The 12 Best Chain Restaurant Desserts Worth Saving Room For

Oftentimes, a trip to your favorite restaurant chain is dictated on what that restaurant serves for dessert. After the obligatory entree is out of the way, you ask the server for a slice or scoop or stack of whatever signature item truly excites your sweet tooth. Sure, you could just show up at the restaurant and order this one item, but ever since dessert became a post-meal conceit, that just wouldn't be proper, would it? There's also something to be said about how desserts somehow taste better when you've had a full meal beforehand -– they're like a reward for an eating job well done.

Whatever your chain restaurant dessert of choice may be, it's likely you tried more than your fair share of dessert duds along the way. Desserts aren't often at the forefront of a restaurant chain's priority list, but there have been times when these restaurants have captured sugary lightning in a bottle. Whether they're unique riffs on a classic or something totally unique, here are 12 of the best chain restaurant desserts on the market today.

Chili's has always been able to generate buzz about its menu — if you were alive in the 1990s, you no doubt still have the Chili's Baby Back Ribs jingle stuck in your head. A big part of the Chili's appeal is that its menu is both unapologetic and self-aware enough to grant it a unique niche in the world of fast-casual dining. While it's a great place to swing in for a variety of Tex-Mex appetizers, the Chili's Molten Chocolate Cake has become a widely accepted legend in the world of chain restaurant desserts.

Chocolate cake is always a classic, but when it's served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with a chocolate shell, it becomes much more than the sum of its parts. Most of the dessert's success can be credited to the temperature contrasts among the warm cake, the molten chocolate core, and the cold ice cream. The crunch from the chocolate shell topping also adds some textural diversity that complements all that gooey cake.

If you're a cheesecake fan at all, it's a safe bet that The Cheesecake Factory is on your restaurant rotation. The cheesecake menu at this national chain boasts over thirty different types of cheesecake which is supplemented by seasonal variations throughout the year. As The Cheesecake Factory is known for its enormous portion sizes, you can expect to get a veritable slab of cheesecake when you place your order. Though everyone will likely have their favorite cheesecake variation, Chowhound's definitive ranking of the restaurant's entire cheesecake menu puts the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake at the top of the list.

This particular dessert takes the (cheese)cake simply because it has layers upon layers of rich, indulgent chocolate that dance across the tongue. It's the high-quality chocolate that does it — Godiva chocolate has a nice balance of bitter and sweet, and there's enough contrast with both flavors to really tickle the taste buds. In addition to the gorgeous chocolatey flavors, the flourless Godiva chocolate cake crust helps add some textural contrast for a truly memorable chocolate experience.

Cinnabon has been hanging on by its sticky fingers as of late. Nonetheless, it's been hanging in there largely thanks to brand collaborations with businesses like Taco Bell for Cinnabon Delights. With a golden brown texture, plenty of cinnamon sugar, and a cream cheese frosting filling, it's no wonder that these are commonly considered to be Taco Bell's most popular dessert. When compared alongside Taco Bell's Cinnamon Twists, the Cinnabon Delights are easily the superior option.

Much like other items on the list, the appeal of the Cinnamon Delights comes from the fact that they're served warm. They also have a great texture that is somewhere between a cinnamon roll and a doughnut, and once that melty cream cheese frosting tickles your tongue, it's game over. These little guys are way better than they have any right to be, and they even hold their own against Taco Bell's seasonal desserts — we're still reeling from the aggressive flavor and color of the restaurant's Baja Blast Gelato.

Desserts that take an over-the-top approach to nostalgia are always going to be a win, and that's exactly what is going on with the Salted Caramel Cookie Skillet at Outback Steakhouse. Combining our universal affection for cookie dough with huge quantities of vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce. Even the cookie in question has white chocolate, almond toffee, and pretzels baked into it, so the end result is a gooey dessert that happens to be texturally diverse.

Though Outback Steakhouse is known for its signature steaks, this particular dessert is the one that diners save room for. Digging into this warm half-baked cookie evoke the sensory overload that comes from pulling a tray of freshly-baked cookies out of the oven. Additionally, every bite is full of contrasting sweet and salty notes. It also takes advantage of temperature — diving into a cookie is great, but diving into a warm cookie is sublime.

Though doughnuts may not be the first thing you think of when planning a visit to Olive Garden, the restaurant's Warm Italian Doughnuts are the restaurant's number one dessert. They're a riff on Italian zeppoles, though they look and feel a bit more like beignets. Regardless of their culinary origins, the pillowy texture and choice of chocolate or raspberry sauce makes them an excellent way to wrap up your dinner at Olive Garden.

Like some of the other successful desserts on the menu, something about the fact that these are served warm just adds to the charm and ramps up the flavor. On top of being served straight out of the fryer, these golden brown puffs of doughy delight are covered in a tasty vanilla sugar. The doughnuts themselves aren't overly sweet, which goes to enhance the effect of the accompanying dipping sauces. It's an excellent dessert to share, but there's no shame in downing a plate of these on your own.

Fast food desserts have long been limited to the ice cream or soft serve variety, so when an item like Burger King's Hershey's Sundae Pie comes around, it's hard not to be impressed. Even though these are pre-made and pre-packaged, they still manage to get a lot of things right, which landed them at the top of Chowhound's fast food pie ranking. Everything from the triangular serving box to the rich layers of chocolatey flavor contribute to a dessert that is too good to exist on a mere fast food menu.

