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.
How To Cook Tgi Fridays Mozzarella Sticks In Air Fryer
- Load. Add your frozen mozzarella sticks or frozen cheese sticks into the air fryer basket.
- Spray. Add a spraying of extra virgin olive oil and this will make your mozzarella sticks as crispy as the deep fat fryer but without the high fat content.
- Cook. Air fry for 6-8 minutes depending on how powerful your air fryer is and how crispy you would like them.
- Serve. Load into a bowl with your favourite dipping sauce and then enjoy.
How To Air Fry Frozen Mozzarella Sticks Or Cheese Sticks
- Well never cook these frozen mozzarella sticks in any other way now except in the air fryer. The regular oven doesnt cook them nearly as good or crispy.
- Dont thaw first. Air fry the cheese sticks straight from the freezer. It gives them a crispier outside coating.
- Spread into an even layer when air frying. Dont stack the cheese sticks in the air fryer basket/tray. Cook in batches if needed.
- No oil spray. There is no need for any oil spray to cook the cheese sticks. There is enough in the crust when they make them that you dont need to add any more.
- Add your favorite dip and youre ready to enjoy. We love serving them with a marinara sauce but we know lots of folks enjoy dipping them in ranch or bbq sauce too.
- All recipe details, time and temp are in the recipe box below.
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Quick Summary: Cooking Frozen Mozzarella Sticks In An Air Fryer
Cooking frozen mozzarella cheese sticks at home is very easy. However, its helpful to know some things ahead of time to avoid headaches or messing up your food.
Using A Cooking Spray
One great tip is to use a cooking spray like canola oil or olive oil to lightly coat your food before cooking. Doing so helps your food crisp better and get a wonderfully crunchy outside.
The same is true not only for cheese sticks but also chicken wings, tater tots, french fries, and many other great foods youll want to cook in your air fryer. Its a tip I picked up from my Cuisinart air fryer & toaster oven owners manual.
To use cooking spray with an air fryer, put the food inside then lightly coat the top of the food until it looks slightly wet. You wont need much just enough to coat the outer surface.
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Is Ranch Good With Mozzarella Sticks
Here is the printable recipe below. Nutritional information will vary depending on brand and how many each person consumes.
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How Long To Cook Trader Joes Mozzarella Sticks In The Air Fryer
Cooking Trader Joes Mozzarella Sticks in the Air Fryer takes between 5 to 7 min at 400°F. This works almost for any frozen mozzarella sticks brands. You can reduce the temperature to 350°F or 325 but this automatically increases the cooking period. For example, if you try to cook at 325°F it will take about 10 min.
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Air Fryer Frozen Mozzarella Sticks Recipe
Let’s be honest, most people like mozzarella sticks!
I mean most people really LOOOOVE mozzarella sticks! Do you fall into that category? I sure do!
You can make air fryer mozzarella sticksfrom scratch, we have a recipe for that. But sometimes you don’t have the time to do that. And that is okay!
Today, we are showing you how easy it is to make frozen cheese sticks in the air fryer!
Frozen Mozzarella Cheese Sticks In Air Fryer
Breaded Mozzarella Cheese Sticks are a great addition to any party or game day feast. Dont overthink it, just buy the frozen store bought variety and crisp them right in your air fryer.
The air fryer can cook just about anything. But, its the frozen convenience junk food that it does best. And theres nothing wrong with a little junk food now and then.
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What Sauce Do You Use For Mozzarella Sticks
Of course you can use whatever you wish but if youre new to this cheesy snack here are a few suggestions. These work with frozen or homemade mozzarella sticks air fryer style:
The Secret For Great Mozzarella Sticks
This is admittedly a bit of a persnickety process, but its not for nothing, as my grandmother used to say. TRUST ME. You do NOT want to go through this effort and have these cheese sticks explode all over your air fryer.
Here’s the secret: DOUBLE-COAT your mozzarella sticks.
