Applebee's Mozzarella Sticks
These breaded mozzarella sticks run high in histamine because of the aged romano cheese and buttermilk blend.
Most of this is cooked to order, which is the best case for histamine. Even so, a restaurant kitchen preps ahead and holds things warm through a service, so freshness varies more than it would at home. The rating above comes from the chain's published ingredients. If a dish is borderline for you, asking how it is prepared tells you more than the menu does.
A fried cheese stick is fresh mozzarella wrapped in a seasoned wheat coating, but the coating hides the higher-histamine parts.
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Aged cheese and buttermilk — the romano cheese is aged and the buttermilk blend is cultured, so both carry a lot of histamine and push the whole thing up.
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Yeast extract and coating — the yeast extract is high, while the bleached wheat flour, yeast, paprika extract, and soybean oil sit at moderate, so the breading adds to it too.
The fresh mozzarella at the center is the mild part, but everything wrapped around it is what raises the level.
This rating comes from Applebee's own published ingredient statement, read on August 11, 2026. Restaurant recipes vary by location and change over time, so always check the current listing: source 1, source 2. How we rate foods →
Applebee's Mozzarella Sticks and Applebee's are trademarks of their respective owners. This page is an independent histamine reference and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the brand.
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For educational purposes only. Not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional for personal guidance.
References
- SIGHI Food Compatibility List — SIGHI (2026)
- Histamine and histamine intolerance — Maintz & Novak (2007)
- Histamine Intolerance: The Current State of the Art — Comas-Basté et al. (2020)
- Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? — Sánchez-Pérez et al. (2021)
- Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond — Jochum (2024)
- Guideline on management of suspected adverse reactions to ingested histamine — Reese et al. (2021)