8 Chain Restaurant Mozzarella Sticks, Ranked Worst To Best

There are few appetizers I enjoy more than a batch of homemade air fryer mozzarella sticks, or even some of the best-ranking frozen cheese stick brands when I don't have time to make my own. While these are fantastic at-home options, sometimes you just simply don't want to cook at all. Instead, you head to your favorite chain restaurant. But, there's no reason to forgo those beloved cheesy sticks, as plenty of spots have their own version on the menu. The question is, though, which options are best and which should you skip?

Well, you don't have to guess the answer to that question because I had the opportunity to taste test eight chain restaurant mozzarella sticks and rank them from worst to best. Each option was judged on taste, smell, and cost, and I relied on my food industry experience as well. You can find a full explanation of my methodology at the end of this article. Ready to discover where you should eat next if you're craving mozzarella sticks?

I love Red Robin and frequent it regularly. While most of its menu items have been hits with me, these Red Robin Cheesy Mozzarella Twists just fall flat. To be clear, they aren't horrible and I'd eat them again if they were served to me by someone else, but I'll never go out of my way to order them again. Instead of straight lines like the traditional dish, these are corkscrewed, and didn't have a defining smell — if anything, there was the faintest cheesy scent with surprisingly zero starchy tones. They were also unusually pale for something deep fried. At my local Red Robin in Vineland, New Jersey, these cost $10.49.

My biggest problem with these cheesy twists is that they're very bland. The breading is light and doesn't seem to have any real seasonings to speak of. The cheese is also very bland — like it's the ghost of mozzarella instead of the real deal. Overall, I was left very underwhelmed. Because I was so disappointed, I can't recommend these with any good faith.

I don't eat very frequently at Buffalo Wild Wings, and these mozzarella sticks gave me even more reason to forgo the chain. There's almost no cheese inside the sticks — when you bite into them, it's a bunch of open space with a circular coating of cheese. Also, they smell like a restaurant deep fryer instead of mozzarella sticks. I'm not sure if this is because my specific restaurant needs to change its oil or whether this is just how the breading ends up tasting during the typical cooking process. These Buffalo Wild Wings Mozzarella Sticks cost me $9.49, which I think is a bit costly for the smaller serving size you receive.

Despite an awful smell and almost no cheese, these did have a bit of seasoning to counteract the negatives. The fact that there's any flavor at all is the only reason these rank higher than Red Robin's option, but I still wouldn't eat them again because there's just not much substance to the dish.

Applebee's is an iconic chain restaurant that's making some big changes in 2025, including expanding its dual restaurants with IHOPs. With so many great things on the horizon, I was excited to try its mozzarella sticks — and honestly, a little embarrassed I hadn't tried them already since Applebee's is on my regular dine out rotation. Sadly, I was rather disappointed. I wanted to like these, but they just fell short.

While there is no defining smell to these mozzarella sticks, they did have a beautiful golden brown coloring and a standard stick shape. The best thing about them is that there's an incredibly generous portion of cheese — I mean, these things are absolutely stuffed with ooey gooey goodness. Unfortunately, the breading was very bland without any spice in sight, and this just threw the whole dish off for me. Since mozzarella has a light flavor profile, these sticks came out tasting like nothing. I wouldn't buy these again, and I can't recommend them, no matter how much I wish I could. At $9.79, I'll be skipping these from now on.

Red Lobster is another restaurant I don't frequent, and I was surprised to hear it even carries mozzarella cheese sticks. They came in standard stick form and cost $10.49.  A strong creaminess paired with thick starchy notes and faint hints of earthiness permeated the air as soon as I opened the lid, making my mouth water. These cheese sticks definitely had the best smell of any on this list.

If the smell had been more indicative of the taste, these could have easily been in the running for the top spot. As it is, both the taste and texture were rather disappointing. While there was a ton of cheese comparatively, this was another bland option with no real defining flavor profile to speak of. Plus, these were unevenly cooked — crispy on one side and mushy on the other. Overall, they were just okay and I don't think I'll be ordering them again.

