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Baked Mozzarella Sticks

April 15, 2016

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Perfectly crispy, melty, and stringy; these Baked Mozzarella Sticks have all the flavors of their fried cousins, but without all the oil and fat.

Perfectly crispy, melty, and stringy; these Baked Mozzarella Sticks have all the flavors of their fried cousins, but without all the oil and fat.

Welcome to round 4 of #FreakyFriday; Spring edition.  “What’s #FreakyFriday” you ask?  Well, it’s hosted by Michaela from An Affair of the Heart.  There are 17 bloggers participating in the event this month.  It’s kind of like SRC, if you’re not new to my blog.  If you are, well, here’s the 411.

Each blogger who signs up is assigned a blog from another participant.  Like me, for instance.  I was assigned Who Needs a Cape?  Once you receive your assigned blog, you get to go through their recipes and pick something you want to cook.  Then, once you cook up their recipe, you post about on #FreakyFriday; telling everyone about their wonderful blog, what you found out, and how delicious their recipe was!

It’s simple as that!!  Well, not really!!  The hardest part is picking a recipe!  Heather and Lori have so many delicious recipes on their blog.  It really did make choosing a recipe that much more difficult.  Between the Loaded Artichoke Garlic Bread, Spicy Honey Garlic Chicken, Saucy Sesame Peanut Noodles, and the Coffee Vodka what’s a girl to do??

Yes.  I said Coffee Vodka!  I think we all have mornings where that would come in REALLY handy!!  This recipe must have been the influence of Heather.  She lives with her fam on the Jersey Shore.  Not sure if she’s made it on the show, yet, but ya never know how far her super powers can take her.  But not far enough because she loves peace and quiet but never seems to get enough.  Such is the life of a mother.  But, not just any mother!  She’s a mother of three, count them, THREE boys!  That’s one SUPER power.

But, no matter how many recipes I perused and how many pins I looked at I kept coming back to these Baked Mozzarella Sticks.  This must be Lori’s influence on the blog because one of her passions are baking, beaches, coffee, Bret Michaels (but seriously isn’t he everyone’s passion?), finding a good bargain (again, doesn’t this apply to everyone?), and all things chocolate (no brainer).  She lives in Michigan with her Brady Bunch style family of 6 that spans 24 years in ages.  I can’t even imagine.

I must confess, I’ve been dying to make baked mozzarella sticks for a LONG time.  Seriously LONG time.  That’s part of the reason why these kept haunting me.  Not like a poltergeist hunt, but like a Casper haunt.  Ya know?  Friendly?  I had all the ingredients to make these gorgeous looking Cheesy Beer Bread and the Banana Brown Sugar Muffins.  I even MADE the brown sugar for those muffins.  But when it came down to it…the cheese sticks won.

You see, me and cheese sticks have a love hate relationship.  I love them, they hate me.  They stick around making certain parts of me swell up if I eat them as much as I’d like.  Ya know what mean, right?  Things like your derrier, your waist, your hips, your thighs.  All those things get bigger if I eat that OTHER version too much.  And since I’m always looking for healthier alternative to the foods we love, I jumped on this recipe like a PBR.  No, not a beer (Pabst Blue Ribbon) but a bull rider.  Professional Bull Riding?  No?

Moving on.

Just look at that stick.  Look at that crunch, that golden color; all things you look for a good mozzarella stick.  Now, it’s confession time.  I swapped out regular breadcrumbs for the panko variety and I lightly toasted them before I dipped the sticks on the breadcrumbs.  This is just my little touch on the recipe and makes for a super duper crunchy mozzarella stick.

And here’s another confession.  I cannot – I repeat CANNOT – use panko without toasting it first.  If I’m using it as a coating for anything, it goes in the oven first.  That’s how you can get amazing, crunchy oven fried foods that don’t make you miss the deep fat frying.  So, if you haven’t done this, please do next time you over fry something dipped in panko.  Just lightly toast it to a slightly golden color.  You’re gonna thank me for this one.

I was multi-tasking the day I made these.  When they come out of the oven, they are SUPER stringy and delicious.  It’s not easy trying to hold the cheese with your hands AND take the picture.  I honestly need to find a tri-pod for my phone so I can do that.  I haven’t quite gotten to the point of asking the hubs for help with the photo sessions because I know he’d just make fun of me.  He did, however, devour a large part of the bowl with dinner that night.  So, I know he loved them just as much as I did.

Now, along with this recipe is a straight up marinara recipe.  Since I had a bit of a sensory overload with tomato sauces at our house lately I opted for the jar of sun-dried tomato pesto I had on hand.  Please, PLEASE do make their marinara sauce.  I plan on whipping up a batch to have on hand so I can make these babies repeatedly.  Because I will.  Make them repeatedly.

Please head over to Who Needs a Cape? and see what other delicious recipes they have you’re dying to make.  While you’re there, be sure to follow them on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+.  And make sure you’re following Michaela, our coordinator Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, StumbleUpon, and Bloglovin.

Be sure to scroll past the recipe to see what the rest of the group cooked up for this Spring edition of #FreakyFriday!

Signature

Perfectly crispy, melty, and stringy; these Baked Mozzarella Sticks have all the flavors of their fried cousins, but without all the oil and fat.

