Name a snack you would serve in the quickest and easiest possible way when you have sudden visitors in your house. Well, if I were you, I would love to present hot mozzarella sticks with sauce as people of all ages love this. Moreover, you can cook frozen mozzarella sticks in air fryer very easily.
But, how long to cook frozen mozzarella sticks in Air Fryer?
We’ll find out, but in case if you don’t have much idea about air fryer, let’s see how air fryer functions?
What is Air Fryer?
An air fryer is the miniature of the convection oven. With the convection mechanism, this cooking appliance uses hot air circulation around the food.
A mechanical fan circulates the hot air around the food to cook the food and delivers a fresh layer through the cooking responses of caramelization and the Maillard response. The Maillard response requires temperatures of between 280-330°F, while caramelization temperatures rely upon the sugar being caramelized and go from 230-360°F.
Air fryers do amazing job cooking up frozen foods that are meant to be tasted deep-fried like, frozen chicken fries, French fries, mozzarella, etc.
How Long to Cook Frozen Mozzarella Sticks in Air Fryer: Is Done Within 5 Minute?
Cooking frozen mozzarella sticks in the air fryer is pretty easy, but you need to know the correct technique and timing at first.
Here is the perfect method for you:
- First thing first. What temperature do you bake frozen mozzarella sticks? You need to preheat air fryer to 360to bake the sticks. The preheat procedure should continue for 5 minutes. The air fryer makers recommend preheating the machine so that the inside surfaces that cook food can be hot and ready to cook food. Some people start their car to warm up the engine on cold days. The idea is the same.
- Personally, I use FarmRich frozen mozzarella sticks. I put the mozzarella sticks on the top rack, making sure the hot air can circulate.
- Cook for 5 minutes. Here is the brief timeline of cooking the sticks:
* 0-1 minutes: Softening, start to warm up.
* 1-2.5 minutes: No longer frozen inside. Need to move around the sticks for good food exposure.
* 3-4 minutes: Both the side gets crispier, warmer.
* 4-5 minutes: Inside cheese is melted fully. Outside is hot and fresh. - Pinch carefully (As they’re hot). Bring them down when the cheese inside is heavily melted and hot.
Pro tip: How do you make frozen mozzarella sticks crispy? You can use a cooking spray like olive oil or canola oil before you start cooking. This will make the food crispier and crunchier outside.
Note: You can cook them for one more minute if you want them to be crunchier. But don’t cook for long. Otherwise, the cheese will liquefy and drop into the bottom of the fryer.
How Do You Know When Mozzarella Sticks Are Done?
This is the crucial point where many people make mistakes. They just don’t know when the mozzarella sticks in the air fryer are done.
Once you see the sticks are getting crispier, get one carefully to see whether the cheese inside is fully soft or not. If soft, congratulations, you are done with cooking perfectly.
If they are still pretty firm, continue cooking for more one minute or more and check again.
Sometimes, the cheese comes out, breaking the shell. Seeing that, you will know that the mozzarella sticks are overcooked.
What Do You Eat with Mozzarella Sticks?
Like everyone else, I love a classic marinara or pizza sauce for dipping these hot, fresh, and crispy mozzarella sticks. You can serve the hot sticks with a cold marinara sauce for contrast or heat it for a few seconds in a microwave oven.
You can also serve with the ranch dressing, which offers a great taste. You can learn how to make ranch dressing at your home as well.
How to Make Homemade Mozzarella Sticks?
Believe me, homemade mozzarella sticks are so easy and time convenient to make. It takes hardly 40 minutes to make the sticks and more 20-30 minutes to freeze.
Firstly, you need to bring out the cheese sticks and cut them into pieces.
Then, for breading the sticks, take a bowl where you will mix flour, paprika, and salt. In another bowl, mix parsley, oregano, and panko. You have to beat some eggs and milk mixture in another one.
Now, coat the cheese sticks by soaking in the eggs first. Then, take them to the flour bowl and shake a lot, toss them around parsley bowl finally. Follow the sequence at least twice to have a thick outside layer.
Finally, keep them on a plate and freeze for 20-30 minutes. Your mozzarella sticks will be ready to fry.
Isn’t it so easy to make the mozzarella cheese sticks at your home? So, why do you wait any longer? Go and try to make your very own frozen mozzarella sticks. Let me know how’s that or if you face any difficulty. Happy cooking!
FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions)
If you are going to use shredded mozzarella cheese on dishes that can be cooked through (soups, sauces, and pizza), you don’t need to melt the frozen mozzarella sticks. You can use it in your cooking recipe directly from the freezer.
But if you want to melt the cheese and use it after thawing, then you need to do it in the right way. You should never thaw the frozen mozzarella cheese at room temperature. What happens if you do so? Well, probably you heard of bacteria, and you don’t want to eat them with your meal, right? If you keep the cheese at your room temperature for 1-2 hours to thaw, there is a chance of growing bacteria on them.
Yes. There is a lifetime of mozzarella cheese, even if it is kept unopened. If appropriately put away, an unopened bundle of string cheese will keep going for around multi-week after the Sell by or Best by date on the bundle. The most ideal path is to smell and take a look at the cheese; if the builds up an off scent, flavor, or appearance, it ought to be disposed of.
You can freeze the mozzarella cheese if you are planning to use them for cooking. Frozen mozzarella cheese may lose some of its texture and flavor. Still, those can be used while preparing dishes like sauce, soup, or casseroles. If properly stored, the frozen cheese can be used for about 6-8 months. But it will not be safe after that.
It is safe to heat the mozzarella cheese in the microwave. Put the cheese in a bowl and heat the microwave in low heat, not to lose cheese’s moisture. Heat the cheese for 15-20 seconds for melting. Don’t keep them for a long time and also at high temperature. Water and fat come out of the cheese if you do so.
Finishing Words
It’s really simple to cook frozen mozzarella sticks, but many people don’t know how long to cook frozen mozzarella sticks in air fryer. Using air fryer makes the job really simple. I hope after reading the article, you will have a complete idea of how you can cook this simple yet tasty food.