Baked Mozzarella Sticks
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Crispy on the outside, melty on the inside these baked mozzarella sticks give you all the cheesy pull you love with no frying required! Perfect for dipping, sharing, and snacking straight from the oven.
This recipe originally posted in April 2012.
I am a sucker for cheese. I eat it whenever I can and 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.
Can you fry other types of cheese?
Yes you can! One of my favorites, other than mozzarella, are fried cheese curds. Another popular choice is fried Halloumi. You can also bread and fry provolone, cheddar, or pepper jack cheese.
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.
Another great appetizer with cheese are Million Dollar Bacon Crostini. We also love Baked Brie, Bacon, and Cranberry Pull Apart Bread. Of course you can’t love cheese and not love Homemade Queso.
I wanted to make a baked mozzarella stick that packed a lot of flavor. On a recent trip to the grocery store I found jalapeno mozzarella string cheese. I decided to try both the jalapeno mozzarella string cheese and the regular string cheese.
I did a basic breading and popped them into the freezer. I’ve tried to put them directly into the oven but I have found that they often ooze out of the breading. When I freeze them for 30 minutes I have a better chance of the cheese staying in.
The other big tip is doing a double breading. I do flour, egg, breadcrumbs, then I do the egg and breadcrumbs again.
Do I have to double coat the mozzarella sticks?
The short answer is yes. This is the best way to make sure the mozzarella cheese doesn’t ooze out of the breading. While I can occasionally get it to stay in with a basic breading, doing the double breading works so much better.
Ingredients:
- mozzarella sticks (or your favorite type of cheese)
- all purpose flour
- eggs
- panko breadcrumbs
- Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- salt
- black pepper
- garlic
- cooking spray
Place the flour in a shallow bowl, the eggs in a second shallow bowl, and the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, and garlic in a third shallow bowl. Roll the mozzarella stick in the flour, dip in the egg, then roll in breadcrumbs. Repeat with all the cheese sticks.
Then dip them in the egg again and roll them in the breadcrumb mixture again. Freeze for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Check on the mozzarella sticks every few minutes to make sure the cheese isn’t oozing out. If it is remove them from the oven and enjoy.
The outside breading on the mozzarella sticks was crispy and the inside was gooey. We ate them with marinara sauce and they were gone within minutes.
What sauces can I serve with mozzarella sticks?
You can serve it with whatever you would like but I’ve found that ranch dressing, marinara sauce, garlic butter, or spicy mayo.
We really enjoyed these mozzarella sticks and they were easy to make. I like that I can choose the type of cheese and the dipping sauce and it’s so much cheaper then getting them at a restaurant.
Can I freeze the mozzarella sticks?
Yes! After freezing them initially for 30 minutes place them in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
This is an 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.
Baked Mozarella Sticks
Equipment
- 3 bowls
Ingredients
- 8 mozzarella sticks cut in half
- 1/3 cup flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- 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.
- 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. Repeat with remaining cheese sticks.
- Then dip each cheese stick back into the eggs and roll in the breadcrumb mixture. Return to the baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Remove the cheese sticks from the freezer and spray with cooking spray.
- Bake the cheese sticks for 10 minutes, checking frequently to make sure the cheese is not oozing from the sticks.
- Remove from oven and serve with choice of sauce.
Notes
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 🙂
They do NOT make jalapeno string cheese? ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!!!???? :))
I’m such a happy girl right now. 🙂