Baked Mozzarella Sticks

 On one of my nightly Pinterest sessions, I saw a recipe for homemade mozzarella sticks. I mean honestly, what can be better? It's fried cheese! But, we all want to fit into our skinny jeans so I opted for this much healthier recipe. They're baked rather than fried, I used panko instead of regular processed bread crumbs, and the cheese is fat free string cheese. This made for a great (and FAST!) appetizer that kept everyone's tummies happy until dinner was served. I also serve it with a side of warm sugar free marinara sauce for dipping. Favoloso!

What you'll need:

1/2 cup flour

1 egg, beaten

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup graded parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 400*. Remove all of the string cheese from the packets, cut in half, and freeze (I know I know, but this will make sure they don't melt the second they go in the oven!)

2. Line up 3 shallow dishes. In the first, toss together the flour, salt, and pepper. In another beat your egg, and in a final shallow dish toss together the panko, parmesan, and granulated garlic.

your dredging station

3. Line a baking sheet with foil. Roll each string cheese half in the flour, egg, then panko. Put on the baking sheet, spray the tops with olive oil spray and bake for 5 minutes, flip over, and bake for another 5 minutes.

 

4. Serve immediately with a side of warm marinara sauce for dipping.

enjoy :)