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Perfectly crispy, melty, and stringy; these Baked Mozzarella Sticks have all the flavors of their fried cousins, but without all the oil and fat.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 8 mozzarella sticks, cut in half
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 large eggs or three large egg whites)
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomato pesto

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400.
  2. Place the cheese stick halves in the freezer 15 to 20 minutes.
  3. While the cheese is freezing, place the panko on a baking sheet and lightly toast in the oven. Remove from heat and combine with the garlic salt and Italian seasoning in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
  4. Place the egg and flour in a small, shallow bowl. Set aside.
  5. Remove from the freezer and dredge in the flour. Dip the cheese into the egg mixture and then the panko mixture; making sure to press the cheese firmly into the panko.
  6. Place the cheese on a baking rack placed on top of a sheet pan. Continue with remaining cheese, flour, egg, and panko.
  7. Bake at 400 for 8 to 10 minutes or until the coating is crisp and the cheese is heated through. Remove from heat and cool slightly before serving with the tomato pesto or other, favorite dipping sauce.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Who Needs a Cape? Baked Mozzarella Sticks

© Chris Campbell
Cuisine: Italian / Category: Appetizers & Snacks

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26 Comments
Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Oven BakedTagged: Appetizer, cheese, easy, quick, snack

Comments

  1. Laura Dembowski (@piesandplots) says

    April 20, 2016 at 11:58 am

    I think I ordered mozzarella sticks at every restaurant I ate at as a kid. I so need to make these.

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 20, 2016 at 7:34 pm

      Beware, they’re just as addictive as the fried, restaurant version!!

      Reply
  2. Ashlyn @ Belle of the Kitchen says

    April 17, 2016 at 11:12 pm

    One of my favorite appetizers! I’d probably have to fight my kids over them! These look delicious, Christie!

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 19, 2016 at 7:03 am

      Thank you! They’re one of my faves, too.

      Reply
  3. justine says

    April 17, 2016 at 9:37 pm

    Mmm, that toasted panko crust puts these over the edge! So YUMMY.

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 19, 2016 at 7:03 am

      Thank you, Justine!

      Reply
  4. Jennifer A Stewart says

    April 17, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    My son always orders mozzarella sticks when we go out because he says I don’t know how to make them! These will blow his mind and I certainly want to try that coffee vodka!

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 19, 2016 at 7:04 am

      I hope he loves them! They’re so easy to make. And I’m with ya on the vodka. Looks SO GOOD!

      Reply
  5. auntbeesrecipes says

    April 17, 2016 at 12:47 pm

    Mozzarella sticks are my hubby’s FAVORITE appetizer! He would LOVE these!

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 19, 2016 at 7:06 am

      Thank you! We fight over who gets the last one. Actually, I may make these again this weekend. They were so easy and so tasty.

      Reply
  6. Dini @ The Flavor Bender says

    April 17, 2016 at 11:57 am

    I LOVE these!! I love that you used Panko Crumbs, and toasted them before hand! I love doing that (to add an extra layer of flavor!) The way I eat Mozzarella Sticks have been changed forever! 🙂

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 20, 2016 at 6:33 am

      Thank you, Dini! I hope you enjoy them.

      Reply
  7. Nicole says

    April 17, 2016 at 1:42 am

    I love baked mozzarella and these look like they have the most delicious crunchy coating!

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 20, 2016 at 6:34 am

      Thank you, Nicole! They are SUPER crunchy!!

      Reply
  8. Anna says

    April 16, 2016 at 8:36 pm

    Wow! I like this food! Thank your sharing.

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 20, 2016 at 6:35 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  9. debi says

    April 16, 2016 at 1:45 pm

    These look so fun! I love that they are served with a yummy looking sauce as well. Great work on these!

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 20, 2016 at 6:35 am

      Thank you, Debi!

      Reply
  10. pattyanderson54p says

    April 15, 2016 at 6:33 pm

    I loved your post. These sound so good and I know I could not eat just one!

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 20, 2016 at 6:36 am

      Thank you! Nope. Sure couldn’t! Neither could the hubs; he ate most of them. They’re so good.

      Reply
  11. Michaela - An Affair from the Heart says

    April 15, 2016 at 11:04 am

    Christie, You have outdone yourself! I feel like I could just reach right into that gorgeous photo and grab one of those mozzarella sticks! I will be making this for sure! Thanks for being a part of our group, I enjoy having you here! Now I am off to see what this coffee vodka is all about… 😉

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 20, 2016 at 6:36 am

      Awww, thank you Michaela! I truly enjoy participating in these events with you.

      Reply
  12. Candi says

    April 15, 2016 at 10:54 am

    These look amazing! I love that they are baked and not fried!

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 20, 2016 at 6:37 am

      Thank you, Candi. I was looking for a recipe just like this one!!

      Reply
  13. Angela says

    April 15, 2016 at 9:56 am

    Oh these look so perfectly crisp and golden!!! I need to make these with the kiddos ASAP!!

    Reply
    • Christie Campbell says

      April 20, 2016 at 6:37 am

      Thank you. And they’re so easy to make, too!

      Reply

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AboutMe

I'm Christie and I'm A Kitchen Hoor! At least that's what my friends call me. I've been in the kitchen since I was tall enough to see over the counter. I hope you stay a while and find some new recipes.

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