diff --git a/tests/test_simple_engine.py b/tests/test_simple_engine.py
index 7202f625f..b06b48971 100644
--- a/tests/test_simple_engine.py
+++ b/tests/test_simple_engine.py
@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@
 class TestSimpleEngineConcurrency:
     """Test SimpleEngine lock behavior with concurrent requests."""
 
+    @pytest.fixture
+    def anyio_backend(self):
+        return "asyncio"
+
     @pytest.fixture
     def mock_model(self):
         """Create a mock model that tracks concurrent calls."""
@@ -117,6 +121,55 @@ async def test_lock_prevents_concurrent_chat(self, mock_llm_model):
                 "The lock is not working correctly."
             )
 
+    async def test_chat_with_tools_aggregates_streaming_path(self, mock_llm_model):
+        """Tool-enabled non-stream chat should use the streaming path."""
+        from vllm_mlx.engine.simple import SimpleEngine
+
+        async def fake_stream_chat(*args, **kwargs):
+            yield MagicMock(
+                text="partial",
+                tokens=[1],
+                prompt_tokens=11,
+                completion_tokens=1,
+                finish_reason=None,
+                finished=False,
+            )
+            yield MagicMock(
+                text='<|im_end|><tool_call>{"name":"bash","arguments":{"command":"pwd"}}</tool_call>',
+                tokens=[7, 8, 9],
+                prompt_tokens=11,
+                completion_tokens=4,
+                finish_reason="stop",
+                finished=True,
+            )
+
+        with patch("vllm_mlx.engine.simple.is_mllm_model", return_value=False):
+            engine = SimpleEngine("test-model")
+            engine._model = mock_llm_model
+            engine._loaded = True
+            engine.stream_chat = fake_stream_chat  # type: ignore[method-assign]
+
+            output = await engine.chat(
+                messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "run pwd"}],
+                max_tokens=16,
+                tools=[
+                    {
+                        "type": "function",
+                        "function": {
+                            "name": "bash",
+                            "parameters": {"type": "object", "properties": {}},
+                        },
+                    }
+                ],
+            )
+
+            assert output.text == '{"name":"bash","arguments":{"command":"pwd"}}'
+            assert output.tokens == [7, 8, 9]
+            assert output.prompt_tokens == 11
+            assert output.completion_tokens == 4
+            assert output.finish_reason == "stop"
+            mock_llm_model.chat.assert_not_called()
+
     @pytest.mark.anyio
     async def test_lock_serializes_stream_generate(self, mock_model):
         """Test that stream_generate uses the same lock as other methods."""
diff --git a/vllm_mlx/engine/simple.py b/vllm_mlx/engine/simple.py
index 39cfa849d..b93c20c0a 100644
--- a/vllm_mlx/engine/simple.py
+++ b/vllm_mlx/engine/simple.py
@@ -453,6 +453,32 @@ async def chat(
         if not self._loaded:
             await self.start()
 
+        # mlx-lm non-streaming chat with tools can stall indefinitely on some
+        # local models, while the streaming path completes normally. Reuse the
+        # streaming implementation and aggregate its final state so both chat
+        # APIs share the same tool-capable execution path.
+        if tools and not self._is_mllm:
+            final_output = GenerationOutput(text="")
+            async for output in self.stream_chat(
+                messages=messages,
+                max_tokens=max_tokens,
+                temperature=temperature,
+                top_p=top_p,
+                tools=tools,
+                images=images,
+                videos=videos,
+                **kwargs,
+            ):
+                final_output = output
+            text = clean_output_text(final_output.text)
+            return GenerationOutput(
+                text=text,
+                tokens=list(final_output.tokens),
+                prompt_tokens=final_output.prompt_tokens,
+                completion_tokens=final_output.completion_tokens,
+                finish_reason=final_output.finish_reason,
+            )
+
         # Convert tools for template if provided
         template_tools = convert_tools_for_template(tools) if tools else None