Keto Mozzarella Sticks

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 or want to have some on hand for entertaining, you will want to make these ahead of time.

Substitutions

In order to make these cheese sticks keto friendly and gluten free, we use a couple of different coatings. However, if you can’t use these suggested coating options here are some alternatives.

Alternatives to almond flour

In this recipe the cheese sticks are dusted with almond flour first. 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.

In place of almond flour, you could use any of the following nut-free options:

• coconut flour – easy to find, but will give your fried mozzarella a hint of coconut flavor
• lupin flour – most grocery stores don’t carry, but adds a nice flavor
• protein powder – if using zero carb protein powder, will lower carbs even more than almond flour
• oat fiber – harder to source, another zero carb option

Alternatives to pork panko

The crushed pork rinds are the final coating on this breaded cheese stick 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.

In place of ground pork rinds, try the following:

• grated parmesan cheese – easy to find, but will add a slight salty, nutty flavor
• lupin meal – most grocery stores don’t carry, the coating can dry out easily
• keto flours – doing a double or triple coating of more almond flour, coconut flour or any of the flours above can work

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.

How to make a keto mozzarella stick?

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!