What Type Of Flour Is In Olive Garden's Gluten-Free Pasta?

It's no secret that Italian and Italian-American dishes lean heavy on all things gluten. After all, the cuisine is anchored by gluten's heavy-hitters: pasta, bread, and pizza. In the United States, however, Olive Garden — which has popularized a never-ending pasta bowl – epitomizes Italian-American cuisine ... but that doesn't mean an all-gluten menu. According to the company's website, Olive Garden offers the option for a gluten-free pasta, which replaces standard flour with gluten-free, brown rice flour.

The flour variation is just one type of gluten-free flour, but tends to be a popular choice in recipes that require thickening or baking. It's also a common choice for homemade pasta across various gluten-free pasta recipes. While rice flour comes as both a brown or white rice option, Olive Garden chose brown rice flour intentionally; it yields "an even better pasta texture," per the restaurant's site.

In addition to the texture, brown rice flour comes with its own distinctive flavor. Its taste can be traced to the way its made, and while it won't taste exactly like your standard, gluten-filled pasta, it can be just as delicious in your next Olive Garden entree. 

Brown rice flour may not sound like an ingredient that works well in pasta, but it has plenty of merits as a noodle addition. In general, brown rice flour can be made with either medium- or long-grain rice, though it's unclear which version Olive Garden uses. That rice is then ground up and offers a nutty, earthy flavor to pasta doughs.

For further proof of the flour's success in pasta, look at all the options for dried, ready-to-boil gluten-free pastas. Many are made and sold on shelves with rice flour. Basically, it's as close to gluten pasta as you can get without actually eating gluten — at least, that's what some pasta brands claim. At the very least, it undeniably looks the same as gluten-made spaghetti. Of course, not all gluten-free pasta brands are the same, though it's safe to assume Olive Garden knows what's it doing. If only the restaurant made gluten-free breadsticks, too...