Cooking frozen mozzarella sticks in an air fryer is as easy as it can get. These are golden and crispy from the outside and cheesy and gooey from the inside. A perfect indulgence for kids and adults alike, which is ready in under 10 minutes. A quick party snack, game-day snack, or just a casual snack, cheese sticks never disappoint.
Let us see how you can make these air fryer frozen mozzarella sticks to perfection.
Why do I love cooking frozen food in air fryer?
An air fryer is the best piece of kitchen equipment to cook frozen foods. Let me elaborate on this and explain why it is so.
The air fryer cooks the food with the hot air which is perfect to cook the frozen foods to crispy goodness. The hot air circulating inside the air fryer cooks the food evenly and thoroughly giving a crispy exterior to the food. So that the frozen food that tastes best on deep frying, can be air fried for equally good results.
Air fryers are the best to cook frozen foods as they take minimal time to preheat and reach the desired temperatures quickly. So that when the frozen food is added to the basket the moisture inside the food quickly evaporates and makes them crispy.
Most domestic ovens take a long time to preheat and do not have inbuilt fans to circulate the air. Hence, they can never match the air-fried frozen food. Especially breaded frozen foods like breaded okra, frozen pizza rolls, and mozzarella sticks.
I just want to say that it is high time to ditch your oven for cooking any sort of frozen food.
Try to air fry these frozen veggies :
- Frozen Cauliflower in air fryer : A Quick Recipe
- How to make Frozen Brussel Sprouts in Air Fryer?
- How to fry frozen okra in air fryer? Breaded and plain cut okra
Why must you try this recipe?
If you are still not convinced, let me put it in more clear form as to why this recipe to cook frozen mozzarella sticks in air fryer works?
- No thawing is required. You are not required to thaw or defrost the frozen mozzarella sticks. Place them directly in the air fryer.
- Quickest. It is hands down the quickest method to cook these cheese delights. The air fryer preheats much faster than the oven and cooks the food very efficiently and quickly.
- Easy and hands-off. Unlike deep frying, air fryer mozzarella sticks do not need your active participation. You can go with your household chores and let the air fryer do its job.
- Crispiest and delicious mozzarella sticks. Air fryer mozzarella sticks are going to taste absolutely delicious and way better than the baked ones.
- No oil is required. You do not have to use any oil if you do not want to. Make them healthy.
Ingredients
Frozen mozzarella sticks
The first thing that you are going to need is frozen cheese sticks. A few of the brands that I have tried making in an air fryer are Snapps, FarmRich, New York bakery (3 cheese), and Appetitos cheese sticks. They are all great. Today I have used Appetitos breaded cheese sticks that come with a frozen marinara sauce.
If you want to make them from scratch you should get some mozzarella string cheese sticks and coat them in all-purpose flour, salt, spices, and bread crumbs. Click to see one of my favorite recipes for making the mozzarella sticks.
Air fryer
Another thing that you will need to make air fried mozzarella sticks is an air fryer!
I am using an 8 qt air fryer. You might be using a smaller or oven-sized air fryer. Find the details for using them in the procedure section.
Procedure: How to make frozen mozzarella sticks in air fryer?
To air fry, frozen mozzarella sticks in an air fryer, start by preheating the air fryer. We need to set the air fryer temperature to 360 oF ( about 180 0C) and let it preheat with an empty basket for 4 minutes.
After 4 minutes open the air fryer basket and place the frozen mozzarella sticks in the basket spaced evenly.
We do not need to thaw the mozzarella sticks, take the box out of the freezer, unwrap and air fry them directly. Though you want to open the box and pull out the sauce pack way ahead of air frying so that the marinara sauce defrosts or thaws. This only applies if you intend to use it as a dipping sauce.
After placing the frozen cheese sticks in the air fryer, set the air fryer temperature to 360 oF and set the timer to 5 minutes, and close the air fryer basket. If you are using oven style air fryer, use the same process. After air frying for 3 minutes, open the basket and shake the basket to rotate the cheese sticks. Alternately you can use tongs to rotate them individually. Then close the basket and air fry for another 2 minutes or until done.
Please note that these cheese sticks cook very quickly in a preheated air fryer. So keep a close eye. We do not want to overdo them. Because of slight overcooking, the cheese will start to come out of the breaded coating and run around the air fryer basket causing a mess and finally smoking.
Take them out of the air fryer and serve them hot with marinara sauce or the dipping sauce of your choice.
How to know that the frozen mozzarella cheese sticks are ready to be taken out of the air fryer?
The moment you see the smallest sign of cheese oozing out of the mozzarella sticks, take them out as they are already done. There is no other way to precisely tell when they are done. Keep an eye on them and open the basket a minute before the suggested time.
Do not let them stay in the air fryer after done. The air fryer will still be hot and the cheese will continue to ooze out. So, remove immediately and serve with your favorite dipping sauce.
Dipping sauce and serving suggestions
These frozen air fryer mozzarella cheese sticks are best enjoyed hot when the cheese is still molten and gooey. Since these are super cheesy, they go great with some light and healthy veggies like air-fried Brussel sprouts or a green crunchy salad.
You can serve them as a snack with the dipping sauce of your choice. A few suggestions to get you started are:
- Tomato Ketchup. Humble ketchup. Goes great with almost all sorts of finger foods. And is always resting in our refrigerators waiting to be dipped into.
- Ranch. Oh! I love ranch siracha with mozzarella cheese sticks. It adds the much-needed kick to them.
- Marinara sauce.
