How To Create Your Own Raspberry Bread At Outback Steakhouse

Admit it: At least once you've considered getting a booth at Outback Steakhouse solely to feast on its famous free brown bread. That would undoubtedly get you swiftly booted from the place, so it's best never to act on this whim. But you can get a little crazy with the complimentary loaves by leaping ahead to the dessert menu as soon as the cutting board hits the table. Request a side of the raspberry melba sauce that comes drizzled across slices of the chain's New York-style cheesecake, then mix that into the ramekin of whipped butter. Once you've spread the concoction over a slice of bread, you've just created an off-menu appetizer — one of several Outback ordering hacks that can result in everything from a hearty chili cheeseburger to a well-balanced rice bowl.

The fact that Outback's bread has become just as popular as the steaks shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Free, pre-meal offerings of baked dough are standouts at other restaurants, including Olive Garden's bottomless breadsticks (served initially as a way to ameliorate hungry customers while the kitchen worked out the kinks) and Red Lobster's dangerously addictive Cheddar Bay Biscuits. The obsession over Outback's loaves seems to stem from their hint of sweetness — some attribute that flavor to molasses — and the smattering of oats on top.

Brown bread fans have united online by sharing their copycat home recipes, most of which include molasses, sugar, honey, and a little cocoa. But if you're not much of a baker, you can likely get your local Outback to sell you a loaf or two to go. We wouldn't recommend trying to load up in the middle of a dinner rush, but feel free to inquire earlier in the day before lunch service really gets underway or during the pre-dinner lull.

If you end up trying the raspberry bread hack during your next visit, just be prepared to pay a few bucks for the melba sauce — remember that the rolls are free, but that's it. While you're at it, give a new-to-you dish a shot — there are plenty of underrated menu items, from the French onion soup to saucy Kookaburra Wings to pretty much the entire sides section. In fact, we wouldn't blame anyone who just ends up making a whole meal out of the food that accompanies the mains. A dinner of loaded mashed potatoes, creamy mac and cheese, sauteed mushrooms and broccoli florets smothered in Monterey Jack and cheddar? It may be unconventional, but there's no judgment here. After all, you're simply living by Outback's slogan: "No rules, just right."