Yeasted breads don’t have to be difficult. After failing and trying hundreds of time to perfect dough recipes, this Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks recipe is foolproof. You only need 8 ingredients and one bowl and you don’t even have to knead! You’ll never need to step foot in an Olive Garden for breadsticks again!
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There’s a reason that we have no-yeast vegan bread on this website. It’s because I was scared to use yeast for a long time. It always seemed daunting and when I did try I didn’t know if it had doubled, how long was the correct time to knead and is the yeast even good?
If you’re anything like me and yeast scares you, I’m here to tell you after hundreds of tries, bread does not have to be complicated. Yes, even recipes using yeast.
I’ve been building my confidence in the kitchen, one recipe at a time, and I’m certain after making this recipe not only will it build your confidence, but you’ll also never want to step foot back into an Olive Garden because these breadsticks are just that much better.
Pretty soon you’ll be whipping up vegan cinnamon rolls and Copycat Auntie Anne’s pretzels weekly!
In the meantime, you’ll need a dish to serve with these breadsticks. We recommend trying our Vegan Pasta e Fajioli or One Pot Vegan Garlic and Parmesan Pasta!
Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Ingredients
- Flour – We want to make this recipe simple, so we’re using regular, all-purpose flour. You will want to make sure that you are properly measuring the flour and not over measuring.
- Substitute: You can also use bread flour with no changes to the structure or taste. Wheat flour can also be used for either the full amount or half wheat and half white. If you’re substituting with wheat, you will want to add an additional tablespoon of water per cup of wheat flour used.
- We do not recommend gluten free flour with this recipe at this time.
- Sugar – When most people think of sugar, they only think of sweetness; however, sugar when baking bread is also added for boosting yeast properties as well as retaining moisture. Additionally, it helps to give that golden brown texture at the end.
- Substitute: This is using granulated sugar; however, you can use brown sugar, maple syrup, date sugar or coconut sugar in the same amounts.
- Water – You want to make sure that you aren’t using extremely hot water when making a yeasted dough recipe. Instead, water should be 105-110˚F (40-43˚C).
- Substitute: Alternatively, you could you a plant based milk substitute that is unflavored and unsweetened; however, water works just fine.
- Non-Dairy Butter – We want the buttery richness to brush onto the breadsticks when finished. This also helps our seasonings to stick to the finished product.
- Substitute: Coconut oil will work as well; however, you’ll lose some of the buttery taste.
- Yeast – The recipe uses instant yeast because we have found it easiest and fool-proof for beginners when making this recipe. It helps the dough rise faster and is less finicky than active-dry. Some brands by call this rapid rise or quick rise yeast.
- Substitute: Active Dry can however be used as a 1:1 swap in this recipe. The biggest difference to note is that it make take the dough longer to rise if using active dry yeast.
- Salt – Helps to enhance the overall flavor and bring out all the notes you want to taste.
- Garlic Powder – Olive Garden is known for their buttery delicious taste and texture, but part of the amazingness is the garlic powder smothered on top! This is a non-negotiable on the top!
- Substitute: You can use dried or fresh, minced garlic as well.
How to make Olive Garden Breadsticks (vegan)
- In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, along with sugar, yeast, and salt. This helps to distribute the dry ingredients evenly amongst one another.
- Then, add in the water and olive oil and use a spatula to fold until mostly combined. Sprinkle a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it’s no longer sticky and you can form a ball.
- Grease the same bowl you’ve been working in and place your dough inside the bowl. If you notice, we skipped the kneading part of the recipe, because we wanted this to be easy and show you it’s not complicated. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and let it sit for 90 minutes or until doubled.
- Once doubled, punch down the down and divide into 12 even pieces (we use a scale to measure for ease and accuracy). Tip: divide into even smaller (but still even) pieces to have smaller breadsticks. Roll each piece of the dough into a 9-10 inch (22.5-25.5cm) rope and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pieces.
- Carefully cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for another hour. Thirty minutes into baking, preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C). When dough is ready, bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Once done, remove the breadsticks and brush the melted butter across and then sprinkle with salt and garlic powder.
Can I prep these vegan breadsticks ahead?
Yes! You sure can! And you have a few options.
Once you have your dough and your bowl is covered, you can place the bowl in the fridge up to 2 days before you plan to use it.
