Our air fryer cheese curds have a homemade breading that gets nice and crisp in the air fryer. It gives way to the ultimate melty cheesy center. These things are so easy and so tasty that they are addictive!
When it comes to cheese curds most people love ’em or hate ’em. Raw cheese curds can have a “squeak” when you eat them cold, which is a turn off for some people.
Not me. No, sir. But some people.
Anyway, if you fry them that squeak goes away and you’re left with a pile of crispy fried melty cheese.
So even if you are a hate ’em person, you should try these. I think you will become a love ’em.
If you are so sure you will hate them and don’t want to give them a try, I’ve got you covered with these air fryer mozzarella sticks instead. We also made another wonderful recipe using cheese curds and french fries combined called air fryer poutine. Be sure to check that out as well!
Ingredient list:
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Cheese Curds – You can use white or yellow. We actually used a mix in these photos, so you may see the different colors.
Flour
Salt
Eggs
Panko Bread Crumbs – This is a Japanese style bread crumb that is light and airy and cooks up super crispy.
Seasoning – Garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika all work together to season the breading.
Oil Spray – Don’t use the non-stick spray like Pam, as it can cause damage to your air fryer basket. Instead use a mister bottle with your favorite oil inside. We used olive oil here, but we use avocado oil quite a bit as well.
How to Make Cheese Curds In the Air Fryer:
Breading- Get three shallow dishes that you can dip the curds in. The first dish will have flour and salt in it and you will want to whisk this to combine. The second dish will have three eggs that are whisked until smooth. And the final dish will have your panko and seasonings, whisk this to combine also. To bread your curds, dip in the flour, then egg, and finally panko. Be sure to roll them around a bit and push into the panko dish especially to make sure the breading sticks to the curds.
Air Fry- After breading, spritz the cheese curds with oil spray, ideally from a pump spray bottle. You could gently brush the oil on if you don’t have a spray bottle. Once oiled, place them in a single layer in your air fryer basket and cook for 4-6 minutes at 350 degrees F. The curds should be golden brown and crispy on the outside with cheese just starting to melt on the inside.
Recipe FAQ:
Cheese curds are young cheddar cheese. Usually cheddar is aged for a couple of months to a couple of years. However cheese curds are eaten right away, skipping the aging process.
If you were going to put the cheese curds in a pan of oil, I would agree to freeze them after adding the batter and before frying. However, there is no need for that with this recipe. They can go straight from the fridge, to the breading, to the fryer! Easy peezy!
Cheese curds are delicious on their own, with the flavors of the bold cheddar cheese and crispy breading. However, you can really take them up a notch with a side of ranch dressing to dip them in.
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Air Fryer Cheese Curds
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups Panko bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 8 ounces cheese curds
- Oil spray
Instructions
- Add the flour and salt to a shallow dish and whisk to combine.
- Add the eggs to a second shallow dish and whisk well until smooth.
- Add the panko, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika to a third shallow dish and whisk to combine.
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees for 5 minutes.
- While the air fryer is preheating, dip each cheese curd first into the flour, then egg, and then the Panko.
- Place the breaded cheese curds onto a baking sheet and spritz with oil spray. Spritz the air fryer basket with oil spray/
- Arrange the cheese curds in a single layer in the air fryer basket. You may need to work in batches.
- Air fry for 4-6 minutes, checking around the 4 minute mark and watching every 1 minute after.
- Cheese curds should be golden brown and crispy on the outside and the cheese should be melty. We pull these from the air fryer as soon as 1 or 2 have bits of cheese leaking out.
- Let sit for 1-2 minutes in the air fryer before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Cristina K says
Would this work with a nut flour? For low carb
Karly Campbell says
I’m not sure. You could try it out – we’ve done something similar with avocado here: https://airfried.com/keto-avocado-fries/ My biggest concern would be getting an even coating so that the cheese doesn’t melt/ooze out of the breading.