Keto mozzarella sticks are an easy kid friendly low carb snack or appetizer. Keep some of these gluten free cheese sticks in the freezer for a quick bite any time.
I’ve been working on creating more keto recipes for kids to encourage my whole family to eat healthier. Luckily, we have no special dietary needs to worry about which makes it easier.
My kids have always enjoyed fried breaded cheese sticks. But I have an issue with the high carb coating loaded with wheat flour. So I set out for a low carb alternative.
It took me a few tries to get the recipe just right. But, I believe I nailed these keto mozzarella sticks after the third try. And the reaction from my kids was enough for me to call it a success.
How To Make Keto Mozzarella Sticks
It’s super easy to make low carb cheese sticks at home. You just coat string cheese in a gluten free flour breading and fry until crisp. Of course, the flour you use will need to be keto friendly as well.
Here’s what I use for my coating:
- Almond flour
- Parmesan cheese
- Coconut flour
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Kosher salt
To coat the cheese, it’s dipped in a beaten egg first so the coating has something to stick to. However, you’ll want to double coat each piece for the best results.
The keto cheese sticks are then cooked in hot oil or an air fryer. They can also be put in the oven on a baking sheet, but I find the outside isn’t as crispy.
How to Prevent the Cheese from Melting Through the Coating
The problem I had in making these cheesy treats is that they kept melting when cooked.
It helps to freeze them for at least an hour first, but you may 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 keto 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.
Baking the Keto Cheese Sticks
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.
Perhaps for baking, you’ll need to reduce the oven temperature and place under the broil to brown. However, I ended up going back to the frying method.
Getting the Right Oil Temperature for Frying
Then I remembered what my coworker said about oil temperature. So I decided I would heat up my oil in a small pan on the stove.
I set my electric 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 keto 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 375°F which is on the high end of the recommended oil temperature for frying.
The rest of the cooking went smooth. I cooked all of the keto cheese sticks in the hot oil with no cheese melting through. And, the cheese was melted 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.
Notes on the Recipe
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.
I made the keto mozzarella sticks in the photos the day before cooking them. And they came out beautiful going right from the freezer to the hot oil.
This cheesy finger food makes a convenient keto snack that you can make quickly any time you want a quick bite.
How to Serve Low Carb Mozzarella Sticks
I love to serve these with low carb marinara sauce. They also go well with my 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. Or take a look at some of my favorites:
Keto 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
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
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 about 325-375°F. Higher temperatures tend to brown too quickly with cheese melting out. Air frying works too using a temperature of about 370 to 400°F for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Cook each coated piece of mozzarella in the hot oil until browned on all sides. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Additional Info
- Net Carbs 1g
- % Carbs: 2%
- % Protein: 31.5%
- % Fat: 66.5%
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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.
Lisa MarcAurele has been creating low carb recipes for herself and sharing them with others since 2010. She enjoys experimenting in the kitchen. The results are low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites!
