How To Recreate A Chili's Triple Dipper With Just Aldi Finds

In the world of dining out and restaurants, Chili's has long been around, and like many other franchises, has been slowly fading out of the limelight. Just when the chain seemed to be hitting a lull amongst others fighting to stay afloat, the Triple Dipper went viral in 2024, thanks to social media. What followed was insistent internet fanfare around this iconic three-choice appetizer. Suddenly, Chili's ricocheted back into relevance and the Triple Dipper was everywhere.

Depending on where you are in the United States, this appetizer will run you around $17. Part of its excitement comes from the variety of appetizers available. Customers get to choose three options — Chicken Crispers, Southwestern egg rolls, wings (bone-in or boneless), fried mozzarella sticks, or Big Mouth Burger Bites — to complete their appetizer. But for those trying to save some money, you'll be happy to know that Aldi happens to carry an array of products that could be prepared as a Chili's dupe at home.

Albeit not identical, this grocer offers a variety of items that will certainly do the job on a budget. All it takes is having a peek through Aldi's frozen section to find various chicken wings, chicken tenders, and even mozzarella sticks that can be brought together to replicate the components of a Triple Dipper. Not to mention, you can always elevate these affordable alternatives with homemade sauces and seasonings to closer mimic what you'd otherwise enjoy at the restaurant. It wouldn't hurt to make a copycat Chili's margarita to wash down your Aldi trio, but make sure you firstly know the brand of tequila that Chili's uses: Jose Cuervo. 

When crafting your Triple Dipper, keep in mind that Chili's offers both boneless and bone-in wing options tossed in Buffalo, honey chipotle, or house BBQ. Often served with ranch or blue cheese, you can also pick and choose additional dipping sauces from a longer list, including avocado ranch, sweet chili zing, and honey mustard.

There are admittedly not as many options throughout Aldi's selection, but the price makes up for the lesser choice. Grab a 22-ounce packet of honey BBQ or Buffalo-style wings and serve with your preferred dipping sauce. This frozen option can be easily popped into the air fryer or oven. Though, if you're wanting alternative flavors, instead go for Kirkwood's 64-ounce pack of frozen chicken wings. This is a great neutral option that you can customize with your own preparation method and glaze. To make your Aldi wings more interesting, pair with select sauces and dips from the store.

The same goes for the Chicken Crispers, which are essentially chicken strips. You can order this item from Chili's in either classic crispy (no sauce), Nashville hot, or honey chipotle. Aldi offers a few varieties of strips to choose from — you can select either classic crispy or Buffalo-style Kirkwood chicken strips. As for other flavorings, you can easily whip up your own version of a honey chipotle glaze at home. All you need is a blender, honey, chipotle peppers, ketchup, and soy sauce. Once complete, coat your plain strips in the sauce after they've finished crisping up in the oven or air fryer. 

One of the more unique items that Chili's is known for amidst its Triple Dipper selection is the Southwest egg rolls. This innovative dish incorporates elements from both Asian and Mexican inspired cuisines. Think chopped vegetables cooked down with beans and chicken, wrapped in an egg roll shell, and deep fried. Often served alongside avocado ranch, the egg rolls are cut on a diagonal. 

Aldi actually carries quite a similar copycat despite this menu item's niche qualities. This grocer offers a 24-ounce pack of Southwestern-style egg rolls for just $6.99. Though it's worth noting that this seems to be an Aldi Find, and therefore only available for limited periods throughout the year. So if you hit the store and notice that it's not currently on offer — not to worry, there are many ways to make your own version of this dish from scratch.

When crafting your own Southwestern egg rolls, just pick up some red and green pepper, black beans, chicken, and egg roll wrappers. This dish is rather simple — all you'll need to do is cook down your vegetables a bit before rolling them into the egg roll dough. You can even grab avocado ranch from Aldi (for just $3.29), which will pair together rather nicely. Or, if you're looking to make your own version of Chili's avocado ranch to go with this appetizer, it's not as difficult as it may sound. All you'll need is a few kitchen gadgets and a range of common ingredients you might already have — like mayo, buttermilk, avocado, cilantro, and a few herbs and spices. 

Arguably one of the most noteworthy features of the Chili's Triple Dipper is the fried mozzarella. Of all the reasons this chain and menu item went viral, the famous cheese pull has been documented seemingly nonstop — garnering millions of views online. The mozzarella sticks come in three flavor options: honey chipotle, Nashville hot, and plain standard breadcrumb. Chili's commonly serves its fried mozzarella with ranch or marinara sauce depending on the flavor you choose.

The Nashville hot and honey chipotle mozzarella sticks have gotten a particularly large amount of attention, as guests are impressed by the overall quality and flavor of this distinct menu item. Chowhound even ranked the fried mozzarella as the absolute best appetizer on Chili's menu. We will not pretend that Aldi can comparatively offer something equally as exciting as the near bricks of mozzarella and the never-ending cheese pulls that come with Chili's version. But Aldi does carry a humble selection of mozzarella sticks from Appetitos for a much lower price.

When it comes to flavor options, unfortunately this is where Chili's will have the budget grocer beat again. Though not all hope is lost, you can always elevate your Aldi product by incorporating various sauces, like Aldi's Buffalo sauce or the hot honey BBQ sauce. And once you've got everything ready, make sure to try the Triple Dipper hack that creates a mouthwatering cheeseburger (hint: put mozzarella sticks under the bun for an extra cheesy bite).

Despite the fact that Aldi has quite a few options that will serve as budget alternatives to Chili's Triple Dipper, this affordable grocer doesn't carry everything. Another iconic feature of the Triple Dipper is the Big Mouth Bites, and Aldi just doesn't stock a comparable option. But this doesn't mean you won't be able to find the right ingredients in store that you can instead use to make your own version at home. 

As you're shopping for your Chili's alternatives, head to the refrigerated section and pick out some ground beef. This can be used to make mini patties that you can serve on L'oven Fresh Hawaiian Brioche Rolls. These slightly sweet rolls come in the perfect slider size, making it even easier to craft a homemade version of this crowd favorite. You'll also want to pick up American cheese that you can cut into smaller squares to top your burger alongside some sauteed onions (don't forget the bacon). As for a sauce to finish it off, either make your own ranch with one of Aldi's powdered seasoning packets, or grab one of its many ranch dressing options to tie this appetizer together. 

While you're at it, you can also try to emulate Chili's iconic chips and salsa. All you'll need is onion, pickled jalapeños, diced tomatoes, Rotel, and a few herbs and spices to make a copycat appetizer that will nicely complement your homemade Triple Dipper experience. Pair with a bag of Clancy's restaurant-style tortilla chips and you're all set.