The Discontinued Olive Garden Experiment That Turned Leftovers Into A Menu Item

There are many dishes which once graced the Olive Garden menu that fell by the wayside for one reason or another, but there is one which stands out. This year marks the ten year anniversary of Olive Garden's introduction of the Deep Dish Spaghetti Pie, an indulgent, leftovers-based assemblage of carbs, cheese, and meat still capable of inspiring fond nostalgia among the Italian-American restaurant chain's more gourmand customers.

According to Olive Garden executive chef Jim Nuetzi, the spaghetti pie is a traditional Italian method of using up the leftovers of several other meals (per BuzzFeedNews). Initially launched as part of Olive Garden's "Never Ending Family Table" tour, during which new menu items were made available at Olive Garden pop-ups, spaghetti pies were soon being served at the franchise's restaurant locations. 

In addition to the eponymous pasta, the pie contained bacon and a dizzying seven different cheeses encased in a golden-brown pie crust, and came in two variants — meatballs and meat sauce, or chicken and Alfredo sauce. Unsurprisingly, a single serving of the meatball version clocked in at 1,590 calories and 104 grams of fat (per Fox News), but if we're being honest, we doubt many customers ordering something called a spaghetti pie were expecting a low-cal offering.

Early customers to try the pie highlighted its impressive size and decadence, and critical response to the new dish was largely positive (while also warning the dish, understandably, may make you feel sluggish). In a video review of the spaghetti pie posted shortly after its unveiling, Angie Greenup of the YouTube channel "Angie Eats It All" noted the textural difference between the pasta and the pie crust, commenting "it's not bad, don't get me wrong, but it's kind of ... confusing." Greenup added that the Alfredo sauce complemented the crust better than the meat sauce, thanks to its "butter factor."

Unfortunately, the spaghetti pie was not to last, and today your only chance of trying it for yourself is to try and recreate the dish in your own kitchen. When the YouTube channel "Mythical Kitchen" attempted to do just that, hosts Josh Scherer and Trevor Evarts used asiago, parmesan, mozzarella, provolone, Monterey jack, Pecorino Romano, and fontina cheese, and were pleasantly surprised by the results, observing that their recreated spaghetti pie was "so much better than fettucine Alfredo".