Copycat Olive Garden Mozzarella Fonduta. Baked cheese like you've never had before. (2024)

This copycat Olive Garden Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta recipe has Italian cheeses and sour cream to make a creamy, hot cheese appetizer that you won’t be able to resist.

Move over baked brie, there’s a new cheese dip in town! Did you ever have the cheesy Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta appetizerat Olive Garden? They don’t have it regularly anymore, and because of that, we had to make it at home.

We tweaked this dip recipe several different timesand found just the right amount of cheeses and spices to imitate the one at the Olive Garden. I think we really nailed this recipe though, because our version is better. And it is dangerously easy to make.

How is this recipe smoked?

I called this cheese dip “smoked mozzarella fonduta” because that is what Olive Garden had on their menu. You’ll notice our recipe doesn’t have any smoked cheeses, but you could use a smoked provolone cheese if you’d like.

Or, if you have a smoker, heat this dip in there and you’ll get authentic smoke flavor.

How to Make Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta

• Get a medium size bowl and put in the cheeses, sour cream, and spices. Mix it all up well.

• Spray a 10″ cast iron skillet, or an 11×7 baking dish with cooking spray.
• Add the cheese mixture to the pan, pressing down lightly to make it even all around.

• Bake at 450ºF for 10 minutes, or until cheese looks bubbly and light brown. You’ll want those slightly crispy edges, it’s the best part of the whole thing.
• If it didn’t get quite brown enough on top, set the broiler to low and broil for 2-4 minutes. Watch it very closely so it doesn’t burn.

What to Serve with Mozzarella Cheese Dip

• Slice a loaf of Italian bread. You can make your own, or buy it at the store. Walmart has $1 Everything Italian Bread in their bakery department that is so, so good. And the price is perfect, too.
• Crackers. Think pita chips or pretzel crackers.
• Veggies. Red peppers are excellent with this.
• Potatoes. Air fry potato wedges or bake potatoes in the oven. Potatoes + cheese = delicious!

Recipe Variations

You can adapt this recipe any way you want to. You can just do mozzarella cheese, you can do a mixture of mozzarella and provolone, you could do whatever your favorite mixture is.

• Adding in cheddar cheese or pepper jack cheese are great options, too. As long as you have the same amounts for the recipe, it doesn’t matter.
• Try adding in prosciutto.
• Put a layer of pepperoni slices on top for pizza fonduta.
• Add a ¼ teaspoon of smoked paprika for a smokey flavor.