Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
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Make restaurant-style mozzarella sticks at home without the greasy mess using this easy recipe for Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks! The breading on the outside is crispy and flavorful, while the inside is filled with gooey, melted mozzarella cheese. This recipe is freezer-friendly and perfect for an afternoon snack, Italian appetizer or game day party food!
Table of contents
If there’s one thing I’m known for, it’s for my love of cheesy carbs. And in my book, mozzarella sticks are pretty much the ultimate cheesy carb dish!
This appetizer is usually a splurge for me at a restaurant because I don’t fry a lot of foods at home. But now that I know how easy it is to make air fryer mozzarella sticks, you better believe that these cheesy carbs are on my regular menu!
Whether I’m watching my favorite team play football, hosting an Italian dinner party, or just craving melty, cheesy goodness in the afternoon, my favorite thing about this recipe is that it’s make-ahead! That’s right, you can whip up a big batch of these mozzarella sticks, then freeze them and pop them in the air fryer for 7 minutes, and you have a crispy, cheesy, flavorful snack so quick!
Don’t have an air fryer? No worries, you can also bake these mozzarella sticks in the oven! Now let’s get cooking, and maybe even triple the recipe to stock our freezer full of homemade mozzarella sticks!
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour – to coat the mozzarella sticks before dipping them in the eggs and panko parmesan mixture.
- Salt – to season the flour.
- Eggs – I recommend using large eggs to make sure you have enough egg wash to coat the mozzarella sticks.
- Panko breadcrumbs – used to bread the mozzarella sticks and give them an extra crispy texture!
- Parmesan cheese – for a lot of recipes, I recommend fresh grated cheese. For this recipe, I actually recommend using pre-grated shaker parmesan cheese. It adheres better to the outside of the mozzarella sticks as part of the breading.
- Italian seasoning – click the link for my homemade seasoning recipe. It’s easy to mix up in 5 minutes with 7 ingredients, and the flavor and texture are perfect in this recipe. You can also use premade Italian seasoning found on the spice aisle at the grocery store.
- Mozzarella string cheese – you always want to use low-moisture mozzarella string cheese so there’s not too much moisture that might melt out of the mozzarella sticks. Almost all mozzarella sting cheese found at the grocery store will be low-moisture. You can use whole milk or part-skim. The whole milk mozzarella will have a richer flavor and melts better than the park-skim, but because the cheese melts inside the breading as it cooks, either one will work just fine.
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Prepare the breading station. Whisk 2 large eggs in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, add all purpose flour and combine with salt. In a third bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
- Bread the mozzarella cheese sticks. Cut 6 sticks of mozzarella string cheese in half. Dredge each stick of mozzarella cheese in the flour mixture, then dip it in the egg. Once it’s fully covered in the egg, allow any excess to drip off before transferring the mozzarella stick to the bowl of breadcrumbs. Roll the mozzarella stick in the breadcrumbs until it’s fully coated, then dip the mozzarella stick back into the egg wash. Add it back into the breadcrumb mixture and press down gently on all sides to make sure the cheese is fully covered in the breadcrumbs. Transfer the breaded mozzarella sticks to a cutting board, then repeat with all of the remaining pieces of cheese.
- Freeze the mozzarella sticks. Place the cutting board of mozzarella sticks in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, either cook the mozzarella sticks in the air fryer or oven, or transfer them to a freezer-safe zipper bag, date and label the bag, then place it back in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to air fry the mozzarella sticks
- Add the mozzarella sticks to an air fryer basket in a single layer, making sure there’s room around each piece of cheese for the air to circulate.
- Spray the mozzarella sticks with cooking spray, then cook at 400°F for 4 minutes.
- Open the air fryer, flip the mozzarella sticks, spray with cooking spray and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
How to cook them in the oven
No air fryer, no problem! Follow these simple instructions to bake the mozzarella sticks in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. If your oven has a convection setting, I recommend using that.
- Place the mozzarella sticks on a wire rack, on top of a foil-lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 9-11 minutes, or until the outside of the mozzarella sticks are golden brown. Because you’re cooking them on a wire rack, you don’t need to flip them throughout the cooking process. If you’re cooking them directly on a baking sheet, I recommend flipping them halfway through the cooking time.
What to serve them with
Mozzarella sticks are delicious served with ranch or warm marinara sauce for dipping! If you want to mix things up, try using this tasty Garlic Parmesan Sauce as a dipping sauce.
Air fryer mozzarella sticks are a great snack, but also a great appetizer to pair with your favorite Italian meals. Try this recipe with any of these Italian main dishes.
