Every week, my husband and I try our best to make it a point to go out to dinner. And like I have said before when I joined Weight Watchers on 1/1/18, I was not going to refrain from eating out just because I was trying to lose weight.
So, recently I thought about trying to remake my favorite restaurant recipes at home. And I decided to remake our favorite recipes from our favorite restaurants and share them with you all.
Below is my copycat Olive Garden Restaurant recipes remade for Weight Watchers Freestyle. This is the first Olive Garden copycat remake. Believe me, there will be more. I love that place! I hope you enjoy these copycat recipes as much as I do.
*This post contains affiliate links.
PIN FOR LATER ⇓
Copycat Olive Garden Restaurant Recipes Remade for Weight Watchers Freestyle
Spinach-Artichoke Dip
I love Olive Garden’s Spinach Artichoke Dip. But I recently seen on the menu that it is 800 Calories. Wow! So, my lightened up version is an 8″ baking dish of my copycat version of Spinach Artichoke Dip that serves 8 and is only 5 Points per serving. I’ll take it!Â
8 Ounces of Fresh Spinach Leaves
1 Brick (8 oz) of 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, Softened
1/4 Cup of Light Mayonnaise (I use Hellmann’s)
1 Clove Garlic, Minced
1/2 Teaspoon Each of Dried Basil, Dried Thyme
1/4 Teaspoon Each of Salt, Red Pepper Flakes and Fresh Black Pepper
14 Ounce Can of Artichokes Hearts (in water), Drained & Chopped
2/3 Cup of Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese*, Divided
1 1/4 Cups of Kraft Fat Free Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Vegetable Cooking Spray
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8″ baking dish or cast iron pan with cooking spray.
- In a microwaveable bowl, place spinach leaves in and cover. Microwave about 2 minutes or until wilted. Uncover and place spinach in a fine mesh strainer to drain. When cool enough to handle, wrap in a paper towel and squeeze out any excess water. Snip with kitchen scissors or chop. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whip cream cheese, mayo, garlic and all spices until blended. Stir in spinach and artichokes. Sprinkle in 1/3 of the Parmesan Cheese and mix. Spread into baking dish and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan Cheese and the Mozzarella Cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Cool slightly and serve at room temperature. I serve with French bread slices or Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps* (11 are 3 Points). Or with fresh crudites for 0 Points.
- This makes 8 servings at 5 Freestyle Points per serving. Enjoy!
PRINTABLE
- 8 Ounces of Fresh Spinach Leaves
- 1 Brick (8 oz) of ⅓ Less Fat Cream Cheese, Softened
- ¼ Cup of Light Mayonnaise (I use Hellmann's)
- 1 Clove Garlic, Minced
- ½ Teaspoon Each of Dried Basil, Dried Thyme
- ¼ Teaspoon Each of Salt, Red Pepper Flakes and Fresh Black Pepper
- 14 Ounce Can of Artichokes Hearts (in water), Drained & Chopped
- ⅔ Cup of Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese*, Divided
- 1¼ Cups of Kraft Fat Free Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Vegetable Cooking Spray
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8" baking dish or cast iron pan with cooking spray.
- In a microwaveable bowl, place spinach leaves in and cover. Microwave about 2 minutes or until wilted. Uncover and place spinach in a fine mesh strainer to drain. When cool enough to handle, wrap in a paper towel and squeeze out any excess water. Snip with kitchen scissors or chop. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whip cream cheese, mayo, garlic and all spices until blended. Stir in spinach and artichokes. Sprinkle in ⅓ of the Parmesan Cheese and mix. Spread into baking dish and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Cool slightly and serve at room temperature. I serve with French bread slices or Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps* (11 are 3 Points). Or with fresh crudites for 0 Points.
- This makes 8 servings at 5 Freestyle Points per serving. Enjoy!
Pasta Fagioli
Pasta Fagioli is one of my favorite Olive Garden soups. I find it very filling and I love the fact that my son eats it up like it’s going out of style. Frankly, I feel you can easily leave out the pasta in this recipe and just have the beans, meat and broth. Doing so, will make it 0 Freestyle Points and just as tasty. I don’t even miss the pasta, but I have included it in the copycat version below.
Vegetable Cooking Spray
1.5 Pounds of Ground Turkey Breast
1 Cup Each of Chopped Carrots, Celery & Onion
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
4 Cups of Fat Free Beef Broth
28 Ounce Can of Diced Tomatoes
15 Ounces of Canned Tomato Sauce
2 Teaspoons of Splenda
1 Teaspoon Each of Dried Basil, Dried Oregano, Dried Thyme & Salt
15 Ounce Can Each of Dark Red Kidney Beans + Cannellini Beans, Rinsed & Drained
1.5 Cups of Dry Ditalini Pasta, or other small pasta
Grated Parmesan Cheese, Optional
Fresh Parsley, Optional
*Feel free to add in any leftover cooked vegetables in Step 1 below. I love to add green beans occasionally.
DIRECTIONS:
- Spray a large saucepan with vegetable cooking spray and place over medium high heat. Add in ground turkey breast and cook until browned. If it starts to stick, add in a few tablespoons of water. Add in carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes. Add in broth, tomatoes, sauce, Splenda and all seasonings. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add pasta and beans and continue cooking over medium heat for 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese and snipped Parsley, if using.
