How to Get Olive Garden Never-Ending Pasta Pass on July 16

On Thursday, July 16 at 2 p.m. ET, Olive Garden puts 10,000 Never-Ending Pasta Passes on sale at PastaPass.com for $100 plus tax. It's the first time the promotion has been available since 2019, per Olive Garden's official announcement this week. This guide covers exactly what the pass includes, how to buy one before the window closes, and what to do if you miss it.

Know this upfront: when Olive Garden last ran this promotion in 2019, all 24,000 passes sold out in "milliseconds," per Axios. This year's supply is less than half that. Speed is the only meaningful strategy.

What the Pasta Pass gets you (and what Olive Garden hasn't clarified)

The $ 100-plus-tax pass covers 13 weeks of unlimited pasta, homemade sauces, and protein toppings at participating locations, plus bottomless soup or salad and breadsticks at every visit, per the official press release. The pass is valid from August 24 through November 22, 2026.

Diners can mix and match across 120 combinations of pasta shapes, sauces, and proteins. Two additions are new this year: a Spicy Alfredo sauce and Crispy Shrimp Fritta as a protein topping, per Axios.

Passholders also get one week of early access. The promotion opens for them on August 24, a full week before the public launch on August 31, per ABC News.

How to get the Olive Garden Never-Ending Pasta Pass on July 16

Prerequisites: Have your payment method accessible before 2 p.m. ET on Thursday. The sale is online only; there is no in-restaurant option. Visit PastaPass.com before Thursday to check whether account creation or payment pre-saving is available. If account creation is required, sort that before the sale opens, not during it.

Step 1: Be at PastaPass.com at exactly 2 p.m. ET on July 16.

The first 10,000 shoppers to claim a pass will have one added to their cart, followed by an eight-minute checkout window. Strictly first-come, first-served.

Time zone check: 1 p.m. Central / noon Mountain / 11 a.m. Pacific. Set a reminder now.

Step 2: Complete checkout without stopping.

Don't browse the menu options or reconsider your sauce preferences mid-transaction. The 2019 sale had 24,000 passes and still went in milliseconds; this year, there are 10,000, per Axios. Treat the checkout screen like a timed test.

Step 3: Save your confirmation immediately.

Once payment processes, keep the confirmation email. That record is your proof of purchase until the pass is delivered or activated. Screenshot it, forward it to yourself, do both.

One non-obvious gotcha: since its debut in 2014, the pass has been claimed within minutes every year it was offered, per the official press release. Follow the instructions shown on the official site. If it says all passes have been claimed, Olive Garden says the passes have been purchased.

Is the Olive Garden Pasta Pass worth $100 plus tax?

The break-even math is straightforward. At $14.99 per visit for the standard Pasta Bowl, seven visits clear the $100 threshold. Seven visits over 13 weeks work out to roughly one visit every 13 days. Once every three weeks falls short.

Historical usage suggests many passholders exceeded that threshold. During earlier eight-week promotions, the average buyer visited about 10 times, per Inc., above the break-even minimum. This year's 13-week window is five weeks longer than any prior run, per Axios, which gives even occasional diners more runway to reach the threshold.

One honest caveat: those figures come from Olive Garden and parent company Darden, not independent analysis. They also exclude beverages, gratuity, and any potential add-on costs. Factor those in, and the practical break-even point sits somewhat higher than the official seven visits.

What else to factor in before buying

The pass makes clear sense if Olive Garden is already part of your regular rotation. It makes considerably less sense if you'd be engineering trips specifically to justify the upfront spend.

There's a calendar dimension worth considering, too. The 13-week window runs from late August through late November, covering football Sundays, the pre-holiday stretch, and plenty of weeknights when cooking sounds like effort. Whether those dates align with when you'd realistically drive to an Olive Garden is a more useful question than whether the math technically clears on paper.

It's also worth understanding why the promotion is back after a six-year absence. A Darden spokesperson told Inc. that the pass "maintained a remarkable level of relevance since its last appearance," and that sustained demand signaled the right moment to bring it back. Whether this translates into a recurring annual event is something Olive Garden has not addressed publicly. The promotion has sold out without fail every year it has been offered since 2014, per the official press release, which is reason enough to treat Thursday as a genuine limited window rather than the first of many chances.

If you miss out: the $14.99 Pasta Bowl and the EClub early-access window

Missing the Thursday window doesn't mean missing the promotion entirely.

The Never-Ending Pasta Bowl, the per-visit version of the same deal, returns nationwide from August 31 through November 22 at $14.99, per the official press release. It covers the same 120-combination menu, including the new Spicy Alfredo and Crispy Shrimp Fritta, with unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks at each visit.

EClub members get the same early-access window as passholders: August 24 instead of August 31, per Axios. Enrollment at OliveGarden.com is free. If you're not already signed up, do it before August 24; that week of early access costs nothing and beats the public rush.

The two options serve different dining habits. The $100 pass rewards frequency and front-loads the value. The $14.99 Pasta Bowl rewards flexibility; you pay only when you go. For anyone visiting Olive Garden fewer than seven times over 13 weeks, the Pasta Bowl is the more rational starting point, not a fallback position. The choice depends less on which deal looks better on paper and more on how often you're actually going to drive to an Olive Garden between late August and late November.

The short version

Go to PastaPass.com at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 16. Have payment ready, don't hesitate at checkout, and save the confirmation the moment it comes through.

If you get a pass, you'll need about seven visits between August 24 and November 22. Historical data from prior runs suggests many passholders exceeded that, though those figures come from Darden and don't account for drinks or tips. If Thursday passes without a confirmation email, sign up for Olive Garden's free EClub before August 24 and get the same early-access window on the $14.99 Pasta Bowl, per the official press release.