Air Fryer Keto Mozzarella Sticks

Introduction

Mozzarella sticks are a class appetizer or snack. They are so simple, yet so delicious! There is nothing quite like biting in to a hot, melty, stringy Mozzarella stick! Not only is the stringy mozzarella to die for, but the crunch of the breading is out of this world!

The bad news about traditional mozzarella sticks is that there are a ton of hidden carbs in the breading! While it may not seem like the breading that coats the hot melty cheese is very significant, the carbs contained in it can really begin to add up! Not only that, but in many varieties of mozzarella sticks there is even sugar! 

If you still want to enjoy your favorite snack but without the carbs, these air fryer keto mozzarella sticks are the answer! They are so incredibly simple to make, are completely keto friendly, and taste just as good, if not better, as the traditional version you know and love.

top view of mozzarella sticks on a plate with a bowl of marinara sauce in the middle

 

Air Fryer, Fried, and Oven Baked 

While we prefer to make these keto mozzarella sticks in the air fryer, an air fryer is not necessarily required. If you don’t have an air fryer, don’t fret! Even though air fryers are our new favorite small kitchen appliance and are super convenient and offer an easy way to “fry” foods without oils, if you don’t have one you will still be okay.

You can always opt to make these keto mozzarella sticks another way. Firstly, you could choose to fry them in oil. This gets tricky because there are not many frying oils that are healthy, but there certainly are some options. You may choose to fry them in avocado oil or even olive oil, though it may affect the taste.

Instead of frying these in oil, a better choice may be to simply bake them in the oven. You can create our recipe and bake them by preheating the oven to 400F and baking on each side for 4-5 minutes.

The only issue with baking these keto mozzarella sticks may be that the breading will get a bit mushy even if you do turn your mozzarella sticks half way through baking them. Otherwise, baking these keto mozzarella sticks in the oven is a great alternative!

How To Make Air Fryer Keto Mozzarella Sticks

almond flour in a measuring cup

(scroll down for printable recipe card w/ full ingredients & instructions)

Place the almond flour, garlic powder, parsley flakes as well as salt and pepper to
taste into a shallow bowl or plate and mix together well. Add a beaten egg to a bowl.

crushed pork rind crumbs in a measuring cup

Place the crushed pork rind crumbs into another shallow bowl or plate.

cut up cheese sticks

Cut the mozzarella string cheese sticks in half across the middle forming a total of 16
cheese sticks.

cut up cheese sticks rolling in almond flour

Roll the cheese sticks into the almond flour mixture.

dipping cheese stick in egg wash

Dip into the egg wash.

adding pork rind crumbs to the cheese stick

Cover with pork rinds crumbs.

Place the breaded cheese sticks onto a parchment lined tray, and place into the
freezer for a minimum of 2 hours and up to overnight. The more frozen the cheese
sticks are, the easier it will be to air fry them without them melting too quickly.

cheese sticks on metal sheet ready for air fryer

Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees if needed.

Place the frozen cheese sticks into the air fryer, and cook for 6-8 minutes until
browned and softened, but not completely melted.

cheese stick being dipped into marinara sauce

Keto Friendly Dipping Sauce Options

When it comes to dipping your air fryer keto mozzarella sticks, you have some really great options! The most obvious is the tried and true marinara sauce. Of course, if you are trying to avoid sugars you will have to be very selective about which marinara you elect to use as many of them contain added sugars or high amounts of natural sugars. 

We recommend Rao’s Marinara sauce as it is extremely low in carbs and sugars. Most importantly, it tastes wonderful! If you didn’t look at the nutrition label, you would have no idea that it was anything but “traditional” marinara. 

If marinara isn’t your thing, you also have some other options. While it may not be your thing, ranch dressing may be a good dipping sauce as long as you don’t have too much. Depending on the brand, some varieties of ranch contain a high amount of carbs and less-than-desirable ingredients. 

Finally, even though it might sound weird, dipping these air fryer keto mozzarella sticks in queso might just suit your fancy. Depending on your preference, cheese dipped in cheese either sounds like heaven or like the grossest thing you’ve ever heard of. If you’re a cheese lover, find (or make) a good queso to dip these air fryer keto mozzarella sticks in!

More Air Fryer Recipes

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Enjoy!

Some Other Recipes You Might Enjoy:

Best Keto Buns for Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, and Sandwiches

Tasty Keto BBQ Chicken Pizza

White Bread Keto Chaffle | Wonder Bread Chaffle

Keto Goulash

Keto Fried Pickles

Keto Taco Casserole

Reviews
4.4(46)

23 minutes

16 Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients

8 Mozzarella string cheese sticks
½ cup Almond flour
2 ½ oz Pork rinds, crushed into crumbs
1 Egg
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tbsp Parsley flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
Nutritional Information
90 Calories
6.5g Total Fat
0g Net Carbs
7.5g Protein

Directions

1
Place the almond flour, garlic powder, parsley flakes as well as salt and pepper to taste into a shallow bowl or plate and mix together well.
2
Add the beaten egg to a bowl.
3
Place the crushed pork rind crumbs into another shallow bowl or plate.
4
Cut the mozzarella string cheese sticks in half across the middle forming a total of 16 cheese sticks.
5
Roll the cheese sticks into the almond flour mixture, then dip into the egg before finally dredging in the pork rind crumbs.
6
Place the breaded cheese sticks onto a parchment lined tray, and place into the freezer for a minimum of 2 hours and up to overnight. The more frozen the cheese sticks are, the easier it will be to air fry them without them melting too quickly.
7
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees if needed.
8
Place the frozen cheese sticks into the air fryer, and cook for 6-8 minutes until browned and softened, but not completely melted.
Nutritional Disclaimer: We are not certified nutritionists. Nutritional data is provided as a courtesy. The information provided is calculated through a free-web based nutrition calculator and is not guaranteed to be accurate. To ensure we provide you with good information, we look at a variety of calculators.