Keto Mozzarella Sticks

Low Carb Mozzarella Sticks Recipe

My kids love mozzarella cheese sticks, but I don’t love how much junk and chemicals are in the store bought, frozen mozzarella sticks. You will be shocked at how easy it is to make your own keto mozzarella sticks with just a few simple ingredients and a few minutes of your time. So I know exactly what my kids are eating and I can feel good about it. Plus I don’t have to spend a ton of time preparing a healthy meal or snack for them to eat.

The keto cheese sticks are crispy outside while keeping the cheese gooey and melty inside. Dip them in your favorite sauce and enjoy this crunchy, cheesy appetizer!

How to Make Keto Mozzarella Sticks

You will be amazed at how easy it is to make keto cheese sticks. This recipe only involves 4 ingredients – almond flour, egg, ground pork rinds and cheese, of course.

1. Cut your sticks in half to make them bite sized.
2. Dust with almond flour.
3. Dip in egg wash.
4. Dredge in pork panko.
5. Repeat egg wash and pork panko to get extra crispy coating.
6. Freeze.
7. Fry for 30 seconds.
8. Dip in your favorite sauce!

Freezing Mozzarella Sticks

You may be wondering why we are freezing these mozzarella sticks after we coat them. Why not just fry them right away? You have to freeze them first because you want the cheese to be frozen. That way when you go to cook them, the cheese will slowly melt while cooking instead of melting right away before the crispy shell is done cooking.

This is a keto recipe you can batch prep ahead of time too. If you want to meal prep some of these low carb cheese sticks ahead of time, then you can prepare them to the freezer step. Then place in a freezer safe container or bag and freeze until ready to cook. If you have hungry kids coming on from school or sports practice, you will want to make these keto mozzarella sticks ahead of time.

Gluten Free Cheese Stick Coating

In order to make these cheese sticks keto friendly and gluten free, we use a couple of different coatings. First the cheese sticks are dusted with almond flour. This will help give the egg wash something to stick too; otherwise, the egg wash slips off and now you have nothing for the final coating (pork rinds) to stick to.

The ground pork rinds are the final coating on this keto mozzarella cheese sticks and it’s what gives this low carb appetizer their crispy coating. I like to purchase my pork panko pre-ground, but you can make your own pork panko by adding pork rinds to a blender or food processor and pulsing until pulverized.

Mozzarella Sticks Keto Dipping Sauces

Mozzarella sticks are delish on their own without any dipping sauces, but the standard dip for all cheese sticks is marinara sauce. That’s what comes in the box if you were to buy them in the store.

Most store bought marinara sauces are higher in carbohydrates because they contain added sugars. If you plan on purchasing a store bought marinara sauce, you have to be mindful about what sauce to buy. Here are some of my favorites:

• Yo Mama Marinara Sauce
• Rao’s Marinara Sauce

Another option is to make your own keto pizza sauce. It’s very easy to make and less expensive as well.

My kids prefer to dip their keto mozzarella sticks in ranch. Luckily most ranch dressings are low carb. Some do contain added sugars or a small amount of carbs but as long as you stick to the suggested serving, you don’t have to worry about going over your carb count for the day.

Kid Friendly Healthy Snack Options

My kids love these gluten free cheese sticks. This an easy snack to prepare my kiddos when they get home from school. They love mozzarella cheese sticks by themselves but they really love them coated with a crispy covering and dipped in ranch.

Here are some other kid approved low carb snack options you can give your kids after school:

• Gluten Free Granola Bars
• Almond Flour Crackers
• Keto Hot Pockets
• Assorted veggies and berries
• Low Carb Ants on a Log
• Hard Boiled Eggs