- Honey mustard
- Sweet and sour chili sauce
Storage and reheating instructions
If you have kids in your family, these cheese sticks are not going to last. But if you made a big batch for entertaining and had some leftovers. The best way to store them is to put them in the fridge for one day or two. Put them in a ziplocked bag or an airtight container. If you are not going to use them within two days, it is better to freeze them in a freezer-safe bag.
To reheat the air fryer at 360 0F for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts.
Pro tips for making best-frozen mozzarella sticks :
- Do not bother to defrost frozen cheese sticks. Most air fryer recipes cook best from frozen.
- If you are doing a big batch, do not overcrowd them. Overcrowding food in an air fryer is a recipe for disappointment. Place them in a single layer and leave space for air circulation.
- Since these cheese sticks air fry very fast, stay close by and keep an eye. Open the basket at 4 minutes to see how much time it needs.
- Do not forget to flip or rotate them halfway through the cooking time. This ensures even melting of cheese and prevents oozing out.
- If there is too much cheese oozing out, reduce the frozen mozzarella sticks' air fryer temperature.
- Use air fryer silicone mats if you have to catch the cheese oozing out of the cheese sticks.
- Bake option in an instant pot is another quick way to make these frozen mozzarella cheese sticks. But the air fryer is certainly quicker and better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Air fryers have some sort of electric rods inside that generates heat. The heat is further circulated throughout the air fryer basket with the help of in-built fans. The food inside the air fryer is cooked with the hot air circulating inside it. Hence the food turns out crispy from the outside without the use of any oil or deep frying. It is ideal for cooking frozen foods, meats ( chicken), veggies, cookies, etc.
The frozen mozzarella sticks are nothing, but mozzarella cheese or string cheese coated with a thin layer of spiced breadcrumbs. It just needs enough time to melt the cheese evenly in the air fryer. In a preheated air fryer it can take anywhere from 5-to 8 minutes depending on the size and thickness of the cheese sticks. A standard-sized cheese stick should not take longer than 5 minutes.
These are made of mozzarella cheese for sure. But string cheese gives the best results.
Cheese often oozes out of the cheese sticks on baking, microwaving, and even on air frying. The simple reason is overheating of the cheese. If the cheese is overcooked, it melts and becomes runny. Then, it finds the gaps in the breaded coating and oozes out of those gaps. To prevent the cheese from oozing out try these ways:
* Do not overcook. The cheese oozes out only when they are overcooked. So our best bet is to avoid overdoing them. If you had a lot of oozing out, reduce the cooking time by a minute and see if it works.
* Rotate to ensure even cooking on all sides. Rotate them while baking or air frying. In the air fryer, the top of the food cooks faster as the heating rods are present just oven them. So, we must turn the cheese sticks hallway through the air frying to prevent the cheese on one side from being overcooked and oozing out.
* Reduce the cooking temperature. If none of the above two methods worked, try reducing the air frying temperature by 20-30 0F.
Suggested air fryer recipes
More frozen food recipes using an air fryer that you might want to try are as follows:
- Make frozen burgers in air fryer (Frozen veggie burger)
- Frozen potstickers in air fryer: The best way to make frozen dumplings
- Frozen spring rolls in air fryer: Quick, easy, and crispy!
- Air fryer crinkle cut fries: Quick and easy!
Did you try this recipe?
Did you make the frozen mozzarella cheese sticks in the air fryer? Hope they came out perfect to your liking. If You liked it, do share your experience in the comment section below and share it with friends. It helps me to create more posts like this.
Till then
Make it delicious and quick!
Frozen mozzarella sticks in air fryer Recipe card
Frozen mozzarella sticks in air fryer
Equipment
- air fryer
Ingredients
- Frozen mozzarella sticks
- Dipping sauce of your choice
Instructions
- Start by preheating the air fry. Set the air fryer temperature to 360 oF ( about 180 0C) and let it preheat with an empty basket for 4 minutes.
- After 4 minutes open the air fryer basket and place the frozen mozzarella sticks in the basket spaced evenly.
- After placing the frozen cheese sticks in the air fryer, set the air fryer temperature to 360 oF and set the timer to 5 minutes, and close the air fryer basket.
- After air frying for 3 minutes, open the basket and shake the basket to rotate the cheese sticks. Alternately use tongs to rotate them individually. Then close the basket and air fry for another 2 minutes or until done. (Please note that these cheese sticks cook very quickly in a preheated air fryer. So keep a close eye.)
- Take them out of the air fryer and serve them hot with marinara sauce or the dipping sauce of your choice.
Notes
- We do not need to thaw the mozzarella sticks, take the box out of the freezer, unwrap and air fry them directly. Though you should open the box and pull out the sauce pack way ahead of air frying so that the marinara sauce defrosts or thaws. This only applies if you intend to use it as a dipping sauce.
- If you are using oven style air fryer, use the same process.
- We do not want to overdo them. Because of slight overcooking, the cheese will start to come out of the breaded coating and run around the air fryer basket causing a mess and finally smoking.
- Do not bother to defrost frozen cheese sticks, they cook best frozen in an air fryer.
- If you are doing a big batch, do not overcrowd them. Overcrowding food in an air fryer is a recipe for disappointment. Place them in a single layer and leave space for air circulation.
- Since these cook very fast, stay close by and keep an eye. Open the basket at 4 minutes to see how much time it actually needs.
- Do not forget to flip or rotate them halfway through the cooking time. This ensures even melting of cheese and prevents oozing out.
- Use air fryer silicone mats if you have to catch the cheese oozing out of the cheese sticks.
Nutrition facts
Koina Mayitri
The air fryer has made my life so easy. Usually, these cheese stick packs are small and I always felt lazy to heat the oven to make 6 cheese sticks. I made them using the recipe instructions. They were perfect. Thanks for the instructions.