Just make the recipe as written, cover and place in fridge until ready to use.
The second option is to make the entire recipe and then you can store in an air tight container for up to 3 days. Just warm to eat.
Vegan Olive Garden Breadstick Recipe Variations
Could I use vegan milk instead of water?
Yes. While you will get an amazing recipe using just water, if for some reason you would prefer to use a vegan milk you could. Use an unflavored, unsweetened version.
Can I make these cinnamon sugar vegan breadsticks?
Yes! Instead of salt and garlic powder, mix together ¼ cup of vegan sugar and ½ to 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and on top of the melted butter afterwards.
Can I make these cheesy vegan breadsticks?
Yes! Instead of salt and garlic powder, sprinkle ¼ cup of shredded vegan parmesan on top of the melted butter afterwards.
Can I freeze this vegan breadstick recipe?
Yes! And again you have options.
Make the recipe all the way through rising. Then, once it has doubled in size, you can place in a ziplock bag and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. To use, let set in the fridge overnight until thawed.
The second option is to make the entire recipe and then you can store in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw out overnight then heat.
Olive Garden Breadsticks FAQs
We prefer using bread flour for this vegan dough recipe; however, all purpose or wheat flour would also work.
Even a mix of half all-purpose and half whole wheat will work with this recipe.
We cannot currently recommend a gluten free flour or mix at this time.
As we wrote the recipe, we used vegan cane sugar. However, that is not the only source of sugar that you could use.
Maple syrup, as well as agave could be used in the same quantity.
No matter which type of sugar that you use, you don’t need to adjust any other ingredient amounts.
Read why your sugar may not be vegan.
We are using instant yeast. You can use active dry yeast but not that it will take longer to proof so you need to make sure that you aren’t moving on until your dough has doubled in size.
Yes, you can. Oil is used to make bread more tender and rich. However, you could omit it in both the dough and the topping.
If you want the garlic on top, lightly brush with some non-dairy milk and sprinkle.
Note that these will not be as close to the original Olive Garden recipe without the oil.
Unfortunately, at the time, we cannot recommend using a gluten free flour with this recipe.
Otherwise, use a soy free vegan butter and it will be safe for other Top 7 allergens.
More like this Olive Garden Breadstick Recipe:
The possibilities are really endless for but here’s a few of our favorite vegan dough recipes:
- Easy Vegan Soft Pretzel Bites
- Walnut Meat Skillet Pizza
- Vegan Chimichurri Monkey Bread
- Easy Vegan Garlic Knots
- Vegan Artisan Bread
- Easy Vegan Bread Loaf
- Vegan Focaccia
- Vegan Naan
Pin these Olive Garden Copycat Vegan Breadsticks for later!
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Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 – 3 ½ cups flour (we prefer bread, can use all-purpose or whole wheat – see post for details)
- 2 tablespoon vegan sugar (see post about other sugar source options)
- 1 package instant yeast (1 package = 2 ¼ tsp)
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
Topping
- 2 tablespoon vegan butter, melted
- ¼ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
- Then, add in the water and olive oil.
- Using a spatula, fold until mostly combined. Sprinkle a little more flour if needed to not be sticky and form a ball.
- Once ball is formed, grease the same bowl mixed in and place the dough ball back into the bowl.
- Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 90 minutes in a warm, draft free place until doubled.
- Once doubled, punch down and divide into 12 even pieces (we use a scale to measure).
- Roll each piece the dough out into a 9 – 10 inch rope. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining pieces.
- Let that rise for about an hour. 30 minutes into the hour preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
- Bake about 12-15 mins until done and golden brown.
- Once done, brush the melted butter across and then sprinkle with salt and garlic powder.
Better than olive gardens and a win with the kids. Thank you
Always love it when the kids approve of one of our recipes! Thank you so much for giving these a try, we’re happy to hear that everyone enjoyed them!
This has been a family favorite for years!
Fun fact, Olive Garden breadsticks are actually vegan! Love the at-home recipe with minimal ingredients, though!!
Yup!
Awesome!!!!
Thanks Debbie!
Is there a way to reheat after baking?
Yes microwave for a few seconds or you can do 5-7 minutes in the oven
Your breadsticks look so lovely…Mine were, well, very interesting looking BUT they tasted great. Thank you for another great recipe.
Bread shaping is definitely not easy. It’s the taste that matters though!