TGI Friday's Fried Mozzarella Cheese Sticks - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

TGI Friday’s Fried Mozzarella Cheese Sticks are a classic appetizer that has been served up at the restaurant for a long time. Now you can make these fried cheese sticks at home.

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For pure decadence, it is hard to beat friedmozzarella cheese sticks. Twice-coated in seasoned bread crumbs to seal in the gooey goodness and then fried to a golden brown crisp, these cheese sticks are the perfect starter or snack for anyone who can’t decide between ordering french fries or pizza. Thischeese sticks recipewill take you back in time to TGI Fridays during the heady 80s when tiny things like fat and calories didn’t get in the way of a delicious idea. While this dish is certainly not something you should eat every day, it is excellent for an occasional indulgence.

What Type of Mozzarella Should You Use

There are some genuinely outstanding mozzarellas that you definitely should try, but just not in thischeese sticks recipe. Save your fresh burrata mozzarella for another time and opt instead to use a small block of standard pizza-quality cheese. Choose a full-fat version since cheese with reduced-fat have a different melting point and can develop an odd texture when hot.

How to FryMozzarella Cheese Sticks

Many people get intimidated when it comes to deep-frying, but it isn’t as scary as it seems. The key to successful frying is to make sure the oil is at the correct temperature, 350 degrees for this recipe.

The best way of maintaining the proper oil temperature is by using a deep fryer, but if you don’t have one, you can always use a heavy-bottom pan and a good thermometer. Fry the mozzarella sticks in small batches to keep the oil hot. Remember to allow time for the oil to come up to temperature again between batches.

When you take the mozzarella sticks out of the fryer, put them on paper towels to remove any excess oil.

Super Sauces forTGI Fridays Mozzarella Sticks

It would be a culinary tragedy to serve fried cheese sticks without any dipping sauce. But when it comes to sauce, you have a lot of options. The traditionalists will demand a tomato sauce of some kind. Many people like a marinara sauce for its chunkiness; others think a marinara sauce is too sweet and prefer a pomodoro sauce because of its tartness. Of course, you can do away with tradition and choose other sauces if you want.

• Sriracha Dipping SauceMix an equal amount of sriracha and mayonnaise for a spicy kick.
• Hot Beef GravyThis unique dip idea brings the flavors of a Philly cheesesteak to your mozzarella sticks.
• Thai Dipping SauceThis pungent and spicy dip fromYummly, takes your mozzarella sticks into a totally new global direction.
• Ranch SauceEverything, yes, everything is better with ranch!

Tips for Making and ServingMozzarella Cheese Sticks

• Serve alongside some vegetables.Especially if you are preparing this recipe for your kids, you can make it a little more healthy by serving in a few pieces of raw carrots and celery alongside the fried cheese sticks.
• Try freezing before frying.If you have trouble with the cheese oozing out, even after coating in two layers of breadcrumbs, freezing the cheese sticks can help. Freeze in a single layer just until the coating is frozen.

Check out all of our other TGI Fridays recipes on YouTube!

Ingredients

Here’s a list of what you need:

• Mozzarella cheese
• All-purposeflour
• Cornstarch
• Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• Milk
• Vegetable oilfor frying

Ingredient and Recipe Tips

Do not use the buffalo style mozzarella because it will be too soft. Buy brick mozzarella cheese and it will work just fine.

You can use any type of frying oil. Peanut oil is my personal preference. I have used canola, vegetable oil, corn oil, and sunflower oil all with good results.

If you don’t have a deep fryer you can use a 2-quart pot. Simply add enough oil to your pot so that it has about three inches of oil.

Only fry a couple of cheese sticks at a time. This will keep the oil from cooling off too much. If the oil cools off too much the cheese sticks will absorb oil and become greasy.

How to Make TGI Friday’s Mozzarella Sticks

1. Cut cheese into 3/8-inch thick slices.
2. Blend together the flour and cornstarch in a bowl.
3. Place cheese slices into the flour, then dip into milk, and then dip into the breadcrumbs.
4. Shake off excess breadcrumbs and place mozzarella sticks on awire rack.
   
5. Repeat until all cheese sticks have been dipped once.
6. Dip cheese sticks back into milk then into bread crumbs for a second time. Shake off the bread crumbs.
   
7. Heat vegetable oil to 350 degrees.
8. Drop a few cheese sticks into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
9. Remove cheese sticks from oil and place them on a wire rack.
10. Serve fried mozzarella cheese sticks with your favorite marinara sauce.

Love TGI Friday’s? Try these copycat recipes!

• B52 Shot
• Fire Bites
• Nine Layer Dip
• Pretzel Beer Cheese Dip
• Sex on the Beach
• TGIF Potato Skins
• TGIF Jack Daniels Sauce

Favorite Cheese Appetizer Recipes

• Cheese Curds
• Cheese Fondue
• Cheese Fries Recipe
• Liptauer Cheese
• Sausage Cream Cheese Rotel Dip
• White Cheese Dip

Check out more of my easy appetizer recipes and the best copycat recipes for casual dining restaurants here on CopyKat!