Healthy Baked Mozzarella Sticks

One of my favorite recipes on my blog is my Healthy Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets. I make these all the time, and not just for the kids.  They are not only delicious but are one of those easy dinner ideas that you can easily make during the week.  So why not make these with mozzarella sticks?  Easy, right?  Not quite.

I figured I’d just do the exact same recipe as the chicken nuggets, but with fresh mozzarella sticks.  Nope.  They turn into a gooey mess.  After several failed attempts, I decided to search and figure out what in the world I was doing wrong.  I found this post from wikihow.com and read that I needed to freeze the cheese sticks before baking, to prevent the cheese from completely melting. Aha…  Now that makes sense!

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Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Ingredients

• 1 package of 12 mozzarella sticks I used fresh ones from Trader Joe's, sliced in half to make 24 pieces
• 1 large egg beaten
• 1/2 cup ground flax or flaxseed meal
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Spray with organic cooking spray and place cheese sticks on top. Place tray in freezer until sticks harden (this is crucial for preventing the gooey mess)
3. Place beaten egg in a medium bowl.
4. In another medium bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.
5. Remove cheese sticks from freezer when they are frozen solid.
6. Place each stick in egg mixture, then in the flax mixture making sure each stick is well coated. Lay onto parchment paper lined baking sheet sprayed with organic cooking spray
7. Place cheese sticks back in freezer again until they are frozen solid.
8. Remove from freezer, place frozen, breaded sticks into prepared oven and cook for about 3 minutes, until crispy. You must continue to check on them and take them out before they turn into the gooey mess. After 3 minutes, you can turn over and cook on there side for a minute or two.
9. Serve immediately with marinara sauce or favorite dipping sauce.

I used fresh mozzarella sticks (from Trader Joe’s) which are much softer than regular cheese sticks.  If you use regular ones,  you can probably bake them a little bit longer.  But still be careful to check on them.  The gooey mess tastes good, but doesn’t look that great.

Hope you and your family loves these as much as we do! Come back soon~