The Deliciousness of Mozzarella Sticks A Guide to Cooking with Them: Delicious homemade mozzarella cheese sticks have crispy exteriors and gooey, melty centers that pull apart with cheese strings. Dunk them in Marinara Sauce or Ranch for the perfect snack or party appetiser.
Homemade Mozzarella Sticks
We love recreating freezer aisle favorites like Air Fryer French Fries and Popcorn Chicken. Homemade mozzarella cheese sticks are healthier than store-bought and use better ingredients. I also think they taste better! You’ll know the difference after one bite of these hot, cheesy mozzarella sticks from the fryer.
The trick is double-dipping cheese sticks in egg wash and flour. Double-dipping takes a few minutes more but yields the best crunchy crust that holds in gooey, melty cheese. View our video tutorial to demonstrate this simple technique.
Sticks of mozzarella
- Double: dipping makes the perfect cheese-to-crust ratio.
- Healthier: Most frozen cheese sticks contain mystery ingredients and highly processed
- Soybean oil: Make your own with better ingredients.
- Easy to Make: You can freeze these and fry them when you want!
Ingredients
Only a few pantry and refrigerator ingredients are needed to make homemade mozzarella sticks (see the print-friendly recipe card below).
- Mozzarella Cheese: part-skim mozzarella cheese yields 20-24 cheese sticks per 16 oz block.
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour works best for breading.
- Garlic Salt: We add flavor to regular salt with garlic salt.
- Eggs: Beaten eggs form an egg wash that holds bread crumbs on cheese sticks.
- Seasoned Breadcrumbs: You’ll love Italian seasoned bread crumbs’ flavor. If using plain breadcrumbs, add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning or dried basil and oregano.
Oil: For frying, or cooking spray for baking mozzarella sticks.
Making Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Ready to make melty, ooey cheese sticks with the crispiest breading? Prepare them for frying:
Set up the Breading Station: Take three bowls for the Breading Station. In one bowl, mix flour and garlic salt, in another, beat eggs, and in a third, add breadcrumbs.
Prepare the cheese: Cut the mozzarella block into ½” thick, 3” long sticks using a sharp knife. About 20-24 cheese sticks will remain.
Coat in Breading: Dip each cheese stick in flour, then egg, then flour and egg wash. The secret to well-breaded cheese sticks is double-dipping. Finally, roll the sticks in breadcrumbs to coat all sides.
Freeze: breaded cheese sticks on a baking sheet or platter. Cover the sticks with plastic wrap and freeze for 45 minutes after coating.
Cheese Stick Fry-How
Fry cheese sticks after chilling. It’s simple to deep fry, but you must watch the oil.
- Heat 2 cups of oil in a deep pan over medium heat until a thermometer reads 350ºF. Pinch of breadcrumbs in oil is a simple temperature test. Crusts sizzle when oil is hot enough to fry.
- Remove frozen cheese sticks and fry. Drop cheese sticks into hot oil in small batches. Turn sticks halfway through 60–90 seconds of frying. When the outside is crisped and golden and cheese starts to leak, remove the cooked mozzarella sticks with a slotted spoon.
- Drain and Cool by placing fried mozzarella sticks on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil.
Tips for Best Mozzarella Sticks
Final mozzarella stick-making tips:
- The best results are from deep-frying in oil for a crunchy exterior.
- Choose a high-smoke-point oil to avoid burning cheese sticks. Try extra-light olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, or peanut oil.
- Fry in batches of 3–4 to prevent oil from cooling too quickly.
- Cut sticks evenly, ensuring they are under 1/2″ thick for even heating.
Can I Make Cheese Sticks Without Deep Frying?
- While frying yields the best results, any of the following methods can produce gooey cheese sticks:
- Baked Cheese Sticks: Place frozen cheese sticks in a single layer on a baking sheet, 1 inch apart. Coat everything with cooking spray.
- Bake at 475°F for 7-8 minutes, flipping halfway, with the rack in the top third. Bake crust until melted cheese peeks through.
- In a convection oven, preheat to 350°F and bake for 4-6 minutes.
- Pre-heat your air fryer to 375°F and air fry the cheese sticks for 4-5 minutes, turning halfway. Work in batches to circulate hot air.
Make-Ahead
- You can freeze homemade mozzarella cheese sticks to make a batch when you want.
- Arrange on a baking sheet, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 2 hours until solid. Squeeze out excess air and freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe zip-top bag. Simply cook them from frozen.
- Reheating: Microwave cooked mozzarella sticks for 15-20 seconds until the cheese peeks through the crust to make them gooey again.
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