Mozzarella Sticks
with Marinara Sauce & Ranch Dressing
- Eggs
- Milk
- Wheat
Ever wonder how they fry mozzarella sticks without the cheese running everywhere? This recipe teaches you all the tricks (psst, use your freezer!). You'll coat cheese sticks in batter and irresistibly crunchy seasoned panko. Then shallow fry to a deep golden brown. Serve with marinara AND ranch dressing dippers for the perfect party appetizer!
Ingredients
5 ounce
Marinara Cup
1.5 ounce
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
(Contains: Eggs, Milk)
82 g
Tempura Mix
(Contains: Eggs, Milk, Wheat)
1 teaspoon
Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
8 unit
String Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
1.5 cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
2 unit
Cornstarch
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Cooking Steps
PREP
• Halve string cheese crosswise. • In a medium bowl, mix together cornstarch, salt, and pepper. • In a second medium bowl, whisk together tempura batter mix, half the garlic powder, half the oregano, salt, pepper, and ½ cup cold water (1 cup for 4 servings). • In a third medium bowl, combine panko with remaining garlic powder, remaining oregano, salt, and pepper.
COAT CHEESE STICKS
• Add cheese to bowl with cornstarch; toss until evenly coated. Working a few pieces at a time, transfer cheese to second bowl with batter; toss to evenly coat. Let any excess batter drip off and transfer cheese to third bowl with panko; gently toss until evenly coated. Transfer panko coated cheese to a parchment-lined baking sheet. • Transfer baking sheet to freezer for at least 30 minutes before frying. (This is key to prevent the cheese from melting excessively when frying!)
FRY CHEESE STICKS
• Heat a ⅓-inch layer of oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once oil is hot enough that a pinch of panko sizzles when added to the pan, add coated cheese in a single layer. (Work in batches and keep cheese sticks in freezer until ready to fry!) Cook, flipping occasionally, until golden brown and crispy on all sides, 2-3 minutes (lower heat if cheese begins to brown too quickly). • Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate; immediately season with salt.
SERVE
• Serve cheese sticks with marinara and ranch dressing on the side for dipping.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many found these homemade mozzarella sticks delicious, with great taste and crispness rivaling restaurant quality 🎉.
- Ease of prep: Several noted the recipe was time-consuming and messy, with some finding it unexpectedly complicated.
- Suggestions: Consider double-coating sticks in batter and breadcrumbs for better shape retention and crispier results.
- Cooking tips: Some had success using an air fryer; others recommend lowering heat to prevent cheese from melting too quickly.
- Family-friendly: Kids loved these, and they were fun to make together as a family activity 🍲.
Reviews from our home cooks
These were SO GOOD for homemade mozz sticks! I was shocked at how good they were! I would like to see them make an appearance again! Also, I am glad I am able to eat items like this using all fresh and healthy ingredients. I would never order these out at a restaurant because they are cooked in bad oil etc., but thanks to Hellofresh, I was able to enjoy these without all the bad ingredients!
Had to repeat the steps of putting the mozzarella sticks into the batter and rolling in bread crumbs for each stick. Batter was super thin and watery and barely adhered to the cheese, so it was batter-bread-batter-bread. End result was great though.
So fun to make with kids! And came out great! We didn't like sauce, but surprisingly like the ranch--something we never tried before.
They were delicious, but many of them burst out of the breading while frying and one batch of them got stuck to the paper towels while they were cooling.
You should offer gluten free options like gluten free breadcrumbs. I substituted the breadcrumbs myself and these were the best cheese sticks I have ever had!
Recipe worked better when dipping sticks in batter and breadcrumbs 2x, once before freezing and again after freezing. Otherwise sticks didn't hold enough breading and lost shape when frying.
The taste was quite good, but the tempura batter was not "sticky" enough to hold on to the breading. I ended up using an egg mixed with a bit of the batter to make the panko stick.
Almost as good as a restaurant's. My kids ate these in 5 seconds.
A bit time consuming and messy, but taste and crispness was great.
Truly the best cheese sticks I've ever had. They were great.
