These homemade AIR FRYER MOZZARELLA STICKS come out full of gooey, melty cheese with a crispy shell. So much better than any mozzarella sticks you’ll find in the freezer section!
Mozzarella sticks have been a favorite of mine for my whole life. Unfortunately the quality of them can be hit or miss.
If you order them from a restaurant, some are amazing and others are a total waste of money. And let’s be real…they aren’t cheap!
The same is true for the frozen cheese sticks. They rarely come out good and the only way I ever got them crispy was to actually fry them. And that is too much hassle for me!
Frozen mozzarella sticks do tend to come out okay in the air fryer, but if you want OUTRAGEOUSLY GOOD mozz sticks, you’re going to want to go homemade.
So melty, so cheesy, so crispy. These are perfect.
Table of Contents
How to make mozzarella sticks in an air fryer:
- PREPARE THE BREADING-Grab three separate shallow dishes that you will use to dip the cheese into for breading. The first will have flour and salt in it. The second will have eggs, whisk them until smooth. The last will have panko, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Also, get a sheet pan that is lined with wax paper and set aside.
- COVER THE CHEESE IN THE BREADING-Dip each of your cheese sticks in the flour, then egg, then panko. Place them on your sheet pan and freeze for a half hour. After removing the cheese from the freezer, dip a second time and freeze for another half hour. Trust me – the double breading process is worth the time it takes!
- COOK THE MOZZ STICKS-Spritz the air fryer basket with oil or brush the oil onto the basket. Arrange the mozzarella sticks in a single layer in the basket. Spritz the sticks with vegetable oil. Cook at 360 degrees F for six minutes.
Can you freeze these homemade mozzarella sticks for later?
Chances are that yes, these will freeze perfectly! That said, we haven’t tested it out ourselves. Once we start making these, there is no holding us back from eating the whole batch. 😉
To freeze, I would place the fully breaded mozzarella sticks on a sheet pan for one hour. After the hour is up, transfer these to a freezer safe zip top bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
You’ll likely need to add an extra minute to your frozen mozzarella sticks when cooking, but keep an eye on them. As soon as you see cheese starting to peak out of the breading, they’re ready to come out of the air fryer.
More air fried snack recipes you might like:
- Frozen pizza rolls
- Air fryer pickles
- Barbecue bacon chicken bites
- Bacon wrapped dates
- Air fried blooming onion
Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
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
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
- 10 mozzarella cheese sticks
- 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.
- Line a sheet pan with wax or parchment paper.
- Dip each cheese stick first into the flour, then egg, and then the Panko.
- Place the breaded cheese sticks onto the prepared baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes.
- Dip the frozen cheese sticks in the flour, egg, and Panko a second time and then freeze for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat air fryer to 360 degrees. Spritz the basket with oil spray.
- Arrange the mozzarella sticks in an even layer in the basket with space between each. You may need to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Spritz the mozzarella sticks with oil spray and then cook for 6 minutes.
- Check the mozzarella sticks and continue cooking in 1 minute increments until the cheese just starts to leak out of the breading.
- Serve immediately with marinara or ranch dressing for dipping.
Video
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
CB says
Not a good recipe. Followed it to a T and the cheese sticks completely melted in the air fryer. Would not recommend.