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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 10-K/A

Amendment No. 1

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009

OR

For the transition period from              to             

Commission File Number: 1-13666

DARDEN RESTAURANTS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (407) 245-4000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.     Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  ¨    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x.

The aggregate market value of Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, based on the closing price of $14.30 per share as reported on the New York Stock Exchange on November 23, 2008, was approximately: $1,958,888,217.

Number of shares of Common Stock outstanding as of June 30, 2009: 139,437,832 (excluding 143,573,596 shares held in the Company’s treasury).

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on September 24, 2009, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than 120 days after May 31, 2009, are incorporated by reference into Part III, and portions of the Registrant’s Annual Report to Shareholders for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2009 are incorporated by reference into Parts I and II of this Report.

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Explanatory Note

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (the “Company”) is filing this Form 10-K/A Amendment No. 1 (“Amendment”) to amend its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended May 31, 2009, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on July 24, 2009 (the “Original Form 10-K”). The sole purpose of this Amendment is to provide information that inadvertently was omitted from a table appearing in the Company’s Proxy Statement dated August 18, 2009, filed with the SEC on August 18, 2009 (“Proxy Statement”), that was incorporated by reference in Part III, Item 11 of the Original Form 10-K. Specifically, the table under the heading “Option Exercises and Stock Vested for Fiscal 2009” on page 41 of the Proxy Statement, that was incorporated by reference in Item 11 of the Original Form 10-K as part of the “Executive Compensation” section of the Proxy Statement, omitted the “Value Realized on Exercise” column, which now is included in this Amendment. In addition, as required by the rules of the SEC, this Amendment amends Part IV, Item 15 “Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules” of the Original Form 10-K, and the Exhibit Index that is incorporated by reference into Item 15, to contain currently-dated certifications from our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Except for the changes described above, and the updating of our address on the cover (as previously reported in our Form 10-Q filed October 8, 2009), this Amendment does not modify or update in any way the financial position, results of operations, cash flows or other disclosures in, or exhibits to, the Original Form 10-K, and does not reflect events occurring after the filing of the Original Form 10-K on July 24, 2009.

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DARDEN RESTAURANTS, INC.

FORM 10-K

FISCAL YEAR ENDED MAY 31, 2009

AMENDMENT NO. 1

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PART III

Item 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

The information contained in the sections entitled “Director Compensation,” “Executive Compensation,” “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Compensation Committee Report” and “Corporate Governance” in our definitive Proxy Statement for our 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders is incorporated herein by reference, subject to the following amendment to the section entitled “Executive Compensation”.

The subsection of the “Executive Compensation” section entitled “Option Exercises and Stock Vested for Fiscal 2009” appearing on page 41 of the Proxy Statement is amended and restated in its entirely for purposes of this Item 11 to read as follows:

Option Exercises and Stock Vested for Fiscal 2009

The following table summarizes the number of option awards exercised and restricted stock and restricted stock units vested during fiscal 2009 for each of the NEOs.

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PART IV

Item 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES

The following consolidated financial statements of the Company were previously submitted with the Annual Report on Form 10-K:

Report of Management Responsibilities.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

Consolidated Statements of Earnings for the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, May 25, 2008 and May 27, 2007.

Consolidated Balance Sheets at May 31, 2009 and May 25, 2008.

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity and Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, May 25, 2008 and May 27, 2007.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the fiscal years ended May 31, 2009, May 25, 2008 and May 27, 2007.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

2. Financial Statement Schedules:

Not applicable.

3. Exhibits:

For the exhibits that are filed herewith, previously filed with the Annual Report on Form 10-K or incorporated herein by reference, see the Revised Exhibit Index located in this Form 10-K/A Amendment No. 1. The exhibits listed in the accompanying Revised Exhibit Index are filed as part of this Form 10-K/A Amendment No. 1 and incorporated herein by reference. Pursuant to Item 601(b)(4)(iii) of Regulation S-K, copies of certain instruments defining the rights of holders of certain of our long-term debt are not filed, and in lieu thereof, we agree to furnish copies thereof to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon request. The Revised Exhibit Index specifically identifies with an asterisk each management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement required to be filed as an exhibit. We will furnish copies of any exhibit listed on the Revised Exhibit Index upon request upon the payment of a reasonable fee to cover our expenses in furnishing such exhibits.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

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REVISED EXHIBIT INDEX

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