Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus 1 hour rising) Cook time: 14 minutes Servings: 12 breadsticks

Olive Garden breadsticks are the reason half the people walk through that door. They’re soft, salty, slicked with garlic butter, and they keep bringing them until you tell them to stop. The actual breadstick recipe is straightforward — it’s a basic enriched dough that’s brushed with seasoned butter the second it comes out of the oven.

This recipe makes 12 breadsticks, which sounds like a lot until you realize three people can demolish them in about eight minutes.

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 cup warm water (105-110°F)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Garlic Butter Topping

• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Pinch of dried parsley (optional, mostly for looks)

Instructions

Make the Dough

1. Combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir gently and let sit for 5-7 minutes until foamy. If it doesn’t foam, your water was too hot or your yeast is dead — start over with fresh yeast.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
3. Add the softened butter and another 1 cup of flour. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
4. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes, adding the remaining 1/2 cup flour as needed. The dough should be smooth, slightly tacky, but not sticky.
5. Coat a large bowl with the olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turn it once to coat, and cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap.
6. Let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Shape and Bake

7. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
9. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. A kitchen scale helps here — each piece should be about 2.5 ounces.
10. Roll each piece into a rope about 7 inches long. Place them on the baking sheet about 1 inch apart. They should almost touch — this helps them stay soft on the sides.
11. Cover loosely with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes. They’ll puff up slightly.
12. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the tops are just barely golden. You want them pale, not brown. Olive Garden breadsticks are deliberately under-baked by normal bread standards.

Butter Them Up

13. While the breadsticks bake, stir together the melted butter, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and parsley.
14. The moment the breadsticks come out of the oven, brush them generously with the garlic butter. Use all of it. Don’t hold back.

Tips for Getting It Right

• Warm water temperature matters. Too cold and the yeast won’t activate. Too hot and you’ll kill it. Use a thermometer if you have one. 105-110°F is the sweet spot.
• Don’t over-flour the dough. Slightly tacky dough makes softer breadsticks. If you add too much flour, they’ll be dense and chewy instead of pillowy.
• Pull them early. These should look almost under-done when you take them out. The residual heat finishes them, and the butter soak adds moisture. Overbaked breadsticks turn into garlic bread — good, but not the same thing.
• Eat them warm. These are best within 20 minutes of coming out of the oven. If you’re making them ahead, underbake by 2 minutes, cool completely, and reheat at 350°F for 5 minutes before buttering.
• Space them close together. Breadsticks baked close together steam each other’s sides, which keeps them soft. Too far apart and you get crusty edges.

Cost Breakdown

The real comparison here is that you can make a full dozen breadsticks for about $2.15 in ingredients — flour, yeast, butter, and pantry spices. That’s cheaper than the gas it takes to drive to Olive Garden. And unlike the restaurant, you can eat them on your couch in sweatpants, which is the correct way to eat breadsticks.