Review: Chili's Honey Chipotle Mozz Can't Live Up To Its Spicy Predecessor

Most holiday surprises are wrapped in shiny paper under the tree, but at Chili's, they bring the surprise straight to your table. As the season of giving kicks off, Chili's is getting in the spirit by presenting guests with a new secret menu item: Honey Chipotle Mozz.

Following in the footsteps of the Nashville Hot Mozz — which is now a very tasty featured menu item — the Honey Chipotle Mozz offers a sweet-and-spicy take on Chili's massive sticks of fried cheese. To find out if this new item should be part of your next Triple Dipper combo, Chili's invited me to try out the new Mozz for myself. I enjoyed the Nashville Hot Mozz, so I was excited to see if Chili's had struck gold again.

Read on to find out if the Honey Chipotle Mozz is a present worth opening or a cheesy lump of coal. Plus, I'll let you in on some other fun holiday plans Chili's is rolling out soon.

Half the fun of a secret menu item is the sense of mystery, and Chili's is leaning into that mystery by not announcing an end date for the Honey Chipotle Mozz. It could be a week, it could be a month, or if it lives up to the standard set by the Nashville Hot Mozz, the item could become a Chili's menu regular. Either way, if you want to get your hands on these sticky, sweet cheese sticks, you better head to your nearest Chili's soon.

There are two size options available if you order the Honey Chipotle Mozz on its own — a three-piece order for $10.29 or a six-piece for $13.79. These are some serious servings of cheese though, so only go with the large if you've got a group to feed. You can also get the Mozz sticks as part of Chili's wildly popular Triple Dipper combo for $16.29, where you'll get two Mozz sticks, the perfect amount to share with another person.

Speaking of the Triple Dipper, Chili's has more holiday surprises in store for anyone who believes a plate full of apps is not just a meal but a lifestyle.

If you've ever laid down in bed and thought, "Gosh, I wish my pillow looked like a chicken tender," then Chili's has you covered. Debuting online on November 21 for as long as supplies last is Chili's Triple Dipper Dream Collection. The lineup includes a pair of socks that will make your feet look like Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers — complete with toes dipped in ranch sauce — an eye mask featuring the chain's Big Mouth Bites sliders, and the aforementioned Triple Dipper Bedding Bundle.

The bedding bundle is comprised of pillow covers that resemble Nashville Hot Mozz, Chicken Crispers, and Big Mouth Bites, plus a Chili's basket-themed sheet set and bed skirt. The bedding bundle is available in a queen size, and the entire Dream Collection can be purchased for $100. Visit WelcomeToChilis.com on November 21 to snag yours and make your tastiest dreams come true.

I'm not sure we needed to change the formula on mozzarella sticks. Cheese is good, deep frying things is good, and deep fried cheese is great. No need to mess with a classic, right?

Well, just because something is great doesn't mean there isn't room for experimentation. I loved Chili's Nashville Hot Mozz. The spicy breading perfectly complements the rich, melty cheese for an excellent variant of the classic mozzarella stick. The Honey Chipotle Mozz is trying to follow in the Nashville Hot's footsteps, but it just comes up short.

The Honey Chipotle Mozz sticks are sticky, no real surprise, given that they're coated in the same thick sauce that Chili's uses for their Honey Chipotle Chicken Crispers. The sauce is sweet, with the chipotle spice coming on the back end, but it's nowhere near the heat level of the Nashville Hot. While the sauce does add some flavor and the sweetness complements the richness of the cheese, this doesn't feel like a natural pairing in the same way the Nashville Hot does.

There is still plenty to like about this appetizer. The cheese is fantastically melty and is the perfect amount of chewy. The breading is crisp, though the sauce does hurt the texture slightly as the sticks begin to cool. A healthy cup of ranch is provided with every order of Mozz, and while ranch dressing is always great, it's an odd fit next to the honey chipotle sauce.

When Chili's introduced the Nashville Hot Mozz, they created a hole in the Mozz lineup. At one end was the classic and on the other was the new, spicy version. The Honey Chipotle Mozz is here to fill that gap. It brings a little heat, but even the most spice-averse will enjoy it. The sweet take on a mozzarella stick is a welcome change up even if it doesn't result in a standout item. I'm not sure if Chili's will promote the Honey Chipotle Mozz to the regular menu in the end simply because it doesn't move the needle. It's good, but with better options around it, I don't see it carving out a role in the Triple Dipper rotation.

I tried the Honey Chipotle Mozz on November 19 at my local Chili's. In addition to evaluating the mozzarella sticks as a whole, I did my best to isolate each individual element — the cheese, the sauce, and the breading — to offer a comprehensive review based on taste, texture, and appearance. Neither I nor Mashed were compensated by Chili's for this review.