A Thick Breadcrumb Coat Is Key For Restaurant-Worthy Mozzarella Sticks

Food doesn't get much more decadent than the heavenly mozzarella stick. What could be more indulgent than a spear of mozzarella breaded and deep fried to golden, melty perfection? While mozzarella sticks are a restaurant staple, making them at home can be daunting. Luckily, Mashed recipe developer Susan Olayinka has identified the key to creating mozzarella sticks that taste like you ordered them from an Italian restaurant. The secret is all in the breadcrumb coating, she noted in her recipe for 30-Minute Mozzarella Sticks. Olayinka strives for a thick breadcrumb coating that can contain all that melty cheese and hold up as it cooks in the hot oil.

As the recipe name suggests, you can whip up these mozzarella sticks in about a half hour. Your final product should be golden brown and crunchy on the outside and molten on the inside. Olayinka suggested a number of dipping sauces for this cheesy dish, including ketchup, barbecue sauce, and salsa as well as the standard marinara sauce.

Eating mozzarella sticks at a restaurant is enjoyable, but sometimes it's more appealing to eat something decadent and delicious in the comfort of your own home. And, while there are any number of frozen mozzarella stick brands at the grocery store, they simply don't taste as good as Susan Olayinka's homemade version. The secret to her 30-Minute Mozzarella Sticks is a double coating of breadcrumbs.

Olayinka starts the breading process by dipping her sticks of mozzarella cheese first into flour, then into beaten eggs, and then in breadcrumbs. She then dunks the cheese sticks back into the eggs and then the breadcrumbs a second time, providing a thick coating that adheres to the surface of the cheese completely. This strategy ensures a delicious, crunchy exterior that can contain all of that oozing cheese. It also helps the mozzarella sticks keep their shape and avoid falling apart in the frying oil. 

If you have leftover mozzarella sticks, which is highly unlikely, you may be able to reheat them in the oven. However, Olayinka reported that these tragically don't make for great leftovers.