Crispy Air Fryer Frozen Mozzarella Sticks Recipe

We cooked this recipe at 400F, which is the ideal cooking temperature for most air fryer frozen foods.

You could technically cook it at either a lower time for longer or a higher time for a shorter amount, but when cooking all of the air fryer frozen snacks on our site, 400F is a universally good cook time. A high cook time also helps to get food crispy, yet lessens the cooking time too, so it's a win-win.

If you have a large air fryer, you might be able to cook an entire 1 lb bag of frozen cheese sticks in one batch, whereas if you have a smaller air fryer, you might need to make these in batches. The key to getting frozen mozzarella sticks in air fryer perfect, is to space them out so they get the cheese sticks nice and crisp.

Preheat the air fryer for 3-5 minutes before cooking, some models build this into the cooking time, and others have you do it manually.

How Long Do You Air Fry Frozen Mozzarella Sticks?

Cook the air fryer frozen mozzarella sticks for 4 minutes and then check them, and flip them over (or shake the basket), if desired. Continue cooking the cheese sticks for 2-3 more minutes until they're crisp on the outside yet not to the point where the cheese bursts and the sticks split open.

In our Omni Plus, it does a good job at circulating air on all sides and we often don't flip the food for something with such a short cook time. In a basket style air fryer, it's often more critical to flip your food at about halfway through the cooking time.

In other words, keep a close eye on them the first time cooking them in your air fryer. Your goal is to cook them until the cheese melts and they're just about to burst but before they actually do.

Enjoy! Serve them warm with marinara sauce, pizza sauce, hot sauce, Ranch, or just eat them plain.

A one pound bag makes 18 mozzarella sticks.

Recipe Tips

• Cook the cheese sticks from frozen, do not let them defrost before cooking.
• If you didn't preheat your air fryer, you might need to add 2-3 minutes to the cooking time.
• Cook the mozzarella sticks until they're just about to burst but pull them out before they actually do. It's easier to keep an eye on them in an air fryer oven with a glass window.
• Flipping the mozzarella cheese sticks is optional and might depend on your model of the air fryer. Experiment to see which way gets the cheese sticks just how you prefer them.
• You can make them "healthier" by buying brands that don't add sugar or artificial ingredients, which also gives you more of a homemade cheese stick taste.
• If you have an aluminum air fryer basket you can coat it with cooking spray, but if the basket is non-stick do not coat it with sprays like Pam.

Common Questions

How to Reheat Mozzarella Sticks in Air Fryer

Reheating mozzarella sticks in an air fryer is quick and easy. In a preheated air fryer on 400F, simply add the pre-cooked cold cheese sticks to the tray or basket and cook them for 1 minute. For best results, leave space in between the air fryer mozarella sticks and don't overcrowd or layer them on top of each other.

Are air fryer mozzarella sticks healthy?

Whether or not you can consider something healthy depends on your definition of healthy or what health plan you're on, plus recipes are only as good as the quality of ingredients being used.

To make breaded frozen air fryer mozzarella sticks as healthy as possible, look for brands like Trader Joes or other ones that don't add artificial ingredients or preservatives. Many major grocery stores have a "healthier" frozen foods section. Ours have no added sugar, plus they're high in calcium and protein.

Breaded cheese sticks pre-frozen are not gluten-free or keto. They are low carb-ish with 12 net carbs per serving.

How many calories in air fryer mozzarella sticks?

If you're wondering how many calories are in air fryer mozzarella sticks, that'll come down to which brand you purchased. To air fry Trader Joes Mozzarella Sticks, they have 190 calories per serving.

How do you make mozzarella sticks without cheese coming out?

Cheese starts coming out of cooked mozzarella sticks when they get cooked for too long. The key to not losing the cheese is to keep a very close eye on them and pull them out of the oven as soon as you start to see some of the sides or ends opening up. That's the perfect timing of knowing the cheese is melted through but not having it squirt out onto the pan.