Cook Out Cheese Bites — Calories, Tray Side & How to Order (2026)

What Are Cook Out Cheese Bites?

Cook Out cheese bites are small pieces of fried cheese, essentially fried cheese curds, sold as a full order and as a smaller tray side. Cook Out’s published nutrition sheet gives the full order as 85 g and 299 calories and the tray side as 42.5 g and 150 calories.

They sit in the same part of the menu as the hushpuppies, onion rings, Cook Out Rounds and chicken nuggets: cheap fried extras you either order on their own or choose as one of the two sides in a Cookout Tray. Because Cook Out publishes a separate tray-side portion, you can pick cheese bites as a tray side at no extra cost on top of the tray price, which runs about $7.39 to $7.99 for an entree, two sides and a drink.

Cheese bites are on the menu at the roughly 370 Cook Out restaurants in 11 states listed on Cook Out’s store locator in October 2026, from North Carolina, where the chain was founded in Greensboro in 1989, to Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Most stores open around 10:30 AM and stay open until about 3 AM Sunday through Thursday and 4 AM on Friday and Saturday, so cheese bites are one of the few fried-cheese snacks you can get at a Southern drive-thru after midnight. Hours vary by store; check the Cook Out hours guide.

• Full order: 85 g, 299 calories, 16 g protein, 19 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 560 mg sodium.
• Tray side: 42.5 g, 150 calories, 8 g protein, 10 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 280 mg sodium.
• Two tray sides equal one full order: 85 g and 300 calories, against 85 g and 299 calories.
• Sauce: not included in the official figures.

Are They Called Cheese Bites or Cheese Curds at Cook Out?

You will see both names: most people and many nutrition databases say “cheese bites,” while others list the same item as “cheese curds,” and the numbers are identical. Ask for cheese bites at the speaker and the crew will know what you mean.

Calorie-tracking databases that copy Cook Out’s nutrition figures split on the name. MyFoodDiary lists the item as Cook Out White Cheddar Cheese Bites, with a full order of 85 g and 299 calories and a side order of 42.5 g and 150 calories. FatSecret lists the same tray portion as Cheese Curds Side (CookOut), 1.5 oz and 150 calories. Wikipedia’s article on Cook Out also names cheese curds among the chain’s products. Since 1.5 oz is about 42.5 g and every macro matches, these are the same food under two labels.

The “white cheddar” label comes from those database listings rather than from an ingredient statement, and Cook Out does not publish an ingredient list for the bites, so we cannot confirm the cheese variety or the exact coating. What the official numbers do tell you is that there is a coating: the full order has 14 g of carbohydrate, which plain cheese would barely have, so most of those carbs come from breading or batter.

Cheese bites have been on Cook Out’s menu for years. In a March 2019 review of the Cook Out on University Boulevard in Mobile, Alabama, Lagniappe cuisine editor Andy MacDonald wrote that the onion rings were a hit with his family “but the cheddar bites were really the rage.” We could not find a reliable date for when Cook Out first added them, so we do not give one.

How Many Calories Are in Cook Out Cheese Bites?

A full order of Cook Out cheese bites has 299 calories and a tray side has 150 calories, according to Cook Out’s published nutrition sheet. Both figures are for the cheese bites alone, without any dipping sauce.

The tray side is exactly half of a full order by weight (42.5 g versus 85 g). Sodium (280 vs 560 mg), carbohydrate (7 vs 14 g) and protein (8 vs 16 g) are exact halves too; calories, fat, saturated fat and cholesterol differ by a rounding point because the label rounds each portion separately. Two tray sides therefore add up to one full order: 85 g, 300 calories and 16 g of protein.

How much of your day is that?

Against the FDA Daily Values used on U.S. nutrition labels (78 g fat, 20 g saturated fat, 300 mg cholesterol, 2,300 mg sodium, 275 g carbohydrate, 50 g protein), cheese bites look like this:

The number that stands out is saturated fat. A full order has 11 g, more than half the 20 g Daily Value, because cheese is naturally high in saturated fat and the bites are fried. Protein is the other side of the same coin: 16 g per full order is almost a third of the Daily Value, which is a lot for a side.

Where do the calories come from?

Using label arithmetic (9 calories per gram of fat, 4 per gram of carbohydrate or protein), the 19 g of fat in a full order supplies about 171 of its 299 calories, or 57%. Protein supplies about 64 calories and carbohydrate about 56. In the tray side, fat supplies about 90 of the 150 calories, or 60%. Per gram, cheese bites carry about 3.5 calories (299 in 85 g; 150 in 42.5 g), the same density as Cook Out’s hushpuppies and well above the onion rings at about 1.9 calories per gram.

