5 Pro Tips For Restaurant-Worthy Mozzarella Sticks At Home

Craving mozzarella sticks this week? Who could blame you? Kids and adults alike love the crunchy exterior and the melty cheese within. One bite and an Instagram-worthy cheese pull later, you're already dreaming of your second stick. 

But before going to your favorite restaurant to order some, you could try making them at home. We sat down with Chef David Jutras and Erin Colombi, the Senior Vice President of Operations at Fat Patty's (with locations in West Virginia and Kentucky, with another coming soon in New Jersey). They unveiled all their secrets for making the best homemade mozzarella sticks that taste and look restaurant-worthy. 

Their five pro tips for you include choosing the best type of cheese, how to make the best coating for the dish, how to prepare the mozzarella sticks, how to fry them, and alternatively, how to bake them. With their tips, you won't have to rely on frozen mozzarella stick brands. Additionally, you can apply their tricks to your favorite method, like our gooey stringy mozzarella sticks recipe.

First, according to Colombi and Jutras, the type of cheese you use when making mozzarella sticks from scratch matters. Of course, you should be using mozzarella cheese. There's no debate here. If you use cheddar cheese, then you're obviously making cheddar cheese sticks, not mozzarella sticks.

As for the best type of mozzarella, our experts feel the absolute best type to use is low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese. They elaborated, "This type of mozzarella has less water content, which helps prevent the cheese from leaking out during frying or baking. It also melts nicely, giving you that gooey center." When cheese melts out of the coating during the cooking process, it can burn into a crisp quickly. With it leaking out, you also end up with less melty cheese in the center of the stick. 

The good news for you is that most store-bought string cheese is already low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese. Their log shape and size also make them easy to coat and fry into mozzarella sticks. 

While mozzarella cheese is the star of mozzarella sticks, the coating and breading must also stand out if you're going to make a restaurant-worthy dish at home. According to our Colombi and Jutras, the best coating is a simple one. They explained, "A combination of flour, egg wash, and seasoned breadcrumbs works best. For extra crispiness, you can use panko breadcrumbs."

Here are the more detailed steps. First, crack an egg into a bowl and beat it to make the egg wash. Dip the string cheese into the egg wash before dipping into a shallow bowl filled with panko or breadcrumbs. You want to do this step twice. Colombi and Jutras added, "Double coating (dipping in egg wash and breadcrumbs twice) ensures a thicker, crunchier crust." Additionally, the coating should be flavorful and well-seasoned. Our experts elaborated, "Add some Italian seasoning, garlic powder, or paprika to the breadcrumbs for extra flavor."

According to Jutras and Colombi, making great homemade mozzarella sticks is all about using the right ingredients and techniques. After coating the string cheese with bread crumbs, hold off on frying or baking them. "Freeze the coated mozzarella sticks for at least one hour before frying or baking. This helps the cheese stay inside the coating and prevents it from melting too quickly," the recommended.

To freeze them, line a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper. Then, lay the coated string cheese on top of the prepared baking sheet, giving each of them some space so they don't end up sticking to each other. Freeze, uncovered, for at least one hour or until you're ready to cook them. 

Store-bought mozzarella sticks come pre-frozen, so it's perfectly fine to freeze homemade mozzarella sticks. In fact, freezing them before cooking is a good way to store them as well. Just be sure to keep them in an airtight container to prevent ending up with freezer-burned food.

Ready to cook up your frozen homemade mozzarella sticks? If you're frying them, be sure to adhere to Jutras and Colombi's tips. They stated, "The best temperature to fry mozzarella sticks is 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius). This temperature ensures that the coating becomes crispy and golden brown while the cheese inside melts perfectly. Frying at this temperature also helps prevent the coating from burning before the cheese gets gooey." 

It also doesn't take a long time for the mozzarella sticks to fry up perfectly. They added, "Fry the mozzarella sticks for about one to two minutes until golden brown. Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point, like vegetable oil or canola oil, to avoid burning and ensure even cooking." Place your perfectly fried mozzarella sticks over a wire rack or a paper-towel-lined plate. This will help get rid of some of the oiliness. 

If deep frying food is not for you, you can still enjoy delicious homemade mozzarella sticks by using your oven or air fryer to bake them. "To make them in the oven, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Place the coated mozzarella sticks on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Spray them lightly with cooking spray, or mist with an oil spray to help them crisp up," Colombi and Jutras advised. 

Just note that it will take you more time to bake the mozzarella sticks than to deep fry them. Our experts explained, "Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, turning them halfway through to ensure even browning."

Following these recommendations by Colombi and Jutras will ensure you will have the best homemade mozzarella sticks. Your loved ones or party guests will feel like they're dining in a restaurant. So, be sure to put in a little extra effort, buying the right kind of cheese, seasoning the coating, freezing the mozzarella sticks first, and using the right oil and temperature to fry or bake the dish to ensure success.