At restaurants, my husband and I have an awful time trying to agree on appetizers. I would love fried mushrooms or a shrimp cocktail but my husband wouldn't dream of eating such things. Pretty much the only appetizers he will eat are mozzarella sticks, tortilla chips, or potato skins. This guy won't even eat buffalo wings. What a drag! Lucky for him I also like these things or we may have a problem. A big problem.
Cheese sticks are an appetizer that usually pleases the whole family even the kids. While I'm the only one that uses the marinara sauce which just means more for me (yay!) the rest of them will down any kind of fried cheese you throw their way. For a while now we've been wanting to make homemade cheese sticks and we finally did it. Boy, it was amazing! There's nothing quite like hot, fresh fried cheese right out of the fryer.
To make our cheese sticks easier for the kids to eat we made them bite size. I thought they looked like tater tots and thus Mozzarella Cheese Tots were born. We can just pop them in our mouths. They are perfect! Their size enables you to eat them faster which is a good and bad thing. Good because I can get to the next one quicker before they get stolen but bad for my waist. At that moment though I couldn't care less!
To serve them we used Mini Tongs By DeLa'Casa. These are are the cutest little tongs I've ever seen. They easily gripped the cheese tots. Heck, I was using them to feed myself but they would be perfect for any kind of party. I could see them in candy dishes at a children's birthday party or with an olive platter at an adult shindig.
They're totally versatile and I know they'd be a great conversation starter as well. Everybody won't be able to resist talking about them. It's great that they can just be tossed in the dishwasher at the end of the night too. Love!
Mozzarella Cheese Tots
Ingredients
- 12 mozzarella string cheese sticks
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/8 cup cornstarch
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Preheat fryer to 350 degrees. Cut each string cheese into bite size pieces. About 6-7 pieces per stick.
- In a small bowl, combine flour and starch. Mix well. In another bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and garlic salt. Mix well. In a third bowl, place the eggs. Beat well.
- Dip each cheese "tot" into the flour mixture, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Coat well. I did several at a time to make it go faster.
- Place cheese tots into frying basket. Lower into oil for about 30 seconds or until they turn a nice golden color. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. We did two batches. Serve with marinara. Enjoy immediately!
What is your favorite appetizer?
I am salivating over this recipe! Thank you for the opportunity!
Mozzarella bites are one of my favorite appetizers!
I could finish off an entire plate of these on my own. I love anything cheesy.
I could too! These cheese bites can be so addicting
Those little tongs are so cute. Thanks for another easy recipe!
I love the tongs too. Great for parties! People always love them 🙂
These mozzarella cheese tots look so good and are a great finger food. I will try to make these in the air fryer – a bit healthier.
This totally would be a great air fryer treat!
Yummy, these cheese tots sound delicious!! I love the size, it’s like a mini mozzarella stick! I am definitely making these. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Yes, totally like a mozzarella stick but bite size. Be careful though it’s easy to eat a lot 🙂
Cute tongs. I am a true lover of Mozzarella sticks so these Mozzarella Tots would be just as great if not better since you’re making them homemade. Will have to defiantly give it a try plus may be cheaper this way then buying the frozen box. Thanks for the share.
Yes, much cheaper and the size just makes it more fun 🙂
Mozzarella sticks is one of my favorite finger foods. This is definitely a must try!
If you love the big ones, you’ll love popping these 🙂
I’m surprised, they sound much easier then I thought! Sound like a great treat to make every once in awhile.
Yes, you have to treat yourself every now and then AND this is the way to go 🙂
These look amazing and I love those cute little tongs!
I love the tongs too! I always get so many questions when I use them 🙂
Honestly, this is my first time to heard about this recipe and it looks good. I can’t wait to try this
I hope you love it!
My daughter loves cheeses.. and i bet this dish would be a hit for a weekend movie at home. cute thongs!
They would totally make a great movie snack!
So fattening but oh so good and oh so delicious. I don’t want to memorize how its made coz I know I’d end up making so many of these at home.
I know but SO worth it!
These tongs are so cute! I want them so bad! Haha love the colors
SO adorable and perfect for any gathering!
That’s an awesome appetizer and snack for the kids. I love ordering these whenever we’re dining at Italian restaurants or any other restaurant that have these in the menu. Kids love them and it’s so nice to be able to do this at home. Thanks for the recipe, good move on making it bite-sized!
They do make a great appetizer for kiddos AND adults. I probably like them more than my kids lol
I love cheese! These cheese tots look so yummy. I can’t wait to make this for my family.
Your family will devour them 🙂
I love that your tongs look line hands, haha. These look so good! Mozzarella is my weakness.
I know! SO cute, right?
These look so good! I know my kids would love them 🙂 Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Your kids will totally love them!