The Tragic Tale Of McDonald's Mozzarella Sticks

Thanks to its long history and the fact that there's one in just about every city, McDonald's has been at least a small part of most people's lives since childhood. We all have our memories and favorite menu items, including some we feel were gone too soon. One of the most sorely missed had one of the messiest downfalls: McDonald's mozzarella sticks failed spectacularly, with a botched rollout and a lawsuit ruining our chances of experiencing that crispy, gooey goodness again.

McDonald's had experimented with limited releases of mozzarella sticks since the 1990s. You might rememberordering them between 2000 and 2005 — or maybe you don't, as it seems demand never justified keeping the item. In 2015, McDonald's went all in with a bigger mozz launch, pricing the sticks at $1.39 for an order of three and getting cheese-pull enthusiasts fired up. The results were disastrous. First, people began posting photos of their sticks totally empty. Mozzarella sticks without mozzarella are just ... sticks? McDonald's issued a mea culpa explaining their prep methods weren't flawless before the launch; cheese was melting out of the sticks when they were heated. They vowed to fix the issue, but before they could recover, they were met with a class-action lawsuit from angry customers alleging the sticks — which McDonald's claimed were 100% real cheese — actually included 3.76% starch filler. McDonald's refuted this and the case was dropped, but the damage was done. 

McDonald's is over 75 years old, so its history is bound to have both successes and failures. Mozzarella-Gate between 2015 and 2016 was just one of the most recent and glaring. While the lawsuit alleging the chain didn't use 100% real mozzarella cheese was dismissed, it felt believable considering that its Chicken McNuggets — which would theoretically seem to include just chicken and a few elements for the breading — actually contain 40 ingredients, many of which are not found in nature. But serving customers empty mozzarella sticks is just embarrassing. As some Reddit users have noted, it should be easy to tell you're over-frying the sticks.

On a quieter scale, there have been more fleeting menu additions that missed the mark. Whatever happened to McDonald's salads, for example? When we ranked 14 fast-food salads, theirs was dead last — perhaps the quality and subsequent underwhelming sales are why the chain cut the item when faced with supply-chain and staff shortages during the initial Covid-19 outbreak. Many people also bemoan the fact that McDonald's doesn't keep Snack Wraps on its permanent menu, which has been said to be a simple issue of efficiency — the wraps aren't fast and easy enough to make. Considering how many customers received empty breading, McDonald's mozzarella sticks don't seem to be missed too much. If you do want quick, cheap mozz sticks that are actually tasty, head to Arby's, White Castle, or Burger King.