Mozzarella Sticks with String Cheese

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Can you make mozzarella sticks with string cheese? Absolutely!
In fact, using string cheese is one of the easiest ways to make homemade mozzarella sticks. You don’t need to slice a block of mozzarella into perfectly sized pieces—just grab some frozen string cheese, coat it in seasoned panko, and fry it until the outside is golden and crispy and the inside is wonderfully melty.
These Mozzarella Sticks with String Cheese are crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and surprisingly easy to make at home.
And because each string cheese stick is cut in half, 8 string cheese sticks make 16 homemade mozzarella sticks.
Serve them with warm marinara sauce, pizza sauce, or ranch for an easy appetizer, snack, game day treat, or afternoon indulgence.

Can You Make Mozzarella Sticks with String Cheese?

Yes!
Traditional string cheese is mozzarella, which makes it a convenient shortcut for homemade mozzarella sticks.
The individual sticks are already portioned, so there’s no need to cut a large block of cheese into uniform pieces. Starting with frozen string cheese also gives you a head start on one of the most important steps: keeping the cheese cold before it hits the hot oil.

Why You’ll Love These Homemade Mozzarella Sticks

• Easy shortcut: Use string cheese instead of cutting a block of mozzarella.
• Crispy coating: Panko breadcrumbs give the outside a delicious crunch.
• Gooey center: The cheese gets perfectly melty inside the crispy coating.
• Makes 16 sticks: Cut 8 string cheese sticks in half for a generous batch.
• Quick: The actual cooking takes just a few minutes.
• Perfect for dipping: Serve with marinara, pizza sauce, or ranch.

Does String Cheese Melt?

You bet it does. The traditional string cheese is mozzarella cheese. The way they process and heat the cheese makes it so that the proteins in the cheese line up, so you can that easily pull away, making that cool, kid-friendly string cheese.

I buy string cheese sticks in bulk for the kiddos and will keep it in the freezer, pulling out a handful at a time.  You prep the string cheese with flour and then freeze, but I just started with the string cheese frozen… making this a quick recipe to pull off.

You also need a bowl of flour, and a bowl with the beaten egg and milk to make these homemade cheese sticks.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to make these easy string cheese mozzarella sticks:

• Frozen string cheese
• Flour
• Egg
• Milk
• Panko breadcrumbs
• Italian seasoning
• Pepper
• Garlic salt
• Neutral oil for frying (I use avocado oil)

I like using panko breadcrumbs because they create such a nice crunchy coating.

The Italian seasoning and garlic salt also give the breadcrumbs plenty of flavor, so you don’t end up with a boring coating around all that delicious cheese.

For the breadcrumb mixture, I used panko breadcrumbs, which is definitely my favorite type of bread crumb to use. Panko adds a great crunch to any coating. I love it in my Panko Chicken with Garlic Butter Fettuccine and this Garlic Panko Crusted Tilapia Recipe. So the panko bread crumbs I added some great spices and herbs and used a whisk to combine them. I find putting the bread crumb mixture in a shallow bowl or a pie tin is the easiest.

Tips for Making the Best String Cheese Mozzarella Sticks

Keep the cheese frozen.
This is one of the most important tips.
Starting with frozen string cheese gives you more time to get the outside golden and crispy before the cheese completely melts.

Don’t overcrowd the pan.
Fry the mozzarella sticks in small batches. Overcrowding can make it harder to maintain the right oil temperature.

Watch the cooking time.
These cook quickly! Once the outside is golden brown, get them out of the oil.

Use panko for extra crunch.
Regular breadcrumbs will work, but panko gives these homemade mozzarella sticks a crispier, crunchier coating.

Try the wet-hand/dry-hand method.
Use one hand for the egg mixture and the other for the flour and breadcrumbs. It makes the breading process much less messy.

Mozzarella Sticks

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Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Serving Size 16 cheese sticks

Ingredients

• 8 Frozen String Cheese
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ tablespoon milk
• 1 cup panko crumbs
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• canola oil enough to fill pot one inch

Instructions

• Cut the frozen string cheese pieces in half.
• Place your flour in a bowl and lightly coat each string cheese piece with flour.
• In another bowl mix together the egg and milk.
• Mix together the panko crumbs, Italian seasoning, pepper and garlic salt in a shallow pan. I love using a pie tin.
• Pour your canola oil into a deep skillet to the height of 1″ up the side. Begin heating the oil on medium.
• Take your flour dipped string cheese pieces and one at a time dip them into the egg/milk mixture then coat them in the seasoned panko crumbs.
• After your oil has heated for a few minutes gently place one of the coated string cheese pieces into the oil. If the piece floats within 5-10 seconds the oil is hot enough. Cook 30-60 seconds on each side till it’s nicely browned.
• Let them drain/cool a minute on a paper towel-lined plate before enjoying with your favorite marinara sauce.

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The flavor was wonderful and it was pretty quick and easy to make.  My kiddos loved it and it made for a great afternoon treat.

What Do You Serve With Mozzarella Sticks?

Warm marinara sauce is the classic choice, but you have plenty of options.

Try serving your homemade mozzarella sticks with:

• Marinara sauce
• Pizza sauce
• Ranch dressing
• Garlic butter
• Spicy marinara
• Alfredo sauce
• Your favorite dipping sauce

For a party, put out two or three dipping sauces and let everyone choose their favorite.

Can You Make These in an Air Fryer?

Yes—and if you’d rather skip the oil, I have an Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks version too!

The air fryer version uses the same basic string-cheese shortcut but gives you crispy homemade mozzarella sticks without deep frying.

My Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

Can You Make These Ahead of Time?

You can bread the mozzarella sticks ahead of time and keep them frozen until you’re ready to cook them.

This makes them especially convenient for parties and game day.

Just remember that the exact cooking time can vary depending on how cold the cheese is and how hot your oil is, so keep a close eye on the first batch.

Can I Use Regular Mozzarella Instead of String Cheese?

You can, but string cheese makes this recipe much easier.

String cheese is already shaped into individual sticks, so you don’t have to cut and portion a block of mozzarella.

It’s one of the reasons I love this recipe so much: the grocery store has already done most of the work for you.

The Easiest Homemade Mozzarella Sticks

The next time you’re standing in the cheese aisle and see a package of string cheese, grab it!

With a little flour, egg, seasoned panko, and hot oil, you can turn those simple cheese sticks into crispy, gooey homemade mozzarella sticks.

They’re quick enough for an afternoon snack and fun enough for a party or game day.

Just don’t forget the marinara!