Fried mozzarella is one of the most popular appetizers in America. These homemade mozzarella sticks bring those crispy, cheesy, gooey starters from the restaurant into your home kitchen. This mozzarella stick recipe is for baking but also includes instructions for deep-frying and air-frying.
Updated: Originally posted April 2022. Updated Jan 2025 with more content, better instructions, and newer photos.
Deep-fried mozzarella sticks are one of the quintessential American bar snacks, and rank high on the king of appetizers list, up there with chicken wings, onion rings, and loaded potato skins. While the fried version remains one of the staple bar snacks, baked mozzarella sticks are also very tasty and a little healthier, while also being easier to make in a home kitchen.
Mozzarella sticks are one of those beloved appetizers you can find on almost every menu at chain restaurants, bowling alleys, and dive-bars across the country. While not everyone likes onions or spinach dip, or maybe one of your friends is a vegetarian and doesn’t eat chicken, but fried cheese? Super wide appeal.
Homemade mozzarella sticks are so good. That crunchy outside with the hot gooey center, especially when dipped in a good marinara sauce? It’s one appetizer I usually can’t say no to, and these baked mozzarella sticks are something I’ve been making at home for well over a decade now. They’re easy to make, and even easier to batch and freeze for anytime you’d like some.
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🥘 Ingredients for Baked Mozzarella Sticks
Homemade mozzarella sticks are easy to make and most of the ingredients you probably have on hand already, so you’ll just need to grab some mozzarella cheese to get started. This recipe is also versatile, so you can make your own unique version of baked mozzarella (or other cheese) sticks at home.
Mozzarella – The easiest way to make cheese sticks is to start with an actual cheese stick. Use mozzarella string cheese. I prefer the whole milk ones, but the low-moisture, part skim work just as well. You can also buy whole mozzarella by the block and cut your own.
Flour – A little all-purpose flour to coat the sticks in before an egg-wash.
Eggs – Two large eggs with a bit of water for the egg-wash.
Breading – Use a mixture of regular breadcrumbs and panko breadcrumbs. Panko is great for the texture and crunch but doesn’t do a good job of fully coating the cheese sticks. Mixing the two gives the best coverage and texture so you’re less likely to have an explosion or leak while cooking.
Seasoning – While you can opt for Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, I prefer to use plain and season them myself. A mixture of salt, pepper, dried oregano, and dried basil works well.
🔪 How to Bake Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
The number one thing to remember in making homemade mozzarella cheese sticks, whether fried or baked, is that they need to be cooked from frozen. Because mozzarella will melt at about 130°F, you need the outside to cook before the inside turns to liquid.
Prep & Freeze Mozzarella Sticks
Start by unwrapping the string cheese and cut each piece in half crosswise, then set aside.
Prepare 3 shallow bowls for dredging. Add the flour to one, thoroughly whisk two eggs with a bit of water to another, and in the final bowl mix the two breadcrumbs.
Mix the salt and pepper together, then add 2-3 pinches to the flour and egg wash and whisk together. Add the rest of the salt and pepper and all the dried oregano and basil to the breadcrumbs and mix that as well.
Take the pieces of mozzarella and dredge in the flour, then the egg, and finally the breadcrumb mixture. Be sure to fully coat each stick, including the ends, at each step and shake off any excess before moving to the next. Using gentle pressure, press the cheese stick into the breadcrumbs. Now repeat the egg wash and press into the breadcrumbs a second time.
Set the coated mozzarella sticks on a plate or small baking dish as you work and try to keep one hand for dry steps and one hand for wet steps as you work.
Once all the sticks have been dredged and coated, set them in your freezer and let them freeze for at least 1-2 hours before cooking, or overnight preferably.
Bake Mozzarella Sticks
Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C.
Place the frozen mozzarella sticks on a baking sheet. Spray both sides with a little bit of cooking spray, or mist with oil from a diffuser. Set on the middle rack of the oven and cook for 8-11 minutes, watching closely after 8 minutes and flipping about halfway through.
You want the outside to brown but keep an eye for any cheese that starts oozing out and remove right away if you see that happening.
Place cooked mozzarella sticks on a plate and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce (which should be warmed marinara).
📜 Where Did Mozzarella Sticks Come From?
There’s surprisingly a lot of debate on this subject, as there’s no one real source known for creating the original recipe. The only definitive consensus is that mozzarella sticks are not Italian, even though they use an Italian cheese.
One of the earliest known recipes comes from a book called Le Ménagier de Paris, which is a French medieval guidebook written in 1393. The book was about how a woman should properly behave in marriage and running a household and by today’s standards is probably considered very sexist. The second section of the book contains a cookbook and is actually a very interesting read on Medieval European cooking and recipes.
In a section for side dishes, there’s a recipe for what’s called a Pipefarce which reads as follows:
"Take egg yolks and flour and salt, and a little wine, and beat together strongly, and cheese chopped in thin slices, and then roll the slices of cheese in the batter and then fry in an iron skillet with oil in it. This can also be made using beef marrow."
While this recipe would probably barely resemble the modern-day cheese sticks, it is one of the earliest known written versions of such a recipe. As a side note, if you can find a translated version of the cookbook section of this book, it’s actually a fascinating read.
The modern mozzarella cheese stick isn’t that old of a recipe and likely came about in America in the late 1970s or early 1980s. With rapidly improving deep-frying technology in the ‘60s and ‘70s, more small kitchens in dive bars and bowling alleys could cook a variety of foods. Mozzarella string cheese was also invented around 1976 by Frank Baker, which also made storage and transport much easier than making or using fresh mozzarella.
