Applebee's Appetizers, Explained: What Each Starter Is Actually Like and How to Order for Your Table

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Most tables do not need a ranking. They need the right starter for their situation, so start here:

Every Starter, With the Numbers That Actually Matter

Calories on a menu are for the whole plate, but nobody eats an appetizer plate alone — or nobody should. This table shows the full-plate figures from our appetizer menu and nutrition chart, plus what a share really looks like when four people split it.

Two things jump out of the real numbers. First, split four ways, every starter on the menu lands between roughly 150 and 550 calories per person — sharing is the difference between a starter and a second dinner. Second, these are salty foods: the recommended daily sodium limit is about 2,300mg, and the Buffalo wings plate alone carries 4,720mg. That is not a reason to avoid them; it is a reason the sharing maths above matters.

1. Boneless Wings: The Table-Pleaser, and the Sauce Decision That Matters

What you get: crispy breaded pieces of all-white-meat chicken, tossed in your choice of Classic Hot Buffalo, Honey BBQ, Sweet Asian Chile or Garlic Parmesan, at $12.99.

How it eats: this is finger food with no learning curve — no bones, no shells, nothing to take apart — which is exactly why it works for mixed groups, work lunches and tables with kids. It is also the starter that travels best if you are ordering takeout: ask for the sauce on the side and the breading stays crisp instead of steaming soft in the box.

The decision that matters is the sauce, not the chicken. Classic Hot Buffalo is the hot, salty one — 1,080 calories and that 4,720mg of sodium. Garlic Parmesan is richer and milder but heavier: 1,260 calories, with far less sodium (2,710mg). Honey BBQ is the sweet, no-heat option for tables avoiding spice, and Sweet Asian Chile sits in between — sweet first, warmth after. If half your table wants heat and half does not, order the wings plain with Buffalo and Honey BBQ on the side; everyone eats, nobody compromises.

Skip it if: you are watching sodium closely, or the table wants something light before a heavy entree — wings plus a burger is a lot of fried food in one sitting.

2. The Classic Combo: One Platter That Solves the Whole Table

What you get: Boneless Wings, Spinach & Artichoke Dip with chips, Chicken Quesadilla wedges and Mozzarella Sticks on one big platter, $18.99 and 2,200 calories for the plate.

How it eats: four textures at once — crisp wings, a warm dip, cheesy wedges, stretchy mozzarella — so nobody gets bored and nobody is stuck with the one thing they dislike. Split four ways it is $4.75 and about 550 calories each, which makes it the best group value on the starter menu. Split two ways it is 1,100 calories each, which is an entree and a half — the Combo is a group order, not a couple's order.

Order it smarter: the wings on the platter still need a sauce choice, so use the sauce guide in the wings section above. And set expectations on portions: each item is a tasting portion, not a full order — four people get a few pieces of everything, which is the point.

Skip it if: your group already agrees on one starter. Four people who all want wings are better served by wings plus one more single starter than by paying for variety nobody asked for.

3. Chicken Wonton Tacos: The Light One, and the Most Interesting

What you get: sweet Asian chile-marinated grilled chicken tucked into crispy wonton shells, finished with crunchy Asian slaw and fresh cilantro, $11.49.

How it eats: this is the only starter here that tastes fresh rather than fried-and-rich — sweet heat from the marinade, crunch from the shell and slaw, a little brightness from the cilantro. At 590 calories for the plate it is barely half the next-lightest option, so it is the starter that leaves room for the meal you actually came for.

The honest trade-off: wonton shells do not stretch. A dip feeds a table for twenty minutes; a plate of tacos is gone in five, and each person gets a shell or two. For four or more people, pair it with a second starter (the dip is the natural partner) instead of doubling the tacos.

Skip it if: anyone at the table dislikes cilantro or sweet-heat flavours — there is no plain version of this one.

4. Mozzarella Sticks: Simple, and That Is the Point

What you get: eight thick-cut mozzarella sticks in Italian breadcrumbs, fried golden, with warm marinara for dipping, $9.99 — the cheapest starter on the menu.

How it eats: crisp shell, stretchy centre, mild cheese, a tomato sauce everyone recognises. Nothing is spicy, nothing is surprising, and that reliability is why it is the default order for kids, picky eaters and anyone who has been burned by a novelty appetizer before. The nutrition is quietly decent for fried cheese: 41 grams of protein in the plate, about 215 calories per person split four ways.

Order it smarter: eat them first. Mozzarella sticks have the shortest good window of anything on this list — once the cheese cools and firms up, the dish is half of what it was. If they are sharing the table with a Combo, start here.

Skip it if: the order is for takeout with a long drive home, for the same cooling reason — wings with sauce on the side travel far better.

