"Healthy" Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Hi! So I'm back with another recipe. I realized as I was making these that this is pretty similar to my last recipe. Oh well. Anyways, I normally don't make appetizers for us except if we have people over or if I'm taking something to a party. So we had people over last Friday night to watch a movie and hangout. We were planning on having pizza for dinner so I decided to make "Healthy" Baked Mozzarella Sticks. I found this recipe on skinnytaste.com and there are tons of other great recipes! Check it out! Obviously this recipe is a bit much for just two people, but you can always reduce the amounts to make just the right amount for your family.

"Healthy" Baked Mozzarella Sticks

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Prep: 20 minutes Freezing: 2 hours at least Baking: 8 minutes Total: 2 hours 28 minutes

Servings: Makes 24 sticks

Ingredients:

12 sticks part-skim, reduced sodium mozzarella string cheese

1 large egg, beaten

3 Tbsp whole wheat flour

3 Tbsp Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

3 Tbsp panko crumbs

2 tsp Parmesan cheese

1 Tbsp dried parsley

Cooking spray

Water

Salt and pepper

Marinara sauce for dipping

Cookware:

4 small bowls

1 baking sheet

1 small cutting board

1 knife

1 whisk

1 spoon

Wax paper

Foil

Preparation:

1. Cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces. Place cheese on baking sheet with wax paper and then place in the freezer until cheese is frozen (about an hour).

2. In small bowl, place enough water to soak cheese stick. Place flour and few dashes of salt and pepper in another bowl, and mix well.

3. Dunk the cheese in the water, shake of excess, roll in flour, and place on plate. Continue until all cheese sticks are floured.

4. In small bowl, whisk egg along with a few dashes of salt and pepper. Mix bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, and a few dashes of salt and pepper in last bowl.

5. Dunk cheese in egg, roll in bread crumb mixture, shake off excess, and place back on baking sheet with wax paper. Continue until all cheese sticks are breaded.

6. Place cheese in freezer until ready to bake (at least another hour).

7. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400F. Line baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.

8. Place frozen cheese sticks on baking sheet and spray tops with more cooking spray. Bake in the bottom third of oven for about 3-4 minutes. Turn and bake an additional 3-4 minutes. Serve immediately with marinara sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

Notes: Freezing the cheese sticks twice is very important because the cheese will melt too fast. I also found that the flour would not stick to the frozen cheese so I used water and the flour started to stick better.

Step by Step Photos

 1. Gather ingredients and cookware.

2. Line baking sheet with wax paper.

3. Cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces.

4. Place cheese on baking sheet with wax paper and then place in the freezer until cheese is frozen (about an hour).

5. In small bowl, place enough water to soak cheese stick. Place flour and few dashes of salt and pepper in another bowl, and mix well.

6. Dunk the cheese in the water, shake of excess,

roll in flour, 

and place on a plate.

7. Continue until all cheese sticks are floured.

8. In small bowl, whisk egg along with a few dashes of salt and pepper. Mix bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, and a few dashes of salt and pepper in last bowl.

9. Dunk cheese in egg,

 roll in bread crumb mixture, shake off excess,

and place back on baking sheet with wax paper.

10. Continue until all cheese sticks are breaded.

11. Place cheese in freezer until ready to bake (at least another hour).

12. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400F.

13.  Line baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Place frozen cheese sticks on baking sheet and spray tops with more cooking spray. 

14. Bake in the bottom third of oven for about 3-4 minutes. Turn and bake an additional 3-4 minutes. I would cook for about 4 minutes on each side. 3 minutes was not long enough and the cheese was still cold in parts.

15. Serve immediately with marinara sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! I hope you try it and find that cooking is really not that hard. If you have any questions, just ask in the comments below! Also if you have any suggestions of recipes you would like me to try, just let me know!

Happy Cooking!

Katrina