I Tried And Ranked 9 Sides From Chili's

With its popular protein-forward menu and signature baby back ribs, Chili's has carved out a pretty decent niche for itself in the casual restaurant scene. Its popularity is largely based on its center-stage menu items like the Big Mouth Burger Bites and sizzling fajitas, but the side dish menu has a fascinating ecosystem all its own. Though these little bowls and plates of complementary eats may often be overlooked when the entree arrives, they play an important role in the overall enjoyment of a dish at Chili's.

Not all Chili's side dishes are created equal, however, which is why I tried nine of the restaurant's signature sides and ranked them from least to most impressive. I chose to omit the regular fries, mashed potatoes, and white cheddar mac & cheese in favor of each item's "loaded" counterpart. My assumption was that a plate of regular mashed potatoes would lose to a plate of loaded mashed potatoes automatically, so the "not loaded" sides were disqualified by default.

My journey through the Tex-Mex jungle of Chili's side dishes was filled with ups and downs, along with a few unexpected entries that made me seriously consider the genius of Chili's menu. Plenty of sides were tasty on their own, but I had to give proper respect for items that dutifully performed their supporting role at the table. Now that the dry rub and garlic salt have settled, here is my official ranking of the Chili's side dish menu.

I think it's best to just go ahead and get this one out of the way — it's steamed broccoli, and there are few sides quite as boring. In my experience, the main problem with the broccoli at Chili's is that it tends to be either undercooked or overcooked. For broccoli to even stand a chance of being a banger, it has to be perfect. My particular batch in this instance was more on the undercooked side, so in addition to being poorly seasoned, it was also woody and hard to chew. Sometimes that's just broccoli being broccoli, but this particular entry was a net loss.

Chili's isn't the only national restaurant that struggles in the cruciferous greens category. Cracker Barrel is also guilty of serving up overcooked and underflavored broccoli. The only reason to order broccoli at a restaurant like Chili's, Cracker Barrel — or really any restaurant outside of Outback Steakhouse — is to cut calories. As noble a goal as that is, the version served at Chili's simply doesn't do the veggie justice. Sorry, broccoli.

As good cheese fries are easy to whip up at home with only a handful of ingredients, I was surprised when the Texas cheese fries at Chili's barely beat out broccoli during my recent visit. Based on how good Chili's regular fries are, adding melted cheese, crumbled bacon, green onions, and sliced jalapeños to the mix should only make things better. The Texas cheese fries are even popular enough to warrant a spot on the appetizer menu. So why did this item turn south during my visit?

For starters, the fries were overcooked. My guess is that they get an extra dose of heat from the oven that melts the cheese on top, as they were dried out and a little burnt on arrival. The cheese itself was melted, but it had reached that congealed slab phase by the time it got to my table, so no cheese stretch was to be had. Everything else on the fries was good, but the combination of too-dry fries and too-rubbery cheese made the dish fall flat. The Texas Cheese Fries are also the most expensive side dish on the list, so the overall experience of this side was a bit disappointing.

With Chili's Tex-Mex roots, you'd expect to see loaded street corn prepared in the tradition of the Mexican street food powerhouse known as elote. While the original dish is typically prepared using grilled corn on the cob, restaurants have been replicating the experience with corn kernels that have been tossed with mayo, crema, and chili powder before getting hit with some cotija cheese. Elote is awesome, and it totally makes sense for Chili's to have its own version. Unfortunately, this was another dish that didn't quite deliver.

The loaded street corn has all the flavors you'd hope for when someone says "elote" — the crema, cheese, and chili powder come through quite nicely. Where the dish falls short is in the texture of its corn and the dish's overpowering oiliness. One of the best things about elote is the way grilled corn kernels pop with sweetness every time you take a bite. The corn kernels here are completely devoid of that toothsome texture and are instead a bit on the mushy side. When the dish arrived at my table, it was glistening with leftover cooking oil that started to get overwhelming with each bite.

There are few dinnertime team-ups that have been as successful as mushrooms and steak. As Chili's has a popular steak menu, a side of garlic butter mushrooms offers a nice, savory complement to each steak dish. This is one of the Chili's side dishes that really leans into its role as a side, and is therefore not great at standing out on its own. As much as I respect a dish for showing up and doing what it's told, the top five spot is reserved for the mavericks of the side dish world.

The mushrooms have a nice sear — clearly the Chili's chefs know how to sauté a mushroom — and the flavors of garlic and butter come through nicely. I caught just a little bit of bitterness on the back end, so maybe these guys spent a little too much time in the pan. The main reason the garlic butter mushrooms are this low on the list is that I see them as more of a condiment than a side dish at a steak-forward restaurant.

