Air Fryer Keto Mozzarella Sticks

Keto mozzarella sticks with a crisp pork rind crust, one pulled apart to show the melted cheese Save to Pinterest
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Introduction

String cheese in a coating of almond flour and crushed pork rinds, frozen hard and then air fried. The coating is the part that changes — it crisps around the cheese without bringing breadcrumbs along with it. Are Pork Rinds Keto? covers why they work as breading and which bags to buy.

Do Not Skip the Freezer

It is the difference between mozzarella sticks and mozzarella puddles, so it is worth saying twice.

Once the cheese is breaded, freeze it for at least 2 hours. Overnight is fine too. The more frozen the sticks are, the easier they are to air fry without the cheese melting too quickly.

So yes, the active prep is short. The total wait is not. Give the freezer its two hours.

Air Fryer, Fried, or Oven Baked

The air fryer is how we make them, but it is not the only way.

This recipe is written for the air fryer. Frying them in oil or baking them are the obvious alternatives, but we have not worked out either, so the times here will not carry straight over. Whichever way you cook them, go by the same cue: browned and softened, not completely melted.

Air Fryer Keto Mozzarella Sticks

Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
8 minutes
Additional Time
2 hours
Total Time
2 hours 23 minutes
Yield
16 mozzarella sticks
Course
Appetizer
Cuisine
American
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Ingredients

All Ingredients

Nutrition Facts

16 servings per recipe
Trans Fat 0g 0% 0g 0%
Total Sugars — —
Sugar Alcohols 0g 0% 0g 0%
Allulose 0g 0% 0g 0%

Where you see an em dash: one of the ingredients in this recipe does not publish a figure for that row, so we cannot add one up honestly. We would rather show you nothing there than a zero we cannot stand behind.

About these numbers: We are home cooks, not certified nutritionists. Nutrition is shared as a courtesy. We pick a representative product for each ingredient, and our recipe system works out the totals from the amounts in this recipe, so please treat them as a helpful estimate rather than a guarantee. The brands you buy, any swaps you make, and how generously you portion the recipe will all move these numbers.

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.

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

  6. Roll the cheese sticks into the almond flour mixture, then dip into the egg before finally dredging in the pork rind crumbs.

  7. 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.

  8. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (204°C) if needed.

  9. Lay the frozen cheese sticks out in a single layer with space between them, and cook for 6-8 minutes until browned and softened, but not completely melted.

Notes

  • Leftover cooked sticks go into the refrigerator in an airtight container; use them within three to four days and reheat them to 165°F. We do not have a reliable answer on how the coating and cheese hold up when you reheat them.

Keto Friendly Dipping Sauce Options

Marinara is the obvious answer. We use Rao’s Marinara, but whichever jar you use, check the current label if added sugar or carbs matter to you.

Ranch works too, with the same brand-by-brand label check.

And then there is queso, which is cheese dipped in cheese and lands as either an excellent idea or a terrible one depending on who you ask. If it is the former, find or make a good one.

More Air Fryer Recipes

From other keto kitchens: Keto Goulash, Keto Fried Pickles and Keto Taco Casserole.

Have you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog? Please rate it below and let us know what you think in the comments! We love hearing from you!

You can also share it on Instagram and use the hashtag #buttertogetherkitchen and we will feature you on our page.

Enjoy!

Updated — September 10, 2026: We removed a duplicate walkthrough and added clearer guidance on the 2-hour freeze, alternative cooking methods, and dipping sauces.

Correction — August 23, 2026: We restored the missing almond flour amount, corrected an ingredient that read pepper flakes when the directions call for parsley flakes, corrected the pork rind amount to 2.5 ounces, and added the 2-hour freeze to the total time.