Why Olive Garden Customers Complain About The Breadsticks, Despite Their Popularity

Whether you're ordering the stuffed chicken marsala (one of our favorite Olive Garden entrees) or Olive Garden's famous soup, salad, and breadsticks meal, a basket of glutinous wands will be a fixture on your tablescape — and a fixture that fans are less excited about than they used to be. A frequent customer complaint about Olive Garden is that the breadsticks have gone downhill, and there's a reason why. Olive Garden changed suppliers in 2023 to make a sesame-free product, and thereafter, customer complaints have ranged from a lack of flavor to misshapen sticks and overall worse quality.

The chain sells more than 500 million breadsticks every single year on average. Changing such an iconic menu staple is a pretty bold move. So, why did Olive Garden take the leap? The fast-casual Italian chain swapped suppliers in order to ditch the sesame — an ingredient which was included in its previous iteration, and made the breadsticks off-limits to guests with a sesame allergy. The restaurant's move followed the enactment of the FDA's FASTER Act, which declared sesame as the ninth major food allergen in the United States and required manufacturers to clearly label sesame as a top allergen when it's an included ingredient. The supplier swap was a positive stride toward inclusivity, to be sure. As for those without a sesame allergy, many maintain that the new breadsticks just don't hit as hard as the old ones.

A Reddit thread in r/mildlyinfuriating at the time of the supplier swap is filled with customer lamentations. Commenters write, "There is NOT enough garlic salt or margarine on those, what a shame," "THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!!!!!!!," and "Literal hotdog bun quality. Such a sad time." Apparently, many foodies shared these criticisms. Another comment from an ostensible employee expounds, "They tried t[o] change ours around November maybe, but after enough complaints [...] they changed back months later [...] No one liked them. Managers tried to say they were the same lol." If this is true, it would mean that the breadsticks' sesame-free status varies by location. While we cannot verify exact sourcing for each individual store, allergy-sensitive foodies should ask their servers to be sure. According to Allergic Living, Olive Garden's breadsticks have been sesame-free since October 2023. 

"It was always our intent to identify alternative sources to ensure our breadsticks did not contain sesame flour," senior director of communications Rich Jeffers told the outlet. Jonesing for a taste of the old-school O.G.s? To get the most out of your next Olive Garden visit, we recommend upping the flavorful ante with the help of a few breadstick hacks — like double-dunking every bite in Alfredo sauce, then rolling it in freshly-grated Parmesan (you can thank us later).