It's so easy to make the most delicious, cheesy, crunchy Air Fried Mozzarella Sticks! The homemade kind tastes miles much better than the frozen variety, and you save a ton of fat and calories by air frying instead of deep frying. You're going to love this easy appetizer!
This recipe for mozzarella sticks is great for beginner cooks. Using string cheese means that you don't have to worry about slicing whole mozzarella into even blocks, and the air fryer gives us a delicious crispy crust, without the actual hassle of deep frying.
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving (4 sticks): $2.22
- Total Cost (12 sticks): $6.67
- Those Other Guys: $8.99 per serving
Ingredients
- String Cheese - Grab the mozzarella version of your favorite string cheese. I've used part-skim with great results, but some people swear by the whole milk kind.
- Panko Breadcrumbs - Panko breadcrumbs help give a better crunch than normal breadcrumbs. As a tip, I recommend that you crush the panko a bit before coating your cheese sticks for a more even coating!
- Grated Parmesan - We mix this into the panko bowl for extra umami and texture.
- All-Purpose Flour - To help the eggs and panko stick, we start our dredging process by coating the string cheese with a thin layer of flour.
- Seasoning Blend - The Italian seasoning gives a great pop of flavor that you normally miss from the store-bought frozen mozzarella sticks! Garlic powder provides a nice taste, and a bit of salt is essential since our panko is unseasoned.
- Eggs - The second step of our dredging process is to dip the flour-coated cheese in whisked eggs. This helps the panko layer stick.
Variations and Substitutions
Wonton Mozzarella Sticks: Instead of breading in panko breadcrumbs, wrap the string cheese in wonton wrappers and fry or air fry. Sprinkle with sea salt and shredded parmesan while they're still hot.
Waffle Iron Mozzarella Sticks: Slice the cheese sticks in half, dredge, freeze, then pop into a mini waffle iron. Those waffle-squares are perfect for soaking up more dipping sauce!
Dip Party: Instead of using marinara to dip, try high-protein ranch dressing or homemade nut-free pesto.
Buffalo Air Fried Mozzarella Sticks: Toss the hot mozzarella sticks in your favorite buffalo sauce for a spicy kick!
How to Make Air Fried Mozzarella Sticks
Step 1: Dredge your string cheese into a bowl of all-purpose flour.
Step 2: Then, dip into a bowl of whisked eggs. Let any extra drip off back into the bowl!
Step 3: Next, dip the cheese into a bowl of seasoned panko breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. Repeat Steps 1 - 3 to ensure your string cheese is double coated.
Step 4: Freeze for at least an hour, then add to a preheated air fryer and spray with cooking oil. Cook for about 8 minutes, flipping once and adding more oil, until golden brown and crispy. It's that easy!
Recipe Pro Tips
- Crush the panko breadcrumbs. Using a rolling pin or cooking mallet, crush the panko just a bit before mixing with the parmesan cheese. This helps get a finer texture for more even coverage.
- Thoroughly cover the cheese sticks. Any gaps in breading are perfect spots for the cheese to try and escape when air frying. To avoid any mozzarella bubbling out, make sure you thoroughly bread the cheese on all sides. Following the instructions below by double-coating helps with this a lot.
- Running out of egg? If your egg bowl is getting low, slowly whisk in water to thin it out - about a teaspoon at a time until it's light yellow. You should have just enough to completely double-coat 12 sticks!
- Don't skip freezing! Whatever you do, do not skip freezing the breaded, uncooked mozzarella sticks for at least one hour. This makes the cheese in the middle solid enough to withstand air frying until the outside crust is golden brown. If you don't freeze for long enough, they will literally disintegrate while cooking. Not pretty!
Recipe FAQs
Exactly! Don't let the uncooked sticks come to room temperature first. You want to add them straight from the freezer to a preheated air fryer.
They most likely weren't covered fully or frozen all of the way. To prevent any messes, ensure you do a double dredge and cover the entire stick of cheese with coating. And freeze for at least an hour, until completely solid.
The texture will be different since panko breadcrumbs are lighter. I've tested a half/half combination of panko and regular breadcrumbs with success, but I have not tried this recipe with only regular breadcrumbs.
I recommend serving these fresh out of the air fryer, but you certainly can make the uncooked sticks ahead of time and keep them in the freezer! After they are solid (at least an hour of freeze time), add them to a freezer-safe container and store for up to 2 months.
When you're ready to cook, add the frozen sticks directly to your air fryer basket.
More Air Fryer Recipes You'll Crave!
If you tried this Air Fried Mozzarella Sticks Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Air Fried Mozzarella Sticks
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- 3 Shallow Bowls
- Parchment Paper
- Baking Tray
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 count eggs
- 12 count mozzarella string cheese
Instructions
- Start by gently crushing the panko breadcrumbs using a rolling pin or cooking mallet.
- Mix together the breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and garlic powder in a large, shallow bowl.
- Pour the all-purpose flour into another shallow bowl.
- In one more shallow bowl, whisk together two eggs.
- Dip an unwrapped string cheese stick into the flour, then the egg wash, then the breadcrumb mixture.
- Repeat the dipping process so the cheese stick is double coated.
- Continue breading until all of the cheese sticks are covered. Add them to a large tray covered with parchment paper.
- Freeze the cheese sticks for at least one hour; do not skip this step! Freezing helps to avoid the mozzarella sticks from exploding in the air fryer.
- Spray avocado oil (or any oil-based cooking spray) on the frozen cheese sticks. Add them to your air fryer tray lined with parchment paper. Be sure to avoid overcrowding your air fryer basket. I recommend cooking in batches.
- Air fry at 390°F for 5 minutes.
- Flip the sticks, spray a bit more cooking spray on the other side, then cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Serve hot with freshly chopped parsley and a saucer of marinara sauce. Enjoy!
Sydney says
Tested this recipe for my upcoming Super Bowl party and we had to go back to Walmart for more string cheese!! The entire family loved them! Will be making for the big game.
Shani W. says
Yes!! Thanks for trying Sydney 🙂 Have a great party!