A few weeks ago, I was adding in the thyme and oregano to my favorite homemade mozzarella sticks when it suddenly occurred to me — why are cheese sticks always made with Italian seasonings? Mexican food includes mozzarella all the time. Why not give this cheese stick recipe a try…Mexi-style?!?
So I did.
And I’m pretty sure that if you should too.
These turned out SO well!!! For the Mexi twist, I added in chili powder, cumin, oregano and a pinch of cayenne in place of the traditional Italian seasonings. And then when baked with Panko, I love that they were super crispy but not fried. (So hey, you can enjoy them all the more!) Finally, in place of marinara, I subbed in some of my favorite salsa. A match made in foodie heaven.
Can’t wait to try these again soon!
Baked Mexican Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Ingredients
Instructions
- Begin by unwrapping each piece of string cheese, and then cutting them all in half. Place evenly on a plate and freeze until frozen, at least 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray lightly with olive oil.
- Set up your prep line for the cheese sticks. Fill the first bowl with the flour. Fill the second bowl with the beaten egg. Then fill the third bowl with the panko, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt and oregano, and whisk those five ingredients together until evenly mixed.
- Remove the frozen pieces of string cheese, and one by one dunk each first in the flour mixture until evenly coated, then the egg, then carefully roll in the panko mixture. Be sure that all sides of the cheese are coated in breadcrumbs, then gently place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining breadcrumbs.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and just begins to seep out. Remove and serve immediately with your favorite salsa.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
oh yum! Mexican food is the favorite in this house! These sound SO GOOD! We’ll definitely have to give them a try!
Honey. Child. Yes.
These sound SOOOO good! & the photos? Holy smokes! GORGEOUS :)
Oh my, that’s GENIUS. The husband would devour all of these in a sitting (which is why I’ll have to make them in secret ;).
Hmmmm…I wonder if these would work with vegan mozza and egg substitute? Definitely worth trying. They look AMAZING.
Such an awesome idea! I love crispy baked mozzarella sticks and I can’t wait to try this version with all those yummy Mexican flavours too!
These sound simply fabulous!
These sound yummy!! However, am a bit confused . . . the list of ingredients includes 5 tbsp of Italian breadcrumbs, yet the directions do not say anything about what to do with them. I am assuming that the panko bread crumbs should be used instead of the italian breadcrumbs?
They look delish, I might make a southwestern greek yogurt dip as well with these. Thinking of these for the next family get together:)
yum, yum, YUM!!! no doubt in my mind i’ll be giving these a go this holiday season!