For the rest of the menu, see the Cook Out nutrition guide and the Cook Out calories list.

How Do You Order Cheese Bites at Cook Out?

Order a Cookout Tray and name cheese bites as one of your two sides, or ask for a full order of cheese bites on its own. The tray side is the value pick; the full order is double the portion.

Tray side or full order?

Cook Out sets prices store by store, and we did not find a current, verifiable price for a standalone order, so trust the board at your location. The Cook Out tray menu explains every tray entree, and the sides menu lists the rest of the side choices.

Tips for better cheese bites

• Eat them first. Fried cheese is best hot, when the center is soft; as it cools the cheese firms up and the coating softens in the bag.
• Go when it is busy. Peak hours mean faster fryer turnover and a fresher batch.
• Count the sauce. The 150 and 299 calorie figures exclude any dip.
• Think twice about delivery. Fried sides lose crunch on a long ride; see the Cook Out delivery guide.

What Are the Best Cook Out Trays With Cheese Bites?

The lightest cheese-bite tray in this set is a Cook Out Style hot dog with cheese bites, onion rings and a Coke Zero Sugar at 661 calories; the heaviest is a BBQ sandwich with cheese bites, hushpuppies and sweet tea at 1,054 calories. Every total below adds Cook Out’s official figures for each item.

Burger figures add the base burger and the toppings style as Cook Out lists them separately; Cook Out Style is chili, slaw, mustard and onions, and Cheddar Style is cheddar, bacon, grilled onions and mayo. Drinks are regular 16 oz fountain sizes. The Big Double’s sodium uses 334 mg because the 126 mg on Cook Out’s sheet looks like a typo, so treat that tray’s sodium as approximate. Sauces are not included.

What the math shows:

• The drink is the biggest lever. A regular sweet tea adds 236 calories and a regular Cheerwine 144, while unsweet tea, Diet Coke and Coke Zero Sugar add none. See the drinks menu.
• Watch saturated fat on cheesy trays. Pairing Cheddar Style toppings (5 g) with two cheese-bite sides (5 g each) and a burger (5 g) reaches 20 g, 100% of the Daily Value, before dessert.
• Cheese bites keep sodium down. At 280 mg, a cheese-bite side is the lowest-sodium side in our table, so swapping it for hushpuppies (720 mg) or fries (687 mg) trims a tray’s sodium noticeably.

Build your own version in the Cook Out calorie calculator, which adds an entree, two sides and a drink the same way.

How Do Cheese Bites Compare With Every Other Cook Out Tray Side?

At 150 calories, the cheese-bite tray side is the fourth-lightest side in our table, behind only onion rings (128), chicken nuggets (144) and Cook Out Rounds (149), and it has the lowest sodium of any side we list at 280 mg. It also ranks second to nuggets for protein per calorie among the sides with official figures.

The “vs cheese bites” column is that side’s calories minus 150. Side choices vary by store, and fried okra is not offered everywhere. The side of slaw and the bacon ranch wrap are shown exactly as published even though the slaw’s 405 calories look high for a 4 oz portion and the wrap’s listed 41 g weight looks too low for its calories, so treat those rows with caution. Regular fries are shown at the regular-size portion Cook Out lists; the tray portion may differ.

How many calories does swapping in cheese bites save?

Choosing cheese bites instead of hushpuppies saves 150 calories, and instead of regular fries it saves 197; choosing them instead of onion rings costs you 22 extra calories. The table shows what changes on your tray when cheese bites replace each side.

• Cheese bites vs nuggets: nearly the same calories (150 vs 144) and both are high in protein (8 g vs 10 g), but cheese bites have more saturated fat (5 g vs 2 g) and less sodium (280 mg vs 324 mg). See the chicken nuggets guide.
• Cheese bites vs Cook Out Rounds: 150 vs 149 calories, but cheese bites have twice the protein (8 g vs 4 g) and less than half the carbs (7 g vs 15 g).
• Cheese bites vs fries: a regular fries portion has 347 calories and 45 g of carbs; cheese bites have 197 fewer calories and 38 g fewer carbs. See the Cook Out fries guide.
• Cheese bites vs a quesadilla side: the quesadillas have more protein, but at 355 to 449 calories they cost two to three times as many calories.

