Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

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Air fryer mozzarella sticks are a fast and delicious way to make one of America’s favorite snacks! This recipe is so easy and full of delicious flavor. There’s nothing like that gooey melty cheese and that perfect cheese pull. It makes a great cheesy snack or appetizer, and is perfect for happy hour or a game day party too!

Mozzarella sticks are one of those comforting appetizers that bring people together around a table. The best part is all that ooey gooey cheesy goodness.

I have fond memories of meeting up with a group of friends at a chain restaurant and ordering a basket of mozzarella sticks to share. It was something everyone could agree on, and we all dug in. With a crunchy outside, and a warm melty inside dipped in your favorite sauce, mozzarella sticks are a classic American appetizer that are sure to please a crowd.

Not typically thought of as a healthy food, restaurant style, traditional mozzarella sticks are breaded and deep fried. They’re really one of those feel-good foods.

This healthier version of mozzarella sticks still has all that stretchy melty cheesiness we all love, but with whole wheat breadcrumbs and almost no oil to create a crunchy breaded outer shell without the added fat and calories. You’ll feel good about eating these but also serving them to your family as a healthier alternative.

So if you’ve ever wondered how to air fry mozzarella sticks, you’ve come to the right place! The circulating hot air from the air fryer makes really crispy air fryer mozzarella sticks in a much healthier way. The next time you’re craving gooey mozzarella sticks, make this recipe!

👩🏽‍🍳 Why You’ll Love Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

• Healthier Choice: These air fried mozzarella sticks are much healthier than the traditional deep-fried mozzarella sticks. My version uses whole wheat panko breadcrumbs and is completely oil-free, saving you loads of calories and significantly reducing the grams of fat.
• Simple Ingredients: The great thing about this recipe is that it only requires 6 easy-to-find ingredients!
• Less Clean Up And Prep Time: Deep frying leaves a big mess and if you’re not careful you can burn yourself. This recipe is not only safer and much easier to clean up after, you only need 10 minutes of prep time (and only 8 minutes cooking time!)!
• An Appetizer The Whole Family Will Love: These healthier mozzarella sticks loaded with cheesy goodness make for a great snack or appetizer that everyone loves. Kids and adults, no matter how picky they are, will go wild for these crispy cheesy sticks.

🥘 Ingredients

Check your fridge and pantry; you might already have all the ingredients for these air fried mozzarella sticks. If not, grab all of these delicious ingredients from the grocery store and get ready to make the most delicious cheesy appetizer! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for nutritional information including daily values.

• Mozzarella Cheese Sticks: Use any brand of mozzarella string cheese you like!
• Whole Wheat Flour And Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs: For the breading on these healthier air fryer mozzarella sticks. You can also use all purpose flour or almond flour if you don’t have whole wheat flour.
• Spices: Dried Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper add nice flavor to the breading mixture.
• Eggs And Olive Oil Spray: I use beaten egg and olive oil spray to help the breading stick to these air fryer fried cheese sticks!

🍲 Ingredient Substitutions

• Mozzarella Cheese Sticks: You can use other cheese sticks like cheddar cheese if you prefer! If you’d like to cut your own cheese from a block, just make them all similar thickness and size to string cheese.
• Whole Wheat Flour And Whole Wheat Panko Bread Crumbs: You can also use all purpose flour or almond flour if you don’t have whole wheat flour. Regular panko crumbs will work if you can’t find the whole wheat kind.
• Spices: You can add any spices you like! Smoked paprika is nice for smokiness. Or add cayenne pepper for heat! For “Mexican” mozzarella sticks, mix of chili powder, paprika, onion powder and garlic powder (instead of the Italian Seasoning). Or try mixing in a little bit of finely grated parmesan cheese for extra flavor and decadence.
• Eggs And Olive Oil Spray: If you can’t have eggs, you can make mozzarella sticks without eggs! Just mix 6 tablespoons of chickpea flour (AKA gram flour, garbanzo bean flour, or besan flour) with 6 tablespoons of water and let it sit for a minute. Whole wheat flour and water can also work, but chickpea flour works better. This will help the breading stick without eggs.

🔪 How To Make Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

These homemade mozzarella sticks come together with minimal prep work and effort! No worries if this is your first time making this kind of dish. Here is how to make how to make mozzarella sticks in the air fryer:

Freeze Mozzarella Sticks: Freeze the uncooked mozzarella sticks, either still in their individual package or on a cookie sheet. Freeze until fully firm (about 3 hours) or you can also freeze overnight. Leave the frozen cheese sticks in the freezer until you’re ready to prepare. The freezer time is the longest part of this recipe; everything else is super quick!

Prep Breading Station: Pour the flour into a shallow bowl, the panko breadcrumbs into a second shallow but small bowl, and eggs into a third bowl. Add a pinch of salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning into the breadcrumbs and stir. Beat the eggs lightly with a fork or small whisk.

Bread Frozen Mozzarella Sticks: Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking oil spray, set aside. Roll each of the frozen mozzarella cheese sticks in the flour making sure to thoroughly coat it on all sides.

Coat Cheese Sticks In Egg Mixture: Then coat frozen sticks in the egg mixture, again making sure it’s completely coated.

Dredge Mozzarella Sticks In Panko Mixture: Next, dredge in the seasoned bread crumb mixture and make sure to fully coat the entire cheese stick.

Bread All Cheese Sticks And Freeze Briefly: Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet and continue until all of the cheese sticks have been breaded. Place the breaded mozzarella sticks in the freezer for 10 minutes, do not discard breading ingredients.