Despite taking second place in my Texas Roadhouse Appetizers ranking, these Twisted Mozzarella sticks didn't quite close in on the top spot here. While they are highest rated twists on the list, as far as mozz sticks overall, there are chain restaurants that just do them much better. 

The coloring of these mozzarella sticks is a little pale and there is no defining smell. The breading is on the thinner side in comparison to others on this list, but the cheese is thick and gooey. What breading does make an appearance is well-seasoned with what I believe to be Italian seasoning. 

I would purchase these again if I were at Texas Roadhouse and think it is one of the better appetizes at the steakhouse chain. However, at $7.99 a serving, I feel like the portion size is a bit little small for the price point.

Rather than the typical mozzarella sticks found at many of the other restaurant chains on this list, the ones from Chili's are thick, rectangular patties that have a beautiful, dark golden brown coloring speckled with small hints of seasonings. There was a nice smell to them that was very starchy with light earthy notes from the spices. The breading offered a nice, well-seasoned, crispy layer that gave way to a lot of cheese. 

The only negative thing I really have to say about Chili's mozzarella sticks is that the cheese wasn't evenly melted like it was in the other mozzarella sticks I tried. While the outermost sections were nice and gooey, the core of the cheese was still pretty solid. Despite that, the flavor and crispy exterior are both hits, so I would definitely buy these again and can recommend them in good faith. Running $14.69, which is comparatively a lot, I feel like the portion size and quality make them more than worth it.

I had zero doubts that Olive Garden would make good mozzarella sticks because when I think of Italian cheeses, this is one chain that immediately comes to mind. Thankfully, I was right. The Olive Garden Fried Mozzarella comes in rectangular patties like Chili's, but these are much smaller and seem... delicate somehow. The coloring was a little light, but I could see a generous sprinkle of Italian herbs and Parmesan cheese on top, which was unique and promising. There was a faint earthy smell and heavy notes of Parmesan. 

Despite a lighter coloring, these were wonderfully crunchy, with heavily seasoned breading giving way to nicely melted, creamy mozzarella cheese. The Parmesan flakes added a nice layer of complexity that I really enjoyed. I highly recommend this appetizer to anyone who enjoys mozzarella and the only reason it didn't rank higher is that I preferred another option more. These cost $8.99, which I think is a great deal, and I would definitely buy them again. In fact, they also placed near the top of our ranking of Olive Garden appetizers.

I love Outback Steakhouse and even did a ranking of its steaks – spoiler alert, it turns out they were all pretty good (some were just better than others). This being the case, I had high hopes going into this taste test, and I'm happy to report that I was not disappointed. Outback Steakhouse's Fried Mozzarella Bloomberangs are unique due to their almost triangular, boomerang shape. Although there was no real defining smell to these, they had a gorgeous brown coloring speckled with spices, which was very aesthetically pleasing. 

The unique shape of these allowed for a ratio of more cheese than breading versus other options, which worked out really well. The cheese tasted fresh and creamy, while the breading was perfectly seasoned with Outback's signature Bloomin' Onion Spices. Dipped in the marinara sauce, this dish had a complex flavor profile primarily consisting of a rich umami and creamy dairy base, with light earthy notes and a faint sweetness throughout.

At just $9.99,  I would definitely order them again and highly recommend these to mozzarella stick enthusiasts everywhere. Once you try them, you'll have no  doubts as to why they ranked as my top chain restaurant mozzarella sticks.

I chose mozzarella sticks for this ranking based on chain restaurant availability near my home in Vineland, New Jersey. I judged each item on taste, smell, and cost, before ranking them from worst to best appropriately.

To make my determinations, I relied on more than 15 years of experience in the food industry, during which time I made countless mozzarella sticks. When two mozzarella sticks were closely matched, I asked for the opinion of my partner, who has a love of this appetizer to rival anyone I've met. Although personal preference played a role in this ranking, I aimed to be as unbiased about quality as possible.