Olive Garden’s Neverending Pasta Bowl Is Back (& I Found the Perfect Order)

• What Is It: long, extra-thin, delicate noodles
• Best Sauce Pairing: Marinara, Five-Cheese Marinara

This pasta option is supremely soft and delicate; its thinness makes it very easy to chew and lends to an elegant-looking plate. This fragile noodle is best for light, delicate sauces. Personally, I’d like it with just garlic and oil, butter or cacio e pepe-style, but I felt the standard marinara was a simple, no-frills pairing for it, since it’s a bit too thin to hold chunks of meat or mushroom pieces.

• What Is It: long, thin string noodles
• Best Sauce Pairing: Marinara, Five-Cheese Marinara

I appreciated the doughy chew, which was similar to that of the chain’s drool-worthy bucatini, albeit a bit skinnier. Thinner sauces go best with spaghetti, so I think one of the vegetarian marinara sauces is a natural fit.

• What Is It: short, wide, ridged tubular noodles
• Best Sauce Pairing: Spicy Three-Meat, Creamy Mushroom

If you’re trying to demolish as many bowls of pasta as possible, this short noodle lends itself well to lightning-fast noshing. Its ridges make it great for holding ground meat and chunky sauces, so you could pair it with literally anything on the menu. However, I think the extra-meaty spicy option and the chunky mushroom sauce are begging to be matched with it.

• What Is It: long, flat ribbon noodles
• Best Sauce Pairing: Creamy Mushroom, Alfredo

This noodle boasts a wide, flat surface that’s prime for holding thick, creamy sauces and meat alike. Of course, Alfredo is the most famous pairing, but fettuccine can hold its own against just about any sauce on the list. Personally, I’d pair it with something rich and creamy, rather than something studded with meat.

• What Is It: marinara sauce with Italian sausage and beef

I tasted ground sausage and beef, so this one was very rich and savory. There was a meaty undertone that curbed the high notes of the acidic tomato base. I liked that the meat pieces varied in size; it made for a more diverse texture and an overall rustic look and feel, like it was homemade. Even with sausage in the mix, it wasn’t spicy, so don’t let that fear keep you from ordering if you don’t like hot foods.

• What Is It: creamy sauce made from scratch with Parmesan cheese, cream, garlic and butter

Thick, creamy and very cheesy, this sauce is the epitome of comfort food. It had a very faint hint of black pepper, but no unavoidably strong ingredients, like garlic. It really let the cheese and dairy do their thing unperturbed. Its rich texture will help it cling to just about any noodle you choose, although fettuccine is no doubt the most iconic choice. I’d say the rigatoni’s ridges would hold it just fine, too.

• What Is It: simple tomato sauce with herbs

I’m not a red sauce girl, but this one is pretty flawless. It was bright, zesty and just acidic enough. It’s essentially impossible to dislike, as it isn’t excessively herbaceous or garlicky, and it let the simplicity of the tomatoes shine.

• What Is It: creamy tomato sauce with five types of cheese

If you’re a vodka sauce devotée, this is the closest you’ll come on the Olive Garden Neverending Pasta Bowl menu. It was rich and cheesy, but still vibrant with tomatoey tang. It gave notes of oregano without being overwhelmingly herby. Picky eaters will have a hard time finding a problem with this luscious sauce option.

• What Is It: spicy tomato sauce with pepperoni, ground beef, Italian sausage, cherry peppers, red bell peppers, chili flake, red wine and garlic

This limited-time pick was visibly meatier than the meat sauce, and it had a nuanced, almost fruity note to it that made it far more complex. The heat—an approachable, lightly tingly medium-level spice—built as I ate. It was bright, acidic and robust. My favorite meat was the sausage, as it was equal parts tender, savory and herbaceous.

• What Is It: cheesy cream sauce with cooked baby bella and cremini mushrooms

This sauce was damn delicious! The mushrooms lended earthy, buttery umami to every drop of the cheesy base (which, after confirming with my server, was the Alfredo). Decadent with a mélange of dairy, I’d pair this beauty with a thicker noodle that can hold its own against the mushroom pieces and robust flavor. Just know it’s pretty salty as is, so you may want to taste it before asking for more grated cheese on top.

• What Is It: sautéed Italian sausage in casing

Savory, fennel-forward and snappy, this is exactly what I look for in an Italian sausage. There was a porky richness to it that I feel gets lost in one of the more robust sauces. That said, I’d pair this with plain marinara or the five-cheese iteration, so the complexities of the sausage can still get the spotlight.

• What Is It: baked, seasoned beef meatballs

I tried this essential topping without sauce to get a sense of its standalone flavor. They were very simple: think black pepper, garlic, cheese and breadcrumbs. They seemed baked instead of pan-fried, which made them shockingly moist and tender. I particularly enjoyed them with the creamy mushroom sauce and five-cheese marinara, but there’s no sauce they can’t get along with.

• What Is It: lightly fried, Parmesan-breaded chicken breast

Wow, this was so good I forgot about the pasta for a second! The chicken was remarkably tender and juicy, despite being white meat. The breading was flavorful and very crisp without taking away from the poultry itself. It was evenly golden-brown and just thick enough without bogging down each bite. If you ask me, it’s begging to be paired with creamy mushroom sauce or Alfredo.

The Ultimate Olive Garden Neverending Pasta Order

Fettuccine in creamy mushroom sauce topped with chicken fritta would be the perfect order, based on my top picks for each category. However, I think meatballs are just as tasty a topping (and just as versatile). If you’re a red sauce purist, go for the spicy-three meat while it lasts and rigatoni instead.