The Best Appetizer at Chili's Isn't Even on the Menu

As a food writer and lover of off-menu restaurant trends, TikTok easily influences me. Recently, my feed has been filled with Chili’s fans eating sauce-tossed mozzarella sticks outside their closest restaurant, raving about how the best appetizer at Chili’s isn’t even on its menu. Deep down the sauce-tossed mozzarella stick rabbit hole, I knew I had to try this off-menu Chili’s item for myself.

What Are Chili's Sauce-Tossed Mozzarella Sticks?

According to a video by food influencer @eatdrinkbemandy, which has over 200,000 likes, the TikToker bites into a Chili’s mozzarella stick doused in Nashville hot sauce and proclaims that the “crunchiness on these is honestly unmatched, as is the cheese pull.” And the sauce? “The Nashville hot flavor is all evenly coated all around the mozzarella stick,” she says. “So you get an equal amount in every single bite… they are so saturated with flavor—wow.”

How to Order Chili’s Sauce-Tossed Mozzarella Sticks 

Sauce-tossed mozzarella sticks can’t be ordered through the Chili’s app and do not appear on the restaurant’s menu, so you have to call the restaurant in advance for your order.

I called my closest Chili’s and asked for two small orders of fried mozzarella sticks: one tossed in buffalo sauce, the other in honey chipotle. Each order of three mozzarella sticks costs about $10 (depending on location) and comes with a container of dipping sauce. After studying the most popular options on TikTok, I ordered ranch dressing for both and was not disappointed. The ranch dressing at Chili’s was as flavorful as its wing sauces and I was smitten.

Chili’s also sells a large version of this appetizer for about $15 (depending on location), so getting six tossed mozzarella sticks in a single order is possible. After having ordered this appetizer by phone, I believe I could have ordered a large order of mozzarella sticks and asked for half to be tossed in one sauce and half in the other to save a bit of money.

The sauce options for this combo are endless. Any of Chili’s dipping sauces, from sweet chili zing to mango habanero, can be requested as a coating, and you can choose whichever sauce you’d like for dipping. My ranch was delicious, but I could have chosen options like blue cheese, avocado ranch, or honey mustard had I been in the mood for something different.

How Do Sauce-Tossed Mozzarella Sticks Taste?

The first thing that struck me when I opened up my own Chili’s mozzarella stick order (in the Chili’s parking lot for authenticity purposes) was the aroma of the sauce-tossed sticks. Both varieties smelled mouth-wateringly delicious and I couldn’t wait to dig in. 

The appetizer was truly love-at-first-bite: Both flavors were crispy and well-coated and the cheese-pull was impressive. Dipped in ranch dressing, these sauce-tossed fried mozzarella sticks were so tasty that I can see why they’ve gone viral on social media.

What’s more, it feels pretty fun to be in a secret club that knows about a unique and delicious snack that you won’t find on the chain restaurant’s menu. I cannot wait to go back and try other tossed and dipping sauce combos.

In fact, I’ve asked my husband to pencil in Chili’s as our date night destination this week so we can partake in more saucy and cheesy endeavors. His only request? That we sit at the bar to enjoy this delightful appetizer rather than eating in our car—I guess he prefers something a bit more romantic than eating mozzarella sticks in the parking lot. Better yet, you could make these at home for an even cozier setting.