Pizza Sticks

This crispy, flavorful Pizza Sticks recipe is an Applebee’s copycat! They are topped with pepperoni, cheese, garlic butter, and herbs.

After-school snacks were always a big deal when I was a kid, and my mom was really good about making us something delicious. So, with that in mind, I made these pizza sticks for my kids one day, and they loved them! They can also be served as an appetizer or side dish.

What Are Applebee’s Pizza Sticks

Applebee’s used to have a pizza sticks appetizer, and when I was dating my husband, we loved ordering them. Unfortunately, it is no longer on their menu, so we usually order mozzarella sticks, but I came up with a simple copycat recipe for the pizza cheese sticks so we can enjoy them at home!

We found an old menu online, and the description says: “Thin crispy strips of pizza dough topped with herbs and melted Italian cheese. Served with marinara sauce.” Back in 1994, they only cost $2.99! If you wanted to add Italian sausage and pepperoni, it was an extra dollar.

Pizza Breadsticks Ingredients

• Dough: We love using homemade pizza dough to make pizza sticks. You can also use store-bought frozen bread dough or refrigerated pizza dough.
• Butter: The butter adds flavor and makes the pizza cheese sticks crispy.
• Garlic: We used garlic powder to season the butter. You can use minced garlic if you prefer.
• Pepperoni: Slices of pepperoni add a spicy flavor to the sticks! Cooked, crumbled Italian sausage works too.
• Cheese: Shredded mozzarella cheese turns golden brown on the top of the sticks. Other Italian cheeses such as parmesan, provolone, or asiago would be delicious as well.
• Seasoning: Italian seasoning is the perfect blend of dried herbs for these pizza sticks!
• Sauce: You can serve them with pizza sauce, marinara, or spaghetti sauce.

How To Make Pizza Sticks

Roll the dough out and spread it in a well-greased rimmed jelly roll pan.

Cut the dough in half lengthwise and then cut each half into eight sticks for a total of sixteen sticks.

Put the melted butter and garlic butter into a small bowl. Stir until combined.

Brush half of the garlic butter over the breadsticks. Save the remaining garlic butter for later.

Top each dough stick with three slices of pepperoni. You can also add other toppings at this point.

Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over the sticks.

Bake the pizza sticks until they are golden brown. Cut the sticks again after removing them from the oven. Brush them with the remaining garlic butter and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Make Ahead and Storage

• Make Ahead: If you want to make these pizza cheese sticks ahead of time, you can prepare the pizza dough and store it in the refrigerator overnight. Then, remove it from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature so that it will easily stretch.
• Refrigerator: Allow leftovers to cool and then store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
• Freezer: Store pizza breadsticks in a freezer-safe container for 1-2 months.
• Reheating: Pizza sticks can be reheated in the oven, microwave, or air fryer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Additional Bread Appetizers

• This easy Garlic Bread recipe is a family favorite! Top with mozzarella for garlic cheese bread and serve with marinara sauce.
• Homemade breadsticks topped with garlic butter are irresistible! They are delicious with pasta and pizza.
• Crispy, buttery Texas toast can be enjoyed as an appetizer or served alongside your favorite pasta dishes.
• These easy pizza rolls are stuffed with spicy pepperoni, melted cheese, and pizza sauce.