By Sam 21 Comments
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.
Jump to RecipeJump to Video
Homemade mozzarella sticks are easy to make and taste so much better than store-bought! My recipe can be fried, baked, or air-fried right away, or you can freeze them for later. Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Best Mozzarella Sticks Recipe
No more grabbing a frozen bag from the grocery store…today we’re making homemade mozzarella sticks! You know I’m a huge advocate for making recipes from-scratch, but this really holds true with anything fried (like my donut holes or funnel cake). There’s just something about fresh, golden brown, still warm fried food–especially when it’s filled with cheese and dunked in marinara sauce (though my son dips his in ranch dressing, is that weird?)!
My mozzarella sticks recipe is simple, quick, and guarantees stellar cheese pulls. If you choose to fry your sticks and you’re new to frying, definitely take a look at the video below before getting started; I include lots of tops for frying success!
Why use my mozzarella sticks recipe:
- Makes perfectly crispy golden sticks, thanks to my breading technique.
- Uses block-style mozzarella for the best flavor and cheese pulls.
- Can be enjoyed right away or frozen for later.
- Includes instructions for how to make mozzarella sticks by frying, air frying, and baking
What You Need
Just a few ingredients come together to make this ooey gooey snack:
- Panko. This is the key to achieving a crispy exterior. Panko has more texture than your standard breadcrumb, so it is the best choice for getting that perfect bite. To make sure the coating will evenly stick to the cheese, use a rolling pin to crush the panko down a bit before adding the seasonings.
- Italian Seasoning. In addition to a few other spices, I am using Italian seasoning to give the coating some flavor. Italian seasoning is a blend of herbs (no salt) and typically consists of spices like basil, marjoram, oregano, etc. I use just enough to add some oomph, but not too much that it masks that classic taste. If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can make your own from spices in your cabinet.
- Salt. A flavor-enhancing staple in fried foods, salt is an essential component of our seasoned coating. Because it’s not included in the Italian seasoning or the panko, you’ll add it separately. This also allows you to control how much salt goes into this dish.
- Flour. This is the first ingredient in our dredge. Flour will help our liquid (eggs) cling to the mozzarella cheese. No need to get fancy here; all-purpose flour works just fine.
- Eggs. As step two in the dredging process, whisked eggs simply help our crispy coating stick to the cheese.
- Mozzarella. The most important ingredient in homemade mozzarella sticks! I highly recommend using a block of whole milk mozzarella that you can cut up yourself, but you can use string cheese too. Whole milk mozzarella has a better flavor (don’t use part-skim!), and it typically yields more sticks than your standard package of string cheese.
- Vegetable Oil. My preferred oil for frying is vegetable oil, but any neutral cooking oil (like canola, corn, or peanut oil) will work. If you are planning to bake or air fry instead, you will use cooking spray instead.
SAM’S TIP: Make sure to coat your sticks very well; if there are any areas missing breading, the cheese will use that spot as a way to escape during the frying process…and no one wants that!
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Mozzarella Sticks
Frying isn’t as intimidating as it may seem, and you don’t need any special equipment. I use this method of frying in a pot with everything from donuts to fried pickles, follow the steps and you’ll have no trouble at all!
- After you’ve prepared your dredge components, prepare your homemade mozzarella sticks by cutting the cheese into, well, sticks. You can skip this step if you are using string cheese.
- Begin the dredging process by dipping your cheese sticks first into the flour, then the eggs, and then the panko mixture. Put a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place your coated sticks there until you’ve finished coating them all.
- Once all of your sticks are coated, place them in the freezer for an hour. DO NOT skip this step. If you’re not frying/cooking right away, you’ll need to transfer your sticks to a sealed container in the freezer. Keep them there until your oil is hot and ready to fry.
- Fry your sticks two at a time until golden brown. Serve warm with marinara sauce.
SAM’S TIP: It is SO important that you use a thermometer to monitor your oil temperature! Remember to make sure your oil comes back to temperature between batches, or your sticks could turn out greasy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make mozzarella sticks in the air fryer?
Yes, this is actually a great air fryer recipe! I provide instructions for how to do to this in the recipe notes below.
