Crispy mozzarella sticks are perfect for almost any occasion. This crispy, gooey snack is pretty much as good as it gets.
Tell me a better snack than crispy mozzarella sticks. Go ahead. I’m waiting. Nothing? I thought so. This mozzarella sticks recipe is everything that you could possibly want. Cheesy, gooey, crispy, dippable. I don’t know why I usually forget these things exist.
I’ve got to be honest here. I’ve never been so ready to be done taking pictures of food and dive straight into it. Tempting, these things are.
So whether they’re for a party, watching the game, or just a shameless afternoon snack, these mozzarella sticks are definitely what you’re looking for.
This post is all about how to make crispy mozzarella sticks.
Ingredients for Crispy Mozzarella Sticks
- Mozzarella Cheese- This is obviously the most important ingredient. It’s essential to use low-moisture mozzarella. While you can use string cheese, I chose to use low-moisture mozzarella cut from a block. I can’t find string cheese where I live anyway. It’s nice to be able to control the exact size of the mozzarella sticks too. (If you live in Europe, I fully recommend Hochland’s mozzarella cheese– not sponsored.)
- Flour- This is a must. It helps the egg mixture stick to the smooth surface of the cheese.
- Eggs- This is what helps the bread crumbs to stick to the cheese sticks. It’s important to beat the eggs until they’re smooth to avoid clumps of egg.
- Bread crumbs- You can definitely use store-bought bread crumbs, but I couldn’t figure out where they were in the store, and I didn’t feel like asking where they were. So I decided to make my own. I lightly toasted sliced bread, and then put it in my food processor to chop it up into crumbs. (Note to self: Don’t try smashing these by hand again. It’s a terrible idea.)
- Spices- These are the icing on the cake. I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. I mixed these spices into my breadcrumb mixture.
How to Make Crispy Mozzarella Sticks
Step 1
Form the mozzarella sticks’ shape by cutting long chunks of cheese from a block of low-moisture mozzarella. Mine were 3¾ inches long and a little over a ½ inch wide. This definitely doesn’t have to be exact. I made about 15 cheese sticks.
Step 2
You can use storebought bread crumbs for this recipe, but I made my own. If you want to do this, take 6 slices of bread and lay them on a baking sheet. Put them in the oven until the bread has dried out, but don’t let it get brown.
Take the bread out of the oven, and put it in a food processor. Chop the bread until it forms rough crumbs. Don’t let the crumbs get too fine. Texture is nice. Pour the bread crumbs out of the food processor.
Step 3
Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano into the bread crumbs. Mix it together well.
Step 4
Coat each piece of the mozzarella in flour. Then, dip the sticks into the beaten eggs. If the egg doesn’t quite absorb into the flour, you can let the cheese sit a little longer in the egg mixture so that it has more time to absorb. Move the cheese sticks into the bread crumb mixture and coat the cheese sticks really well. Place all the sticks onto a tray.
Step 5
Repeat step 4 for all of the mozzarella sticks. If you want your mozzarella sticks to be crispy, this is essential. Once all the sticks are double-coated, put the tray in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Step 6
Now it’s time to fry the crispy mozzarella sticks. You can use whatever fat you prefer. I prefer to fry them in lard, but you can use vegetable oil if you want. If you have a deep fry thermometer, heat your fat to around 350-375° F.
If you don’t have a deep fry thermometer, test your oil temperature by putting the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil. When the oil bubbles around the handle you can begin frying the mozzarella sticks. This isn’t a perfect test, but it’s good enough.
Step 7
When the oil is hot enough, lower the mozzarella sticks into the oil with either a spider strainer or a skimmer spoon. Make sure that there’s enough space so that they aren’t touching in the oil. You’ll have to do this a few times.
The sticks should fry for no longer than approximately 2-3 minutes. Leaving them in any more than that can make them bleed cheese into the frying oil. Each side should fry for about 1½ minutes, but the best way to know is to watch the color of the breading. They should be a deep golden shade of brown when you take them out.
There might be some small leakage, but it’s not a big deal once they’re out of the oil. If you see this starting to happen, just take them out.
Step 8
Now comes the fun part. Serve the mozzarella sticks with marinara or whatever your favorite dipping sauce is. Enjoy!
Questions about Crispy Mozzarella Sticks
Do mozzarella sticks have to be frozen before frying?
It’s important to make sure that your crispy mozzarella sticks are cold before you fry them. If the cheese is room temperature when frying, you run the risk of them bursting. Nobody wants that. I recommend putting the mozzarella sticks into the freezer for about 15 minutes before frying them.
