Warning, these Keto Mozzarella Sticks are crazy addicting! You’ve got an ooey gooey cheesy center that is surrounded with a crunchy, keto friendly crust. Dip them in sugar free pizza sauce or marinara for your new favourite party food!
There is always that one dish at a potluck or appetizer party that is gone almost immediately. These Keto Mozzarella Sticks are that dish. I mean, who doesn’t love melty gooey cheese wrapped up in a layer of flavourful crunchiness that gets dipped in pizza sauce?! I don’t know anyone. Make these for your next potluck ( or party for one 😉 ) and watch them fly away!
Why it works
- These low carb mozzarella sticks are simple to make. The hardest part is waiting for them to harden in the freezer before frying them! These are one of our most requested low carb keto snacks.
- The ooey gooey cheesy goodness is perfectly captured between a crunchy crust.
- Fit for any party, these Keto mozza sticks will have everyone coming back for seconds.. or thirds!
Ingredients
Mozzarella Cheese Strings – I find the mozzarella string cheese works much better for this recipe, though bricks of mozzarella can be cut up and used in it’s place. You may run the risk of more leaks though! I find ‘Black Diamond’ cheese string to be the stringiest!
Almond Flour – Crushed pork rinds can be swapped out for the almond flour for even less carbs, though you may find it doesn’t trap the cheese like almond flour.
Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning – my spice blend of choice for many, many recipes including Low Carb Biscuits and this Fathead Pizza Crust. I make my own Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning because it’s easy and soooo tasty! If you don’t have any/don’t want to make any, it can be subbed for Italian seasoning.
How to make Keto Mozzarella Sticks
First the mozzarella sticks are created and then frozen for 2 hours. After that they are fried in hot oil for a couple of minutes until crisp, then dunked in some sort of saucy goodness and greatly enjoyed!
Prep the sticks
Make the breading by whisking almond flour, parmesan cheese, spicy spaghetti seasoning and a pinch of salt until fully combined. In a separate dish, whisk an egg with some water until the egg is completely combined with the water – no thick egg white left!
Remove the string cheese from it’s packaging and slice each in half so that you end up with 16 pieces of cheese.
Using one hand for the breading only and the other hand for the egg wash only, coat a piece of cheese first in the egg wash and then in the breading. Place it on a wax paper lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining cheese pieces. Double dip each piece and then continue to triple dip until all of the breading is used up. It is important that each piece gets dipped at least twice!
Place the Keto Mozzarella Sticks into the freezer for 2 hours.
Fry ’em
Heat a saucepan on medium heat with about 1″ of oil. I use a small saucepan so that I don’t need to use so much oil, however a large saucepan would fit more sticks at once. Once the oil has reached 350°, it’s time to fry the mozza sticks!
Do not over crowd the saucepan. Using tongs, place the Keto Mozzarella Sticks inside the hot oil, being sure there is space around each stick. Keep the remaining mozza sticks in the freezer until it’s their time to fry.
Fry the Keto mozza sticks until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. If the sticks begin to brown too fast, reduce the heat. If they aren’t browned in 3 minutes, your oil isn’t hot enough. Give it time to heat back up before frying more.
Carefully remove the fried Keto Mozzarella Sticks by using a mesh skimmer or slotted spatula and then place them on paper towel to remove the excess oil.
Serve with no sugar added ketchup, homemade Keto Marinara Sauce or, my personal favourite, Sugar Free Pizza Sauce!
Watch it all go down!
Expert Tips
- It’s likely you will have some sticks that have cracked and oozed a bit of cheese. If you aren’t cool with a couple of mishaps, read the FAQ section for possible solutions.
- Be gentle while pulling the mozza sticks from the fryer – they are very breakable at this point and we don’t want to crack the crust and have that cheese coming out!
- Want to skip the deep fryer? These Keto Mozzarella Sticks can be baked instead, though I highly recommend frying them. Heat your oven to 425°, lay the frozen mozza sticks on a parchment lined baking sheet and spray lightly with cooking oil, then bake for 5 minutes. Flip the sticks over, spray with cooking oil and then return the Keto mozza sticks back to the oven and cook for a few minutes longer, until golden.
FAQ
Can I make Keto Mozzarella Sticks with pork rinds?
Yes you can! I find the almond flour holds the cheese inside better than pork rinds do, but the pork rinds create a crispier crust than the almond flour. Here’s how to replace the almond flour with pork rinds:
Use a food processor to crush the pork rinds into fine crumbs. You’ll want about 3/4-1 cup crushed pork rinds. Use this in place of the almond flour in the recipe.
Leaky cheese issues?
There are a few ways you could have leaky cheese issues.
- The breading did not completely coat the mozzarella sticks well enough. Be sure to double dip the sticks, or better yet, triple dip them in the egg wash/breading.
- The sticks were handled too rough while being fried. Be sure to handle them gently while placing them inside the hot oil, and when removing them.