Why did my cheese disappear?
Assuming you didn’t eat it all beforehand 😉, there are several legitimate causes for this very unfortunate circ*mstance. The most common are cooking too long or at too high of a temperature; however, not chilling long enough or not fully coating can also result in empty sticks.
Can you make homemade mozzarella sticks with string cheese?
You can, but I find the flavor and texture to be better with the block mozzarella. Plus, you’ll get more sticks out of the block–yay!
Golden brown, breaded, and deep fried–this is by far the best way to eat cheese! 🤤
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together!I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe andvideobelow! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me onInstagram, and you can also find me onYouTubeandFacebook
Homemade Mozzarella Sticks
Crispy, cheesy, and oh so savory, these homemade Mozzarella Sticks have a habit of disappearing quickly. Make a batch to keep in the freezer, or enjoy right away. Recipe includes options for baking and air frying.
Be sure to check out the how-to video!
4.96 from 21 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American, Italian
Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes minutes
Chilling Time: 1 hour hour
Total Time: 1 hour hour 28 minutes minutes
Servings: 15 mozzarella sticks
Calories: 138kcal
Author: Sam Merritt
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (106 g) plain Panko
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 lb whole milk mozzarella block or 15 whole milk string cheese
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Marinara sauce for dipping(click the link to make my homemade marinara)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
Place panko crumbs in a Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin or mallet to crush until you have fine crumbs.
1 ½ cups (106 g) plain Panko
Pour crushed panko into a shallow dish and add Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic powder, pepper, and salt and stir to combine.
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon dried parsley, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon table salt
In a separate, shallow bowl, crack 2 large eggs and beat with a whisk or the tines of a fork until scrambled.
2 large eggs
Pour all-purpose flour in yet another shallow bowl.
½ cup (63 g) all-purpose flour
If using a mozzarella block, cut widthwise into 15 sticks.
1 lb whole milk mozzarella block
Working with one at a time, dip the stick in the flour and shake off any excess flour. Then dip in the beaten egg and let any excess drip off. Finally, dip in panko crumb mixture, making sure the entire cheese stick is coated with panko.
Place a wire cooking rack on a baking sheet and place breaded mozzarella sticks on rack. Once all sticks have been dipped, transfer to the freezer and chill for at least one hour. If you are chilling for longer than 1 hour, after 1 hour remove from freezer and place in an airtight container then return to freezer.
To Fry (please see notes section below for instructions for the oven or in the air fryer)
While sticks are still in the freezer, fill a medium-sized saucepan 3” deep with vegetable oil. Attach a thermometer to the side and make sure it is suspended about halfway into the oil (and that it is not touching the bottom of the pot). Heat oil over medium heat until you reach a temperature of 350F (175C) then remove sticks from freezer.
Vegetable oil
Fry sticks, 2 at a time, until golden brown (about 1 minute) then remove to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Make sure oil returns to temperature before frying next batch.
Enjoy while still warm dipped in warmed marinara sauce.
Marinara sauce
Notes
Instructions for baking:
Preheat oven to 415F (210C) and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray lightly with cooking spray. Arrange sticks on baking sheet, spacing at least an inch apart, and bake 10-15 minutes or until they are beginning to turn golden brown (they will not get as dark as they would if deep fried). Enjoy warm dipped in warm marinara.
Instructions for air fryer:
Heat air fryer to 390F (200C). Spray the basket of your air fryer with cooking spray. Add sticks and spray lightly with cooking spray. Cook for 6-8 minutes, tossing halfway through, until are golden and crispy. Enjoy warm with warm marinara.
Nutrition
Serving: 1mozzarella stick | Calories: 138kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 50mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 238IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!
Related Recipes
- Fried Pickles
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Soft Pretzel Bites
- Bacon Jalapeno Popper Dip
« Pumpkin Bars
Spice Cake »
Reader Interactions
Comments
kenza
I am planning to make them in iftar for RamadanReply
Sam
I hope you love them! 🙂
Reply
Carissa
These were great! I did use the majority of the recipe to develop the breading of the cheese, however, I did not have the time to freeze them, so I took two additional steps, and I think I may have found the secret solution to Mozzarella Sticks that do not require pre-freezing!
