Air Fryer Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Crispy Air Fryer Mozzarella Cheese Sticks are ridiculously delicious and better for you than deep fried! String cheese is coated in seasoned breadcrumbs and air fried until crispy! Serve with ranch dressing and marinara or pizza sauce. Makes 24 cheese sticks in 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Course Air Fryer, Appetizers & Snacks

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword air fryer, appetizer, cheese, homemade, kid friendly, mozzarella, snack, sticks

Prep Time 1 35

Cook Time 6

Additional Time 19

Total Time 2

Servings cheese sticks

Calories 87

Author Laurie McNamara

Equipment

Philips Air Fryer XXL

Ingredients

12 mozzarella string cheese cut in half
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 large egg beaten
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1½ teaspoons italian seasoning
1/4 generous pinch of kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup marinara or pizza sauce, for serving
1/2 cup ranch dressing for serving

Instructions

Place mozzarella halves on a parchment-lined, rimmed metal baking sheet (make sure can fit in your freezer) and flash freeze for 20 minutes.
Once the cheese sticks have been flashed frozen, dip them into the flour first and then the beaten egg. To avoid gunking up your digits, I highly recommend using a fork to do this.
Then roll the cheese sticks in to the seasoned breadcrumbs until coated and then placed them back onto the rimmed sheet pan. Next, pop the pan into your freezer for at least 45 minutes or longer, until they are frozen solid.
Spray the basket with olive oil spray before preheating your air fryer to 400℉ (or 200℃).
The temperature will depend on the brand of air fryer you own. Next, spray the first batch of mozzarella sticks with olive oil before placing a few (at a time) into the preheated basket. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes or until golden and crispy.
I would highly recommend cooking a few at a time so they're easy to manage. You will want to remove these quickly, using tongs, as the longer they sit in the basket the softer they will become. If at any moment the cheese sticks get too soft or start oozing out of the breading, try lining the bottom of the basket with a piece of aluminum foil. Spray the foil generously with olive oil before attempting the next batch.

Notes

**You can get the recipe for my homemade Italian Seasoning in my cookbook.

Nutrition