Dip In Egg Mixture Once More: After freezing for 10 minutes, make sure your air fryer is ready to go and that the basket is on the counter. Dip the frozen cheese sticks into the remaining egg wash a second time. 

Dip Once More In Breadcrumb Mixture And Place In Air Fryer: Next, dip into the remaining bread crumb mixture. Then, lay your cheese sticks in the air fryer rack or basket. (It’s not necessary to spray the battered cheese stick again with the oil spray, but you can if you’d like.)

Don’t Crowd The Cheese Sticks: Continue until you have enough sticks to fit comfortably in the basket without overcrowding. Only cook cheese sticks in a single layer for best results.

Air Fry Mozzarella Sticks: Set the air fryer to 390 F / 200 C and 5 minutes. Cook the sticks for 5-7 minutes, flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Remove your homemade cheese sticks from the air fryer and place on a serving dish.

Cook Remaining Mozzarella Sticks: Continue air frying the remaining mozzarella sticks in different batches until all have been fried (this will depend on the size of your air fryer basket). 

Serve Immediately: Serve these gooey cheese sticks with warm marinara sauce or any other dipping sauce of choice. Be careful though; the melted cheese will be hot!

💭 Expert Tips

• Freeze The Cheese: Freeze mozzarella sticks prior to air frying otherwise the cheese can melt too soon and spill out all over the air fryer basket which is the last thing you want!
• Freeze Again: After you bread the sticks the first time, freeze for at least 10 minutes before breading again. Don’t skip this step! It’s important to getting perfectly crispy cheese sticks with a gooey inside!
• Preheat The Air Fryer: Make sure your air fryer is preheated and ready to go before adding mozzarella sticks.
• Smaller Batch: To make smaller batches of air fryer mozzarella sticks, just take as many of the frozen cheese sticks out that you want to make and leave the rest in the freezer. If your frozen cheese sticks are uncovered, make sure to transfer them to a covered freezer safe container or freezer bag for longer term storage. I recommend using the frozen cheese within 4 months.
• Large Batch: If you want to make a big batch, you can double the recipe! I still recommend not overcrowding the air fryer. Give at least a half inch around cheese sticks on all sides so they don’t stick together.
• Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks For Kids: Most kids enjoy eating cheese sticks for snacks. These mozzarella sticks have a crunchy and flavorful outer crust, without added spice, and gooey cheese in the center. Pair it with your kids’ favorite dipping sauce!

📖 Variations 

• Wonton Mozzarella Sticks: Skip the breading process and wrap your frozen mozzarella cheese sticks in wonton wrappers or egg roll wrappers. You could even use moistened rice paper, though I’d try it at a lower temperature like 350 F / 180 C.
• Air Fryer Frozen Mozzarella Sticks: If you want a real shortcut, you can just cook store-bought frozen mozzarella sticks in the air fryer (not as healthy as this recipe, but even faster!) for 6-10 minutes at 350 F / 180 C (I advise cooking these at a lower temperature because they contain more oils which may make them burn sooner—check at 6 minutes and cook longer if needed).
• Air Fryer Cheese Curds: Rip or cut the mozzarella sticks into small pieces before freezing them. Then freeze them on a small tray and follow the steps for breading them. Unless the pieces are really small, the cook time should be about the same, but you can always check it a few minutes early.
• Use Breading On Anything: You can use my breading recipe and process to bread and air fry just about anything! Try air fryer jalapeno poppers, air fryer onion rings, air fryer chicken nuggets (try my vegan chicken nuggets in the air fryer!), or whatever you want!

🍽 Serving Suggestions

Serve these air fryer cheese sticks as an appetizer with a delicious dipping sauce or with a salad or veggie side dish! Here are a few of my favorite pairings:

With A Dipping Sauce: Even the best mozzarella sticks need a dipping sauce! My favorites are this homemade low carb marinara sauce or tomato sauce, ranch dressing, honey Dijon or even mustard BBQ sauce (or this vegan BBQ sauce), ketchup, or mustard.

With Salad Or A Veggie: I love to enjoy this easy air fryer mozzarella sticks recipe on its own, but sometimes I need to balance it out with a side salad like tomato avocado cucumber salad or a veggie like air fryer Brussels sprouts! 

🙌 Dietary Adaptations

Gluten-Free Option: To make gluten-free mozzarella sticks, use a gluten-free all purpose flour in place of the whole wheat flour and gluten-free panko breadcrumbs instead of the whole wheat panko breadcrumbs.

Vegan-Option: To make vegan mozzarella sticks (or vegan cheddar sticks, depending on what you can find), use vegan cheese sticks or sliced vegan cheese batons in place of the mozzarella and use chickpea flour + water (1:1 ratio) instead of the eggs.

🫙 Storage Directions

Here is how to store and keep leftover mozzarella sticks:

• Refrigerating: Allow the homemade air fryer mozzarella sticks to cool to room temperature, then place in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freezing: You can freeze your mozza sticks too, just let them cool, place on a lined sheet pan in the freezer until frozen solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Reheat from frozen.
• Reheating: To reheat, warm the oven or air fryer to 350 F / 180 C and heat the homemade mozzarella sticks until warmed through.
• Make Ahead: You can freeze the cheese for up to 4 months in an airtight container, but I’d bread the frozen cheese sticks right before cooking and serving them. The only thing is that they’ll never last that long in the freezer because everyone will be asking for mozzarella sticks on repeat!

❓Recipe FAQs

🍟 More Easy Air Fryer Recipes!

• Air Fryer Frozen French Fries
• Air Fryer Brussel Sprouts
• Air Fryer Tempeh
• Air Fryer Yuca Fries
• Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes
• Air Fryer Ravioli

📋 Recipe Card