Dave's Hot Mozz: Calories, Price & Full Review

Dave's put fried cheese on the menu and the internet lost its composure. The Hot Mozz sold out almost immediately, came back, and now everyone's doing the mental math you actually came here for: how many calories is this glorious cheese plank going to cost me, and is it worth the damage. Good news — I have the real numbers for every size, and the honest verdict at the end.

That's the whole thing in a paragraph. If you want the per-size table, the price breakdown, the macros, and whether it earns its spot in your order, keep reading. I ate these so you can plan yours with your eyes open.

What is Dave's Hot Mozz?

Forget the skinny mozzarella sticks you know. A Hot Mozz is a thick rectangular plank of whole-milk mozzarella, breaded in a seasoned, Italian-herb crust and fried until the outside shatters and the inside goes fully molten. The entire point is the cheese pull — that long, stretchy strand you get when you tear one apart hot. It launched as a limited item, went viral, and sold out fast enough that Dave's brought it back as a regular.

It comes in 1, 3, and 5-piece sizes, plus a slider version and full meals with fries. It's a rare vegetarian option on a menu built around chicken, and unlike everything else at Dave's, it doesn't come with a heat level unless you ask. Think of it as the appetizer the menu was missing.

Dave's Hot Mozz calories, every size

Here's the full breakdown. The à-la-carte sizes are just the planks; the "meal" rows add a side of crinkle-cut fries, which is where the numbers jump. All figures are estimates and exclude dipping sauces — a cup of marinara or Dave's Sauce adds its own tab.

Two things stand out. First, the single plank at ~120 calories is a genuinely reasonable add-on — cheaper, calorie-wise, than most people assume. Second, the meals are where it stops being a snack: adding fries roughly doubles the calorie count. If you're watching the total, the planks on their own are the smarter order, and a shared side keeps everyone honest.

Dave's Hot Mozz prices

The pricing is straightforward and follows the same "planks vs meal" logic. These are typical 2026 prices — they vary by location and, as always, run higher on delivery apps.

The single plank is the value play here — at $2.99 it's the perfect "round it out" add-on to a tender combo. If you know you want fries too, the meals bundle them for less than buying a plank order plus a side of fries separately. Same trick as the rest of the Dave's pricing — combos beat à la carte.

Is Dave's Hot Mozz vegetarian? Is it spicy?

Yes to vegetarian, no to spicy — by default. The Hot Mozz is breaded, fried whole-milk mozzarella with no meat, which makes it one of the very few vegetarian picks on a menu otherwise devoted to chicken (the cauliflower "NOT Chicken" line is the other). It is not vegan — it's cheese, obviously, plus wheat in the breading and egg in the wash — and it's fried on shared equipment, so it isn't safe for dairy, gluten, or egg allergies. For the full picture, the allergen guide has the details.

On heat: the Hot Mozz skips the Nashville rub entirely. There's no No-Spice-to-Reaper scale here, just a savory, Italian-seasoned crust. If you want a nod to Dave's signature heat, you can ask for an optional spice dusting on top — but it's a seasoning, not a heat level, and it's entirely your call.

How to order it (and eat it right)

The Hot Mozz rewards a little strategy. A few things I've learned the expensive way:

• Eat it immediately. The cheese pull peaks in the first couple of minutes out of the fryer. Let it sit and the mozzarella firms up and the stretch is gone. This is not an item you save for the car.
• Get marinara. The Italian-seasoned crust is basically begging for it. Dave's Sauce works as a creamier alternative, but marinara is the classic move.
• Single plank as an add-on. At ~120 calories and $2.99, one plank is the ideal upgrade to a tender or slider combo without blowing up the total.
• Order the meal only if you want fries. Otherwise the à-la-carte planks keep the calories down — the fries are what push a meal past 800.
• Share the 5-piece. At ~600 calories for the planks, split across the table it's a light, protein-heavy share; solo, it's a commitment.

My honest take

Here's the verdict after eating my way through the whole lineup: the single plank and the 3-piece are the sweet spot, and the meals are a calorie trap you should enter on purpose or not at all. As a ~120-calorie, 6-gram-protein add-on, one Hot Mozz is one of the smarter little upgrades on the menu — it's the cheese course a hot chicken order didn't know it needed.

Where it stops being clever is the 5-piece meal at ~1,040 calories, which is a full meal wearing a "side" costume. Nothing wrong with that if you came hungry and know what you're doing, but do not order it as a casual appetizer and act surprised. Order the planks, dip in marinara, eat them molten, and the Hot Mozz earns every one of its calories. Pair it with a smart main order and you've built a genuinely great meal — cheese pull included.