The Trick To Reheating Mozzarella Sticks

So you're rummaging through your fridge and what's that you see? Why, it's some leftover mozzarella sticks from when you went out to dinner the other night — score! Now the only issue is how to go about reheating those cheesy bad boys so that they come out crispy and hot instead of soggy and disappointing. If you're taking your mozzarella sticks out of the freezer, that just makes things more challenging. Fear not, it is possible to reheat mozzarella sticks so that they taste delicious — you just have to pick the right method. 

Unless you have your own deep-fryer at home, an oven or toaster oven is going to be your best bet when it comes to rejuvenating mozzarella sticks close to their original restaurant quality. Food blog BasenjiMom's Place recommends baking the mozzarella sticks on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven at 350°F for five to 10 minutes and then flipping them over halfway through the bake. If those cheese sticks are frozen solid, you'll want to cook them at 450°F for eight to 15 minutes. 

A toaster oven also works great for reheating mozzarella sticks. Heat it up to around 450°F and then bake your sticks for eight or nine minutes before pulling them out to check if they're done. Watch the cheese though — it's probably going to be very hot. 

As for using the microwave, some folks will swear against it in regards to fried foods. This is understandable, as it can leave them a soggy shell of their former selves. Sometimes though, you may not have the patience for preheating an oven and the microwave can still get the job done. LiveStrong recommends placing the mozzarella sticks on a plate, arranging them like the spokes on a wheel, and zapping them for 25 to 45 seconds before flipping them over and microwaving them for the same time frame. Cut one or two open in the middle and if they're still cold, hit 'em with another 15 seconds. 

If you're worried about them not being crispy enough, you might consider adding some crispiness to them by taking Doctor Oz's advice and putting them on a cookie sheet in the oven broiler for a couple of minutes. Troy Rahaman on Quora also seemed to recommend a similar approach by microwaving the mozzarella sticks first and finishing them off in a toaster oven "preheated as hot as possible" for 10 to 15 seconds before flipping and repeating the cook.

Your reheated mozzarella sticks might not taste as delicious as when the Applebee's waiter first brought them out, but you can at least come close.