"When foodies splurge on a sit-down meal - even at a relatively cost-effective chain like Olive Garden - it's nice when the meal is a little more involved than what epicures can whip up at home. To that end, we recommend that you skip Olive Garden's basic marinara sauce. In our ranking of all six Olive Garden sauces, we gave the traditional marinara the lowest marks. It's overall inoffensive, an effective example of the Italian cucina povera culinary tradition, and not as heavy as the cream sauces in the O.G. oeuvre. Still, it ultimately wouldn't be our first (or second, or third, or even fourth) choice."
"The simple sauce delivers truly flavorful tomato tones, but that's about it. As our reviewer described, "It's a solid sauce, but I found it a little boring and slightly acidic for my personal taste ... With no other elements to divert the flavor, the acidity really comes to the forefront and takes the stage." Also worth mentioning is that the traditional marinara sauce features prominently in the chain's Chicken Parmigiana and Eggplant Parmigiana - the two lowest performers in our ranking of non-pasta Olive Garden entrees. While the restaurant's exact recipe remains a mystery, foodies seem to agree that its traditional marinara comprises some combination of crushed tomatoes, herbs, fresh garlic, black pepper, sugar, olive oil, and cheese."
The traditional marinara at Olive Garden scored lowest among the chain's six sauces. The sauce offers clear tomato flavor but lacks complexity and can taste slightly acidic. The marinara features in Chicken Parmigiana and Eggplant Parmigiana, which also ranked poorly among non-pasta entrees. Reported typical ingredients include crushed tomatoes, herbs, fresh garlic, black pepper, sugar, olive oil, and cheese. Staff accounts suggest a premade battuto and a marinara base are heated to serve, indicating daily in-house finishing rather than fully made-from-scratch preparation.
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