I used to love fried cheese sticks in high school and college and would even just order these as my meal in restaurants. Now that we don’t eat grains or vegetable oils, I decided that we needed to find a healthy version that we could make at home (and much cheaper too!).
In my many attempts to create an amazing cheese stick, I discovered that it’s important that the cheese is frozen to start (cut it into sticks and freeze it the day before) and that you layer enough egg and seasoned almond flour on these to make sure that the cheese is well-sealed inside and doesn’t leak out.
I typically use tallow to fry these in. I like it’s mild flavor and healthy fat profile. Not familiar with tallow? I write more about it in my post for parsnip fries (which are delicious!) and buy it from Thrive Market. You can re-use your tallow or lard several times — just store it in the fridge.
If you don’t want to fry (and potentially eat!) a whole batch at once, you could also bread the cheese sticks and then freeze them to fry a couple at a time as needed.
After some trial and error (and lots of burnt cheese), I’m happy with this recipe …
Fried Cheese Sticks Recipe
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4 -6
A healthy take on mozzarella cheese sticks - grain free!
Ingredients
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into sticks
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp water
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp Himalayan salt
- 1-2 cups of tallow, lard, or coconut oil for frying
Instructions
- The day before you are planning to make, or at least 3-4 hours before, put cheese sticks in the freezer on a plate.
- Once cheese is completely frozen, put the tallow, lard, or oil in a small pan so that it is about an inch deep and bring to medium high heat ... it needs to be hot before the cheese goes in.
- While the fat is preheating, crack the eggs into a medium bowl and beat with water until creamy.
- Combine the almond flour, Italian seasoning, and salt on a medium plate.
- Remove the cheese from the freezer and dip each stick first in the egg mixture, then in the almond flour mixture, then back in the egg mixture and repeat if necessary until well coated. They need to be coated completely so they seal and the cheese can't escape.
- Drop 3 or 4 at a time into the heated oil for a couple of minutes until they are starting to brown.
- Carefully remove. I removed them with a flat pasta scoop (finally, a good use for it), but a slotted spoon will work too ... you just don't want to squeeze them with tongs or poke with a fork, as the cheese will escape and make a big mess.
- Repeat these steps with the remaining cheese until they are all cooked.
Notes
Tip about frying: make sure you allow the fat to come back up to temperature between batches, or the breading will just soak all the oil in.
Serve these with homemade marinara sauce!
Courses Appetizer
Cuisine American
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 3 cheese sticks
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 336 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 27.9 g | 43% | |
Saturated Fat 20.3 g | 102% | |
Cholesterol 112 mg | 37% | |
Sodium 605 mg | 25% | |
Total Carbohydrates 2.9 g | 1% | |
Dietary Fiber 0.4 g | 2% | |
Sugars 0.3 g | ||
Protein 19.5 g | 39% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!
What was your favorite “bad” food before switching to a real food diet? Do you like cheese sticks? Share below!
Reader Comments