Easy Baked Mozzarella Cheese Sticks Recipe that is perfect for an after school snack, party appetizer and game day. Super simple to make with string cheese!
Each and every member of my family loves cheese! No, we are not from Wisconsin, but we might as well be called cheese heads!
One of our favorite ways to enjoy cheese is mozzarella sticks. We ALWAYS order them as an appetizer, no matter the restaurant.
My daughter came across some recipes online for making your own mozzarella sticks and really wanted to try it. So we came up with these baked mozzarella cheese sticks.
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I buy string cheese in bulk because like I said…we love cheese! I also used eggs, butter, flour, panko, Italian bread crumbs and pizza sauce.
How To Make Easy Baked Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Step One
We unwrapped the string cheese and cut it in half.
Step Two
I added equal amounts of panko and Italian bread crumbs to a bowl.
Step Three
I beat together 2 eggs and a little milk with a fork.
Step Four
I put flour in a bowl and rolled each piece of cheese in the flour.
Step Five
Next, the flour coated piece of cheese was dipped in the egg mixture.
Step Six
Finally, we put the cheese in the breadcrumb mixture and covered it with crumbs.
Then, we pressed the crumbs onto the egg covered cheese.
This technique really helped the crumbs stick and kept our fingers cleaner.
Step Seven
We lined the mozzarella sticks up in a pan and placed the pan in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
This hardens the cheese so that it doesn’t melt all over the oven while baking!
Step Eight
We removed the mozzarella sticks from the freezer and placed them on a baking sheet.
I melted a couple tablespoons of butter and drizzled it over the mozzarella sticks.
Then, we baked them at 400°F for about 8 minutes.
Step Nine
We dipped the baked cheese mozzarella sticks in pizza sauce.
They were everything we hoped they would be and for some reason, we thought they tasted a bit like grilled cheese!
Easy Baked Mozzarella Cheese Sticks Recipe that is perfect for an after school snack, party appetizer and game day. Super simple to make with string cheese!
- 12 string cheese
- 1 cup panko
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 1 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 cup pizza sauce
- Unwrap string cheese and cut in half.
- Put equal amounts of panko and Italian bread crumbs to a bowl and mix together.
- Beat together 2 eggs and a little milk with a fork.
- Put flour in a third bowl and roll each piece of cheese in the flour.
- Dip the flour coated cheese in the egg mixture and then coat with the bread crumb mixture.
- Place mozzarella sticks in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the mozzarella sticks from the freezer and place them on a baking sheet.
- Melt butter and drizzle it over the mozzarella sticks.
- Bake at 400°F for about 8-10 minutes.
- Dip mozzarella sticks in marinara or pizza sauce.
Looking for something with a little more flavor? Try Buffalo Ranch Mozzarella Sticks
Buffalo Ranch Mozzarella Sticks
Bloomin’ Garlic Cheese Biscuits | Mac ‘n Cheese Pizza | Cheese Bombs
Taea says
I found that baking the mozzarella sticks for about 10 minutes, then broiling for 2 minutes worked best.
Anna says
Making these this weekend. Going to try them in the air fryer.
Robyn Clowes says
First time I had made these it ended up being a melted blob, and yes, I froze them for 45 mins before going straight into the oven for 9 mins. I found the problem was the egg want covering the whole stick and the crumbs won’t stick to the flour. Second time I made these I ended up double dipping them. Flour, egg, crumb, egg, crumb, freezer, oven. Sucks I have to wait for them to cool so I can pick them up without being squishy.
I’ll be doing my own experimenting in making an actual oven friendly batter since I prefer a thicker crust.
Nancy says
Started testing recipes for our annual holiday bash. This was the first on the list and a hugh hit and is a welcome addition. Tasted great and make ahead makes it a great party recipe. I plan on putting the melted butter in a squeeze bottle for last minute prep ease and have chipotle dried crumbs that might be good with cheddar sticks. Either way thanks!
Kat says
I made these and they turned out fantastic! I didn’t drizzle with melted butter before baking, so the coating was a little dry, but still crazy good! We dipped them in homemade pizza sauce. There will definitely be a repeat in the near future!
Tonia says
My kids are always in the mood for these cheese sticks!
Victoria says
These baked mozzarella sticks are amazing! They are a healthy and just as tasty alternative to the fried version. I usually make the fried ones for my family, but they love these! Great recipie 🙂
Victoria says
This recipie is great! It’s super simple and tasty. It’s also one of my families favorites. Thanks so much!
Priscilla says
If I freeze them overnight do I need to thaw them before I place them in the oven or can I bake them right out of the freezer?
