Noshing With the Nolands

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

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Is there anything better than hot, golden brown Mozzarella Cheese Sticks fresh out of the deep fryer? Yes! When they’re homemade mozzarella sticks and just as easy as frozen ones from the store but they come out of your kitchen.

Here is a recipe for Mozzarella Cheese Sticks from a fellow blogger’s site My Prairie Window and originally from Ree Drummond’s latest cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Want another cheesy delight? Try our amazing Soft Pretzels and Cheese Sauce, always a hit too!!

Plateful of cheese sticks and marinara dipping sauce.

We have revamped this post for you with new pictures. If you are looking for the old pictures just scroll to the bottom.

Showing the melty inside of a cheese stick.

Helpful Items for This Recipe

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Non-Stick Jumbo Wok 

Stainless Steel Deep Fryer

Panko Bread Crumbs

Platter of golden brown mozzarella cheese sticks.

Keira from My Prairie Window has been of great help and support along my journey into food blogging. We have started at the exact same time and have really tried to help each other out.

This recipe is a very easy, super tasty side dish, appetizer or snack. Who doesn’t love fried cheese, I mean come on this is good stuff!!

I did my own twist with a lovely tomato dipping sauce and gave it a little BAM with some Emeril’s seasoning in the flour. I know you will enjoy this one!!

Close up of mozzarella cheese sticks.

Crispy on the outside and ooey-gooey on the inside, that is perfection to me!! Cheese sticks of any kind are a huge draw to me but the ones that I find do the best are string cheese sticks for this recipe.

What to eat with mozzarella cheese? Well, mozzarella cheese sticks go great with a tomato dipping marinara sauce. 

Is String Cheese and Mozzarella The Same?

Healthy Organic String Cheese For a Snack

Mozzarella sticks are still 100% mozzarella cheese but unlike fresh mozzarella that is in a brine, mozzarella cheese sticks are dried out. They are also heated to 140F.

This heat makes the milk proteins move around and line up in a row. The cheese then becomes very stringy and stretchy and, of course, as you know, fun to play with.  

Cheese strings are perfect for this recipe as after they are fried they are still stringy and stretchy and ooey and gooey!!

OOEY GOOEY CHEESE!!

Horizontal picture of a platter of cheese sticks.

Everyone young and old will love these. Kids go crazy for cheese and for crispy goodness so you know these will be a winner! These would also be great on game day as you cheer your favorite team forward.

I love that they can be made up and stored in the freezer until they go for a pop in the deep fryer. That is a great way to have them on hand and not to stress about getting them ready before company arrives. They are ready and waiting for you!!

Pulling a fried cheese stick in half.

Hot out of the fryer (I would try them in an air fryer too) the cheese will melt while the outside is crispy from the panko crumbs. If you are not familiar with panko crumbs they are a Japanese-style breadcrumb traditionally used as a coating for deep-fried foods.

The biggest difference between panko crumbs and bread crumbs is that panko is made from bread with the crusts removed. 

How to Make Mozzarella Cheese Sticks with String Cheese?

Ingredients for mozzarella cheese sticks

Once you’ve made the spice blend, it’s actually really fast and easy to make the actual mozzarella cheese sticks. The secret ingredient is using string cheese sticks instead of spending a lot of time trying to shape the mozzarella into a stick.

Setting up an assembly line is the best way to get the mozzarella sticks coated in batter. Bowl one should have the flour and Emeril’s Essence mixture; bowl two will be the milk and egg mixture; and bowl three will be the outer crust – the panko crumb with parsley, salt, and pepper mixture.

Lay the baking sheet beside the third bowl so that you can place it on the baking sheet immediately after coating it. Chill in the freezer for half an hour.

Cheese sticks in a cast iron pan frying.

Then heat the oil in a deep fryer, frying pan or wok pan over medium-high heat and deep fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving. 

I use canola oil as opposed to olive oil to give them a nice light taste. 

It’s really that easy. The hardest part is going to be convincing yourself that you shouldn’t make these every day.

Close up of a cheese stick being dipped in marinara sauce
Square photo of a platter of mozzarella cheese sticks.

Pin it HERE!!