Recipe tips
- Always bread the mozzarella sticks in the egg and breadcrumb mixture TWICE! This ensures that the cheese is fully coated and will not melt out of the breading while it cooks in the oven or air fryer.
- When breading the mozzarella sticks, always use one hand for the wet ingredients and one hand for the dry ingredients. This will prevent clumping, keep your hands from becoming coated in the breading, and it will help keep the breading ingredients separated. My Dad taught me this trick growing up, making his famous Captain Crunch Fried Chicken together!
- Always freeze the mozzarella sticks for at least 30 minutes before cooking them in the oven or air fryer. Otherwise, the cheese will melt out of the breading and make a huge mess in the air fryer or oven. Trust me, I tested this so you don’t have to!
- You can use the time and temperature from this recipe to cook frozen mozzarella sticks purchased at the grocery store. If you don’t have time to make homemade mozzarella sticks, the cooking instructions for this recipe will also work with premade mozzarella sticks found in the frozen foods section at the grocery store.
- To make gluten free mozzarella sticks, replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend, or rice flour. Use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs, instead of traditional panko.
- To make keto mozzarella sticks, omit the step of dredging the mozzarella sticks in the flour. Instead of traditional panko bread crumbs, use pork panko.
Storage and reheating
This recipe makes 12 mozzarella sticks. You can easily double the recipe by clicking the 2X button in the recipe card below. Uncooked, breaded mozzarella sticks can be stored in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months.
The frozen mozzarella sticks can be cooked directly from frozen in the air fryer or oven. There’s no need to add additional time, as the time written in this recipe is for frozen mozzarella sticks.
Store cooked mozzarella stick leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the air fryer at 400°F for 2 minutes to keep them crispy, or in the oven at 425°F for 3 minutes.
More appetizer recipes
Make these mozzarella sticks part of an epic game day spread, or appetizer sampler platter, by pairing them with these other delicious recipes!
Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, click link for homemade recipe
- 6 sticks mozzarella string cheese, cut in half
Instructions
- Combine the flour and salt in a shallow bowl.
- In another shallow bowl, whisk two eggs together.
- In a third shallow bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning.
- Cut 6 sticks of mozzarella string cheese in half.
- Dredge each stick of mozzarella cheese in the flour mixture, then dip it in the egg.
- Once it’s fully covered in the egg, allow any excess to drip off before transferring the mozzarella stick to the bowl of breadcrumbs. Roll the mozzarella stick in the breadcrumbs until it’s fully coated, then dip the mozzarella stick back into the egg wash.
- Add it back into the breadcrumb mixture and press down gently on all sides to make sure the cheese is fully covered in the breadcrumbs.
- Transfer the breaded mozzarella sticks to a cutting board, then repeat with all of the remaining pieces of cheese.
- Place the cutting board of breaded mozzarella sticks into the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, either cook the mozzarella sticks in the air fryer or oven, or transfer them to a freezer-safe zipper bag, date and label the bag, then place it back in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To cook the mozzarella sticks in an air fryer, add the mozzarella sticks to an air fryer basket in a single layer, making sure there’s room around each piece of cheese for the air to circulate.
- Spray the mozzarella sticks with cooking spray, then cook at 400°F for 4 minutes.
- Open the air fryer, flip the mozzarella sticks, spray with cooking spray and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- Refer to the notes below for how to cook the mozzarella sticks in the oven.
Notes
- To cook the mozzarella sticks in the oven, follow these steps.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. If your oven has a convection setting, I recommend using that.
- Place the mozzarella sticks on a wire rack, on top of a foil-lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 9-11 minutes, or until the outside of the mozzarella sticks are golden brown. Because you’re cooking them on a wire rack, you don’t need to flip them throughout the cooking process. If you’re cooking them directly on a baking sheet, I recommend flipping them halfway through the cooking time.
- This recipe makes 12 mozzarella sticks. You can easily double the recipe by clicking the 2X button above.
- Uncooked, breaded mozzarella sticks can be stored in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. The frozen mozzarella sticks can be cooked directly from frozen in the air fryer or oven. There’s no need to add additional time, as the time written in this recipe is for frozen mozzarella sticks.
- Store cooked mozzarella sticks in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the air fryer at 400°F for 2 minutes to keep them crispy, or in the oven at 425°F for 3 minutes.
- To make gluten free mozzarella sticks, replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour blend, or rice flour. Use gluten-free panko breadcrumbs, instead of traditional panko.
- To make keto mozzarella sticks, omit the step of dredging the mozzarella sticks in the flour. Instead of traditional panko bread crumbs, use pork panko.
Nutrition Facts
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