Learn how to make easy gluten-free and low carb mozzarella sticks at home using your air fryer! Stock the freezer and cook from frozen in just 6 minutes! Recipe created in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill.
Preparation is key when it comes to staying on track with a gluten-free or keto diet and these Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks are clutch for a quick finger food or easy appetizer. Made with just a handful of ingredients, they actually cook best when completely frozen.
That means you whip up a big batch, leave them in the freezer, and pop in the air fryer as needed. Basically, junk-free comfort food at the ready in your own freezer.
I partnered with one of my favorite brands, Bob’s Red Mill, to create this recipe for you featuring both their Natural Almond Flour and Blanched Almond Flour. I’ll explain why you need both below and how to make this mozzarella stick recipe happen ASAP!
INGREDIENTS FOR GLUTEN-FREE MOZZARELLA STICKS
- Bob’s Red Mill Natural Almond Flour
This natural almond flour or sometimes called almond meal is a super-fine flour made from whole almonds that still have their skins on. It is more granular in texture, heavier and has a more distinctive almond flavor (because of the skins).
- Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour
Most commonly used for baking, this super-fine almond flour is made from blanched whole almonds (meaning that the skins have been removed). The resulting flour is very light, has a mild taste, and performs more similarily to all-purpose flour.
For this recipe, we combine both natural almond flour and blanched almond flour to get a texture more similar to a crust or coating for the mozzarella sticks. The light, powdery almond flour adheres better while the natural almond flour adds texture.
- Italian Seasoning
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper are used to flavor the breading mixture to resemble a traditional mozzarella stick crust and mask the subtle flavor of the almond meal.
- Eggs
Eggs are lightly beaten and used as a binder to get the breading to stick to the mozzarella sticks.
- Mozzarella Cheese Sticks OR Mozzarella String Cheese Sticks
We tested this recipe with both mozzarella string cheese sticks (whole milk and part-skim), and sticks of just mozzarella cheese. It works well with both but keep in mind that the string cheese is a bit easier to manage as they have a firmer texture to start with. I do not recommend using fat-free cheese as the final texture can be rubbery.
As for using mozzarella cheese, if you can’t find pure mozzarella cheese sticks (not string cheese), you can always buy a large piece of whole milk mozzarella cheese, pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes to make it easier to cut and proceed to cut into “stick” shapes.
- Avocado Oil Spray
You need some avocado oil (or other high heat mild tasting oil) in a spray bottle to lightly coat each mozzarella stick prior to popping them into the air fryer. This is especially important for an almond flour-based breading to ensure that the breading browns.
- Pizza Sauce for serving
Last but not least, you need some sauce for serving. You can use pizza sauce or your favorite marinara gently heated up.
AIR FRYER MOZZARELLA STICKS TECHNIQUE
It is not hard to make these gluten-free mozzarella sticks at all but it does take a little bit of (hands-off) time as the real trick here is to work with frozen cheese sticks. Begin by beating the eggs into a shallow bowl and mixing the ingredients for the breading in a separate shallow bowl.
Take the cheese sticks (from the refrigerator at this point), and roll each one in the egg wash and then into the breading mixture. Place the mozzarella sticks on a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet (that will fit in your freezer). Repeat until all of the mozzarella sticks are coated.
Save the egg wash and breading for the next round of coating (in the fridge) and pop the baking sheet of breaded mozzarella sticks into the freezer for at least 1 hour or until FROZEN SOLID.
Once frozen, remove the tray from the freezer and work quickly to dip and coat each mozzarella stick again with a SECOND COATING OF BREADCRUMBS.
Finally, pop the DOUBLE COATED mozzarella sticks back into the freezer until completely frozen before storing or cooking. I recommend freezing and then storing in a labeled freezer bag with cooking instructions until ready to use.
Who is getting hungry? Once the mozzarella sticks are frozen, keep them stored in the freezer. When you are ready to eat some, you preheat your air fryer, pop them in and cook for just 6 minutes. Let the cooked mozzarella sticks sit for about 30 to 45 seconds after the cooking time is done (with the lid up or off) to set and serve with your favorite pizza sauce or marinara. It’s that easy!
MORE EASY SNACK IDEAS:
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Learn how to make easy gluten-free and keto mozzarella sticks at home using your air fryer! Stock the freezer and cook from frozen in just 6 minutes!
- 16 mozzarella cheese sticks
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 1/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Natural Almond Flour
- 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Blanched Almond Flour
- 2 Tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- spray avocado oil
- 2 cups pizza sauce or marinara
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Begin by beating the eggs into a shallow bowl and mixing the ingredients for the breading in a separate shallow bowl.
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Take the cheese sticks (from the refrigerator at this point), and roll each one in the egg wash and then into the breading mixture. Place the mozzarella sticks on a parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet (that will fit in your freezer). Repeat until all of the mozzarella sticks are coated.
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Save the egg wash and breading for the next round of coating (in the fridge) and pop the baking sheet of breaded mozzarella sticks into the freezer for at least 1 hour or until FROZEN SOLID.
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Once frozen, remove the tray from the freezer and work quickly to dip and coat each mozzarella stick again with a SECOND COATING OF BREADCRUMBS.
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Use your avocado oil spray bottle to give each mozzarella stick a generous coating of avocado oil.
I like to do this at this step so that is freezes into the breading and adheres better.
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Finally, pop the DOUBLE COATED mozzarella sticks back into the freezer until completely frozen before storing or cooking. I recommend freezing and then storing in a labeled freezer bag with cooking instructions until ready to use.
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When you are ready to eat some, you preheat your air fryer to 400F and place a single layer of mozzarella sticks on the tray or basket with room between each one to allow for browning.
If you have a toaster style air-fryer, you may need to place a piece of tin foil or second tray to catch any dripping cheese.
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Air fry for 6 minutes, turning each at the halfway point.
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Let the cooked mozzarella sticks sit for about 30 to 45 seconds after the cooking time is done (with the lid up or off) to set and serve with your favorite pizza sauce or marinara.
- Once the mozzarella sticks are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag or other freezer-safe storage container. They will keep for 3 to 4 months.
- Note that the stated nutrition informaiton is for ALL of the ingredients and there will be some egg wash and breading left over that doesn't actually count towards the final amount so please use this as a loose estimate and do not consider it 100% accurate.
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DISCLOSURE: This post is part of a series of posts sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Bob’s Red Mill has compensated me for my time to develop this recipe and share my experiences with their products. Thank you for supporting the brands that make EverydayMaven possible. All opinions are my own.
Sue says
We made these this afternoon and cooked some up tonight for a snack while watching our show (This is Us). Very easy and really good. Now our freezer is loaded. Thanks for another great recipe!
Alyssa Brantley says
Yay Sue!! So happy to hear it and thanks for taking the time to share your feedback!