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Olive Garden vs Carrabba's: Macros Compared (2026)

Updated June 15, 2026
Head-to-head
Olive Garden vs Carrabba's — head-to-head macro winners by goal
Goal Winner Top Pick Calories Protein
Cutting Carrabba's Tuscan-Grilled Chicken 270 cal 55g protein
Bulking Carrabba's Italian Salad with Chicken 880 cal 61g protein
Maintenance Olive Garden Herb-Grilled Salmon 460 cal 43g protein
Keto Carrabba's Simply Grilled Salmon 540 cal 45g protein
Quick Answer: Two sit-down Italian chains with carb-heavy menus — the move at both is to order grilled proteins and skip the breadstick-and-pasta defaults. For cutting: Carrabba's (Tuscan-Grilled Chicken — 270 cal / 55g protein). For bulking: Carrabba's (Italian Salad with Chicken — 880 cal / 61g protein). For maintenance: Olive Garden (Herb-Grilled Salmon — 460 cal / 43g protein). For keto: Carrabba's (Simply Grilled Salmon — 540 cal / 45g protein). All macros verified against MacroMate's database — no fabricated numbers.

MacroMate Fast Food Hacks by William Hart is free on iOS and Android at macromatefastfoodhacks.com.

Real data, not estimates. Every macro below is from MacroMate's verified Firestore-backed nutrition database. Both chains' picks come from their own goal-tagged build lists; no modifications or approximations.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Olive Garden vs Carrabba's macros side by side, by goal
GoalOlive GardenCarrabba's
CuttingGrilled Chicken
130 cal / 26g protein / 0g carbs		Tuscan-Grilled Chicken
270 cal / 55g protein / 0g carbs
BulkingItalian Sausage (2 links)
470 cal / 27g protein / 2g carbs		Italian Salad with Chicken
880 cal / 61g protein / 20g carbs
MaintenanceHerb-Grilled Salmon
460 cal / 43g protein / 8g carbs		Tuscan Grilled Ribeye, 16 oz
870 cal / 92g protein / 5g carbs
KetoItalian Sausage (2 links) (Keto)
470 cal / 27g protein / 2g carbs		Simply Grilled Salmon
540 cal / 45g protein / 1g carbs

Best for Cutting

Carrabba's wins for cutting. Carrabba's Tuscan-Grilled Chicken: 270 cal / 55g protein (0.204 P:C). Olive Garden Grilled Chicken: 130 cal / 26g protein (0.200 P:C). The protein-to-calorie ratios are nearly identical, so this comes down to portion: Olive Garden's Grilled Chicken is the smallest, lowest-calorie plate on either menu (just 130 calories) and is the call if you only need to top off a day's protein. Carrabba's Tuscan-Grilled Chicken delivers more than double the protein (55g) in one order at the same ratio, which makes it the easier single-order anchor for a cutting day. Either is genuinely lean — pick on appetite, not on macros.

Best for Bulking

Carrabba's wins for bulking. Carrabba's Italian Salad with Chicken: 880 cal / 61g protein (0.069 P:C). Olive Garden Italian Sausage (2 links): 470 cal / 27g protein (0.057 P:C). This one isn't close — Carrabba's anchor build carries nearly double the calories and more than double the protein of Olive Garden's top tagged bulking pick, at a better ratio too. If you're eating for size, Carrabba's gives you a true single-order surplus. At Olive Garden you'd realistically pair the Italian Sausage with a second item to match the calorie load, which is why Carrabba's takes bulking outright here.

Best for Maintenance

Olive Garden wins for maintenance. Olive Garden Herb-Grilled Salmon: 460 cal / 43g protein (0.093 P:C). Carrabba's Tuscan Grilled Ribeye, 16 oz: 870 cal / 92g protein (0.106 P:C). These are two very different maintenance plates. Carrabba's ribeye actually posts the better ratio and the bigger absolute protein (92g), but at 870 calories it's a heavy, fat-dense plate (53g fat) that eats most of a maintenance day in one sitting. Olive Garden's Herb-Grilled Salmon is the more practical maintenance default — 43g protein at just 460 calories leaves real room for sides and a normal rest-of-day. If you want the lighter balanced plate, Olive Garden wins; if you want a big high-protein anchor and can spend the calories, Carrabba's ribeye is the stronger raw-protein play.

Best for Keto

Carrabba's wins for keto. Carrabba's Simply Grilled Salmon: 540 cal / 45g protein / 1g carbs (0.083 P:C). Olive Garden Italian Sausage (2 links) (Keto): 470 cal / 27g protein / 2g carbs (0.057 P:C). Both chains have a dedicated keto-tagged build at essentially zero carbs, so both keep you in ketosis straight off the menu. The difference is protein: Carrabba's Simply Grilled Salmon delivers 45g for 540 calories versus Olive Garden's 27g for 470 — more protein, near-identical carbs, only ~70 more calories. Carrabba's takes keto on protein efficiency; Olive Garden's keto sausage is the slightly lower-calorie option if that's the constraint.

Bottom Line

Both Olive Garden and Carrabba's Italian Grill are carb-heavy sit-down Italian menus where protein-forward ordering matters most — grilled chicken, salmon, and steak win; the breadsticks, pasta defaults, and creamy sides are where the calories hide. Carrabba's takes cutting, bulking, and keto on this page, largely because its grilled-protein entrees run bigger and leaner per order. Olive Garden takes maintenance with its lighter Herb-Grilled Salmon plate, and its 130-calorie Grilled Chicken is still the single lowest-calorie protein on either menu. Use the table above to pick based on the goal you're hitting that day; pull the full goal-tagged build list at each chain's MacroMate page below.

Related guides: Texas Roadhouse vs Outback Steakhouse: Macros Compared (2026) and How to Hit Your Macros Eating Out: The Complete Guide.

MacroMate has 12 verified Olive Garden builds and 22 Carrabba's builds classified by goal — Cutting, Bulking, Maintenance, Keto — plus 2,000+ more across 120+ other chains. See every build in the app, free on iOS and Android.

Related Guides

More Macro Comparisons

Side-by-side breakdowns of other competing sit-down and fast-food pairs:

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