Brian Nagele
As we set out on a cheesy adventure to discover the best mozzarella sticks and cheese curds available at fast food restaurants across the country, get ready for a crispy, gooey delight. We explore the flavorful world of these decadent, cheese-filled snacks that have taken the fast food industry by storm in this article. Fast food chains have mastered the art of delivering these savory treats, from the golden-brown, stretchy mozzarella sticks served with zesty marinara sauce to the deliciously crunchy cheese curds offering a flavorful bite. These options make for an enticing snack, whether you’re craving the traditional, stringy goodness of mozzarella sticks or the flavorful pop of cheese curds. Our investigation will highlight these gooey treats, highlighting the top cheese curds and mozzarella sticks from different fast-food restaurants. Join us as we celebrate the crispy, melty goodness that has made these snacks a beloved and fulfilling option for cheese lovers worldwide. Come along on this delicious journey.
Arby’s Mozzarella Sticks
Part of the sides and snacks offerings, the mozzarella sticks are a unique option in that, aside from the White Cheddar Mac N Cheese, it’s the only side/snack for those that love cheese. You can opt for the four-piece or five-piece versions, each of which has 440 and 650 calories, respectively. The mozzarella sticks also come with your choice of horsey sauce, Arby’s sauce, or ketchup. I think it’s fair to say that mozzarella sticks often get overlooked at every fast food restaurant. Still, the ones you’ll find at Arby’s are highly underrated. They always come out with the right level of crispiness, and the marinara sauce complements their flavor without stealing the show.
Sonic Drive-In Mozzarella Sticks
The mozzarella sticks at Sonic are some of the cheesiest ones on this list. They bring the perfect balance of being crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside. For variety, they come in four-piece, six-piece, and eight-piece versions, making them great as a treat for yourself or something to share with someone else. Sonic offers their signature sauce along with honey mustard, BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, and several other condiments. The marinara sauce that comes with the mozzarella sticks is always my favorite choice, but I also recommend trying out the honey mustard for a different sweet taste. Check out other favorites from Sonic!
White Castle Mozzarella Sticks
Famous for the sliders that people have been enjoying for decades, White Castle is also home to some solid mozzarella sticks. In my opinion, these mozzarella sticks don’t have quite the same level of crispiness as some others on this list, but they make up for it with the flavorful breading. The cheese’s creamy texture doesn’t leave anything to be desired, and there’s a lot of it too. Some restaurants are a little too light with the cheese they put in their mozzarella sticks, but White Castle isn’t shy about it.
Captain D’s Mozzarella Sticks
If you’re a seafood fan, you’ve most likely been to or at least heard of Captain D’s. On the other hand, you probably haven’t heard about their mozzarella sticks, which are seasoned just enough to have some extra flavor without taking away from that simple taste that we love mozzarella sticks for. I love getting these with the 12-piece Butterfly Shrimp, as the two pair together amazingly well with their combined crispiness. I also recommend trying them out with hush puppies for another great combination if you don’t want to get more seafood along with your choice of entrée.
A&W Cheese Curds
Rather than offering your standard mozzarella sticks, A&W offers cheese curds. If you’ve never had cheese curds, you may assume they are slightly different-looking mozzarella sticks, but upon further research, you’ll find that they’re a special type of dairy product that’s sometimes not regular cheese at all. They still aren’t that different from mozzarella sticks to me. You can sub one out for the other and still get a very similar cheesy experience, which is the whole point of eating mozzarella sticks in the first place. A&W makes theirs with 100% Wisconsin cheddar cheese, and they’re bite-sized. This is one of the things I enjoyed most about them, as it makes them super easy and clean to eat. You can just pop one in your mouth and enjoy the delectable and rich cheddar cheese flavor. Check out what else you should order at A&W!
Dairy Queen Fried Cheese Curds
Most people go to Dairy Queen for the ice cream, some go for the burgers and chicken, but don’t overlook the cheese curds here either. For such a niche item on an extensive menu, I found these cheese curds to have some of the best texture I’ve experienced with cheese curds, period. They melt in your mouth as soon as you bite into them, and they have the slight crunch you’d expect on that initial bite. There’s nothing that I don’t love about these cheese curds, and I highly recommend getting them as a side with either of the chicken baskets.
Zaxby’s Fried White Cheddar Bites
Among the fast food restaurants where you can get yourself quality chicken, Zaxby’s might be my personal favorite because they also excel at having variety on the Zaxby’s menu. The fried white cheddar bites are the perfect example of this, as these little cheesy delights are the ideal sideshow to any of the chicken options on the menu. You also get a lot of bites in one order, which I appreciate because some places are too skimpy on the serving sizes for certain sides. Usually, I order the fried white cheddar bites along with traditional wings or buffalo chicken fingers, but they also go great with any of the sandwich meals.
Culver’s Wisconsin Cheese Curds
If I had to pick one restaurant on this list to be a dark horse, I’d probably pick Culver because of how much it blew my expectations out of the water with its Wisconsin cheese curds. I don’t know if it has something to do with the ingredients, preparation, or both, but these cheese curds are the ones I’ve enjoyed the most so far. They’re crunchy and cheesy, and in addition, they have a buttery flavor that I have yet to find in any other fast food restaurant’s cheese curds. The taste is so good that I don’t mind just going to Culver’s for the cheese curds alone, though I highly recommend the ButterBurger Cheese.
Sheetz Mozzarella Sticks
The mozzarella sticks at Sheetz bring a lot to the table with the quality of their cheese. The flavor and crispiness of the breading are also good, but the cheese makes these stand out from the many average mozzarella sticks that didn’t make it onto this list. While I haven’t tried every single item on Sheetz’s menu, I’d put the mozzarella sticks close to the top if I were to rank them from best to worst. They excel in the area that they should excel the most, more so than the other menu items excel in their respective areas, and I have to give the mozzarella sticks credit for that because they often don’t outshine other menu items so much.
Checkers & Rally’s Mozzarella Sticks
Last on our list is the mozzarella sticks at Checkers & Rally’s, though they certainly are not last because they are the least. These mozzarella sticks reminded me of the ones at White Castle because of the sheer amount of cheese packed into them. As someone who prefers to have more cheese than less, I greatly appreciate this aspect. I also appreciate the various other cheesy options that Checkers & Rally’s offers. If you aren’t in the mood for mozzarella sticks and still want to have something with cheese, you can go for the cheesy chili cheese fries, fully loaded fries, or garlic parmesan loaded fries.