If you are looking to learn how to make homemade mozzarella sticks, you’ve come to the right place. Though traditional mozzarella cheese can be used, it is easiest to make with perfectly portioned sticks of string cheese and is ready to be enjoyed in 10 minutes.
You know what I absolutely crave when it is hot and muggy outside, and my house feels like a sauna? Deep fried food! Well, not typically, but Tuesday I was absolutely ravenous for some good ol’ deep fried Wisconsin cheese! Cheese is to Wisconsin what corruption is to Illinois… we couldn’t function without it. It’s practically our state vitamin.
Heck, Wisconsin’s deep fried cheese curds look like over-sized vitamins, and they sure make me feel a lot better! If you like Mozzarella sticks, you HAVE to check out my Beer Battered Deep Fried Cheese Curds recipe too!
What Are Mozzarella Sticks
Mozzarella sticks are a popular deep fried appetizer consisting of long slices of mozzarella cheese which are coated in seasoned breadcrumbs and fried until golden brown and melted inside. Mozzarella sticks are most commonly served with marinara sauce for dipping.
Mozzarella Sticks with String Cheese
Making homemade mozzarella sticks with string cheese is not a difficult proposition, particularly if you take advantage of the fact that string cheese is already in perfectly portioned sticks ready to fry! All you need to do is bread them and dunk them in oil! You can even make Doritos Mozzarella Sticks if you are feeling crazy!
Can I bake mozzarella sticks?
Yes, you can make homemade mozzarella sticks without frying, by baking them in the oven. However, I find baked mozzarella sticks have a higher risk of error since you can’t monitor their cooking as closely. You are more likely to end up with melted white blobs than stretchy homemade cheese sticks!
Not to mention, baked mozzarella sticks aren’t all that healthy either. You are still chowing down on big sticks of breaded cheese. Might as well fry them in oil, get better flavor, and have a better chance of them cooking to perfection.
If you still wish to attempt baked mozzarella sticks I recommend freezing the cheese prior to breading and baking them in a 450-degree oven until golden brown and the cheese threatens to ooze out. Freezing the cheese buys you a little more time before you have a melted disaster.
How to Make Homemade Mozzarella Sticks
If you don’t have a deep fryer, and I don’t, I recommend using a cast iron fryer. It has deep walls which is perfect for containing and oil threatening to splatter over, and the heavy nature of cast iron is perfect for maintaining a steady temperature. All of my deep frying is done exclusively in this.
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Use your digital thermometer to monitor the frying oil temperature. The oil temperature will drop after adding the initial batch of mozzarella sticks, so I typically increase the heat of my burner after I start frying, or raise my initial frying temperature a little over 365 to compensate for the impending drop.
It is also a good idea to do a test batch with a single stick to get an idea of how quickly your mozzarella sticks will cook. If you see the cheese oozing out, they are overcooking and should be removed immediately.
More classic bar appetizers
- Chicken wings – can be baked in the oven!
- Homemade French fries – as good as your favorite restaurant!
- Fried green tomatoes – A southern classic!
- Burger Sliders – Perfect for a crowd!
Homemade Mozzarella Sticks with String Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 oz String Cheese
- 1 1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbsp Milk
- Oil for frying
- Marinara for dipping
Instructions
- Fill skillet with a couple inches of oil and heat to 365 degrees.
- Whisk together milk and egg in a bowl.
- Add breadcrumbs to a separate bowl.
- Dip string cheese in egg, then breadcrumbs, then egg again and breadcrumbs again.
- Deep fry in batches until crust is golden brown, about 1 minute.
- Remove from fryer and let drain on a paper towel, then serve with marinara sauce.
Notes
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Christina says
I would season the batter (eggs & milk) .Maybe some garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning etc.
Dominic Graziano says
The Italian bread crumbs are sufficient as too much Italian seasoning can create a slight bitter taste.
Sana says
I tried trying so far at low to med temp, but they basically melted in the frying pan. I didn’t have any issue with soggy bread crumbs and have experience with egg washing several dishes.
I’m now going to try baking at the recommended 350*F and will report back.
It’ll be nice to have an easy peasy way to make delicious mozzarella sticks.
mechelle says
you should freeze the for a few hours before frying. that’s what i do
Judy says
How would these do cooked in an air fryer??
tavo says
you do this. Throw away the airfryer. then you follow this recipe.
Mark says
Can you make these with an air fryer.
Fox Valley Foodie says
I don’t use an air fryer and have never used one, so I am not sure. I am sure there are probably air fryer recipes for mozzarella sticks if you google them.
Matt says
Simple and delish !!! Family gobbled them up in a hurry! Great recipe!
Kelly says
I’m trying this now but I’m freezing them before frying I’ll let you know what happens lol
Tiffany says
Did that work better? And wer they frozen when deep frying
PatriotsFan says
I just tried this recipe as a last minute Superbowl recipe, It was Great! I dredged in flour first and then chilled outside in the snow for an hour before frying. The breading stayed on and they fried to a golden brown quickly. Everyone loved them!
Sheila says
Anyone tried in their air fryer yet, thoughts.
Shawn Felty says
Just freeze for 30 minutes after breading. Cook in 1/2 inch preheated oil on medium in a frying pan and they can be turned 3 times till done on each side. Much more control over temp and appearance
Allan Robbins says
I played a riff off of your recipe. I crushed up the Flaming Hot Cheeto Puffs instead of bread crumbs.
Mylinda says
Tried these tonight and the breading would fall off and the ones I tried cooking just disintegrated..
Jessica says
I had the same problem. This recipe isn’t good. Doesn’t work.
andy says
great recipie
Heather McKinley says
I froze the cheese sticks before coating then frying them. They were a huge hit. We loved the flavor these brought. I’m going to take a batch next time, prep then freeze them so we can just fry what we want later. Thank you.
Cheese-nonymous says
Air fryers cook via convection baking, they don’t actually “fry.” So it would be the same thing as baking them in your standard convection oven. From experience, it just creates melted globs.
Karen says
This was a delicious recipe. I do not buy packaged food so instead of using string cheese I used carrots, they look the same and they are very healthy. I did not have breadcrumbs so I used some toast and broke it up. Oil is bad for your liver. Instead I baked them in the oven. The reason I only gave this recipe four stars is because I did not like them very much. I gave them to my kids for dinner with salad. They filled my kids up so that was very joyous. I am making them again in two days because my kids ate them quicker than beets.
Star says
Did these in the deep fryer. Breading did not fall off. Cheese did not melt through breading. Came out crispy on the outside and stretchy on the inside. ..DELICIOUS! THANK YOU!
Christina says
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but would it work the same if I used shredded mozzarella cheese instead of string cheese because I don’t normally buy string cheese?? Please someone reply. Thanks!!
Fox Valley Foodie says
No, it would fall apart.
Jessica says
Breading doesn’t stick to string cheese, especially if you “double-dip” in the egg mixture. I don’t know how people are having any success at all with this recipe.
Jessica William says
Would this recipe also work with flour?