Vegan Mozzarella Sticks with Easy Red Sauce
If there is one staple that we all enjoyed as kids, it’s mozzarella sticks! Today, I can’t even remember the last time I enjoyed one. Adulting as a nutritionist consists of lots of plants and some homemade low sugar sweets, but I never fry anything.
Being from Georgia, frying is a staple. They fry everything from the commonplace french fries to candy bars. There are no limitations lol. However, I can’t even remember the last time I fried something. I think it was my vegan Fried Jalapeño Pickles or Jalapeño Corn Dogs. Needless to say, it’s been years and well, I love anything with a little bit of heat!
With Super Bowl Sunday around the corner, I took a foodie vote and mozzarella sticks just really stood out to me! I knew right away that the batter would work, but the vegan cheese melting in the same capacity I wasn’t sure of. That being said, I knew I had to give this recipe a go, and surprisingly it came out really good!
The texture and flavor will be the same, the coating holds up, the cheese will melt in the same fashion when enjoy immediately, and will firm up once cooled just like traditional cheese.
What’s fab about this recipe is everything! It’s easy, packs flavor, you can switch up the cheese, you don’t have to go crazy with the freezing as the vegan cheese packs little to no moisture, aesthetically looks just the same, the sauce can be thrown together in seconds, it can easily be made in bulk, perf for those indulgent gatherings, and even got my husbands seal of approval. (really surprised lol)
If you long for classic mozzarella sticks, you have to give these vegan Mozzarella Sticks with homemade red sauce!!
Why this recipe is great:
It’s classic
Easy
Cheesy
Packed with flavor
Perf for entertaining
Can easily be made in bulk
Vegan Mozzarella Sticks
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 5-6 sticks 1x
Ingredients
Mozzarella Sticks:
- 1 block solid Follow Your Heart vegan cheese
- 1/2 cup white flour
- 1 cup water
- 4 tbsp vegan egg powder
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Salt/Pepper to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp parsley flakes
- Oil, for frying
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp dried basil
- Salt/Pepper as needed
Instructions
- Slice your vegan mozzarella block into 1/2” thick strips. Try not to make the sticks too thick as it will take longer to melt once fried. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment. Set out 3 large shallow bowls in a row next to your baking sheet. Prepare a large platter covered in paper towels.
- In one of the shallow bowls, add your all-purpose flour.
- In a cup or shallow bowl, combine your water and vegan egg powder removing any clumps. Mixture should be thick, but not overly thick or too watery. Adjust as needed.
- In the last shallow bowl. Combine your panko breadcrumbs, sea salt, freshly ground pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and parsley flakes. I ground mine up a little bit to resemble more of the traditional breadcrumb texture.
- Place one of the slices of vegan mozzarella in the flour bowl and lightly coat.
- Dip the flour coated cheese into the egg batter coating the entire stick.
- Place the stick in the final breadcrumb mixture, and use your dry hand to coat fully.
- Place the coated stick onto the baking sheet. Continue the process with all of the vegan mozzarella sticks. Once the sticks are coated, place the entire sheet in the freezer for 1 hour. Try not to exceed this time as it will not cook all the way thru.
- Fill a small pot with tall sides with 1 1/2 inch of canola oil. Heat the pan on medium heat. Once the oil is fully heated test by placing throwing in a piece of Panko. carefully place 2-4 sticks in at a time.
- Let fry for about 1 minute, carefully turning until golden brown. Carefully remove the sticks and place on the paper towel covered platter. Season with sea salt and vegan parm and allow to cool.
- Sauce: combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Serve immediately with your dip of choice.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
Mouth-watering pics. Before I went vegan, cheese sticks were my comfort food. I’ve tried making them a few times and they come out ok, but not great. I love Follow Your Heart (Earth Island in Canada) and I’ve never thought of using the vegan egg in that way, but it makes so much sense. It should make it heartier, like the cheese sticks I used to eat. Man, I’m hungry now.
These look amaaaazing! Mozzarella sticks were my spirit animal before I turned to a plant based diet. Could you bake these instead of frying?
I was wondering the same thing! I think you wouldn’t get the as crispy of an outside and that the sticks would collapse from the heat. Let me know if you try it! You could also consider air frying!