Best Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks Recipes

AIR-FRYER MOZZARELLA STICKS

Steps:

• Place flour in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, beat eggs and water. In a third shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper. Coat cheese sticks with flour, then dip in egg mixture and coat with bread crumb mixture. Repeat egg and bread crumb coatings. Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours or overnight. , Preheat air fryer to 400°. Place cheese in a single layer on greased tray in air-fryer basket; spritz with cooking spray. Cook until golden brown and heated through, 6-8 minutes, turning halfway through cooking and spritzing with additional cooking spray. Allow to stand 3-5 minutes before serving. Serve with marinara or pasta sauce for dipping.

AIR FRYER MOZZARELLA STICKS

Steps:

• Place the flour, beaten eggs and breadcrumbs in three separate shallow bowls. Season the flour and breadcrumbs with 1 teaspoon salt each.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the cheese sticks in half crosswise; dip in the flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Repeat to coat each again in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet; freeze 2 hours.
• Preheat a 6-quart air fryer to 400˚ F. Coat the breaded cheese with cooking spray. Add to the air fryer basket in an even layer and cook, turning halfway through, until crisp and golden, about 6 minutes. Serve with marinara sauce.

AIR FRYER RANCH MOZZARELLA STICKS

Steps:

• Add the breadcrumbs to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer the breadcrumbs to a medium shallow bowl and stir in the black pepper and half of the ranch dressing mix (reserve the remaining mix for another purpose). Crack the eggs into another medium shallow bowl and whisk to combine. Cut each cheese stick in half crosswise.
• Dip a cheese stick in the eggs to coat completely, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Coat the cheese stick in the breadcrumb mixture, patting to adhere and cover completely. Dip the cheese stick back in the eggs and then back in the breadcrumb mixture a second time. Transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining cheese sticks, eggs and breadcrumbs.
• Freeze the mozzarella sticks until frozen solid, at least 2 hours and up to 4 months in the freezer in a resealable freezer bag.
• To cook, preheat a 3.5-quart air fryer to 390 degrees F. Lightly coat each mozzarella stick with nonstick spray.
• Working in batches, fill the air fryer basket with mozzarella sticks, making sure there's space between each so they're not touching. Cook, flipping once, until the mozzarella sticks are just beginning to ooze cheese out of the ends, 3 to 4 minutes total. Gently remove them to a serving plate and top with parsley. Serve with marinara sauce.

BEST EVER KETO AIR FRYER MOZZARELLA STICKS

Steps:

• If needed, prep your air fryer basket insert with a tin foil liner. (This typically applies to mesh style liners. Detailed instructions are available in this post.)
• Unwrap the cheese sticks and cut in half to create two shorter sticks from each. Set aside.
• Beat your egg/eggs in a small to medium bowl. You can start with one egg and add another later if needed.
• In a medium dish (large enough to make it easy to coat your cheese sticks) blend together the parmesan cheese, almond flour, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and sea salt.
• Create a dipping station starting with your (previously cut) cheese sticks, followed by the egg wash, then the "breading" mix, and finally a small pan or dish covered with a sheet of parchment paper.
• One by one, dip each cheese stick in the egg wash followed by rolling the cheese stick in the "breading" mix. I use a method to help adhere the "breading" to the cheese by rolling between my palms which helps to press and secure the almond flour/parmesan coating onto the cheese stick. Repeat these steps a second time before placing the fully coated cheese stick on the parchment paper. To summarize, be sure that each cheese stick gets two egg washes and two rolls in the almond flour/parmesan breading.
• Once all the cheese sticks have been dipped and rolled, check each one to make sure that no cheese is showing through. Re-roll any that need extra "breading". If the cheese stick isn't fully coated, there is a greater risk that cheese will ooze out during cooking. You should have very little of the almond flour/parmesan mixture left by the time you are done with the coating process. Feel free to use it up by re-rolling any that look like they need a little extra lovin'.
• Place the pan/dish with cheese sticks in the freezer on a level surface for no less than 1 hour. This helps to keep the cheese from melting too quickly in the high heat of the air fryer giving the outer coating time to get crispy.
• Once frozen through, remove the cheese sticks from the freezer. With cooking spray, grease your air fryer basket and/or tin foil liner AS WELL AS each cheese stick. (I spray the top side then roll them over and spray the other side.)
• Place cheese sticks in an air fryer. (If you have a smaller air fryer, you may want to separate into two batches as the mozzarella sticks puff a bit while cooking.) Cook at 375 degrees (or 380 if your Air Fryer doesn't have 5 degree increments) for 7-10 minutes depending on your air fryer. I set my Philips TurboStar to 375 degrees and cook them for about 8 minutes. After 5 minutes in the air fryer, I suggest checking them every minute or so moving forward. If you see the cheese start to ooze out, then it's time to pull them.
• Serve immediately to ensure that your fried mozzarella sticks remain crispy, melty, and gooey. I like to accompany mine with no-sugar-added marinara and ranch dressing. Enjoy!