Healthier Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Last week, Garrett and I snuck away to Florida for a vacation with my family, at my parents’ new place down there. It was so nice to have the eight of us all there together, exploring the area. I’ll do a post about it later this week, but I wanted to share this recipe we tried out first.

After a hot day at the beach, we came back for a dip in the pool and a cocktail hour, with a few munchies to tide us over until dinner.

This recipe for Healthier Baked Mozzarella Sticks was one that had been in the back of my mind for quite some time and this was the perfect opportunity to try it out. It was a big hit and my brother’s girlfriend even said they “taste better than in restaurants”. Being baked, rather than fried, makes them less greasy and lets the flavour of the warm cheese come out. This is the perfect quick appetizer to have on hand for when unexpected guests pop by.

What you’ll need:

Makes 24 sticks · Printable Version

• 12 mozzarella string cheese sticks
• 2 eggs, Beaten
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs (OR regular breadcrumbs with 1 tbsp dried parsley leaves)
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp butter, melted OR cooking spray
• optional: marinara sauce for dipping

Remove wrappers from cheese strings. Cut each string in half, to give you 24 pieces. Place in a large freezer bag and pop in the freezer for at least 30 minutes, or until hard and frozen. I just threw them into the freezer before we left for the beach and they were ready when we got back.

In a shallow bowl, add flour. In a second bowl, whisk eggs and in a third bowl, combine breadcrumbs and parmesan. Line a large baking sheet with tin foil and grease with butter or cooking spray.

Repeat with each cheese stick, and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle each stick with melted butter, or spray with cooking spray. Place the sheet into the freezer for 15 minutes to help prevent them from melting when they go in the oven.

When you’re ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake for 4-5 minutes, flip the sticks over and bake for another 4-5 minutes. Watch them closely so they don’t melt.