- This makes 6 servings at about 1.5 Cups per serving at 3 SmartPoints on the Blue and Purple Plans and 7 SmartPoints for Serving on the Green Plan. Enjoy!
PRINTABLE
- Vegetable Cooking Spray
- 1.5 Pounds of Ground Turkey Breast
- 1 Cup Each of Chopped Carrots, Celery & Onion
- 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
- 4 Cups of Fat Free Beef Broth
- 28 Ounce Can of Diced Tomatoes
- 15 Ounces of Canned Tomato Sauce
- 2 Teaspoons of Splenda
- 1 Teaspoon Each of Dried Basil, Dried Oregano, Dried Thyme & Salt
- 15 Ounce Can Each of Dark Red Kidney Beans + Cannellini Beans, Rinsed & Drained
- 1.5 Cups of Dry Ditalini Pasta, or other small pasta
- Grated Parmesan Cheese, Optional
- Fresh Parsley, Optional
- *Feel free to add in any leftover cooked vegetables in Step 1 below. I love to add green beans occasionally.
- Spray a large saucepan with vegetable cooking spray and place over medium high heat. Add in ground turkey breast and cook until browned. If it starts to stick, add in a few tablespoons of water. Add in carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes. Add in broth, tomatoes, sauce, Splenda and all seasonings. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add pasta and beans and continue cooking over medium heat for 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan Cheese and snipped fresh Parsley, if using.
- This makes 6 servings at about 1.5 Cups per serving at 3 SmartPoints on the Blue and Purple Plans and 7 SmartPoints for Serving on the Green Plan. Enjoy!
Chicken Scampi
When we go out to eat, I almost always get a 0 Point ingredient main course. Basically, I really just choose chicken because I feel fish is not so filling -at least in the portions sizes you get at restaurants. Shrimp Scampi is one of my all time favorite seafood dishes and I love the fact that Olive Garden has Chicken Scampi on the menu. Here’s my copycat version of Olive Garden’s Chicken Scampi.
4-6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Cutlets
2 Tablespoons of Land O’Lakes Whipped Butter
Butter Flavored Cooking Spray
2 Shallots, Chopped Small
6 Minced Garlic Cloves
8 Ounce Can of Sliced Mushrooms, Drained
1 Teaspoon Each of Salt + Ground Black Pepper, Dried Parsley + Dried Oregano
1/2 Teaspoon of Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 Cup Each of Fat Free Chicken Broth + White Cooking Wine
2 Tablespoons of Fresh Lemon Juice
1/3 Cup of Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese*
DIRECTIONS:
- Spray a large saute pan with butter flavor cooking spray and place over medium high heat. When pan is hot, melt butter. Add in chicken breasts and saute until no longer pink – about 10 minutes. Add in shallots, garlic cloves, mushrooms and all the seasonings.Â
- Reduce heat to medium low and add in broth, cooking wine and lemon juice. Add in Parmesan Cheese and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Serve with angel hair pasta or zoodles.Â
- This makes 4 servings at 3 Freestyle Points per serving. Enjoy! (Points value does not include angel hair pasta)
PRINTABLE
- 1.5 Pounds of Boneless Skinless Chicken Cutlets
- 2 Tablespoons of Land O'Lakes Whipped Butter
- Butter Flavored Cooking Spray
- 2 Shallots, Chopped Small
- 6 Minced Garlic Cloves
- 8 Ounce Can of Sliced Mushrooms, Drained
- 1 Teaspoon Each of Salt + Ground Black Pepper, Dried Parsley + Dried Oregano
- ½ Teaspoon of Red Pepper Flakes
- ½ Cup Each of Fat Free Chicken Broth + White Cooking Wine
- 2 Tablespoons of Fresh Lemon Juice
- ⅓ Cup of Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese*
- Spray a large saute pan with butter flavor cooking spray and place over medium high heat. When pan is hot, melt butter. Add in chicken cutlets and saute until no longer pink - about 10 minutes. Add in shallots, garlic cloves, mushrooms and all the seasonings.
- Reduce heat to medium low and add in broth, cooking wine and lemon juice. Add in Parmesan Cheese and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Serve with angel hair pasta or zoodles.
- This makes 4 servings at 3 SmartPoints per serving on the BLue and Purple Plans, and 5 SmartPoints per serving on the Green Plan. Enjoy! (Points value does not include angel hair pasta)
*THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS WHICH MEANS IF YOU PURCHASE SOMETHING USING THE LINKS BELOW, I WILL RECEIVE A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF THE SALE FOR RECOMMENDING THE PRODUCT TO YOU. THIS IS ALL AT NO COST TO YOU. THANK YOU IF YOU DO PURCHASE SOMETHING THAT WAS USED IN MAKING THESE RECIPES.
Kraft Reduced Fat Parmesan Cheese
Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps
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Marlene says
Your chicken scampi is 3 points does that include the pssta
[email protected] says
No it doesn’t Marlene. Just the chicken and the sauce.