Review: Chili's Kicks Up The Heat With New Secret Menu Nashville Hot Fried Mozzarella

Everyone loves a good secret, especially when it leads to gooey, melted cheese that is coated in hot Nashville-style spices. If those sound like words you want whispered in your ear, then you're in luck. That's because Chili's new Nashville Hot Mozz has arrived ... but only for those in the know. Available at Chili's locations nationwide, the twist here is that this spicy app will not appear on the menu. Instead, patrons will need to specifically request them from a server when ordering in person.

Anytime the words "secret menu" get tossed around, we here at Mashed perk up. It's a promise of extra goodies and helps you feel as if you're in on a fun secret, too. And we're certainly well-versed in the regular Chili's menu, which we've ranked previously, so the idea of a new addition was intriguing.

In other words, we knew we had to taste-test this spicy secret right away. I visited my local Chili's the day the Nashville Hot Mozz became available to find out if this restaurant chain's latest menu item is worth sharing ... or if it's a secret better kept quiet. Read on to learn more about the new offering and for my review of Chili's take on kicked-up cheese.

The Nashville Hot Mozz is a secret menu item, so you'll have to ask for it specifically when you order. Chili's offers two different sizes of this appetizer, namely a three-piece and a six-piece version. The three-piece set can be yours for $10.29, while a six-piece will run you $13.79 (though, of course, you may find that prices vary somewhat from region to region). If you're looking for more than one appetizer, then there is further good news. The Nashville Hot Mozz is also available as part of the Triple Dipper appetizer combo, where you can pair it with just about everything on the appetizer side, from Chicken Crispers to Chili's Big Mouth Bites hamburger sliders. And if you're a spice fan who just can't get enough heat, the Chicken Crispers come in a Nashville hot variety as well, bringing to mind the Nashville hot chicken made famous by the culinary geniuses of Music City (here, sans the chicken).

Nashville Hot Mozz will be offered nationally for at least the month of August 2024, with the possibility of a longer run depending on popularity and availability of ingredients. So, if you enjoy these spicy cheese sticks, be sure to move quickly and order them now. With enough support, you might help to convince Chili's to make these a permanent fixture on the menu.

Look, we're not going to pretend that fried cheese is healthy, but we can at least stack Chili's new entry up against the competition. A similarly-sized order of Applebee's Mozzarella Sticks contains 860 calories, 45 grams of fat, and 2,440 milligrams of sodium. The Buffalo Wild Wings version of this dish, meanwhile, comes in at 520 calories, 25 grams of fat, and 1,700 milligrams of sodium on its mozzarella sticks. The Red Lobster take contains 730 calories, 41 grams of fat, and 2,130 milligrams of sodium in an order.

Chili's offers two sizes for the Fried Mozzarella — shareable and small. For the purposes of my review, I ordered a three-piece small, which contains 920 calories, 55 grams of fat, and 2,950 milligrams of sodium. The six-piece shareable size clocks in at 1,790 calories, 109 grams of fat, and 5,260 milligrams of sodium.

Ultimately, Chili's has more calories, fat, and sodium in every order of Fried Mozzarella than the similar menu items listed above, but it's at least partially because it also offers more cheese (the addition of hot sauce likely ups the sodium, too). These are some seriously thick sticks, so much so that calling them "sticks" feels like an undersell. Perhaps it makes more sense to state that these hefty things are fried cheese bricks.

Chili's Nashville Hot Mozz are not your father's mozzarella sticks. These are hearty hunks of cheese lightly breaded and deep-fried to near perfection. As a Wisconsin native, I like to think I know a little something about cheese. Chili's apparently does, too, because its mozzarella has a high-quality taste. It's thick and meaty but still provides an excellent cheese pull. It also holds up well over time and retains heat for longer than the traditionally thinner sticks that are so common. One piece per person is an ideal ratio unless you're looking to build a cheese-only meal.

The breading on the Nashville Hot Mozz is light but sturdy, providing a wonderfully crispy crust that crunches with every bite. Of course, the star of the show here is the Nashville hot spice, which certainly delivers. This isn't a spice experience that's going to bring tears to your eyes or leave your throat burning, but instead more of a mild to medium take on the famous Southern heat. For anyone looking to mellow out the spice, I found there was no shortage of ranch for dipping. 

While the sticks left the distinctive deep orange oil of Nashville Hot on both the serving plate and my fingers, the taste wasn't oily in the least. I found myself coming back to the Hot Mozz even after my meal arrived because I couldn't get enough. In short, Chili's nailed this one. I would highly recommend the Nashville Hot Mozz to anyone who loves melted mozzarella and a little bit of heat. 

Chili's reached out to Mashed and offered to set up a tasting for the Nashville Hot Mozz. I visited my local Chili's on August 1, the very first day the item became available, and ordered a three-piece serving of the Nashville Hot Mozz. 

I evaluated the food based on taste, texture, appearance, and overall enjoyability. In addition to a tasting and evaluating everything as a whole, I also tasted each element individually as best as I could. That way, I felt that was able to offer insights into the separate components, including the crispy exterior and the gooey, stretchy cheese inside.

Neither I nor Mashed were compensated by Chili's for this review. However, Chili's did cover the cost of the tasting. Chili's was aware of the review prior to preparing the food.