- The most common reason for leaky cheese issues, I’ve found, is that the oil isn’t hot enough. If your Keto Mozzarella Sticks aren’t golden within the 2-3 minutes, and take an additional minute or two to fully cook, there is a very good chance you’ll get leaky cheese. The sticks needs to fry quickly so that the cheese inside doesn’t have the chance to turn to ooey gooey cheese before the crust has solidified / turned crispy.
Can I make Keto cheese sticks ahead of time?
You bet! These Keto Mozzarella Sticks can be left frozen until needed, or they can be reheated after they have been cooked.
What is the best oil for frying?
MyKetoKitchen has a great post all about what oils are best for frying.
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Keto Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients
- 8 mozzarella cheese string sticks *see note 1
- ½ cup almond flour *see note 2
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese the shelf stable shaker type
- 1 tbsp spicy spaghetti seasoning *see note 3
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
- Oil for frying *see note 8 for baking instructions
Instructions
Equipment Needed
- Bowls & Whisk
- Saucepan for frying or deep fryer
Directions
Prep the sticks
- Prepare the breading by whisking the almond flour, parmesan cheese, sea salt and spicy spaghetti seasoning in a bowl until fully combined. In a separate bowl whisk the egg and water until the egg is completely combined with the water – no thick egg white left!
- Remove the string cheese from it's packaging and slice each in half so that you end up with 16 pieces of cheese. Set up a baking sheet with wax paper or a non stick baking mat, and be sure there is room in your freezer for it.
- Using one hand for the breading only and the other hand for the egg wash only, coat a piece of cheese first in the egg wash and then in the breading. Place it onto the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining cheese pieces. Double dip each piece and then continue to triple dip until all of the breading is used up. It is important that each piece gets dipped at least twice!
- Place the Keto Mozzarella Sticks into the freezer for 2 hours.
Fry the sticks
- Heat a saucepan with about 1" of oil on medium heat *see note 4. Once the oil has reached 350°, it's time to fry the Keto mozza sticks!
- Do not over crowd the saucepan. Using tongs, place the low carb mozzarella sticks inside the hot oil, being sure there is space around each stick. Keep the remaining Keto cheese sticks in the freezer until it's their time to fry.
- Fry the mozza sticks until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes *see note 5. If the sticks begin to brown too fast, reduce the heat. If they aren't browned in 3 minutes, your oil isn't hot enough. Give it time to heat back up before frying more.
- Carefully remove the fried Keto Mozzarella Sticks using a flat skimmer like this or a slotted spatula, to decrease the chance of the sticks cracking open. Place the fried Keto Mozzarella Sticks on paper towel to remove the excess oil. Serve with no sugar added ketchup, homemade Keto Marinara Sauce or, my personal favourite, this Sugar Free Pizza Sauce!
Video
Notes
- Mozzarella string cheese works much better for these Keto cheese sticks, though regular mozzarella can be cut up and used in its place. You may run the risk of more leaks though!
- Crushed pork rinds can be swapped out for the almond flour for even less carbs, though you may find it doesn’t trap the cheese like almond flour. Use a food processor to crush the pork rinds into fine crumbs. You’ll want about 3/4-1 cup crushed pork rinds. Use this in place of the almond flour in the recipe.
- My spice blend of choice for many, many recipes including Low Carb Biscuits and this Fathead Pizza Crust, this Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning is easy and soooo tasty! If you don’t have any/don’t want to make any, this can be subbed for Italian seasoning.
- I use a small saucepan so that I don’t need to use so much oil, however, a large saucepan would fit more sticks at once. Do not over crowd the saucepan, or your sticks will stick together and tear open.
- Be gentle while pulling the low carb mozzarella sticks from the fryer – they are very breakable at this point and we don’t want to crack the crust and have that cheese coming out!
- It’s likely you will have some sticks that have cracked and oozed a bit of cheese. If you aren’t cool with leaky cheese, check out the FAQ section in the post above for possible solutions.
- Are you making these Keto Mozzarella Sticks for a party? Make them ahead of time and then simply reheat them when you get to the party.
- Want to skip the deep fryer? These Keto Mozzarella Sticks can be baked instead, though I highly recommend frying them. Heat your oven to 425°, lay the frozen mozza sticks on a parchment lined baking sheet and spray lightly with cooking oil, then bake for 5 minutes. Flip the sticks over, spray with cooking oil and then return the Keto mozza sticks back to the oven and cook for a few minutes longer, until golden.
- See the FAQ section about if you have questions or run into issues, or feel free to comment in the section below 🙂
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition facts are an estimate only! The ingredients you choose could have different nutritional values than the ingredients I have used. * These nutrition facts do not include the oil you use for frying or baking. Deduct fibre from the total carbs to get 3.4 g net carbs for every 4 mozza sticks.Nutrition
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Would it work to air fry the mozzarella sticks?
Hey Dawn, I have never tried making these in an air fryer, though it should work just fine. I recommend spraying the basket and sticks with oil before cooking them in the air fryer.