Here's The Secret To The Best Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

With their crunchy exterior and gooey, cheesy center, mozzarella sticks are arguably one of the best snacks one can indulge in. Order a basket of mozzarella sticks at a dive bar or restaurant, and there's a good chance they're fresh out of the deep fryer. But to make them at home, the air fryer is an ideal appliance to get that cheese pull without all of the grease. That is, if you cook them properly according to the tips Tasting Table got from Rachel Kirk, recipe developer for Laughing Spatula. 

"The key to anything cooking super well in an air fryer is to not overcrowd the basket and to spray the mozzarella stick breading with olive oil to ensure it crisps up," Kirk says. The magic of an air fryer cooking foods to a crisp quickly is the rapid circulation of hot air, and if you throw too many mozzarella sticks in the tray, that air can't circulate well to evenly and fully cook each one. The oil trick per Kirk's advice will ensure that whatever breading on the outside crisp up in the same way a deep fryer full of piping-hot oil works.

Not overcrowding the tray and coating them with oil are two secrets to pulling off the best mozzarella sticks in an air fryer — but there are other tips, especially if you make them from scratch. When it comes to the cheese, Rachel Kirk says to use part-skim mozzarella sticks that you might snack on. "It's proportioned already into a stick which saves a step, and also because it is part skim, it will keep steady without turning into a gooey mess," she says. For that crunchy coating, Kirk says to use Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs to add "flavor and texture." Then, it should only take six to eight minutes in an air fryer set at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, but check on them since every appliance works differently, according to Kirk. 

Use all of these chef-worthy tips to upgrade our gooey stringy mozzarella sticks recipe that turns out 16 pieces. Other ways to upgrade the mozzarella sticks, in addition to the tips from Kirk, are to add dried herbs, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, or even crushed chips like Doritos to the coating. And you can't go wrong with serving the snack with our quick tomato sauce for dunking purposes. And if you just can't make them from scratch, here are some of the best store-bought mozzarella sticks to cook perfectly in the air fryer.