Our air fryer frozen mozzarella sticks temp and timing is perfect to make your cheese sticks crispier than cooking them in your oven! Love these for a quick snack? This will be your favorite Ninja air fryer recipe ever.
Cooking this fun finger food with hot air vs. the oven is so much better!! Since we got this air fryer I’ve been tinkering with cooking all the things in it. These cheese sticks are no exception to the rule that everything is better air fried!
These and our air fryer cheese curds are probably my biggest weaknesses. I love being able to add just a few for a quick snack. My teenagers love how crunchy they get, and can “cook” by themselves when I am away.
Ninja Air Fryer Frozen Mozzarella Sticks
You can use any of the machines out there on the market. I have a few and there really aren’t a lot of differences other than if you are making as a Ninja Foodi recipe then you will use the lid that IS attached with the air crisp button on the front and you’re good to go!
If you have not transitioned to baking things right out of your freezer in this hot air basket you are in for a real treat. Everything is so so so much better, takes less time and tastes like what you get served at a restaurant for way cheaper.
It was a big surprise to me just how much I enjoyed everything cooked in this thing to be quite honest. I thought “why bother” until I tried it with these air fryer frozen chicken nuggets. We will NEVER cook them in the oven again after this. They just don’t come out nearly as crispy, and the cook time is so much faster. Game over.
How Long to Cook Frozen Mozzarella Sticks in Air Fryer
There is a bit of a range depending on how large yours are. FarmRich is what we used here and love because the cheese comes out nice and gooey inside so I recommend this one. You only need about 6 minutes total for the perfect texture so start with this and adjust the last minute if it isn’t as crispy as you’d like.
Tips for Success
Let’s talk about the biggest tip when it comes to air frying food: Do NOT overlap pieces! You need all areas to have a bit of space so browning and crisping can occur. Now for me the exception to this rule is when I’m cooking air fryer vegetables. There’s no breading on those so it doesn’t matter as much.
How do you know how long to cook each item though?? Well this air fryer frozen food cooking times printable is a huge help! Go ahead and print this out now and tape it to your fridge. I will wait. 😉 Note: Timing will vary depending on how thick the brand you use is, and how crispy you want the outsides. Whether you use a Cosori or other brand won’t change it though.
What sauce do you use for mozzarella sticks?
Of course you can use whatever you wish but if you’re new to this cheesy snack here are a few suggestions. Fry sauce is probably top on our list, bottled or you can make your own of course.
- Marinara sauce is what is usually served on the side in restaurants
- We love bang bang shrimp sauce too.
- Blue cheese dressing can be an option
- Ketchup goes on anything really
- Mustard dip is my husband’s favorite
FAQ
They can if you cook them too long. I mean “explode” is a bit of an exaggeration but yes the cheese will begin to leak out if they are cooked beyond the suggested time and temp so just stick to 6 minutes.
Cooked in the air fryer is SO much better than baked!! In fact all frozen foods have a much crunchier texture when air fried vs baking them. Also, it takes a bit less time too since it only takes 5 minutes to preheat so all around it is the best cooking method ever!
You do want to keep the air out. Wait until they cool off completely and store in a freezer bag with the air sucked out, in the fridge for up to 3 days for the ideal texture when reheating.
You are going to want to use an air fryer!! Ideally you should preheat your machine at 400F for 5 minutes. Lay in a single layer for about 2 minutes to heat the inside and crisp the outer breading again.
Air Fryer Frozen Mozzarella Sticks Time
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
- 1 bag mozzarella sticks, frozen
- 1/4 cup marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
- Add as many as you like into your air fryer basket without allowing them to overlap.
- Close drawer and cook for 6 minutes or until as crispy as you'd like. Enjoy immediately for best results.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Other air fryer recipes you’ll love
Our air fryer quesadilla recipe, air fryer grilled cheese, and frozen french fries in air fryer are probably our go to’s! Try our air fryer fish sticks for dinner too.
Seems like lots of folks have had luck with 6 minutes — but your “Air Fryer Cook Times” printable cheat-sheet says mozz sticks should be 8 minutes. Have you changed your mind and 8mins works better? Or is the PDF just outdated? Thanks for your time!
Timing is just a base and it varies slightly depending on brand/thickness, how brown you want them really
They taste amazing. I’ve used three different brands (two were the traditional “tube”, and the third were more flattened)… I did them all @ 400 for 6 minutes (allowing to preheat first). All three were perfect. Thanks!
* We have the Emeril Air Fryer 360
Man….. If eating cheese sticks makes you a bitch,
I would do better to deep fry cheddar.
If thinking for yourself is obsolete
then a match in cooking we can’t compete.
The box says that these mozzarella sticks are 270 calories per serving not 1 calorie. Please fix your nutrition information for your recipe.
Fuck you bitch. Justine is doing her best
Uh. How about you find some chill. It’s a recipe blog, it’s not that deep.
The recipe card itself comes up with the calories for the average frozen stick would be, it is not my calculations. Also every brand is different and every serving size is different so refer to the box you are using for exact nutritional info.
We have the vortex air fryer ,should I use roast,bake or air fry to cook these?
OK, I am kind of obsessed with these. I made them for lunch the other day and now I’ve made them twice since. So easy for the kiddos to eat lunch. And me to snack… and so much better than oven baked.
This was awesome and super helpful! My husband just bought us an air fryer and has been obsessed with using it and we started to run out of recipes! Thanks !
OH good!
You couldn’t have just gotten right to the point? I had to scroll for what felt like an eternity just to see 400 degrees for 6 minutes. What a waste of time.
Calm down
Hahaha you are getting a free recipe/instructions and you are complaining? Take a chill pill!