Cheese Bites vs Onion Rings vs Hush Puppies: Which Cook Out Side Wins?

Onion rings are the lightest of the three, cheese bites have by far the most protein and the least sodium, and hushpuppies are the heaviest on calories, carbs and sodium. The best pick depends on whether you are counting calories, protein or saturated fat.

The full orders follow the same pattern: cheese bites 299 calories (85 g), onion rings 256 (138 g) and hushpuppies 600 (170.2 g). The onion rings’ published fat figure (2 g for a full order, 1 g for the tray side) looks low for a fried side but is shown as Cook Out lists it.

• Lowest calories: onion rings, 128 per tray side, 22 fewer than cheese bites and 172 fewer than hushpuppies. Rings are also the lightest per gram at about 1.9 calories, so you get a bigger-looking portion. Read the onion rings guide.
• Most protein: cheese bites, 8 g per tray side against 3 g for rings and 2 g for hushpuppies. Per 100 calories that is 5.3 g, more than twice the rings’ 2.3 g.
• Least sodium: cheese bites at 280 mg, against 328 mg for rings and 720 mg for hushpuppies.
• Fewest carbs and sugar: cheese bites, 7 g of carbs and 0 g of sugar, against 47 g and 11 g for hushpuppies.
• Least saturated fat: onion rings at 0 g; cheese bites are the highest of the three at 5 g.
• Most food per side: hushpuppies at 85.1 g, twice the cheese bites’ 42.5 g, though at the same calorie density. See the hush puppies guide.

Put simply: pick onion rings for the lightest tray, cheese bites for protein and low carbs, and hushpuppies when you want the most traditional Carolina side and do not mind 300 calories.

Are Cook Out Cheese Bites Good?

For fans of fried cheese, yes: they are a small, rich, salty-savory side that adds protein and cheese to any tray without adding a separate charge on top of the tray price. If you want volume for your calories, onion rings or nuggets give you more food per side.

Taste is personal, but the published reviews we found are positive. In Lagniappe’s March 2019 review of a Cook Out in Mobile, Alabama, Andy MacDonald reported that his family liked the onion rings, “but the cheddar bites were really the rage.” What makes them work at a drive-thru is the contrast between a crisp fried coating and soft cheese inside, which is also why they are best eaten right away.

Cheese bites also travel worse than fries or hushpuppies. Cheese firms up as it cools, so if you are driving a long way home or ordering delivery, choose a side that holds up and save cheese bites for when you can eat in the car or the parking lot.

Are Cook Out Cheese Bites Vegetarian, Gluten-Free or Keto-Friendly?

They contain no meat and are low in carbs, but they are made from cheese, which contains milk, and they have a coating, so they are not dairy-free and should not be assumed gluten-free. Cook Out does not publish an ingredient list for the cheese bites.

• Milk: cheese is a dairy product, so cheese bites are not suitable for anyone avoiding milk.
• Wheat and gluten: fried coatings typically contain wheat flour, and fried sides usually share fryer oil with other breaded items. People with celiac disease or a wheat allergy should ask the manager and read our Cook Out allergen guide.
• Egg and other allergens: batters and breadings sometimes include egg. Cook Out’s nutrition sheet does not state allergens for this item, so confirm at your store.
• Vegetarian: no meat, but some cheeses are made with animal rennet and the fryer may be shared with chicken, so strict vegetarians should ask. They are not vegan; see the vegan menu guide.
• Low-carb and keto: 7 g of carbs per tray side and 14 g per full order, with 0 to 1 g of sugar, make them one of the lower-carb sides, but the carbs come from the coating, so strict keto plans may still rule them out.
• Heart-health: 11 g of saturated fat per full order is 55% of the Daily Value; the tray side (5 g) is the more manageable portion.

The good news for sodium watchers: 280 mg per tray side is the lowest of any side in our comparison, and 560 mg for a full order is less than the 720 mg in just a tray side of hushpuppies.

Where Can You Find More Cook Out Menu and Nutrition Guides?

Use the calorie calculator to build a full tray, then the sides and nutrition guides for everything else. These pages cover the items most often ordered with cheese bites.

Also useful: the Cook Out nutrition guide, the quesadilla guide for another cheesy tray side, the secret menu, and the Cook Out locations finder to find a store open late near you.

Cook Out Cheese Bites FAQs

Answers to the questions people ask most.