So, at some point, somewhere in American in the late 1970s, someone decided to batter and fry sticks of mozzarella, and it spread like wildfire across the country. I salute the unsung hero of the king of appetizers.
📖 Homemade Mozzarella Stick Variations
This recipe for baked mozzarella sticks makes great, traditional mozzarella sticks, but feel free to get creative as well. Here are a few ideas to get started with, as well as instructions on deep-frying and air-frying cheese sticks.
Cheese – While mozzarella is the go-to cheese, you can swap in almost any soft, melty cheese. You can find string cheese made with cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, pepper Jack, and swirled ones. Most cheese sold as blocks can also be turned into cheese sticks as well. Just avoid harder, aged cheeses that don’t melt well.
Spicy Cheese Sticks – Consider using pepper Jack cheese and adding things like garlic powder, smoked paprika, and a pinch of cayenne to the seasoning.
Cheesy Cheese Sticks – Why stop with just cheese in the middle? Add some finely shredded cheese to your breadcrumb mixture. Good choices include parmesan, asiago, and Romano.
Deep-Fried Mozzarella Sticks – Heat your oil to 350°F and fry the frozen mozzarella sticks in small batches for about 1 ½ - 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain excess oil. Be sure the oil comes back to temp before making more.
Air-Fried Mozzarella Sticks – Preheat your air-fryer to 390°F. Spray the frozen mozzarella sticks with cooking spray or spritz with oil like you would in the baked version. Cook for 5-8 minutes. Check on them after the first 4-5 minutes and give them a little shake. Keep an eye on them and remove once browned and softened.
💭 Tips for Homemade Mozzarella Sticks
- Double coat cheese sticks. You can get away with doing a single coating through the 3-stage dredging, but you’re more likely to have cheese explosions. Double dipping through the egg and breadcrumb stages gives you fuller coverage and insurance against mozzarella oozing out while cooking.
- Fully whisk the eggs. Whisk the eggs aggressively or consider using a hand mixer. Making sure they are thoroughly whisked prevents any gloopy egg from adhering to the mozzarella, which will fall off the cheese sticks and pull the breadcrumbs off with it.
- Use both types of breadcrumbs. Panko is best for homemade mozzarella sticks and adds a nice texture and crispy coating. Unfortunately, panko doesn’t give as full of coverage, so using regular breadcrumbs in addition to the panko insures full coverage of the cheese.
- Freeze cheese sticks. This is a recipe that must be frozen beforehand and cooked from frozen also. Whether you bake, deep-fry, or air-fry mozzarella sticks, they must be frozen first. Because the cheese melts at a low temperature, freezing it first allows the outside to cook before the inside completely melts and explodes or oozes out of the coating.
- Add oil or cooking spray before cooking. This can be skipped if deep-frying but should be done for baking or air-frying mozzarella sticks. Spritzing with a bit of oil helps to brown and cook the breadcrumb coating faster and more evenly.
❄️ Storing Homemade Mozzarella Sticks
Homemade mozzarella sticks, whether baked or fried, are best eaten right away. If you have leftovers you wish to save, allow them to cool completely and reharden, then refrigerate for up to a week. To reheat, place them directly from the fridge in a 350°F / 180°C oven. Let them slowly warm for about 6-10 minutes, keeping an eye that they don’t melt out.
If you want to make a large batch to serve and eat later, follow the recipe up to the freezing step. Allow them to freeze for about an hour or so and then you can transfer them to an airtight freezer bag. They should keep for 3-6 months and can be cooked directly from the freezer as usual.
📋 Recipe
Homemade Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients
- 12 mozzarella cheese sticks, cut in half
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup regular breadcrumbs
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
Directions
Prep & Freeze Mozzarella Sticks:
- Start by unwrapping 12 mozzarella string cheeses and cut each piece in half crosswise, then set aside.
- Prepare 3 shallow bowls for dredging. Add ⅓ cup all-purpose flour to one, thoroughly whisk two eggs with 2 tablespoons of water to another, and in the final bowl mix the ¾ cup regular breadcrumbs and ¾ cup panko.
- Mix ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper together, then add 2-3 pinches to the flour and egg wash and whisk together. Add the rest of the salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon dried oregano and 1 teaspoon dried basil to the breadcrumbs and mix that as well.
- Take the pieces of mozzarella and dredge in the flour, then the egg, and finally the breadcrumb mixture. Be sure to fully coat each stick, including the ends, at each step and shake off any excess before moving to the next. Using gentle pressure, press the cheese stick into the breadcrumbs. Now repeat the egg wash and press into the breadcrumbs a second time.
- Set the coated mozzarella sticks on a plate or small baking dish as you work and try to keep one hand for dry steps and one hand for wet steps as you work.
- Once all the sticks have been dredged and coated, set them in your freezer and let them freeze for at least 1-2 hours before cooking, or overnight preferably.
Bake Mozzarella Sticks:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C.
- Place the frozen mozzarella sticks on a baking sheet. Spray both sides with a little bit of cooking spray, or mist with oil from a diffuser. Set on the middle rack of the oven and cook for 8-11 minutes, watching closely after 8 minutes and flipping about halfway through.
- You want the outside to brown but keep an eye for any cheese that starts oozing out and remove right away if you see that happening.
- Place cooked mozzarella sticks on a plate and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce (which should be warmed marinara).
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