I let the cheese sticks (used mozz. string cheese) soak in Buttermilk for a few minutes or however long between cutting them, and tossing them in there, and preparing the ones I had started on beforehand. Once I was finished with 4 of them (not fried yet), I removed them from the buttermilk, and dipped them in a flour coating with garlic salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning, and then dipped them into a milk/egg mixture, ensuring they were fully coated, even letting them sit a minute or so, and then into the Italian Bread crumbs…
I literally only had one that started to “pop” in the oil, and we didn’t lose any cheese at all – otherwise, everything cooked up perfectly crisp, cheesy, and delicious!
Just thought I would mention this since I could not find a single recipe that did not require freezing, and we had such great luck with this modification!
Reply
Dababy
Haven’t made it yet but its prolly good #yoloReply
Marianne
Delicious! I teach Family and Consumer Science and tried these out as a potential recipe for my after school cooking club. Due to time constriction, making and then freezing is not an option. Instead I cut up the cheese sticks and froze the pieces, and then followed the steps for baking. Worked great! So, if it works better for you to freeze the cheese ahead of time, that will work fine. Haven’t actually made them yet with my students, but any of the staff that sampled my practice batch gave them rave reviews.Reply
Tim
These are the best. Easy to make. Will definitely make again.Reply
Brian
Came out great taste and so steps in making it was easyReply
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Brian! 🙂
Reply
Connor
The recipe is good, however, I could not get the panko to stick well. I followed all directions and watched the video. I had to use an entire bag of panko and double dip in the eggs in order to get the sticks right.
Sam
Hi Connor! Sometimes the egg just doesn’t coat well enough and you have to dip it twice. 🙂
Jazmine
Hi Sam! The recipe so good. Me and my family enjoyed it with a hood Italian meal. I have a question. For future reference, Do I have to freeze before frying or can i skip it in some cases?Reply
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jazmine! We’re so happy they were a hit. Yes, you must freeze before frying, otherwise your cheese will disappear 🙁
Reply
Pam
Made these for New Years in our air fryer. They were delicious!
Reply
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you liked them, Pam! Thanks for letting us know how they turned out for you 😊
Reply
Jen
Hi Sam!
How long can I freeze them for if I don’t plan to air fry them in an hour?
Sam
Hi Jen! I haven’t personally tried it, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t be good for a few weeks in a freezer. 🙂
Lindsay
These are AMAZING! My new go to when I’m craving mozzarella sticks.Reply
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you love them, Lindsay! Enjoy 😊
Reply
Andres Garcia
I love your recipes and your website has gotten me through a hard time. I’ve struggled with disordered eating for a while, been in the hospital for treatment, and I’ve just started school. I’m 15 and I love to bake and cook(I swear by your recipes, honestly), so much so that I know your chocolate cake recipe by heart. Your recipes have honestly repaired my relationship with food, and this blog means so much to me. Congrats on boy #2!
Reply
Sam
Andres, thank you so much for your kind words. I am so, so glad to hear that my recipes have been helpful to you, this means so much to me 💜. I’m very grateful that you have found and tried my recipes, it’s wonderful to have you here and I am truly thrilled to hear that you have a better relationship with food now. I can’t wait to hear what you make next, I always look forward to your comments. And thank you for the congratulations on the second baby! <3
Reply
Heather
Great recipe, very flavorful. However, I do not recommend air frying these. They were very soft and flimsy, and the cheese started to ooze out of the sides (air fried at 390° for 7 minutes). The test one that I double dredged had no ooze and was more firm but still didn’t have that classic crisp element. Also, these were way too thick in my opinion. I used Galbani whole milk mozzarella block as that was the only one I could find at the grocery store and followed the instructions to cut into 15 pieces. I will definitely be trying this recipe again, but cutting the block into thinner sticks, possibly double dredging them, and cooking them in both the oven and deep fried to see which produces the best results (deep fried always wins 😁)Reply
4.96 from 21 votes (13 ratings without comment)
