Baked Jalapeno Mozzarella Sticks: Meatless Monday

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    I am a sucker for cheese.  I eat it a lot of the time and I love it on just about anything I eat.  One of my guilty pleasures are mozzarella cheese sticks, especially when we go out to dinner.  I love the crispy outsides and the gooey insides.  While they are one of my favorite appetizers, there are two things I dislike about them.  One is the outrageous price I end up paying for a small amount of cheese sticks and the other is the amount of grease that is on the cheese sticks.

     To solve this problem I wanted to make a baked mozzarella stick that still packed a lot of flavor.  On a recent trip to the grocery store I found jalapeno mozzarella string cheese.  That would solve the flavor problem.  I did a basic breading and popped them into the oven.  The were looking good at 9 minutes and I shut the oven door for just another minute but got distracted and left them in for too long.  The cheese started seeping out of the breading, but they were still delicious.

      The outside breading was crispy and the inside was gooey and just a bit spicy.  We ate them with marinara sauce and they were gone within minutes.  This is a easy, cheap, and healthier way to mozzarella sticks at home.  They would also be perfect to serve as an appetizer at a party because they can be prepped ahead of time.

      I also just submitted this recipe to The Grand Spring Recipe Challenge in the appetizer category.  Information on the challenge can be found HERE.  Recipes are being accepted until April 28th and then the voting will begin!   Make sure you check back to vote for my Baked Mozzarella Sticks!

Baked Jalapeno Mozzarella Sticks (a Hezzi-D original)
8 jalapeno mozzarella sticks, cut in half
1/4 c. flour
2 eggs
1 c. panko breadcrumbs
1/2 c. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. black pepper
1 t. salt

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2.  Put the flour in a shallow dish.  Beat the eggs in a second shallow dish.  Combine the panko, Italian breadcrumbs, garlic powder, black pepper, and salt in a third shallow dish.

3.  Roll each of the halved cheese sticks in the flour, making sure to cover all sides including the ends.  Then dip each into the egg mixture and roll in the breadcrumbs.  Place on the baking sheet.

4.  Cook in the oven for 9-10 minutes keeping a careful eye on them so that the cheese does not seep out of the breading.  Remove from the oven and serve with marinara sauce.

This post linked to:
Meatless Mondays, Mangia Mondays, Making You Crave Mondays

2 Comments

  1. Yum! I didn’t know they made jalapeño string cheese either. Very excited about that and these tasty baked mozzarella sticks. I am all set to vote when the time comes 🙂

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