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.
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
Make sure to get the entire surface of each cheese ball covered with the coating, or your cheese may ooze out during frying. 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.
29 Comments
Jules @ WolfItDown
November 19, 2016 at 5:07 pmThese look dangerously good! One pop, and you can’t stop :D The combination of flavours sounds heavenly too! :D Hope you are having a nice weekend :) x
Elaine
October 10, 2015 at 8:48 amI 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!
Sue
October 10, 2015 at 9:13 amTo 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!
colleen
March 28, 2015 at 6:03 amMade these last night and they were wonderful !!! Great recipe will definitely make again :)
Emily
October 9, 2014 at 9:25 amWhere do you get mozzarella balls/what brand do you purchase? Thanks!
Sue
October 9, 2014 at 9:53 amGosh, 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!
Lisa
August 15, 2014 at 10:55 amI 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
Sue
August 15, 2014 at 11:38 amThese 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?
Amanda Kindel
August 6, 2014 at 5:44 pmMade 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. :)
Sue
August 6, 2014 at 6:24 pmI 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!
Amanda Kindel
August 7, 2014 at 6:07 pmOh yeh! The second batch – fried straight out of the fridge – was warm, melty and yuuuummmy! :)
Sue
August 7, 2014 at 8:45 pmYou’ve got me craving another batch!
Rosemary Mozzarella Bites - table for twenties
May 16, 2014 at 7:59 am[…] Recipe adapted from The View From Great Island […]
Tasty Party Appetizer Recipes
April 8, 2014 at 1:41 pm[…] Fried rosemary Mozzarella balls […]
Maria | Pink Patisserie
November 21, 2013 at 7:20 amThose look just scrumptious.. and perfect party food!
Foodiewife
October 19, 2013 at 10:45 pmThese 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.
simi
October 18, 2013 at 10:08 amThis is something that will disappear in my house before i know it love it !
kelley {mountain mama cooks}
October 16, 2013 at 6:25 amThese are gorgeous. Saw them shared on Facebook and happy to have found your blog!
Sue
October 16, 2013 at 7:21 amThanks, and welcome, Kelley!
Tricia @ Saving room for desset
October 15, 2013 at 8:13 amYou are officially invited to any and all parties I have now or in the future! I guess I would have to eat all these while they’re hot – yummy indeed!
Heather // girlichef
October 15, 2013 at 4:51 amI would eat every last one. I SO need to make several HUGE batches.
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
October 14, 2013 at 9:10 pmThese would make such a great appetizer, I love the panko coating and rosemary!
Mary
October 14, 2013 at 9:03 pmThese photos couldn’t look more tempting, Sue! And while I’ve never been a huge fan of fried cheeses, this version with the rosemary sounds fantastic. I just added these to my list for you to feed me when I finally come visit you!
hungry dog
October 14, 2013 at 3:38 pmWow, these look amazing! What a great idea.
Maria
October 14, 2013 at 2:10 pmOh these look fantastic!!!! I can just smell them! And the rosemary sounds delicious in these!
Sue
October 14, 2013 at 4:39 pmI have a black thumb when it comes to growing herbs, but rosemary I have growing by the bushel out back, so I love to find new uses for it!
Claire @ The Black Cat Kitchen
October 14, 2013 at 1:59 pmoooo these look so good. LOVE fried cheese. Great tip about not needing loads of oil. I’m always put off by frying because of having to use loads of oil etc but using a small pan with a little oil is a great tip! Love the idea of using rosemary in the breadcrumb mix, bet it goes great with the mozzarella
Sue
October 14, 2013 at 4:40 pmI love using the small pan method for frying, somehow you don’t feel so bad about doing it every once in a while.
Norma - Platanos, Mangoes and Me!
October 14, 2013 at 11:50 amPicture perfect and will be a favorite of mine….