Yet another Chili's side that complements its Tex-Mex menu, Chili's black beans come stewed in a thick broth and would make a fine complement to a skillet of sizzling fajitas. It's a side dish that could really fill in anywhere – I could see this going well with a steak, ribs, or even poured over a salad. The black beans' versatility definitely lands them a place in the top five, but it's their "jack of all trades" dynamic that puts them at the bottom of the top five.

Chili's black beans go well with pretty much anything on the menu, and they stand up quite decently on their own. They're creamy, smoky, and maintain a hearty texture, which is a triple threat you don't often see in a side dish. The flavors lean a bit heavily into an artificial smoked flavor akin to Campbell's Bean With Bacon Soup, but outside of this pitfall, the Chili's black beans are a tasty complement to everything on the restaurant's menu.

Asparagus can often get relegated to the bottom of a list like this simply because, like broccoli, it's just a vegetable. However, Chili's roasted asparagus has a few positive things going for it. Even though the stalks of asparagus are a bit on the thin side, which can result in a soggy texture, the end result at Chili's is a side of flavorful asparagus that works particularly well with the restaurant's menu of steaks and barbecue.

The roast on the asparagus gives the veggie a nice crisp texture, and its simple seasoning of salt and pepper enhances the side's flavor. It's one of the few plant-based and low-calorie items on the Chili's menu, and the portion size that comes with each order is pretty substantial. Whether you're pairing the asparagus with one of Chili's popular proteins or making it the centerpiece of a meatless meal, the Chili's roasted asparagus is an unexpected hit.

A rice side dish has always been a welcome alternative to fries for those after something a little less deep-fried. In most cases, this swap comes with a sharp decline in satisfaction. Chili's Mexican rice, on the other hand, is one of the restaurant's best side dishes. While its true potential is unlocked by ordering some Chili's black beans and mixing the two, the rice alone is fluffy, flavorful, and economical.

Chili's Mexican rice doesn't have any special tricks up its sleeve, though I would argue that it has the basics of Mexican rice down to a science. The most impressive aspect of this side dish was the fluffy texture. Restaurant rice is notorious for smuggling underdone grains onto your plate, and it's a bummer when your rice is more on the chewy side. The rice at Chili's retained a fluffy texture, and its flavors complemented the Chili's menu items particularly well.

Before taking a serious look at Chili's loaded mashed potatoes, I would have told you that the restaurant's fries were my go-to side dish. While I'll still order fries with a sandwich or burger — old habits die hard — my dinner orders at Chili's will most likely come with some loaded mashed potatoes. I could even see switching this up for regular mashed potatoes on the days when I'm not feeling particularly loaded.

Fundamentally, these restaurant mashed potatoes get everything right. They've got a nice creamy texture without being too runny, and there's plenty of buttery flavor. The loaded mashed potatoes are topped with melted cheese, bacon bits, and green onion, which brings in a baked potato vibe as far as flavors go. This is one of those side dishes that can definitely blend into the background of a main course, but its existing composition makes it good enough to stand on its own.

Though the mark of a good side dish is its ability to complement and support a main course, there are some side dishes that brazenly steal the limelight. The Chili's loaded white cheddar mac & cheese definitely fits into that category. Like the potatoes, Chili's regular white cheddar mac & cheese is super tasty on its own, but the loaded version really upgrades the dish. It follows the same formula as Chili's other loaded side dishes with bacon, shredded cheese, and green onions making an appearance.

Chili's white cheddar mac & cheese is absolutely drenched in a thick white cheddar cheese sauce, which is where the bulk of the side's appeal comes from. It's an indulgent creation that gleefully flaunts how bad it is for you. The macaroni itself is a bit overdone, but honestly, that only benefits the silky texture. Adding bacon bits provides the textural contrast the dish needs to transcend its basic composition, and the green onions add just a hint of herbal acidity. This is a side dish that will make you forget it's a side dish.

Chili's has a fairly wide variety of side dish options, so I ranked them based on a few unifying factors. My first criterion for ranking was the item's ability to function as a side dish. A good side dish is versatile enough to complement any item on the menu while also being successful in its own composition. My second criterion was individual flavor. Whether a menu item is meant to be a side dish or a main course, it should taste good and be well-executed in the kitchen. My third criterion was price. Chili's increases the price of some of its side dishes based on their loadedness, so I evaluated whether that price increase justified the overall product.

Some of the side dishes on the list worked so well that it was hard to evaluate them without a main course. While that's a respectable goal for any side dish to achieve, any time a side dish transcended its side dish role earned it some extra points. We all like the person who pulls up their collar and just gets the job done, but we love a diva who just can't stay out of the spotlight. Such is the case in life, and such is the case with side dishes.