You need to dip the mozzarella stick in the lightly beaten egg and then the breadcrumbs freeze it for a short period of time, and then repeat the process again to add a second coating before you air fry. These steps are crucial.
Otherwise, the coating slides right off the cheese stick once you pop it in the fryer. It divests itself of the layer kind of violently, like its an exoskeleton or something. The mozzarella stick is rendered edible. And also, messy.
Double layering also makes for extra crunch and extra insurance that all parts of the stick get coated with the egg and panko mixture.
Theres a lot more freezer time than you might expect, but I promise, they wont taste like ones you make from a box that you buy in the freezer section of the grocery store. Its worth it.
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Spicy Marinara Dipping Sauce Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can good tomato sauce
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- Few dashes of sriracha or other hot pepper sauce
Total time: 20 minPrep time: 5 min Cook time: 15 min Serves: 4 people
Directions:
1. Place a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and garlic and sauté until just softened and quite fragrant, being careful not to brown the garlic, approximately 2 minutes. Add the oregano and basil. Stir and cook until warmed through and aromatic.
2. Add the tomato sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the sauce until bubbling, approximately 12 minutes. Taste to be sure the herbs have softened. Season with the salt.
3. Keep the sauce warm on low while you cook the mozzarella sticks. Place in individual ramekins and serve with air fried mozzarella sticks. Store leftovers in an air-tight container in your refrigerator.
Will My Mozzarella Sticks Explode Inside
If youve tried making mozzarella sticks in your air fryer earlier, and it was not a very pleasant experience, youre not alone. If youre not careful, the mozzarella sticks can explode in your air fryer, turning into one huge mess.So how do you keep that from happening? Well, it is super simple actually! Just make sure the sticks are not touching each other in the air fryer basket, and that youre not just piling them on top of each other. Also, using a non stick cooking spray will help prevent them from sticking to each other while being air fried.
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What Are Mozzarella Sticks Made Of
- This popular once deep fried appetizer consists of long slices of mozzarella cheese coated in seasoned bread crumbs and cooked until golden brown and cheese is melted inside.
In the past we made mozzarella cheese sticks on a baking sheet in the oven. With the time it took to preheat and cook it took 3 times as long.
I also feel like this uses a lot less energy but the most important difference is how crispy these get!
- Once you try them for yourself you will see the difference I tell you. Then you can go on to see the difference when air frying snack foods of other kinds.
- Below are a few other favorites we make pretty often.
Our air fryer quesadilla recipe, air fryer grilled cheese, and frozen french fries in air fryer are probably our go tos! Try our air fryer fish sticks for dinner too.
How Long To Cook Tgi Fridays Mozzarella Sticks In Air Fryer
You will note that I mentioned 6-8 minutes above for TGI Friday frozen mozzarella sticks. This is because after 6 minutes they are cooked. BUT the mozzarella cheese in the centre is not melted at this point, but its edible.
Then if you add 2 more minutes of cook time and take it to 8 minutes then it will be 100% melted in the middle and perfect for serving.
Though note go just one minute over, and you can end up with the cheese escaping out of the breading.
Unlike other frozen foods in the air fryer, you need to be cautious of the cook time as too long and it explodes and messes your air fryer and go under and they are not done enough.
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Final Touches And Were Done Lets Eat Some Cheese
Cheese sticks are easy to empty and put on your plate or another container after cooking . Use a fork or a tong to make it a snap. The great news also is that cheese sticks dont produce a lot of oil when cooking so theres not much to clean up afterward. Note: A little bit of cheese leaking from the sticks is normal, so dont fret if you see some.
Once youre done cooking either pour them out directly or use a fork or tongs.
The great news is that theres not much to clean up afterward in most cases as cheese sticks dont produce oil when the cook as some other foods do.
How To Make Frozen Mozzarella Sticks In The Air Fryer
Making mozzarella sticks in the air fryer is super easy! All you need to do is:
Open the bag and place the mozzarella sticks inside the air fryer basket. Make sure you don’t stack them!
