Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
Golden, crispy Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks with a gooey cheese center—perfect for parties, game nights, or a quick, cheesy snack!
EVERYONE’S FAVORITE APPETIZER
I have an amazing recipe for Homemade Mozzarella Sticks that we absolutely love to make! But one of the questions I always get on oil fried recipes is how to make it in the air fryer. Now, I will always say, the air fryer is an amazing little invention but it can’t always completely duplicate what you get by using oil. It’s not just as easy as converting the same recipe to the air fryer. You don’t get that exact same crunchiness. But I think I made it work pretty darn good with this recipe! Crispy on the outside, gooey and cheesy on the inside— these Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks have a golden, crunchy coating and melty cheese center. No frying oil needed!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
If they see any dry spots while they are cooking in the air fryer, just spray with a bit more cooking spray and that will help. I prefer the olive oil nonstick cooking spray. I think it doesn’t gunk up the air fryer basket as much as others.
All my recipes are tested with a 6 quart basket Air Fryer. This is the most common type of air fryer owned by a majority of Americans. There are a gazillion types of fryers out there these days so it’s impossible for me to test with each different one and some of them can cook differently than a basket Air Fryer. So please don’t ask me about adjustments for your particular air fryer, I just won’t know, there are too many to keep up with and I don’t know how all of them work – you need to use your own knowledge about your type of air fryer to make adjustments. So keep that in mind when you’re making these, your mozzarella sticks may be done quicker or take less time than mine. Some of these multi purpose ones that are like little ovens, I have found, cook differently than traditional Air Fryers so timing can vary for sure if you’re using one of them.
The freezing part helps everything to stick to the cheese stick and keeps the cheese from melting too quickly as these cook. You need time for the breading to crisp and brown up before the cheese starts to melt so it’s an important step. If it were me, I’d make a double or even triple batch of these and flash freeze them, then bag them so they’re ready to go for later when I want them to snack on.
These sticks are shown with a little freshly chopped parsley on them (that is totally optional.) It’s more to look pretty in my photos than for flavor. So feel free to skip if it desired.
These fried cheese sticks best when fresh out of the Air Fryer. If you keep any leftovers, store them in an air tight container and keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can freeze these easily. I like to flash freeze them as mentioned above and then toss them in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- large eggs
- water
- plain or Italian Panko breadcrumbs
- vegetable oil
- garlic powder
- all-purpose flour
- Italian Seasoning– I like to add this as an optional ingredient if I’m not using Italian breadcrumbs and just using the plain breadcrumbs.
- salt and pepper
- mozzarella string cheese sticks – I realized when I pulled these out of the package that they were square shaped. I prefer the round shaped sticks but I made these work. They still tasted great, I think I just prefer the round so they come out looking more like traditional mozzarella sticks.
- nonstick cooking spray – this is super important. You need these to help crisp up the coating. I prefer olive oil nonstick spray for the air fryer because I think it helps to keep the basket from gunking up so much.
HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER MOZZARELLA STICKS
In a small bowl, add the eggs and 1 Tablespoon of water. Beat them with a fork until combined. In a separate, shallow dish add the Panko breadcrumbs, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and oil. Use a fork to mix. In another separate, shallow dish add the flour with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Remove the wrapping from the mozzarella sticks and slice each one in half lengthwise. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper (make sure it’s a baking sheet that will fit in your freezer). Set aside. Take one stick and dip it into the egg mixture, allow the excess to drain off. Then roll the stick in the flour, coating all sides. Then dip the floured cheese stick back into the egg again and allow the excess to drain off. Finally, roll the stick in the panko mixture covering all sides.
Place the stick on the baking sheet. Continue this process with the remaining sticks. Once all sticks are coated, place the baking sheet in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. When ready to prepare, preheat a 6 quart basket air fryer to 390F degrees. Remove the sticks from the freezer and generously spray all sides of each stick with non-stick spray. Once preheated, place the sticks in the basket with a space in between. You’ll likely need to cook these in two batches. Cook for 4-7 minutes or until the sticks are crispy. Begin checking the sticks at the four-minute mark as you want to remove them before cheese starts to escape the crispy coating.
Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce… ranch, marinara, etc.
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Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon water
- 1 cup plain or Italian Panko breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (optional if using Italian breadcrumbs)
- ½ teaspoon salt (plus an additional pinch)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (plus an additional pinch)
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 8 mozzarella string cheese sticks
- nonstick cooking spray
- freshly chopped (or dried) parsley (for serving, optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add 2 large eggs and 1 Tablespoon water. Beat them with a fork until combined.
- In a separate, shallow dish add 1 cup plain or Italian Panko breadcrumbs, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper and 1 Tablespoon vegetable or olive oil. Use a fork to mix.
- In another separate, shallow dish add 1/3 cup all-purpose flour with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Remove the plastic wrappings from 8 mozzarella string cheese sticks and slice each one in half lengthwise.
- Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Make sure it's a baking sheet that will fit in your freezer. Set aside.
- Take one stick and dip it into the egg mixture, allow the excess to drain off.
- Then roll the stick in the flour, coating all sides.
- Then dip the floured cheese stick back into the egg again and allow the excess to drain off.
- Finally, roll the stick in the panko mixture covering all sides.
- Place the stick on the baking sheet. Continue this process with the remaining sticks.
- Once all sticks are coated, place the baking sheet in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.
- When ready to prepare, preheat a 6 quart basket air fryer to 390F degrees.
- Remove the sticks from the freezer and generously spray all sides of each stick with nonstick cooking spray.
- Once preheated, place the sticks in the basket with a space in between. You’ll likely need to cook these in two batches.
- Cook for 4-7 minutes or until the sticks are crispy. Begin checking the sticks at the four-minute mark as you want to remove them before cheese starts to escape the crispy coating.
- Serve immediately topped with freshly chopped (or dried) parsley (optional) and with your favorite dipping sauce… ranch, marinara, etc.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- A serving size is two mozzarella sticks.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
My favorite appetizer
Your fried mozz sticks show 144 cals for 2. Why would these be higher?
It’s an automated app calculator that does it. If you need nutritional information for diet or health purposes, please use your own trusted nutritional app or online calculator.