Tonia says
Bake them directly from the freezer. Enjoy!
Marie says
I loved them. Had fun making them with my dad. Tip if you don’t have marinara sauce you can always use red pasta sauce. Thanks for the recipe!
Amanda says
Tried this reciepe and it was a complete disaster!! The cheese completely melted out al over the pan and didn’t work at all. Next time will only use a deep fryer, this reciepe just doesn’t work correctly
Josiah says
Did you freeze them for at least 30 minutes first?
TheStarvingArtista says
This recipe is great! Of course – since it’s just me – I only use about four cheese sticks, so I ended up just eyeballing the amounts of egg/milk, flour, etc. Thanks!
Josh says
This recipe is awful. As soon as you dip the sticks into the bread crumbs, it all sticks to your hands and you’re left with a flour covered piece of cheese.
TheStarvingArtista says
That’s the lovely thing about having forks on hand. ^_^ (That’s what I end up doing, since I hate dealing with messy fingers)
Jenelle says
Did anyone have the problem of them seeming undercooked even though a few were starting to melt/ expand? I had them in for 9 min and had uncooked areas on many of the sticks.
Melanie says
Me too. Next time I am going to cut the cheese in half lengthwise as well and hope it helps.
Anna Picket says
I love mozzarella sticks at restaurants. We usually order them whenever we eat out, so it would be fun to try making them myself. This recipe doesn’t sound too hard and they are baked, too. I wonder if they taste any different from fried ones that I’ve tried.
Annie says
These look so good and so easy too! I’m going to make them for the upcoming holiday gatherings.
Thank you 🙂
Jennifer says
Love this recipe so much I shared it on my own blog: http://www.juniperinherhair.com/mozz-sticks-baked/
thanks for a great recipe!
cheers!
Jennifer
Meghann says
About how many mozzarella sticks does this recipe yield? I was thinking of making them for a party and was wondering how many it makes to see if it is enough or if I need to double the recipe? Thanks. They look amazing!!
Tonia says
Hi Meghann,
I used 18 pieces of string cheese, which made 36 mozzarella sticks. Enjoy!
~Tonia
Meghann says
I just made these last night, they were amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Cherie deLeon says
These looks so easy to make! Who knew? Thanks for the recipe…italian night coming soon!
Tonia says
You are very welcome! I hope you enjoy them! ~Tonia
Lisa says
These were delicous! My whole family enjoyed them! Will definitely make again! Very easy to make.
I froze them on the baking pan I baked them on. Not sure if this was correct or not. I also sprayed the pan with a bit of cooking spray. The fingers do not get really brown, but are still very crunchy. I think I left mine in a bit too long trying to get them browner. A few started to melt. Still yummy though. The mixture of panko crumbs (more crunchy than regular bread crumbs) and regular Italian bread crumbs provided both great crunch and light seasoning. Nice receipe!
Also, I used “pizza” mozzerela cheese strings. I think the only difference is that the cheese stretches a bit more when you bite in, which was good!
Katie says
These taste awesome! Way easier being baked than fried, too. I use about half of the recommended bread crumbs (half cup Italian, half cup regular) because for me when I first made it I had a lot left that I couldn’t reuse. Super delicious recipe! We use Wisconsin string cheese primarily. I also use forks to dip and coat everything cause I’m way too messy with my hands! But yeah, definitely a great recipe and I love that you’ve added step by step pictures with instructions. Made multiple times and I keep coming back to it! Thanks for sharing this recipe, its for sure a hit here and they rarely ever last past the second day made. =)
Nora says
Made these 3 times for my family! So simple and delicious! Thank you for this great recipe!!
Karly says
Thanks for the great idea.- I’m sure my grandsons will love these
Pamela says
Can these be frozen for later use? If so, would you freeze them befor or after you bake? Thanks!
Tonia says
Yes! I make them ahead of time for my kids. Freeze them before baking them. Enjoy!
~Tonia
Vira says
These were wonderful! And super easy! Thanks so much for sharing. I will definitely make these again for another party.
Candie says
These sound delicious and really easy to do, too! Thanks so much for sharing. I’ll take cheese sticks any way I can get ’em!
Louise says
These look delicious! I’ve never tried them since I don’t like to fry. I think I’ll try these though!
Christina says
Thanks for sharing, I will be making these for New Year’s Eve…
Kim says
we just made these and I ended up using the whole bag of cheese sticks they was AWSOME !!!!!!!!!
Tonia says
Fantastic! I need to make some more for my family! Thank you for letting me know, Kim! ~Tonia
Sherri says
I will make these for the antique tractor club meeting this week. Thanks for your help! I think they will be a big hit
with all ages!