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!
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.