Average restaurant prices rose 4.2% since 2023. So it makes sense that consumers are in search of ways to continue enjoying their favorite restaurants at the lowest possible prices. Fortunately, one fitness and lifestyle influencer’s hack for securing multiple dinners for the cost of a fast-food combo has Olive Garden lovers covered.
NerdWallet reported that the cost of “full-service meals,” such as those enjoyed at Olive Garden, has steadily risen by about 3.2% over the years. Takeout-style meals have reportedly risen 5%.
The 3 meals for $15 hack
In order to cut these costs—and save oneself a night or two of cooking—TikToker Jayme (@christinabeee) suggests ordering from Olive Garden’s lunch menu, which offers smaller, cheaper portions of pasta served with breadsticks and the choice of a soup or salad.
“Y’all better stop sleeping on Olive Garden,” she lectures in the video, which was viewed over 45,800 times since it was first posted on April 25.
Glancing at her receipt, Jayme confirms that she only paid $17.59 for a baked ziti dish, a salad, breadsticks and an extra take-home pasta bowl. Some viewers observed that the price was close to what one might pay at McDonald’s or another fast-food restaurant. “I spend 17 dollars at cfa,” one wrote.
“This is three meals to me,” Jayme announces, breaking down her meal plan for viewers: One pasta dish for the present, a salad for later, and the other pasta dish for the following day. “Go ahead and go to Olive Garden. Get you the lunch special from 11 to 3. Get you a little lunch-sized portion. Add another take-home for $6. And you have three meals.”
@christinabeee alll of that for 17.59 with taxes oh yes please 😭😭😭 #fyp #mealprephack #viral ♬ original sound – jayme
The hack is tried and true
This appealed to many viewers in the video’s comment section who had tried slight variations of Jayme’s hack. “I swap the salad for soup. The Pasta e Fagioli is basically chili,” @CleanGirlEra shared.
“What I usually do is I do an order online then add the six dollar take-home. I usually do that twice so you get four containers of pasta that usually last one to two days along with breadsticks,” @lurkinperc revealed.
Another way to get a cheap meal from Olive Garden is through the kids’ meal hack, which previously went viral. For $7, a customer shared they got a serving of Alfredo, broccoli, and two breadsticks. However, this hack is a bit divisive as many Olive Garden fans argue that the kids’ meal portion of Alfredo isn’t enough to fill them up.
The Daily Dot reached out to Jayme via Instagram direct message.
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