Easy Keto Mozzarella Sticks
Is anyone else ever baffled by how many carbs you could eat in one sitting pre-keto? I shudder to think of how I would go to an Italian restaurant, chow down on some breadsticks, eat an appetizer of cheese sticks coated in breadcrumbs and dipped in a sugary marinara sauce, and then finish it all off with a pasta dish. Insane, right?
Well I’m still searching for the perfect keto breadstick recipe, but in the meantime, this recipe for low carb mozzarella sticks is easy and delicious. It’s one of those things that’s so simple to substitute that I almost don’t understand why anyone makes them the “normal” way to begin with. By swapping out the white flour for coconut flour and the breadcrumbs for grated parmesan, you get a result that’s pretty close to identical but much lower in carbs.
These low carb cheese sticks also have the added benefit of filling the occasional need for keto-friendly convenience foods. I like to make a double batch and store some in the freezer for later use. They can be cooked from frozen, so if I keep some on hand then I’m never more than about ten minutes away from cheesy, melty awesomeness.
You don’t even have to limit yourself to mozzarella; the recipe should work with any string cheese that has similar moisture content. I’ve used it to make fried pepperjack (which you can spot in the picture above) with equally delicious results.
Keto Mozzarella Sticks
These cheese sticks are breaded in egg, parmesan, and coconut flour before being fried to crispy, low carb perfection.
- Prep Time: 40m
- Cook Time: 10m
- Total Time: 50m
- Yield: 10 cheese sticks
Ingredients
- 5 one ounce sticks of mozzarella string cheese, halved widthwise
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or 1/2 t. each of dried basil and oregano)
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whisk egg with salt and pepper in a small bowl. In a separate shallow dish, combine the dry ingredients.
- Dip each piece of cheese into the egg, and then roll in the parmesan mixture to coat. Repeat this twice to form a double coating on each cheese stick.
- Place cheese sticks into a small rectangular dish or other container, and chill in the freezer for at least 25 minutes.
- Heat about half an inch of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Fry cheese sticks until golden brown, about 60 to 90 seconds per side. Drain excess oil on paper towels.
- Serve alone, or with a side of low carb marinara sauce for dipping.
Each 5 stick serving comes out to about 390 kcal, 28g fat, 3g total carbs, 1.3g fiber, 1.7g net carbs, and 35g protein.
Thank you so much! This recipe is awesome. It really is amazing how perfect these are and simple to make and store
Can they be baked?
This recipe is meant to be fried.
Powdery parmesan or fresh grated?
The “powdery” kind. Most fresh parmesan will have too much moisture for this recipe.
Why would you want to bake them? You’re on a keto diet bro.
I love not having to fear the fat from fried foods! Some people still like to avoid the mess though 🙂
?
Honestly would be helpful. I’m not on a keto diet but the diet is close to my nutritional needs except for the fat & sugar, which I can’t eat so I adjust the recipes for my needs. Don’t just assume that people are on a keto diet because they looked up a recipe.
And the mess frying foods can make-ugh
Air fryer!!
Going to try them this weekend! Thanks so much.
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These turned out great, thanks!
What flour can be used in place of coconut flour? I am allergic to coconut. Thanks!!
Almond flour should work as a substitute, though you may need a bit extra.
What kind of oil did u use
I usually use coconut or olive oil.
Anything I can use to sub parmesan? More coconut flour perhaps? Or some chia/flax seeds?
You could try almond flour, but I personally haven’t made them that way.
Can these be done in a deep fryer? Thanks 🙂
Yes, deep frying should work fine!
I used my deep fryer, worked well!!! Just do a few at a time though or they will stick together and don’t cook evenly. Awesome recipe!!!
Do you think these would turn out cooked in an air fryer? They look awesome but I hate cleaning up after frying food!
I don’t have an airfryer, so I have never tried it, but I would love to hear if it works!