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks Recipe

Yield: 32

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Homemade Mozzarella Sticks are easy make-ahead appetizers that wait for you in the freezer until you want to heat up some oil and fry to a golden brown. They have a little extra kick in the spices and are an ooey-gooey favorite.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 16 string cheese sticks
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. Emeril's Essence
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 1/2 cups panko crumbs
  • 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Canola oil for frying

Dipping sauce

  • 19 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper or to taste
  • 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • salt and pepper to taste

Emeril's Essence

  • 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Instructions

  • Mix all ingredients together for Emeril's spice. You will think of a million things to put it into.
  • Unwrap cheese sticks and cut them in half. Using three bowls for dipping, place the flour and Emeril's Essence in the first bowl. Beat the eggs with the milk in the second bowl and then in the third bowl add the panko crumbs, parsley and salt, and pepper to taste.
  • Now start to dip the cheese sticks. First in the flour, then egg and finally panko. Place them on a cookie sheet and freeze for 20-30 min.
  • Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small saucepan and add the garlic and saute for 1 min. Add the tomato sauce, red pepper, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 15 min. Heat a few inches of the canola oil in a wok or large deep frying pan.
  • Place sticks in the oil and fry to a golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pan. Fry them in batches. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve with the tomato sauce immediately.

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    Nutrition Information:

    Yield:

    32

    Serving Size:

    2
    Amount Per Serving:Calories: 94Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 634mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 5g

    Recipe calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.

    © Tara Noland
    Cuisine: American / Category: Appetizers
    Mozzarella Cheese Sticks showing their ooey gooey interior

    Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

    Emeril’s Essence by Emeril Lagasse

    Mozzarella Cheese Sticks with tomato dipping sauce

    Comments

    4. Geraldine Saucier says

      I love these Mozzarella Cheese Sticks. They are a favorite of my kids. I can’t wait to make them. Thanks for a great post:)

      Reply

    10. Tes says

      It’s a winner! Crispy on the outside and oozy from the inside… My family will be so exciting with this dish 🙂

      Reply

    12. Nava Krishnan says

      Made to perfection and the sticks looks so tempting, what more with the sauce. I can imagine the wonderful taste and more of these sticks for me as I don’t think one stick will be enough for me.

      Reply

    15. Michelle says

      Tara,
      This looks super yummy. Thanks for sharing at Creative Thursday last week. I can’t wait to see what you link up this week. Have a great day 🙂
      Michelle

      Reply

    18. Alayna says

      Do you fill the pan with enough to oil to completely coat the sticks, top and bottom? Or just enough to coat the bottom of the pan?

      Reply

    23. Janice Jorgensen says

      Just made these mozzarella sticks for the twins birthday dinner tonight/pizza night. I had to use a extra egg to dip twice the panko didn’t stick with the first dunk…….they sucked up all the juice and I had to add more panko to finish it off. They look amazing the final test will be soon. Just wanted to say that I think the emeril spices added the right touch. Thanks for sharing

      Reply

    26. katie says

      these look so good. i love mozzarella sticks and must admit that i’ve never thought to make them at home by scratch! must make soon!

      Reply

    28. Cara says

      I made these tonight (eating as im typing) they taste great! I think the only thing I need to adjust is how high the heat is set for the oil. When I pulled mine out at the same golden color as yours the cheese was not melted. I had to leave them in longer which made them darker. Do you have to freeze them? Or can u put them in the oil directly after coating them?

      Reply

    32. Cathy says

      Thanks for sharing at the Happiness Is Homemade Link Party! Pinning to the party board and can’t wait to see what happiness posts you share next week! Have a terrific week!
      Cathy
      APeekIntoMyParadise.com

      Reply

    33. Linda @ForkandForage says

      Oh Tara, the way you captured that cheese oozing is literally making my mouth water. These look absolutely amazing!!!!

      Reply

      • Tara Noland says

        I don’t use our deep fryer that often but the rule of thumb is to 350F. I do a lot of frying in a wok or deep fry pan and heat until a small amount of bread dropped in sizzles on medium heat. Initially heating at medium high.

        Reply

      • Tara Noland says

        Hi Lois, sorry this is an old recipe when I didn’t use the print out portion but let me fix that for you. Otherwise you could copy and paste into a word document.

        Reply

    56. Karen says

      Could you use an air fryer to cook these? I have high cholesterol and need to stay away from deep fried foods, but these look so good!. If you can then what temp and for how long? Thank you so much!!

      Reply

      • Tara Noland says

        I honestly haven’t tried them in the air fryer but I would spray them first with a bit of oil and then air fry at 400F. for about 5-7 minutes. They should turn out to be yummy this way too.

        Reply

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