You can actually freeze the mozzarella sticks if you want to save them for later, but the frying time will be longer than the normal time. I haven’t gotten a chance to test this yet because I can’t resist frying them up and eating them right away.
Can you shallow fry mozzarella sticks?
Yes. As long as the oil goes about halfway up the side of the mozzarella sticks, it should be fine. Just make sure to flip them so that both sides get brown.
Can you fry mozzarella without breading?
If you deep or shallow fry it, you’ll have a mess on your hands. It will just melt into the oil, and you don’t want that. If you want to fry it without breading, try frying it in a frying pan without any fat or oil. You’ll get a crispy chip-like product, which is delicious in its own way.
What oil is best for frying mozzarella sticks?
It’s perfectly fine to use vegetable, canola, or sunflower oil for frying mozzarella sticks. It has a neutral flavor so it doesn’t alter the taste. I prefer to use lard though. It also has a mostly neutral flavor, and animal fat is more stable and less toxic to fry things in.
How do you fry mozzarella sticks without melting them?
It’s actually not that difficult to fry mozzarella sticks without melting them. All you need is a few simple techniques.
-First of all, make sure the cheese sticks are not too small. This can help the cheese not to be so overwhelmed by the heat.
-Secondly, double coating the mozzarella sticks is essential. The thicker breading will help to hold the cheese inside.
-Lastly, putting the mozzarella sticks into the freezer for about 15 minutes before frying can keep them from overheating and, therefore, melting.
If you’re looking for more recipes with cheese, you should check out our cheesy crockpot chicken and rice casserole or our chicken with mozzarella and tomato.
Crispy Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients
Bread Crumbs (these are homemade, but you can use storebought)
- 6 Slices of bread
- 1 tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp. Pepper
- 1½ tsp. Oregano
- ¾ tsp. Garlic
Other Ingredients
- Approximately 12 oz. Mozzarella cheese (in block form)
- 4 Eggs (beaten)
- ¾ cup Flour
- Cooking fat/oil of your choice
Instructions
- Cut about 15 long chunks of cheese from a block of low-moisture mozzarella. Mine were 3¾ inches long and a little over a ½ inch wide. They don't have to be perfectly this size.
- If you want to make your own homemade breadcrumbs, this is how you do it.Take 6 slices of bread and put them in the oven at a low temperature until they have dried out, but haven't yet turned brown. After you have reached this point, take the bread out of the oven, and put it in a food processor. Don't let all the crumbs reach a really fine consistency. A little texture is nice. Pour the bread crumbs out of the food processor into a bowl.
- Add 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, ¾ tsp. garlic powder, and 1½ tsp. oregano into the bread crumbs. Combine the bread crumbs and the spices.
- Coat each piece of the mozzarella in flour. Then, dip the sticks into the beaten eggs. I recommend doing this with a fork. It gets messy if you don't. If you see that the egg doesn't want to stick to some spots of the cheese sticks, let it sit a little longer in the eggs so that the egg can absorb into the flour. Move the cheese sticks into the bread crumb mixture and toss the crumbs over the cheese sticks. It can help if you gently press the crumbs into place. Lay all the sticks onto a tray.
- Repeat the last step for all of the mozzarella sticks. I know it's a little tedious, but if you want your mozzarella sticks to be crispy, this is essential. Also, it helps to keep the cheese inside the breading while frying. Once all the sticks have been double dipped, put them in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Now it's time for frying. You can use whatever fat you prefer. I like to fry them in lard, but you can use vegetable oil if you prefer. If you have a deep fry thermometer, heat your fat to around 350-375° F. If you don't have a deep fry thermometer, test if your oil is hot enough by putting the handle of a wooden spoon in the oil. When the oil makes little bubbles around the handle you can begin the frying process. This method isn't as reliable as a thermometer, but it works well enough.
- When the oil has heated up, put the mozzarella sticks into the oil with either a spider strainer or a skimmer spoon. Be sure that there's enough space so that they aren't touching each other. You'll probably need to do this in batches. The sticks shouldn't fry longer than approximately 2-3 minutes. Leaving them in any more than 2-3 minutes can make them start to burst, getting cheese into the frying oil. Each side should fry for about 1½ minutes, but the best way to know when to flip them is to pay attention to the color of the breading. The breading should turn to a deep golden shade of brown.Some small leaks might form, but it's not a real issue once they're out of the oil. It's good to take them out if this starts to happen though.
- Let the mozzarella sticks sit for a couple minutes to cool down. Serve them with marinara or whatever sauce you prefer. Enjoy!
Now, try not to dive in. Actually, do. Dive in and enjoy your crispy mozzarella sticks!