I did these in my air fryer and they worked perfectly.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing 🙂
How long did you air fry these? Thanks
Lorraine Trahey Gorman I didn’t did anything different for the recipe. Made them according to recipe and threw them in the air fryer for about 7-8 minutes until browned at 400
This the response from the girl who posted this recipe in our FB group, Keto & low carb recipes for beginners, when a similar question was asked: “I didn’t did anything different for the recipe. Made them according to recipe and threw them in the air fryer for about 7-8 minutes until browned at 400”
Thank you . Awesomeness
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but when I put them in the oil, the oil bubbled up and the sticks fell apart. I ate the mangled mess and way, they were tasty. Any idea what I what went wrong?
Sounds like you may have needed to chill them for longer if they fell apart.
When I made the cheese sticks I placed them in the refrigerator instead of the freezer and same thing happened. Took me several minutes of looking at the recipe to realize what I had done. I had an oozing cheesy mess when I took them out of the pan .. I ate them and they were okay .. just had to laugh once I figured it out.
has anyone tried doing any of these fried recipes in the oven? I hate doing stove-top frying – it makes such a mess, no matter how hard I try
Try a deep fryer. It’s life changing.
Can these be frozen after cooked and reheated?
I’m not sure they could be easily reheated from frozen without falling apart.
I am unsure about the servings. You start off with 5 sticks and halve them to make 10 small… so when you say a serving is 5 sticks, are you talking about the original 5? Or 5 halves? I guess what I’m asking is how many servings are in the whole recipe?
5 finished, completed sticks, which would each have half of the original string cheese.
Thank you so much for your fast reply!!!!
How long can they be frozen prior to frying?
Indefinitely. I like keeping a batch in the freezer so they’re ready to go whenever I get a craving for them.
These were straight fire ?. With doing keto this came in at a clutch time!!! Thank you so much for this!!!
Is the nutritional value for all 5 lg sticks or is this for 5 small pieces?
Hi! I’m still unclear about the serving size- this recipe uses 5 string cheese sticks (1 oz each) to make 5 servings, correct? And one serving is 390 calories? I better pace myself, too good to stop at just one!
The recipe makes 2 servings.
Hi, I was wondering if I could make these a day ahead and just leave them in the freezer any thoughts?
That would be fine! I like to make big batches ahead of time and just keep them in the freezer until I’m ready to cook them.
Does anyone have a good low carb marinara sauce to go with this?
I’m a fan of Rao’s Marinara.
Made these twice now they’re amazing. I did try baking them and they just turned into a blob of melted cheesy bread, so i cut them into slices, still delicious! Thanks for this recipe 🙂
Do they have a taste of coconut flour? I am not a fan of it at all.
Not in my opinion; though certain brands of coconut flour have a stronger “flavor”, it shouldn’t be enough to notice in this recipe.
These fell apart when I fried them. They were just a big glob of a mess. I followed the directions as listed but it didn’t work very well. 🙁
Try chilling them for longer next time! The cheese needs to be cold enough that the outside “breading” cooks before the cheese is completely melted.
My first attempt at these didn’t work out so good. I had frozen them for about 3 hours. When I put them the (olive) oil, they seemed to soak up the oil and all the coating started falling off. I’m thinking that my oil might not have been hot enough. Any idea what temp is best to fry them at? Or any other thoughts? The cheese was still very cold inside, but the “cracklings” that fell off in the pan were super yummy so I want to make them again if I can figure out what went wrong.
Oops! I must have meant avocado. Sorry about the confusion!
These were *so* good! I did half mozzarella and half Colby jack, fried them in a mix of olive oil and ghee, and ate then with a little bit of homemade pizza sauce. The only downside is that they’re too good and I ate all 10 in one sitting!
Tried these today and they turned out very well.. Thanks for the great recipe!
These were amazing. My 15 year old is doing Keto with me and was so craving Mozzarella sticks. Such a joy to give him “teenager” food and best part was he made them with me.
Do you freeze the cheese sticks over night prior to even coating them or only once you’ve dipped them in the coconut flour and other ingredients?
I freeze them after coating.
I’ve made these twice now, and my husband and I LOVE these. I followed the recipe exactly. I would love to try these in an air fryer if I ever get one.