This Fried Cheese Curds recipe was so easy to make. These deep fried white cheddar cheese curds are the BEST appetizer and the perfect comfort food!
If you are from Minnesota or Wisconsin, you know and love fried cheese curds!
I’m not sure about other states, but here in Minnesota, fried cheese curds are sold at the state and county fairs, of course, but they are also available at restaurants and even some fast food places.
My son wanted to visit the retail store of a local creamery, mainly to get cheese whips (long, narrow strings of mozzarella cheese) and while looking around the store he spotted the cheese curds.
So, we decided to buy them and try to make fried cheese curds.
These strange looking morsels are cheese curds. While I don’t like the name and I don’t care to eat them fresh because they squeak, I love eating them fried!
There are several restaurants that sell breaded cheese curds and they are delicious, but they don’t hold a candle to the deep fried version.
Whip up some batter while your oil is heating up. Whisk together buttermilk, flour, baking soda, garlic salt and an egg.
Coat a few curds at a time with the batter and then fry them in the hot oil, until golden brown.
This took less than a minute, but many recipes say to fry them for 1-2 minutes, but found that was far too long for me.
Carefully remove from oil and place on paper towel to drain.
Yummmmy! You’ll want to enjoy these tasty little morsels immediately.
These Fried Cheese Curds were surprisingly easy to make and they were just like the ones from the county fair.
Fried Cheese Curds Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cheese curds
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ quarts oil vegetable, canola or peanut oil
Instructions
- Heat oil to 375˚F. (Use a thermometer and watch carefully)
- Whisk together buttermilk, flour, baking soda, garlic salt and egg until smooth.
- Coat several cheese curds with batter. If the batter is too thick, add more buttermilk until it is the consistency you want. Or if the batter is too thin, add more flour.
- Fry a few at a time, for several seconds, until golden brown.
- Drain on paper towel.
- Enjoy while fresh!
Notes
Nutrition
Here are a few more of my cheese filled recipes:
Blooomin’ Garlic Cheese Biscuits | Mac n’ Cheese Pizza | Cheese Bombs
Wendy McBride says
Excellant receipe !! First time making cheese curds (Wisconsin cheese curds). Did not disappoint. Just as good as any resturant.
Alisha says
I thinnest out the recipe with a bit more milk (eyeballed), and it turned out perfectly! My Minnesotan husband who adores state fair cheese curds loved these. Thanks!
Tonia Larson says
Wonderful! I made them again last week and my family was delighted!
Packers fan says
Too bready. More like cheesy hush puppies than fried curds.
Kyle says
I thought they were great. My only issue is that they really clumped together. Probably a user error though
Alicia says
Are you saying use 1 cup plus a 1/2 cup of butter milk or just 1/2 cup? This could possibly be why people may be bummed out it didn’t work out.. because that picture looks absolutely phenomenal! I can’t want to try this recipe but just want to make sure. Thank you!
Tonia Larson says
Hello Alicia,
Yes, it is 1 1/2 cups (one and a half cups) of buttermilk. That being said, if you want to try less buttermilk in the batter it is easy to add more if the first few cheese curds don’t turn out the way you want them to. Some of the commenters say that the batter is too thick for them so using less buttermilk would make the batter thicker. So, if you want thinner batter, you can add more buttermilk.
Warmly,
Tonia
Jay Galt says
Batter did not work for us. Too soft. Too delicate. No crunch, even when fried for longer, even when double battered. Not authentic cheese curds. You OBVIOUSLY haven’t been to Dykesville Bowl in Dykesville Wisconsin (i am not joking around. Go get their cheese curds. Best fried curds in the state).
Tonia Larson says
Hello Jay,
I’m sorry to hear that it wasn’t the kind of cheese curds you were looking. There are many different kinds of authentic deep-fried cheese curds. Culver’s, which originated in Wisconsin, makes a version that is coated with a textured batter similar to mozzarella sticks. Other restaurants make outstanding square shaped cheese curds. My family loves them all and I hope you find a recipe to the make the crunchy copycat Dykesville Bowl version you are looking for.
No, I can’t say that I’ve ever been to Dyckesville Wisconsin. The closest I’ve gotten to it is Chicago, but thank you for the restaurant recommendation. I’ll definitely have to head up there if we ever make it to the Green Bay area.
~Tonia
Jaym says
Recipe worked great! I added a tiny bit of beer to the batter for flavor, but it cooked up well. I used cheese cubes we had leftover from a charcuterie board in place of the cheese curds and they were great!
Luke Brodal says
Absolutely garbage recipe. Horrible puffy thick batter, too thick to allow the cheese to even melt inside. HUGE disappointment.
K says
The batter made the cheese curds almost donut-like. It was really thick. Not what I was hoping for.
Tonia Larson says
Hi K,
Thank you for trying our recipe! If the batter is too thick, you can add a little more buttermilk at a time until it is the consistency that you want. But be careful not to add too much liquid or the batter won’t stick.
~Tonia
Renee says
The breading was way to thick and made them taste bad I would not make these again
Cynthia Ellison says
I made the Bisquick Butter milk biscuits…they never did rise. It was my fault as I used the store Bisquick mix and I forgot the veg oil . Would that Have MADE THEM NOT RISE. I think the recipe is very easy , i just messed up . I am going to try your Honey Garlic Chicken this week as well . I love all the easy recipes I have looked at .
Tonia Larson says
Hi Cynthia,
When I tested the new Bisquick without adding the additional vegetable oil they did rise some but where dense and dry. But the main leavening agent in Bisquick is baking powder. If the box was older the baking powder may have expired. Another consideration is how you cut the biscuit dough. Using something like a glass can seal the edges of the biscuit, preventing them from rising.
I hope you enjoy the Honey Garlic Chicken as much as we do!
~Tonia
Carol says
My oil was at correct temp, the bigger pieces of cheese stayed in the batter but the smaller one’s were in the bottom of my deep fryer. Overall batter was very good, just not sure if it needs to be thicker. Going to add more flour to thicken it up. Just saw another post that said to freezer 1hr before so will try that.
Victoria Diaz says
Had to sub out the garlic salt for garlic powder, sea salt, and garlic pepper but that was my own fault and the recipe was amazing.
Victoria Diaz says
I made these last night for my family, who aren’t by any means picky eaters but everyone loved them. I didn’t have any garlic salt so I substituted a teaspoon of regular garlic powder a teaspoon of garlic pepper and a teaspoon of sea salt. I know its more garlic than was called for but I like the flavor. I’m definitely keeping this recipe for later!
Andrew Rose says
Made a huge mess, worst cheese curds ever
Nancy Beaulieu says
This was easy to make, cooked up beautiful and tasted terrific!
Laura says
Batter needs more seasoning, it’s bland. Also it’s slim on substance. It does coat easily and fries fast but is just too light in texture and coating compared to the curds. Will not make again. This batter might be better for thin onion rings.
Allyson Esslinger says
This recipe was sooo delish!! Was super easy to make which was good for a late night snack! I didn’t have any buttermilk handy, so I used 2% with a teaspoon of lime juice. Also used a couple teaspoons of paprika and pepper! This recipe was perfect for first timers!
RJ says
These were easy to make, simple instructions. But all you can taste is globs of pancake like fried batter. Not at all what we were looking for.
Alfredo A Lorente says
I’m in the Midwest so I was excited to try the recipe. The result was underwhelming.
The batter was thick and after a dip in the 375′ oil, the results were a savory donut with a cheese filling. That’s not necessarily bad, but it isn’t the cheese curds you get at the State Fair.
If I can’t find a different recipe, I’ll cut the flour in half. Fingers crossed . . .