The main draw of the Hershey's Sundae Pie is the chocolate served four ways. You've got the soft chocolate crust, plenty of chocolate mousse, a smattering of chocolate chips, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup all working together. Then, you've got the cool whipped cream element that provides a wave of refreshing silkiness to each bite. All of these elements combine with a level of nuance and flavor that is completely unexpected from a fast food restaurant.

Carbs are a major part of the Carrabba's experience, and this Italian restaurant excels at bookending its pasta dishes between great bread and great desserts. Fitting nicely within this list's pattern of desserts that ramp up the chocolate flavors, the Chocolate Dream or Sogno di Cioccolata at Carrabba's is no slouch. Thanks to its luscious layers of brownies, chocolate mousse, and whipped cream, the Chocolate Dream has become a major player on the Carrabba's menu.

The dessert is a success because it balances its layers well — the rich, chewy brownies provide a great textural contrast with the mousse and whipped cream layers. The drizzle of chocolate syrup on top provides a touch of bitterness to this rampant sweetness, perking up the taste buds with each bite. The size of this dessert also does a lot to make it a fan favorite. Nothing quite gets the culinary endorphins pumping like a giant slab of chocolatey goodness.

Chain restaurants have no shortage of ice cream, milkshakes, and soft serve, but the Wendy's Frosty combines all three of those elements into one unique dessert. Even though Wendy's also has a perfectly serviceable Cinnabon dessert, there is something iconic about the Frosty that keeps fans coming back for more. Both the chocolate and vanilla variations are equally tasty, and it all comes down to the dessert's subtle flavors and creamy textures.

Though the restaurant releases seasonal variations on the Frosty, the original chocolate remains a classic among fast food fans. Its unique, marshmallow-like texture that complements its chocolate flavor makes it stand out as one of the best frozen desserts on the market. Whichever variation happens to be your favorite, the Frosty is usually one of the main reasons to pay Wendy's a visit — especially if you happen to go the extra mile and add your favorite soda to the mix for a refreshing float.

Though P.F. Chang's Great Wall of Chocolate can definitely hang with some of the decadent chocolate cakes on the list, it's the Banana Spring Roll that is the restaurant's most popular dessert. It builds upon the classic flavor combination of banana and caramel to create a sweet version of a spring roll. Fresh bananas get tossed with cinnamon and sugar before getting dressed up in a spring roll wrap and tossed in the deep fryer. The dessert gets sliced up into little medallions before getting a drizzle of caramel and a scoop of coconut-pineapple ice cream.

It's the kind of dessert that makes the most of its flavors and textures — the crispy spring roll wrap and the soft banana work well together. Since it's served warm, there's plenty of time to get the ice cream all melted. Its coconut and pineapple flavors go well with the banana, lending an overall tropical vibe to the situation. Not a bad way to top off your P.F. Chang's happy hour experience.

Given that Applebee's and Chili's have a fast-casual rivalry going on, it makes sense that Applebee's would throw its hat into the chocolate cake ring. What's unexpected, however, was how the Applebee's Triple Chocolate Meltdown is commonly considered to be the best thing on the menu. Much like the Molten Chocolate Cake at Chili's, the Triple Chocolate Meltdown is a warm lava cake with a gooey fudge center with plenty of chocolate sauce. There are some clear similarities between this and its Chili's counterpart, and both desserts offer a great conclusion to your meal.

The Triple Chocolate Meltdown traditionally gets a bit more love in the way of sauce. When coupled with the creamy vanilla ice cream, the dessert becomes a warm, chocolatey indulgence that only gets better the more you eat. There are plenty of savory reasons to visit Applebee's, but the Triple Chocolate Meltdown is good enough to be the centerpiece next time you check in.

McDonald's has had decades to hone its soft serve game, and it continues to offer some of the best frozen treats in the fast food market. Though McDonald's cones and milkshakes are always serviceable chasers for a Big Mac or an order of Chicken McNuggets, the Hot Fudge Sundae is the monarch of this particular menu. It took the number one spot in Chowhound's ranking of McDonald's desserts because of its simple composition and its balance of hot fudge and cold soft serve.

There are plenty of soft serve and ice cream sundaes on plenty of fast food menus, but many of them fall short of true greatness. The McDonald's Hot Fudge Sundae is a top-tier dessert because McDonald's soft serve is some of the best stuff you can get. It's always smooth, creamy, and just sweet enough to feel like a treat. The hot fudge is also better-than-average as far as consistency and flavor goes, making this one of those rare fast food desserts that punches well above its weight.

Pie may not have super strong representation on this list, but it definitely swings for the fences when it shows up. Red Robin's Mountain High Mudd Pie is the reigning champ of the burger joint's dessert menu for a number of reasons. Chief among these factors is the sheer size of the dessert — mountain is definitely the first word that comes to mind when this hits your table. A good portion of the dessert's height is made from creamy chocolate ice cream that is piled high on a chocolate crust layered with Oreo cookies, fudge, caramel, and vanilla ice cream.

While the dessert's size and ingredients may push the designation of "pie" to its limits, it doesn't change the fact that this dessert is a mammoth tribute to all things indulgent. It's also one of the desserts on this list that really complement the thematic vibes of Red Robin's menu. Diners come to Red Robin looking because it's steeped in excess, and the Mountain High Mudd Pie truly exemplifies excess in dessert form.