Olive Garden Breadsticks are the perfect accompaniment to any dinner. A little sweet, a little garlicky, buttery, and so melt-in-your-mouth tender, not to mention so easy to make and bake in just 25 minutes!
For more great copycat restaurant recipes like this one, try my Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Soup, Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Copycat Olive Garden Salad and Dressing, or my Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits.
Is there such a thing as bread lovers anonymous? If so, I am fairly certain I need to become a member. “Hi, my name is Tiffany, and I am a carboholic.” And not just any carbs…I’m talking breads, especially the homemade kind. Especially the easy-to-eat-10-of-and-not-really-notice-kind. Like rolls, biscuits, (for a great roll recipe, try my Best Easy Crescent Rolls Recipe and for a biscuit recipe check out my Easy Buttermilk Biscuits), and these amazing breadsticks!
I almost always double this recipe because, let’s face it, I can eat a single batch myself. And, that’s kinda rude I suppose to do to the kids and husband, so, I must make one batch for me, and one for them. I mean, a whole breadstick is basically like one pretzel right? Samsies.
If you’re like me and want all the bread, then this recipe is for you. Even if you have self-control this recipe is for you, too. (Also, tell me your secret.)
Here’s How You Make It
- Turn that oven to preheat to 400 degrees while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- In a large bowl, stir together the water, yeast, and honey or sugar. Let it rest for 10 minutes to let the yeast have time to activate in the hot water and sweet stuff. It should rise and foam while it activates.
- Then, stir in 2 cups of flour, the olive oil, and salt to the yeast mixture. Gradually whisk in more of the flour (about 1 ½ to 2 cups) until you have a soft, shaggy dough.
- Dust your hands with some flour and get the dough out of the bowl and turn it out onto a floured surface, kneading for another 2-3 minutes.
- Put the dough back in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rise for another 10 minutes. Once it has risen, divide the dough into two halves. Then divide each half in half again and again until you have 16 equal-sized balls of dough.
- Roll each ball into a log about 10 inches long and put them 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Put them in the oven for 5 minutes. While they’re baking, stir together the melted butter and garlic powder.
- Pull this Olive Garden breadsticks recipe out of the oven and brush with half the garlic butter. Return to the oven for 6-8 minutes to bake until they are golden brown. Pull them at this point as they will continue to bake a little even after you’ve taken them out of the oven.
- Brush with the rest of the garlic butter and eat up!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can just buy Olive Garden breadsticks. You can eat them at the restaurant or order them for carryout.
But, let’s say you want them RIGHT NOW or you can’t get to the store for some reason or it’s closed, or you want to save money and make them yourself? All good reasons to make your own and use this easy breadsticks recipe!
Have them whenever you want and as many as you want by making them yourself. You will regret nothing! (And save money and time!)
Yes, you can freeze these breadsticks one of two ways:
Freeze the dough. That’s right, make the dough all the way through splitting them into 16 balls. Freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet before stacking into an airtight bag and storing in the freezer. Dough will keep frozen up to 3 months. When you’re ready to thaw, take the bag out of the oven and let the dough thaw in a warm, dry place. Then roll into breadsticks when the bread has warmed up and bake as instructed.
Freeze the cooked breadsticks. To freeze this easy breadsticks recipe, allow the bread to cool all the way to room temperature. Then, wrap the breadsticks tightly in aluminum foil then put in a heavy-duty, airtight freezer bag. They will keep for about 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and then put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes to toast back up.
Recipes to Try Next!
If you love Olive Garden, check out my complete collection of Copycat Olive Garden Recipes!
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo on social – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Olive Garden Breadsticks
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups very warm water
- 1 packet instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey - or sugar
- 3-4 cups flour - more for kneading
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 6 tablespoons salted butter - melted, see note
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) stir together water, yeast, and honey (or sugar). Rest for 10 minutes to let the yeast activate. It should rise and foam.
- Stir in 2 cups flour, olive oil, and salt.
- Gradually mix in more flour (1 1/2-2 cups) until you have a soft, shaggy dough.
- With flour-dusted hands, transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and allow to rise for 10 minutes.
- Divide dough into two equal parts. Divide each half into two equal parts again. Continue to do this until you have 16 equal-sized pieces of dough.
- Roll each into a log about 10 inches long and place 2-inches apart on a greased baking sheet.
- Bake for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together melted butter and garlic powder.
- After 5 minutes, brush with half of the garlic butter and return to oven for 6-8 minutes until golden. (They will continue to brown a little more after you pull them out of the oven so don't over-bake them).
- Brush with remaining garlic butter and serve.
my go to recipe for pasta nights!! I did have to tweak it a bit first time i made it they were way too dense the second time i let it rise for a half hour and it was better, after that letting the dough rise for 1hr 20min was perfect for me. it may just be something with me but worth a try if you find yours are turning out too dense 🙂
Tasty.
Wonderful post! Your tips and techniques for baking breadsticks are so helpful. I appreciate the step-by-step guidance and can’t wait to try making them myself. Looking forward to more delicious recipes!
I’m glad you found this recipe helpful and tasty! Haha I hope you continue to enjoy these recipes 🙂
Perfect every time! Great recipe. Easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
Our go to quick olive garden recipe! Turns out everytime!
Very Dense – not Olive Garden.. I had to add so much flour to it just to get to shaggy spot – instant yeast was good and bubbled..
These are delicious,and so easy!
4 stars only because the second rise time is way too short. I let my dough rise for an hour to ensure it wouldn’t be too dense on the inside of the bread. Came out great with a longer rise.
Horrible
I didn’t have instant yeast (I only had dry active yeast) so I had to wait longer for them to rise, but OMG they worth the wait! So delicious! I think they taste better than Olive Garden’s breadsticks!
I’ve made these twice now and both times turned out perfect. So delicious, easy, and I love how quick they come together compared to other recipes!
How do you get them to hold shape?
Once rolled into a log of about 10 inches long and placed 2-inches apart on a greased baking sheet, they should hold their shape.
Hi, can I make the dough ahead of time and store in the fridge? If so, how long would I let rise once out of the fridge?thank you!
Let the dough rise once, then shape the breadsticks, cover them tightly so they don’t dry out and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature as the oven preheats. If they have not doubled in size yet, allow them to keep rising until they have doubled, then bake as directed. 🙂
Do you use all purpose flour?
Yes 🙂
OMG! These are so addictive! I’ve made them 4 times in the last 3wks ;-p
I let them rise a whole hour and made them bigger, lower count. A KEEPER!
What would be the measurement if I’m using instant yeast from a jar?
2 1/4 tsp
There’s actually a spoon for measuring out 2 and 1/2 tsp specifically for bulk yeast! I was so excited to come across it and it’s been a game changer. Just Google “yeast measuring spoon”