Fried Mozzarella Balls ~These crispy little balls of molten cheese will lure everybody to the appetizer table, use your favorite marinara sauce for dipping!
Here’s a cold weather way to enjoy fresh mozzarella cheese. You can do this with any shape mozzarella, even string cheese, but I like the little balls, they’re kind of like the cheese version of a cocktail meatball. Fresh rosemary and Parmesan are the only flavors in the breadcrumb coating, so the point of these is more about texture than flavor…it’s all about molten cheese in a crispy crust. Be sure to have a warm bowl of your favorite marinara sauce ready for dipping.
There’s no need for a huge vat of oil for deep frying, I used a small, high sided saucepan and a couple of inches of vegetable oil. The breading process can be a little messy, so it helps to bread all of the cheese at once and set them out on a plate, ahead of time. That way you can clean up while you heat the oil, and get straight to eating once the last balls are cooked. This is one appetizer that won’t wait, the cheese will only stay melted so long.
Fried Rosemary Mozzarella Balls
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp very finely chopped rosemary leaves
- 1/2 tsp salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- 8 oz container cherry sized mozzarella balls
- vegetable oil for frying
- your favorite marinara sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Set out 3 small bowls. Put the flour in one. Beat the egg and milk together in the second. Mix the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and rosemary in the third. Add salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste to the breadcrumb mixture.
- Drain the mozzarella balls and dry them on paper towels. Dip the cheese balls first in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs, tossing well to get an even coating. I double dipped the balls back into the egg and once more into the crumbs to get a nice complete coating. Do this for all the balls, and set on a tray.
- In a small saucepan with high sides, heat at least 2 inches of oil over medium heat. If you have a thermometer, you're aiming for around 330--340F.
- Working in small batches, drop the balls into the hot oil and let them fry to a golden brown, about a minute or so. You don't want the cheese to ooze out, so watch them carefully. Toss the balls gently with a spoon to make sure they don't stick and they get evenly cooked. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and set them on a rack while you cook the rest.
- Serve hot with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.
Notes
Japanese Panko crumbs make the coating extra crispy, and you will find them with the regular breadcrumbs in your store, or in the Asian section.
Shower them with a little extra Parmesan, set out the toothpicks, and dig right in.
Can you make them in an air fryer? I would like to avoid the oil!
I’m not sure, but I think it should work. I don’t have an air fryer so I’m not sure about how it operates and what can go in it, sorry!
These look dangerously good! One pop, and you can’t stop 😀 The combination of flavours sounds heavenly too! 😀 Hope you are having a nice weekend 🙂 x
I would like to make these ahead of time before company arrives. How long do you think they could be prepared and refrigerated, without moisture ruining the coating, before frying them when company arrives? Thank you for a great recipe!
To be honest Elaine, I think the moisture from the cheese would saturate the coating. You could try, but I’m not sure how it would work, sorry!
Made these last night and they were wonderful !!! Great recipe will definitely make again 🙂
Where do you get mozzarella balls/what brand do you purchase? Thanks!
Gosh, I don’t know the brand off hand, I sometimes buy them at Trader Joe’s, and sometimes at my regular supermarket. I don’t think it matters, just be sure to dry them thoroughly and coat them completely before frying!
I tried those today but it was a massacre – how do you get them brown and crispy without exploding?
Please tell me how I can make them look like on the picture??
Thanks a million
Lisa
These can be a little tricky, Lisa, if everything isn’t right. The oil must be at the correct temperature, the mozzarella must be completely coated with the crust, and then you will only fry them long enough to get golden. If the oil is too low, the cheese will melt and ooze out before the balls can get browned. Did you use a thermometer in your oil?
Made these tonight as an appetizer… I was a little nervous about the cheese “leaking” during the frying, esp since this called for fresh mozz, so as suggested by some other recipes for mozz sticks I put the coated balls in the freezer for about an hour and a half before frying. The final result was a nice golden brown, quite like the picture, but the inside wasn’t very melty and a few were actually even a tad cold. Taste was still great though!
I only fried half of the balls, so I will leave the rest in the fridge (not the freezer!) and try with the remaining half tomorrow night. If I remember I will add an update tomorrow to see if the not-frozen balls fry up a little better. 🙂
I didn’t have any trouble with the cheese melting or oozing out, but I was careful to get the whole thing well coated before frying. I think freezing the cheese before frying would make it hard for the cheese to warm up before the outside got too brown. Good luck with the next batch!
Oh yeh! The second batch – fried straight out of the fridge – was warm, melty and yuuuummmy! 🙂
You’ve got me craving another batch!
Those look just scrumptious.. and perfect party food!
These kind of remind me of fried ravioli. Only better. I can just imagine the chewy, stringy, melted cheese. You are evil! And amazing, at the same time.