5. Spinach & Artichoke Dip: The Grazer's Starter

What you get: warm, creamy spinach and artichoke dip baked with Parmesan and mozzarella, served with tortilla chips and chipotle lime salsa, $10.49, vegetarian.

How it eats: slowly — and that is its job. A dip is the starter for a table that is talking, waiting on latecomers, or pacing a long evening: people graze, the plate lasts, and the salsa cuts the richness so it does not get heavy the way an all-cheese dip can. At 21 grams of protein it is the lightest protein figure here; this one is about the table, not the macros.

Order it smarter: ask for extra chips when you order if your table is bigger than four. The dip reliably outlasts the chips it arrives with, and a mid-meal chip reorder costs you ten minutes of grazing.

Skip it if: you need the starter to feed people fast — a dip is a slow food by design.

6. Brew Pub Pretzels: The One Built for Drinks

What you get: warm, soft Bavarian-style pretzel sticks brushed with butter, with a Blue Moon white Cheddar beer cheese dip and honey Dijon mustard, $10.99, vegetarian.

How it eats: tear a piece, dip, eat — the soft pretzel and warm beer cheese combination is the richest-tasting starter here relative to its simplicity, and having two dips matters: the beer cheese is savoury and heavy, the honey Dijon is sharp and sweet, and alternating keeps the plate interesting to the last piece. Unlike the fried starters, pretzels stay pleasant as they cool, which is why this is the right order when drinks come first and nobody is in a hurry.

The numbers: 1,160 calories and 146 grams of carbs for the plate — it is, after all, bread and cheese — and 3,540mg of sodium. Split four ways (290 calories each) it is a snack; eaten by two, it is a carb-heavy meal before the meal.

Skip it if: gluten is a concern for anyone sharing it — this is the most wheat-heavy plate on the menu.

7. Chicken Quesadilla: The Starter That Is Really a Light Meal

What you get: a grilled flour tortilla loaded with chipotle-lime chicken, melted Monterey Jack and Cheddar, bacon and pico de gallo, with sour cream and salsa, $11.99.

How it eats: smoky heat from the chipotle-lime chicken, salt from the bacon, freshness from the pico — the most layered flavour of any starter here. It is also the most filling: 1,170 calories and 49 grams of protein, the highest of any appetizer on the menu, with 34 grams of saturated fat to match. Treat it honestly: ordered alone with a drink, this is a legitimate light dinner, and plenty of people order it exactly that way.

As a shared starter it is the weakest format — wedges vanish fast and there are never quite enough — which is why it appears inside the Classic Combo rather than leading most tables on its own.

Skip it if: a big entree is definitely coming; quesadilla plus a full main is the easiest way to over-order at Applebee's.

How Much Should Your Table Actually Order?

The most common appetizer mistake is ordering by appetite instead of by headcount. Using the plates above, this is the maths that works:

The rule underneath the table: one plate per 3–4 people if entrees are coming, one plate per 2 people if they are not. Every over-order we see comes from ignoring that ratio.

Vegetarian, Allergen and Sodium Notes — the Honest Version

Three starters are vegetarian: Mozzarella Sticks, Spinach & Artichoke Dip and Brew Pub Pretzels. None of the seven is vegan, and the chicken items share cooking and prep areas with everything else, so treat the allergen picture carefully: every starter in our allergen guide carries milk, wheat and soy, and the Garlic Parmesan wings add egg. Applebee's cannot guarantee any dish free of an allergen because of that shared kitchen — if an allergy at your table is serious, tell the manager before ordering rather than relying on any menu, including this one.

On sodium, the full picture from the table above deserves one repeat: the lowest-sodium starter here (the dip, 2,340mg) still equals a full day's recommended limit for the whole plate. Sharing is not a compromise with these dishes — it is how they are portioned to be eaten.

How to Pay Less for the Same Food

Three routes, in order of how reliably they work. First, the 2 for $25: the deal includes one full-size appetizer plus two entrees for $25, so if two of you were ordering entrees anyway, the starter is effectively folded into a $12.50-a-head meal — our 2 for $25 guide shows the combinations that save most. Second, Club Applebee's: first-time subscribers get a free appetizer with a $15-or-more purchase, and a Club exclusive offers 6 free Boneless Wings to go once a week, Sunday to Thursday — for a regular, that weekly wings offer is quietly the best appetizer deal the chain runs. Third, happy hour: many locations run half-price appetizers in happy hour and late night, which would put most of this list near $5–$6.50 — but it is a location-level pattern, not a national promise, so check our happy hour guide and confirm with your restaurant before counting on it. Current offers sit on our specials and deals page.

One honest note on prices: the prices above are this guide's listed menu prices. Applebee's is franchised and individual restaurants set their own, so check your local menu before you order — the food, the portions and the ordering maths in this article hold either way.