Want a convenient snack or appetizer? Keep some of these easy to make low carb gluten free mozzarella sticks in your freezer for a quick bite any time.
Lately, my youngest daughter has been into eating out at Friendly’s restaurant.
Not only do they give her a huge mat for coloring, but they have an awesome kids menu.
I don’t keep a lot of sweets in the house, so I let the kids splurge when we go out to eat.
And, ice cream is my daughter’s favorite treat which is why the ice cream restaurant is her top restaurant right now.
The kids menu has mini mozzarella sticks as an option on the kid’s menu and that’s what my daughter prefers rather than fries.
Other than the breading, I think it’s a good choice. It’s certainly a better pick than the fries.
Since I’m also a big fan of the gooey cheese appetizers, I decided to make my own low carb gluten free mozzarella sticks recipe.
It took me a few tries to get it right. But, I believe I nailed it after the third try.
The problem I had in making these cheesy treats is that they kept melting when cooked.
I did freeze them for at least an hour first, but still ended up with a gooey cheese mess.
It was a conversation with one of my coworkers that finally led to solving the issue with how I was cooking the low carb mozzarella sticks.
Apparently, I needed to make sure the temperature of the oil was just right.
On my first try, I used my deep fryer. The first couple sticks browned up nicely quick, but the centers were cold.
The next few frozen sticks just melted in the oil.
After some thought, I figured the oil must have been too hot. So, I decided to try baking them in the oven for the next experiment.
I chose to bake the frozen low carb gluten free mozzarella sticks at 400°F for a few minutes on each side.
Although the cheese didn’t melt like in the oil, the outside did not get golden and crispy.
Then, thinking back to what my coworker said about oil temperature, I decided I would heat up my oil in a small pan on the stove.
I set my electric induction stove burner to medium high and grabbed my meat thermometer.
When the oil got hot, I dunked a frozen prepared mozzarella stick in. It sizzled nicely, but looked to be getting brown too quick.
So, I turned down the heat to the burner just a touch.
I threw a few more of the frozen low carb gluten free mozzarella sticks into the pan with the hot oil.
They were cooking nicely without any cheese oozing through.
I flipped each stick so that both sides got nice and golden brown.
And, to my surprise, none of the cheese melted through the low carb breading. Success!
Since the sticks were cooking nicely at the current oil temperature, I grabbed my trusty meat thermometer.
The temperature was about 395°F. Perfect!
The rest of the cooking went smooth. I cooked all of the gluten free mozzarella sticks in the 395°F oil with no cheese melting through.
And, the cheese was melty inside with a nice crisp golden outside.
So, if you’ve ever had issues with making your own homemade low carb mozzarella sticks, check the temperature of your oil.
If the oil gets too hot, it could result in the cheese turning into a melted gooey mess.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can make up a whole bunch in advance.
Just bread the cheese sticks and keep them in the freezer until you are ready to serve them.
The mozzarella sticks in the photos were frozen for over a day and came out beautiful going right from the freezer to the hot oil.
They make a nice convenient keto snack that you can make quickly any time you want a quick bite.
I love to serve these with bacon wrapped chicken tenders. Both are quick and easy finger foods that are low in carbs.
For more keto snack ideas, check out my low carb appetizers collection.
Low Carb Gluten Free Mozzarella Sticks Recipe
My 4 year old daughter helped me make this batch of low carb gluten free mozzarella sticks.
You can see her doing the breading part of the recipe in the video below:
Low Carb Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients
- 6 pieces string cheese
- 1 large eggs beaten
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese the powdered kind in a can
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt coarse Kosher salt works best
Instructions
- Cut string cheese in half along the length.
- Beat 1 egg in small bowl. Set aside.
- Place almond flour, Parmesan cheese, coconut flour, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt in zipper sandwich bag. Shake bag to blend.
- Dip each piece of mozzarella into the beaten egg and then coat by shaking in the sandwich bag. Freeze for at least one hour.
- Heat oil in small frying pan to at least half inch high. Temperature of oil should be 400°F or slightly less to prevent melting the cheese. NOTE: I've had success air frying these at 400°F for about 5 minutes.
- Cook each coated piece of mozzarella in the hot oil until browned on all sides. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Need Support?
Get a FREE 3-Day Keto Meal Plan or join the Low Carb Yum Facebook Group for help with recipes and weight loss support!
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