Cook the mozzarella sticks at 360 degrees for about 6 minutes
After 6 minutes check on them – if they aren’t golden browned on the outside, flip them over and cook for another 2 minutes or so.
Allow mozzarella sticks to cool for a minute or two before eating.
Serve with a side of your favorite dip or marinara sauce!
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How & Why To Preheat Your Air Fryer
Top: Preheating an air fryer with digital controls. These often have a preheat mode button . Bottom: For standard models, you can preheat the fryer by adjusting it to the 350° temperature and setting the cooking timer for 5 minutes.
Just like with regular ovens, air fryer makers recommend warming up the fryer to the cooking temperature before you add food. But why is that?
You should preheat your air fryer for several reasons:
- The electric heating element gets heated and ready to use
- Inside surfaces that touch & cook food are hot and ready to work properly
- Preheating avoids a warming delay that would happen if you started cooking from room temperature
In other words, youll get your air fryer ready to begin cooking right away its preheated and ready to use. You wont have to worry about trying to adjust cooking time for a cold fryer.
As some people warm up their car during the winter cold before driving it, the idea is the same.
How To Serve Mozzarella Sticks
This is a game day favorite, so you can serve it with little ramequins of marinara sauce for dipping. You can also serve them with ranch if thats what your family or guests prefers.
I also like to serve them alongside some fresh veggies because eating cheese if fun and all, but I try to keep it balanced!
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How Do You Keep Mozzarella Sticks From Exploding In Air Fryer
Can you cook cheese in air fryer without it exploding? Yes, you can! Frozen cheese sticks in air fryer only explode when they are overcooked.
Now you also know how to prevent it from happening. When cooking mozzarella sticks in air fryer it is better to err on the side of caution and take them out earlier rather than later.
How Does The Air Fryer Work
So, the air fryer is a bit of magic. Its basically a convection oven that sits on your countertop. But because its small and mighty, it will heat up to temperature faster than your oven, and cook pretty fast, too.
The air fryer works from the outside in, which means if you dont do your prep work for these mozzarella sticks well enough, youre going to literally have a hot mess on your hands. The sticks will explode and stick to the inside of your air fryer.
- New to the air fryer? Check out our First Timer’s Guide to Using an Air Fryer.
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Why Use Frozen Mozzarella Sticks In The Air Fryer
Ive been in a frozen food rut lately. Im not sure if its just because summer is coming to an end, or for whatever reason, I havent been cooking much from scratch recently.
One of our favorite go-to meals is fried mozzarella sticks theyre easy enough to make from scratch, but sometimes you want something quick and easy! We were pretty excited when we found out that frozen ones are available at the store .
There are so many varieties. My favorites are FarmRich, TGIF Fridays, Target, Costco, Great Value , 365 by Whole Foods, Kroger Store Brand, and even Trader Joes!
But Why An Air Fryer Over The Toaster Oven
They just taste so good: Air Frying frozen foods really assist in taking a flash-frozen item and making it crispy on the outside and tender on the inside without any deep frying oil and in half the time. This method not only works with frozen mozzarella cheese sticks but frozen chicken nuggets, frozen pizza rolls and so much more!
Quick and Easy: Lets face it the best part of frozen food is ease and speed. No matter the model of air fryer you use this can be done in under 10 minutes, with a short 5 minute preheat and a short 5 minute cook time.
Great for any meal or party: Golden Brown mozzarella sticks are amazing as quick snacks, an easy appetizer, and really to munch on during movie night as the best tasty snack! So grab your frozen appetizers and lets get to the cooking process.
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What’s The Best Frozen Mozzarella Stick To Use
My favorite frozen mozzarella stick to use is Farm Rich. Farm Rich mozzarella sticks always come out perfect and the cheese doesn’t leak out.
Another favorite of mine is the Trader Joe’s mozzarella stick, but those have been hard to find lately.
In the end, the best frozen mozzarella stick to use in the air fryer is your favorite one!
